Make Believe
“I wrote stories from the time I was a little girl, but I didn’t want to be a writer. I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t realize then that it’s the same impulse. It’s make-believe. It’s performance. The only difference being that a writer can do it all alone. I was struck a few years ago when a friend of ours — an actress — was having dinner here with us and a couple of other writers. It suddenly occurred to me that she was the only person in the room who couldn’t plan what she was going to do. She had to wait for someone to ask her, which is a strange way to live.”
— Joan Didion (pictured)
The Paris Review, 1978
This really striking to me because I too had wanted to be an actress. Today, I am an artist who designs preferring to work alone then collaborate, but thankful to be able to move forward without an ensemble .
Joan’s book, The Year of Magical Thinking, is also a wonderful read.
I loved that book as well. How wonderful that you found your fit.
[...] This is an aside titled 'Joan Didion on make-believe' dated 9/14/09 “I wrote stories from the time I was a little girl, but I didn’t want to be a writer. I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t realize then that it’s the same impulse. It’s make-believe. It’s performance. The only difference being that a writer can do it all alone. I was struck a few years ago when a friend of ours — an actress — was having dinner here with us and a couple of other writers. It suddenly occurred to me that she was the only person in the room who couldn’t plan what she was going to do. She had to wait for someone to ask her, which is a strange way to live.” – Joan Didion (via.) [...]
Joan Didion on make-believe | Tomorrow Museum said this on 09/13/09 at 10:09:20 |