Extra Credit

To my own surprise, I quite enjoyed listening to Philip Deloria's Writer to Writer podcast. I was really hooked on to a lot he had to say about his process of writing, his inspirations, driving forces and his experiences.

       The first thing that I really liked listening to was Deloria's method of seeking inspiration through "idea files". When he talked about a very generic thing that happens to all of us such as thinking about something really weird, but not pursuing it, I found myself agreeing readily. It makes me think of all those times a lot of weird stuff has occurred to me on a daily basis, but I have never bothered to explore any of it because I fear that nobody would get me. However, Deloria claims that he has been doing exactly that, so clearly, it works. He also talks about moving forward with these things with a full hundred percent, something which truly inspires me because I tend to not do that. It is fascinating to think that the smallest, most seemingly inconsequential ideas could lead to massive revelations and amazing work. 

     This conversation directly rolled over into Deloria's writing process, which honestly makes me appreciate him even more. He talks about the brutality of writing while he is not on leave and expands upon how he writes when he is. Listening to his method of eliminating all distractions, maintain a disciplined way of doing it and actually giving his hundred percent reminds me of how different my writing process is. He also talks about how it’s probably the easier thing to go over what one has already written and constantly edit and correct it, but he on the other hand aims to write afresh and keep building every day. I don’t know if I personally have it in me to be a very disciplined writer like Deloria is, but I certainly have immense respect for anyone who maintains a process like that. This part of the conversation is directly linked to what Deloria had to sat earlier regarding the giving in your fullest and not letting anything pass you by. If he gave into those distractions, be it only checking his email, there could be a chance of him missing out on some great idea that could have occurred to him but didn’t. After listening to what he had to say about finding time to write even in the midst of his busy schedule when he is not on leave, I think about how often I make excuses about not being able to find time to write outside of class. However, somewhere deep down I know that if I wanted, I could really make time for it, without compromising on other work.

         Moving on, I found the little excerpt from Deloria’s spa music essay really interesting. When Deloria mentioned that it was really goofy and funny, I expected a sarcastic, yet prominently funny take on assumedly spa music. But, by the time he was done reading, I was completely taken by surprise. For a moment, I didn’t know where Deloria was going with it, but when the essay took a very philosophical, yet so relatable character, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I loved how he connected something like spa music with “winners and losers in life” and talked about how the massage therapist was a “trickster”. Unable to figure out the meaning of trickster in the sense that Deloria intended, I was relieved when the interviewer asked him about it and he explained it as a recurring character theme in Native American folklore. Again, it is interesting to note how Deloria manages to bring in his passion and interest in the subject even into an essay on spa music. I thought a lot about the concept of the trickster tricking as well as being tricked. I think the spa essay was a very clever piece of writing and left me wondering about Deloria’s effortless, stylistic writing as he manages to make this an “ironic funny” piece without even trying. 

I was truly inspired by a lot of what Deloria said, especially his emphasis on the importance of our drafting process, something I had never done before I took LHSP 125. To be honest, I despised the idea earlier, but now believe that it is extremely helpful. I also agree with his emphasis on the importance of stricture and narrative in the process of writing and hope to build on that more. 

I am glad that I listened to this podcast and found Deloria's take on many things to be very relatable. I like how he conveyed his thoughts in a very amiable, conversational and humorous way, which I had not expected at first. I wish I had heard him in person, and definitely look forward to listening more of what he has to say.