A writer once proposed a rule for life: Read fiction about dastardly schemers, and read non-fiction about heroes.
I don't know why this should be valuable advice, but it generally works for me. I can't quite read "The Wager," because I expect I will be reading about crummy people. But "Everything Was Possible," about the dreams of Sondheim and Michael Bennett, does appeal to me.
If you write memoirs, you have to be a fairly decent person--because readers are always going to be judging your *soul* and not just your talent. And you have to tell the truth. Evasiveness is easily spotted, and it's not appealing.
One thing I like about Liana Finck is that she imagines herself as two people: the actor, in the fetal position, and also the character, beaming in an inoffensive way. "Sometimes, a bland smile is your best defense."
I personally use my bland smile in school meetings, in work exchanges, when an acquaintance tells a weird, unfunny story that is meant to be funny....
With Liana Finck, I feel "seen."
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