Writers should watch TV, In Plain Sight and catching crabs

A lot of writers give the advice that watching TV is bad for authors. I do think authors should read as much as they can.  I happen to love TV and some how I find time for both. Plus not all TV is brain rot. While some programs stick to the same old tropes, I think there are also lots of shows that break the mold.

This is one reason why I think advice that tells writers to NOT partake in an activity central to people's lives is BAD ADVICE. Yep, I called it bad advice in all caps. TV evolves, changes with the times. Not watching TV is like purposefully removing ones self from important cultural elements. Plus, watching TV will teach you how to be a better writer.

Behind every show is a writer or a team of writers. For me, In Plain Sight is inspiration. I love the life lessons at the end. The stories maybe fiction, but the emotional truth is real enough. The script writers have probably pulled from their life experiences or those of people they know. It's fiction but there's a transference of knowledge. Ultimately, I think this is both what compels people to tell and listen to stories. I think its why everybody thinks about writing a book. The drive to share and receive information is instinctual.

Think of this way. If I walked up to you on the street-- a complete stranger-- and started telling you my life story, you'd think I was a nut. Hell, I'd think I was a nut. And when someone does it to me-- this happens to me a lot. I must send out some kind of vibe-- it's awkward. I want to be nice. But I don't want to know how you got crabs. Really.

I don't, however, feel the same awkwardness toward reading about how you got crabs. I mean, if the voice is there, I'll go pretty much where ever the writer takes me. The difference between a book and a person is I can pick it up or put it down at will.

On a side note, you can get crabs from a dirty hotel room. Someone must leave them there, but the can live in bedding until they find a new host or the sheets are washed. Whichever comes first. When this stranger told me this, I thought she was flubbing the truth but I looked it up out of curiosity. I wish I hadn't. I already had a certain fear of bringing home bedbugs.