Fall for the Book

I went to the performance of Benjamin Percy. It was held Wednesday, September 21, at the Johnson Center Cinema. Going into this event I had no idea what to expect. My mind was racing as I took a seat. I gazed about the audience and saw that there were students and adults along with their children. Then, out of nowhere the audience went silent and the opening speaker came on stage. He introduced himself and then went right into why we were all there. He briefly gave a run down on the author and his many accomplishments. We applauded at once as the author entered the stage; it was show time. He began speaking about how he got involved into writing not only novels but short stories as well. He spoke about how becoming a writer never crossed his mind until he met his girlfriend, who is now his wife. She inspired and pushed him in that direction, after receiving many beautifully written poems and letters. The more and more he spoke, he engaged the audience with witty comments that kept us laughing and just pure knowledge about writing. It was never a dull moment. He picked 2 characters from his work and spoke in different tones for us to get the full effect of who the character is and their position in the novel. I really enjoyed how he portrayed them, because it gave a clear picture as to what the novel is about and the message he is trying send. Lastly, he read from his short story he had been working on. That too was interesting and fun to hear. All in all, this was a great experience. I can honestly say he has a lot of dedication behind what he does and he truly enjoys every minute of it. One thing I can say I left with that night was this little quote he said; "To rewrite is to write". No matter how many edits, or drafts he has to do, he will write pages and pages just to satisfy his editor and colleague's around. This stuck with me because, no matter how many times you have to edit a paper it will be beneficial in the long run. Benjamin Percy is what I call a true writer.