In which David Foster Wallace’s self-help becomes my own self-help
“There is, in writing, a certain blend of sincerity and manipulation, of trying always to gauge what the particular effect of something is gonna be,” he [David Foster Wallace] said. “It’s a very precious asset that really needs to be turned off sometimes. My guess is that writers probably make fun, skilled, satisfactory, and seemingly considerate partners for other people. But that the experience for them is often rather lonely.
“I’ve never really taken a break from a relationship by choice, but having just finished a two and a half year relationship with a truly exhausting and sad ending I think maybe it’s time I did. I enjoy my own company and deep down I know its the pressure to be with someone that is the main reason I mostly am. I want to learn to feel valid and loved outside of a relationship, which will obviously make my chances of making the next one work much better.”
David Foster Wallace, in conversation with David Lipsky. From the book Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace.
Anyone who has been in a bad marriage [relationship?] knows that its defining characteristic is the unspeakable loneliness in which one feels shrouded, a sense of isolation amplified by not being alone.
—Dominique Browning
(Source: The New York Times)
There is, in writing, a certain blend of sincerity and manipulation, of trying always to gauge what the particular effect of something is gonna be. It’s a very precious asset that really needs to be turned off sometimes. My guess is that writers probably make fun, skilled, satisfactory, and seemingly considerate partners for other people. But that the experience for them is often rather lonely.
—David Foster Wallace (as interviewed by David Lipsky)
