Shop-worn literature

In my last post, I addressed the idea that in literature, there may be no new ideas, thus my use of the term "shop-worn." I have no idea if I'm actually supposed to hyphenate that word or if it's even real, and to be honest, I'm not going to look it up right now because I'm about to leave to go out to dinner with a friend.

Nevertheless, this idea intrigues me. This past semester I have dreamed of these moments when I have nothing to do but be with my family and write. However, I feel intimidated by the idea that nothing I write will actually be new or novel (yes, I know, barf! How many times have you read that line before?!)

I joined a book club this semester with some fabulous women who made wonderful book choices: Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker and Flunking Sainthood by Jana Riess. I truly love these books because they address being human and yet still trying to be a Christian woman in the 21st century. However, it dawned on me that probably a large reason for my love of these books is the sarcastic female voice telling the story. Is this tone now in vogue? The only relevant female voices are the sarcastic, self-deprecating ones?

On the one hand, if the answer is yes, I should be elated because sarcasm is what I am. 100%. And it's not even that that's a character trait--it's just that this world is dripping with irony and I notice it on a large scale. On the other hand, if the answer is yes, then I am already irrelevant. Do I need to write in this way to even be considered? I don't think I can take myself seriously enough to write in any other way, but if self-deprecation is the sign of the times, we can't all be self-deprecating. That's too boring and easy.

Women who point out their flaws, while making puns and cute jokes, and trying to figure out how to apply the ancient world to today is already wearing thin on me. I guess there's always the horror stories and jokes about teaching to fall back on.

I think that's where I'll go with all of this. Instead of yet another cheesy, stupid, hopelessly unrealistic movie about teachers and students, I'd love to show it for what it really is. And that would take no sarcasm.