It seems to me that writing is an art. I don't think a mentor can teach a person to write anymore than a mentor could teach me to paint.
True artists are non-conformists. They stay true to their art and themselves.
Art, be it writing,drawing,sculpture, has power. Even in subtlety; it has power.
If you are a born artist, stay true to your art and yourself. Write with the power you have been born with. I promise you, you will come across legions of phonies who claim to be artists and experts-MENTORS. If a mentor tries to counsel you on "whats acceptable" or "whats popular" or "how it's usually done-DUMP THE FOOL; THEY'LL NEVER STOKE YOUR FIRE.
When i write, you "feel" my power. A mentor would try to tell me to tone it down a bit. Hogwash! Anybody who has ever read anything I wrote can remember it years later. Most people can't even remember what they read in today's paper.
Not a day goes by before a person comes up to me and talks to me about something I wrote. They remember my story better than i do. They'll coyly quote a line from one of my stories and grin like it's an inside joke I'm supposed to get. Often i have no clue what they're talking about.
People write me letters and emails, call me on the phone, come to my door to tell me I'm great. People will come up to me in restaurants and bars while I'm trying to eat and start talking to me about things I wrote 15 or 20 years ago.
My writing professor saw me recently for the first time in 25 years recently. He bumped into me at the printer's shop. He talked about things i wrote in his class in the 70's. He recognized me; i didn't recognize him. He said he still uses my writing in his classes. I had no idea.
When my friends introduce me to people, they always throw in "he's a genius" after the introduction. Girls cry when they talk about a line i used in a story. Men have threatened to kill me. Kids laugh with joy at stories I've written.
Mentors have always told me to edit,change, delete things that people love me for writing. People shake with fear at what I write. They laugh hysterically, they get goose bumpy at mysticism, they get angry and it ruins their day, they get so horny they have to find immediate release, they jump up and yell "DAM!!", they have to put it down for awhile because it gets to be too much.
If I listened to my mentors, I'd be a Absolute write discussion board superstar and you all would love me. But I would be miserable because I sacrificed my soul at the altar of acceptance. SCREW A MENTOR- BE ONE FOR SOME OTHER WEAK TIMID SOUL THAT HAS NO SPIRIT.
