THE STORY SO FAR: PART 213

A SMALL GROUP OF READING FANATICS KEEP THE BOOK MARKET GOING

I AM (MODESTLY, OF COURSE) PROUD TO SAY I AM ONE OF THEM

The Atlantic is an amazingly well written, intelligent and relevant magazine. If there is an issue of importance around—and, life being the way it is, there tends to be—it will cover it with expertise, insight, and humor. Not only is its coverage timely, but it is intelligent.

I was introduced to it by Jim Fallows. He wanted to interview me and offered a compelling bribe—a free subscription to The Atlantic for a year plus a flight for me and my children in his Cirrus aircraft. Since I love flying in small planes, I folded immediately—and Jim, as is his way, was good to his word. If he was Japanese, he would be dubbed a National Living Treasure. Leaving aside his talents as a journalist—which are widely recognized—he is a commendable human being. Better yet, let me award him the ultimate Irish accolade: He is a decent man.

I have read The Atlantic ever since. These days I mostly read it on the web where stories are updated with the speed of a daily newspaper.

The Atlantic story was prompted by Amazon’s purchase of Goodreads. Now the latter is where you go if you want your fellow readers to recommend good books. The site is a form of specialist Social Media—but is more functional than most in my opinion. It is accessible, easy to use, extremely helpful—and its members seem to be reading fanatics, text oriented Taliban.

What more could Amazon want! Why so?

Because, according to Codex Group (about whom I know nothing) 19 percent of Americans did/do 79 percent of all our book reading.

This is a near literal example of the 80/20 rule. Do I believe it?

Absolutely. For years, my ration has been two or three books a week—and I have long known I have company.

Good grief, why face up to real life if you can read!

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 186

WHAT IS IT LIKE—TO BLOG EVERY DAY?

The good friend who encouraged me to write this blog did not expect me to commit to a blog-a-day schedule. He merely requested and insisted on consistency—and was right to do so. He is a very persuasive man.

Not unreasonably, people like their routines. If an author decides to write but once a week, his readers will accept that fact—providing that the end result is worthy, and delivered on time. If Saturday is the chosen day, then each and every blog should be delivered on Saturday.

That sounds reasonable, but it is a tougher discipline than it seems, because creativity isn’t something you can turn on and off like a tap. Or so one might think. The truth is that one’s creativity does vary—we all have bad days—but all of this is underpinned by discipline.

I decided to write a daily blog, because I wasn’t sure I would remember to write a weekly one—ridiculous but true—and because my instincts said it would improve my writing. Above all, it would be a discipline—and writing is hugely about discipline. After all, mostly we write alone without supervision—so who is to know whether we are dozing or working?

The reality is that a professional writer knows, and every instinct screams if he is not delivering—because that is the way he (or she) has conditioned himself. The trick is ferocious self-discipline over more years than I care to think about.

It is easy to describe, but hard to achieve, because we humans, by definition, are flawed, lazy, and easy to distract. And yet, for all our faults—the list is long—the evidence is clear that professional writers are impressively self-disciplined. We face a blank screen and we deliver—normally regardless of our personal circumstances—because that is what we do.

There are all kinds of skills in the world—from plumbing to flying drones from several thousand miles away.

Writing happens to be mine—and, much to my surprise, I have found writing a daily blog to be an invaluable assist. In truth, it is ferociously demanding—but it is consistently rewarding.

In terms of words, assuming one averages 500 words a blog a day—and I tend to average rather more—the end result over a year equates to 182,500 words a year. Impose some editing (editors love to cut) and that equates to about one Big Thriller a year. Think 150,000 words—and keep cutting. Word has it that the optimum size of a book in today’s market is 90,000 words. I find that a pity. I like a really good Big Read.

But readers want books not blogs? Actually, you guys—and I say this with all due respect—want both. The reality is that it doesn’t work that way. Fundamentally, my blog is both a way of communicating to you, my readers—and a way of getting up momentum for the serious writing that has to follow. It is a rigorous discipline—broadly akin to the exercises a musician goes through—but it is not the end result.

You exercise; and then you get really serious—and I say that with humor. Here is the thing: Seriousness in work—contrary to popular opinion—is positively NOT incompatible with humor, however counter-intuitive that sounds.

 

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 184

IT’S A GORGEOUS DAY—AND SPRING, AND THE SOUND OF LEAF BLOWERS, IS IN THE AIR

You can debate heaven and hell all you like, but I know there is a Devil, because who else could have devised a more hideous machine than the leaf blower. It’s a truly vile invention, guaranteed to remove tranquility for impressive distances—guaranteed to make it near impossible for a writer to write. This is not a culturally friendly device.

I once had the experience of trying to edit a book in Brooklyn—in high summer—with two leaf blowers screaming away nearby. In addition, apart from the fact that it was hot enough already—my hosts turned the central heating on accidentally (or so they said). Now, when I see scenes on TV or in movies about being captured and tortured, I can relate.

But why should someone be using one in early March? I have absolutely no idea. I encountered it as I was on my daily walk today. And yes, it was accompanied by a figure that looked vaguely human—but I could have sworn wore horns and had a tail. Hard to be sure amidst the swirling dust.

Leaf blowers apart, Seattle is rather wonderful in good weather, and pretty tolerable even in the rain. Today, I could see the snow-clad top of Mount Rainier in the distance. This is quite a city.

The above—very striking and rather creepy—illustration is from the New York Journal of Books—not to be confused with the New York Review of Books (though of course it is). I’m delighted to see it. Traditionally, print media reviewed books, but poor old print is taking a hammering, and though blogs have taken up the slack—some very well indeed—I still feel there is something to be said for the magazine format, even if in electronic form.

I wish the New York Journal of Books well. They are making us all more aware of books—which has to be a good thing—and what I have read from them so far has considerable merit. They have also evolved a rather neat way of reviewing books on Facebook. Check them out.

But surely I am biased in favor of anything—preferably without horns and a tail—that promotes books?

I would like to think I have some discrimination—but I plead guilty.

www.nyjournalofbooks.com

www.facebook.com/NYJBooks

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 177

MY SISTER LUCY—SHE OF THE KEEN VISUAL EYE & SENSE OF WHAT TOUCHES A NERVE—HAS DONE IT AGAIN

I wrote yesterday—with some passion—about the travails of writing, and the need to keep going regardless. Hard to overstress the importance of sheer, unadulterated perseverance. That made me think about other outsiders who have questioned the status quo, been proven right again and again, yet have been rejected by “the system.”

Several are my friends and stem from both the arcane world of counter-terrorism, and from the military. All have risked their lives in the National Interest, and done outstanding work in their respective fields.

Their offense has been to refuse to conform intellectually (they have followed the rules of their particular organizations)—so the system has rejected them. Being right is not considered an adequate excuse. Having achieved significant results in defense of National Security is also no justification. The strength of the system lies not in its effectiveness and integrity, but in its ability to benefit those who go along to get long. Typically, it protects an elite, and those who want to be part of that elite.

“The system,” a mindset rather than a monolith, is nonetheless something which pervades the American Way of Life. Given the authoritarian nature of this money driven corporate/government world we have created, and now seem to accept in place of democracy, we should probably not be surprised. It is underpinned by a careerist mentality which puts self-interest before the mission, self-advancement ahead of the public good. It is almost entirely lacking in social concern. Though it is clear that many are unhappy with it—perhaps even a majority—it remains dominant in our society. Why not, indeed, it controls the levers of power.

Have the rejected turned into “beautiful people” as explained in Elizabeth Kubler Ros’s memorable observation (see above). Not quite, based upon my experience—unless one takes a very charitable view of beautiful people—but I have to say her general principle is not only true, but beautifully expressed. Adversity does, in many cases, breed understanding and compassion. Unfortunately, it can also breed bitterness.

Do beautiful people really exist? Yes, they do, but they are also flawed and human. That is part of their charm.

 

 

 

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 176

“MARCH OR DIE”—OR DO I MEAN “WRITE?”

JUST REMEMBER: IT MAY WELL BE A LONG MARCH

My beautiful sister Lucy’s web site has once again produced an admirable graphic. She must be telepathic.

Sometimes I think that everybody can write, but what stops most people is the amount of stamina required. We are talking years, at best, and probably longer. Of course my comment about everybody being able to write is not true—a great many people can scarcely construct a coherent paragraph, let alone write a 400 page book, but I am just saying it to emphasize that making a living from writing requires more endurance than you can imagine. And the number of people who believe in you may shrink to a frighteningly small total. The good news is that all you need is one. The bad news is that you may not have even that—unless, and until, you are financially successful. Becoming a good writer, in the critical sense, does not cut it because we—such value being part of our current cultural norms--are conditioned to regard financial success as the only determinant. True, it is important and useful—but, it is not, and should not be, the sole standard by which we judge achievement.

People will support almost anyone doing anything for a limited time—frequently without understanding it—but they get very exasperated when months stretch into years; and their support evaporates and tends to be replaced by frustration, irritation and anger.

Why so? Because most of us live corporate or government manipulated, structured lives which are divided into predictable bite-sized bits within the context of short time frames. Pay is generally predictable—as long as you have a job, which you can lose if you step out of line—and comes every couple of weeks or every month. Accordingly someone who is prepared to wait for years for an uncertain payoff is considered both irresponsible and arguably insane. And he or she is certainly different—and different is not considered to be good. People are uncomfortable around you. They wonder what you do all day—suspect it has to be something dubious—and marginalize you. If nothing else, you are the antithesis of the corporate/government mindset—so your very existence threatens the status quo. You really need to be put down—literally, metaphorically; or both..

Welcome to my writer’s world. Is it worth it? Many would think not. I can’t think of anything more invigorating. Do I mind the setbacks, the judgmental attitudes, the negative comments and the criticism?

What I mind is irrelevant. I just know I have got to continue. I guess, if we were talking about religion, we would call that faith—and perhaps it is.

My heart goes out to my fellow struggling writers—and all writers, whether successful or not, struggle. Hang in there! You may have no immediate support, but you are not alone. I doubt you give a damn. You have writing.

 

THE STORY SO FAR: PART 175

HOW LIGHT CAN A WRITER TRAVEL?

I’m completing my packing, and moving shortly, so my daily blogs are likely to be shorter than normal—and there maybe some gaps. But, I’ll fill them in later. I’m dedicated to achieving a blog a day until I have completed a year. Then, I’ll take a fresh look at the situation.

I have made a lot of progress at moving with less stuff, but am far from the ideal as yet.

Theoretically, all a writer needs this days are a few clothes and a computer—but the reality tends to be different—at least in my case.

I’m working in it.