|
|
June 30, 2003
|
|
The latest Atlantic
Online has a marvelous satiric
short story
by Garrison Keillor about a writer of dubious talent. In the story, the
writer has a meeting with Wallace Shawn, editor of the New Yorker,
and gets this priceless piece of advice from 'Mr. Shawn' while on the golf
course:
He said to me, "Writers like
to think that writing is like Arctic exploration or flying the Atlantic solo,
but actually it's more like golf. You've got to just do it and be happy.
Some writers spend twenty minutes lining up a four-foot putt. Some writers
pitch a tent on the green and stay for a week and brood about friction and
energy and the gender of their putter. What's the problem? Take your shot.
It's no shame to bogey. Just do it and have a good time. Don't base your
whole life on worrying about whether you're any good or not. If you need
to know, you shouldn't be playing this game."
The whole story is hilarious, as the writer makes ends meet as an advice
columnist and describes the failed creative process that got him there. Another
excerpt:
A lot of things can make
you happy. A good ball game, score tied, bases loaded, two out, bottom of
the ninth, and the local hero punches a double into the right-field corner
and the crowd rises, yelling, happy. Walking around New York City on a summer
night. Walking around the Minnesota State Fair. The St. Matthew Passion
and a big choir leaning into it like sled dogs on the tundra.
Damn, we need more writers that can make us laugh.
That's it for today, folks. It's my anniversary, I'm taking the day off work,
and we're outta here.
|
10:20:40 AM 
|
|
"I just said 'Open sesame,' and there they were."
The always amazing Lee Lorenz does it again.
This is from this week's New Yorker. You can buy Lee's brilliant work
at the Cartoon Bank.
|
9:52:20 AM
|
|
 |
© Copyright 2004
Dave Pollard.
Last update:
19/02/2004; 2:48:20 PM. |
|
|
SEARCH SITE
How to Save the World
SEARCH SALON
Search All Salon Blogs
Technorati
Profile
WHAT
THE BLOGOSPHERE WANTS MORE OF
Blog readers
want to
see
more:
|
- original
research,
surveys etc.
- original,
well-crafted
fiction
- great
finds: resources,
blogs,
essays, artistic works
- news
not found anywhere
else
- category
killers:
aggregators that
capture the best
of
many blogs/feeds, so they need not be read individually
- clever,
concise
political opinion
(most readers
prefer these consistent with their own views)
- benchmarks,
quantitative analysis
- personal
stories,
experiences,
lessons learned
- first-hand
accounts
- live
reports from events
- insight:
leading-edge thinking
&
novel
perspectives
- short
educational pieces
- relevant
"aha" graphics
- great
photos
- useful
tools and
checklists
- précis,
summaries, reviews and
other
time-savers
- fun
stuff: quizzes,
self-evaluations,
other
interactive content
|
Blog writers
want to
see
more:
|
- constructive
criticism,
reaction,
feedback
- 'thank
you' comments,
and why readers liked their
post
- requests
for future
posts on specific
subjects
- foundation
articles:
posts that
writers can build on,
on their own blogs
- reading
lists/aggregations of
material on specific,
leading-edge subjects that writers can use as resource material
- wonderful
examples of
writing of a
particular genre,
that they can learn from
- comments
that engender
lively
discussion
- guidance on
how to write in
the
strange world of
weblogs
|
|
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.
|
|
MADE IN CANADA
trust your
instincts 
