FEATURED | Blog

If a Thing Is Possible, Does It Already Exist?

Now there’s a question that will stretch the mind. Have all the books that will ever be written already been written and what we’re waiting for is someone to put the proper letters in the proper order? Twenty-six letters in the English alphabet and a hundred million books written.

Mark Twain had a theory on writing that I’ve found helpful. He had a shelf that he called a drydock, the kind of place ships go to get themselves out of the water for a while and rest—or be repaired. Twain said he was perfectly happy to run along behind his characters and write down what they did, but when they stopped he never pushed them. He’d set the work on the drydock shelf until they wanted to run again. Huckleberry Finn was three times in drydock.

I’m mixing metaphors here, what with words already written and characters who find their own way, but it’s part of the same thought process. Good writing is already out there, we have only to find it. If there’s a clue to that, it’s to read, read, read and look for advice from Twain and the other authors you find worthy.

RECENT POSTS…

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…

Mike Wallace Died last Sunday at Age Ninety-three

That’s fact and incontrovertible, announced to us from every page and media source. It’s taken me these five days or so to get my thoughts together sufficiently to comment. Mike was a lion among journalist-commentators and brought to his trade a new paradigm. Not only...

The Writer’s Life as Told to Me by Others

I’m told that the life of a writer is often a journey filled with passion, creativity, challenges, and introspection. I also hear that writers are individuals who have a unique way of perceiving the world, and they use words as their medium to express their thoughts,...

A Note to Anyone in Charge of Hiring

It’s nasty, time consuming work, with companies over-specifying what they need and applicants over-promising their skills. That sets up way too many useless interviews and a huge waste of resources while the job remains unfilled. “We’ll pay you a decent wage, along...

Now Hollywood Actors Have Joined Writers on Strike

Jennifer Lawrence, George Clooney and the other actors out on strike in Hollywood are doing it for the underpaid. You may not be aware, but the average annual income for a Sag-Aftra member is approximately $40,000, which is 32% below the national average. That’s...