Thanks to the internet and Google, I had the opportunity to listen to the full length interview that my idol Jeffrey Archer gave in New York several years ago. And I followed that up by listening to my other favorite authors - Khaled Hosseini and Jhumpa Lahiri.
There were many things I took away from the Archer interview. The one that I am turning over in my head over and over is that he says - there is a difference between being a great writer and a great story teller.
A great writer, I guess, is someone who communicates information about a topic in a clear succint manner e.g someone who writes a textbook. But a story teller entertains. So do I aspire to be a writer - I guess I already am... I now aspire to be an entertainer............aiiiii
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
To Blog or Not To Blog - That is the Question
It has been a while since my last blog. Readjusting to life in America has been a little difficult. Not only do I miss the creature comforts of my life there, I also miss the warm friendships I had developed there.
Of course there are many things I enjoy about being back here -uninterrupted power, a reliable thermostat that maintains a comfortable temperature - being able to drive, better TV programs - yeah I know , it sounds a little lame.
This morning, after persuading several of my schoolmates to read my blog, I decided I too should go back and read. Some are pretty bad - but a few brought a smile to my face, and others took me back to that moment in time when I had experienced whatever it was I was writing about. And I actually enjoyed it.
It also reminded me of why I had started blogging in the first place - you've got to write a 1000 words a day on any topic if you really entertain the prospects of being a writer. I saw a little video of my favorite author Jeffrey Archer describing how he creates a book - he wakes up at 5:30 in the mornng and writes for 2 hours. He takes a 2 hour break and then writes again from 9:30-11:30. A 2 hour break and back to writing for 2 hours - 1:30-3:30 (no nap Jeffrey ?) and then another 2 hour break write for 2 more hours and etc. He writes for 8 hours every day. At the end of 1 year - he is ready to share the first draft with his editors.. Over 4000 hours to create the first draft. And he goes through a dozen drafts (though they don't all take that long). We're talking about 10,000 hours to write a book.
Even assuming I could strike up a plot that is generally in the same neighborhood as Jeffrey's (which may well be the larger problem), do I have the ability, discipline and resolve, to write for 8 hours a day ? Well, as long as I am gainfully employed, I won't have the opportunity to find out - no I don't want to hear any arguments of "there are 24 hours in a day" and you can work through the night - because I cannot. So maybe I should work on plot development. Or maybe I should just write a blog. Perhaps meaningless ones initially, until I can figure out how to capture the readers interest.
Yes while the question may well be "To blog or not to blog" the answer clearly is Blog Away......!!
Of course there are many things I enjoy about being back here -uninterrupted power, a reliable thermostat that maintains a comfortable temperature - being able to drive, better TV programs - yeah I know , it sounds a little lame.
This morning, after persuading several of my schoolmates to read my blog, I decided I too should go back and read. Some are pretty bad - but a few brought a smile to my face, and others took me back to that moment in time when I had experienced whatever it was I was writing about. And I actually enjoyed it.
It also reminded me of why I had started blogging in the first place - you've got to write a 1000 words a day on any topic if you really entertain the prospects of being a writer. I saw a little video of my favorite author Jeffrey Archer describing how he creates a book - he wakes up at 5:30 in the mornng and writes for 2 hours. He takes a 2 hour break and then writes again from 9:30-11:30. A 2 hour break and back to writing for 2 hours - 1:30-3:30 (no nap Jeffrey ?) and then another 2 hour break write for 2 more hours and etc. He writes for 8 hours every day. At the end of 1 year - he is ready to share the first draft with his editors.. Over 4000 hours to create the first draft. And he goes through a dozen drafts (though they don't all take that long). We're talking about 10,000 hours to write a book.
Even assuming I could strike up a plot that is generally in the same neighborhood as Jeffrey's (which may well be the larger problem), do I have the ability, discipline and resolve, to write for 8 hours a day ? Well, as long as I am gainfully employed, I won't have the opportunity to find out - no I don't want to hear any arguments of "there are 24 hours in a day" and you can work through the night - because I cannot. So maybe I should work on plot development. Or maybe I should just write a blog. Perhaps meaningless ones initially, until I can figure out how to capture the readers interest.
Yes while the question may well be "To blog or not to blog" the answer clearly is Blog Away......!!
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