Book Hunger Notes

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón – Yes, this one again. Tonight my book hunger gave me a nice cup of wild huckleberry tea. I just got back from the gym and my book (the one I'm reading) has totally mesmerized me. I love it! The character was drinking a cup of Colombian coffee that he described as "superb." It is 26° Fahrenheit outside so I'm freezing! Who could resist a nice warm drink to sip when the mercury drops so low. Not me, that's for sure.

My book hunger sent me home with more than a desire for liquid warmth, I came home excited to sit down at my computer and start working. The part of the novel I'm reading now involves a young writer who is seeking guidance from a man who has already published several books. The author, David, has just read twenty pages that the young woman brought with her and he's left her in suspense. As she sits there and her confidence dwindles David tells her:

". . . if you really want to devote yourself . . . to writing something that others will read, you're going to have to get used to sometimes being ignored, insulted, and despised to almost always being considered with indifference. It's an occupational hazard." (Zafón 2009, 181.)

Self confidence. I've already seen how that's a must. There are so many other people who also write well. You really have to believe in yourself and your writing. There are enough people out there to tell you you're not quite good enough or that there's too much competition and you'll never make it.

Anyone aspiring to writing for others needs to have or to develop a thick skin. Add a, "Maybe not yet," when someone says you're not good enough. Or state that, "I love competition," when they say you'll never make it. Put a positive spin that will help you keep trudging along the path to publication.

In short each of us has to be prepared to be our own cheering section. If others are supportive of our writing that's a welcome bonus, but we need to be self-driven otherwise we'll slowly loose our confidence and stop writing. So what if we occasionally doubt our abilities, that shows that we're open to learning and becoming better. We know we're not perfect, but we're going to keep working and everyday we can get better. It's like Ray Bradbury said, "You fail only if you stop writing."

Later in David's conversation with the young writer he continues:

"But there are a lot of people with talent and passion, and many of them never get anywhere. . . . Natural talent is like an athlete's strength. You can be born with more or less ability, but nobody can become an athlete just because he or she was born tall, or strong, or fast. What makes the athlete, or the artist, is the work, the vocation, and the technique. The intelligence you are born with is just ammunition. To achieve something with it you need to transform your mind into a high-precision weapon." (Zafón 2009, 182.)

Athletes train in hours, not minutes. And that's what will help writers get farther too. The more time we devote to the craft the better we will become at it.

Athletes not only work out, but they think of the kinds of things they put into the instrument used for the profession - their bodies. They watch what they eat and drink while in training. They’ve got to be mentally prepared and they make sure they get enough rest.

For writer's we've got to consider our bodies too. I’m including in this our brains and our imaginations. We certainly can't do a great job if we're so tired we can only concentrate on keeping our eyes open and trying to hit the right keys on the keyboard. Or if we’re always sick. And what are we putting into our brain? Is it something that will improve our ability to think through a story rationally and realistically? Even for fantasy, there is a reality within the fantasy and we've got to stick to it. What we put in our brain will also be food for our imaginations. Let's hope it's good stuff. Newton discovered that what goes up must come down and similarly I'd like to add that what goes in must come out.

We’ll I’ve shared a few quotes that inspired me tonight and what's left of my tea is now cold. Even though reheated tea isn't the greatest, I don't get wild huckleberry very often. So I think it's off the microwave for me and then back to work.

Sources:

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos. The Angel's Game. Translated by Lucia Graves. New York: Doubleday, 2009.

What is book hunger?