Current Reading
I just started reading "How to Write - Advice and Reflections" by Richard Rhodes. Currently I'm up to page 20 so it's still early but I'm enjoying the book so far. One of the reasons that I initially started a weblog was because I thought I would like to write. I haven't really been very prolific or consistent doing that here but I'm starting to get inspired in that direction by this book. The main points I'm getting so far from this book are:
- Anyone can write (The book starts off with the sentence "If you want to write, you can.").
- The thing that prevents most people from writing is fear.
- Don't be afraid.
Rhodes says the best remedy for fear of writing is to just write (he calls it the "Knickerbocker Rule: ass to chair," after Conrad Knickerbocker, his boss at Hallmark Cards, gave him that response to his question about how to become a writer). He encourages people not to get sidetracked by fear ("If you're afraid of what other people will think or your efforts, don't show them until you write way beyond your fear."), quanitity ("If writing a book is impossible, write a chapter. If writing a chapter is impossible, write a page. If writing a page is impossible, write a paragraph. If writing a paragraph is impossible, write a sentence. If writing a sentence is impossible, write a word and teach yourself everything there is to know about that word and then write another, connected word and see where their connection leads."), or correctness ("Forget spelling", "Forget punctuation"). "The less baggage, the better," Rhodes says.
Reading these first few pages inspired me to put "ass to chair" and write this weblog post. Maybe as I read this book I'll do that more frequently here than I historically have. If you see that happening take that to be an enthusiastic recommendation of the book.
10:41:39 PM 
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