January, 2012
Books as Fingerprints
It used to be that hardcopy book people would get this insane fire in their eyes when someone would ask them about e-readers or e-books or the future of publishing. It’s that “I like the weight of them” look, the “it’s the way they smell” look, the “you can pry my hard copy books out of my cold dead hands” look. In just a few short years it seems that’s kind of calmed down a little bit. I know I have. I used to be adamant that I’d never own an e-reader, but now—especially that I do so much reading of books in digital manuscript form—I can see the appeal. And I’ll probably even get one, too.
But I’ll also never stop buying physical books. (Read more…)
The Doldrums
Writers like writing about how hard it is to write. As a newly full-time writer myself, I’m constantly astonished by how tough it is. On the one hand, not having to get up and get dressed and drive in the traffic and sit at a desk and listen to the office chatter and so forth is pretty awesome. Getting to play video games whenever is pretty awesome. Dictating my own schedule and getting to do my grocery shopping midday is pretty awesome.
But on the other hand: writing is pretty hard.
FAQ: How do you make yourself write so much and not get distracted?
This question comes most recently from a school visit, but I get variations on it a lot. (“Isn’t it hard to make yourself work when there’s no one to make sure you’re doing it?”) It seems like an appropriate post for New Year’s Day, when everybody’s busy making resolutions and promises to themselves!