On Writers and Writing

On Writers and Writing

What shall I write about today? I actually keep a list of over a hundred possible blog subjects in my PDA. But I normally end up writing something that's not in the list.

I have read many books about the process of writing itself. It is often very interesting to listen to authors talking about how they struggle to write. I don't read that many Stephen King novels--even though I used to be quite a horror fan when I was a teenager--but I enjoyed his book about writing, called On Writing.

Stephen King has a great sense of humour; with his nerdy specs and awkward frame, he looks funny too. He himself actually starred in a segment of Creepshow (the movie) which I watched as a kid at the Cathay cinema back in my hometown. He was hilarious, having all these weeds from outer space growing all over his body!

Recently I also read Norman Mailer's views on writing in his book The Spooky Art: Thoughts on Writing. Mailer is such a literary giant. He, Tom Wolfe and Don Delillo are probably some of America's most celebrated writers of this generation. These are writers who are always attempting the mythical Great American Novel. But I must admit that I haven't found the time to read enough of their writings.

There's also a cable program by C-SPAN called Booknotes which conducts interviews with authors. They give good insights about their books and how they approach their writing. Some of these interviews are transcribed and published in Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas edited by Brian Lamb. I remember spending many happy days reading that when I was in Singapore.

I mentioned in a previous posting that I keep a longhand journal which I try to update every night. I also jot down a lot of notes on spiral notebooks and on my trusty Jornada PDA. I write to unburden my mind and to clarify my thoughts. Sometimes I write to motivate myself.

Scanning through my notebooks the other day, I read something that I jotted down randomly many years ago: Writing is thinking in motion.

That probably sums up my philosophy on writing: I will continue to write as long as my mind continues thinking. Writing and thinking to me are inseparable.