Friday, December 21, 2018

Friday Filler - McPhee

Read a blurb that struck me and I'll share in a Friday Filler

 John McPhee, an accomplished writer in his 80s just published his 30th book. Time Magazine did an interview article with him (issue December 17, 2018) that I found quite interesting and amusing. He's modest and not one for public relation pushes.

"A writer grows on the volume of what the writer writes. People standing around, over drinks, talking about writing, isn't writing. Writing is where you go off on your own, close the door, and fight it out with the blank screen or paper. That's the number 1 teacher."

When he teaches, he requires students to submit an outline on everything.  "Sooner or later, you have to have a sense of structure, or all you've got is a bowl of spaghetti."

Food for thought, all my writer friends.

Cheers and TGIF!

8 comments:

  1. An outline would've helped me writing papers in school. Maybe we did do them, I don't remember.

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    1. I bet you did. Back in the day, we all were taught some structure.

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  2. Have to write indeed No other way around it.

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  3. As Yoda would say, "There is no talking, there is only do."
    Okay, maybe he didn't say that, but you get the point.

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    1. yep - one must do the Dew. Oh, wait, that's another slogan

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