Monday, August 08, 2005

Reading and Writing

I'm currently devouring Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger.

It's pretty good. I was wondering what makes a writer a great writer; I can't figure it out. Perhaps I'll discover the secret on my deathbed and I'll cry out, "I've got it! It's..." and then die before I finish my thought. Or maybe it's not something to be figured out. Maybe it's meant to be a mystery like God or unconditional love or great women that fall for idiot men.

1 comment:

Brent said...

Apparently, some characteristics of a great writer involve a propensity towards alcohol/drug use; stream of consciousness thought and recording phrases that border on nonsense; living in a unique location; pain in childhood; surrounded by hurting people; and a tale to tell the intertwines all the above.

Oh, yeah. An imagination and the ability to wordsmith.

Unfortunately, I don't have much by way of the first paragraph.