The Write Stuff

(From the Janesville Messenger, 5-3-09)


Two of my nephews are currently majoring in journalism in college. As a wannabe writer, I’m thrilled at the prospect of having real, college-educated writers in the family.
I was briefly a college journalism major myself, but my university years were not exactly devoted to studying or self-improvement. I can truly say that about the only thing I accomplished during that period of great immaturity was somehow stumbling onto a wonderful human being who has now been married to me for 23 years. They are busy etching her likeness in stained glass as we speak; her application for sainthood is approved.
One of my great regrets was that I didn’t spend those years developing my skills as a writer. I have great admiration for those who can turn a phrase, whether it’s the whimsical musings of Garrison Keillor or the gritty crime fiction of Elmore Leonard. I’m amazed by writers that can keep your attention page after page and be effortlessly prolific.
I can appreciate their work because writing is hard. Even trying to punch out 700 words twice a month for the Messenger isn’t an easy proposition. Many are the times I have stared at a blank screen like an empty chair, struggling for inspiration or an idea – any idea – as deadline approached.
Other times, however, it seems like I am constantly scribbling down thoughts that I could use for a later column or some other project. Nothing ebbs and flows quite like the creative juices.
I don’t read nearly enough as I would like to (or should), so when I do, I try to make sure it’s worth my while. One writer who always qualifies is P.J. O’Rourke. A former National Lampoon writer who later wrote about politics for Rolling Stone, he has authored several political books that feature his incredible intelligence and biting wit.
What Jon Stewart is to Comedy Central, P.J. is to conservative commentary. Unlike the Coulters, Limbaughs and Ingrahams of the world, whose approach I find distasteful and whose motives I question, P.J. is smart, factual and funny – very funny. It says something that even when I disagree with his viewpoints, I still appreciate that he is presenting them factually and intelligently, with perfectly inserted bits of humor. He is the type of political writer I love – he’s not blindly allegiant to his party’s platform nor does he write in that smug, I’m-much-smarter-than-you style, even though he is.
But no one inspires me to become a better writer like Wisconsin author Michael Perry.
Mike is an awe-inspiring wordsmith who has produced three autobiographical books about his life in northern Wisconsin – Population: 485, Truck and the newly released Coop. After reading his books, you feel like you know the man inside and out; he has laid his life bare for you. He is a regular guy who fixes his truck, fumbles with women, kills plants, hunts, and sets his hair on fire. Yet he also appreciates modern dance and went to nursing school. And every word is worth reading.
I had the opportunity to interview Mike once when I was sitting in for Stan Milam on WCLO Radio. It was probably the most natural conversation I’ve had on that show. The guy is easy to talk to, humble and engaging. Just when I thought I couldn’t be more impressed, he sent a “thank you” post card to me care of the station, telling me that he enjoyed the interview. The books didn’t lie. To borrow from Dennis Green, he was what I thought he was.
And even though Mike is successful, you get the feeling he’s not doing it to become rich or famous. He’s just doing it because he loves to write. And those are the kind of authors that I want to read.
It’s the dream of many of us to write “The Great American Novel” or something encased in hardcover and sitting on a bestseller list. I took my stab at it several years ago, when I published a book of short stories called Five Trips to the Edge. Although I sold enough to cover my costs, I now look back at it with embarrassment, not only because of its dark, creepy tone, but also by thinking how much better it could or should be. Several times I have resolved to rewrite large chunks of it and try again, but I can’t muster the enthusiasm to make it a priority.
For now, my main writing project is a play that, God willing, will be presented at the Janesville Performing Arts Center in October. Since time is running short to get a final draft complete, whether it actually happens or not remains to be seen. But after a solid month of inactivity and doubt, ideas are starting to surface again. Whether those ideas are any good is something I hope you will eventually have the opportunity to judge.