Play, Write, and Learn

“I’m going to go home and sell my guitar.”

This is the standard and appropriate form of reverence when a journeyman guitar player hears someone truly gifted. It is now common to believe that repetition (Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule, for example) will bring greatness.  Maybe. But hard to believe when you hear a truly talented person play. 

I have played guitar for many years, probably put in nearly 10,000 hours. I am still a journeyman player – decent, good on my best days. But I’m not selling my guitar … it gives me joy to play.

And I’m not quitting writing, either.

I’ve just finished two books that are so well written that I cringe when I compare them to my writing. Golden State (Ben Winters) is a mystery novel set in a future California that looks a lot like current LA. The descriptive writing and development of the main character is so good that the holes in the plot don’t matter a bit. The Tsar of Love and Techno (Anthony Marra) is entirely different: a book-length series of short stories loosely but masterfully connected. The descriptions, aphorisms and observations are brilliant. The book is not something one reads all at once any more than one eats a whole box of chocolates in one sitting. The words are so carefully chosen that they must be appreciated at slow speed. 

Play, Yes, that’s it … admire and learn. And keep the guitar.

Fatal Score Launched

Jason and James made fine music

Fatal Score launched on November 18th.  It was wonderful experience that brought together people from so many strands of my life … old friends, new friends, writers, musicians … a marvelous mixture.  I took in 41 books and emerged with none … also marvelous.  Here are some pictures.

Most of the Minneapolis Writers Guild

Reading Chapter One

The Professor reading

Sisters’ Sludge allowed me to host the event.  The book itself is up on Amazon in trade paperback and e-book format.  The paperback is also printed through IngramSpark, which supplies booksellers and libraries.

Now to the job of editing the audio files I recorded almost two years ago at son Edward’s studio in Santa Monica, California (and some rewrites more recently at Brytespot Studios in Minneapolis).  That will take a while … I hope to have the audiobook out in February.

In any case, thanks to all who came, saw, and brought your good juju. It made the event hum.