Less of a vaccuum today

The saying that writers exist in a vacuum, in isolation, practicing their craft with sparse--if any--feedback is pretty much a truism as far as I'm concerned. A writer's path is generally a solo one, with the obvious exceptions of occasional collaborations. This persists even after publication, because the only thing worse than negative reviews and comments is deafening silence. So it was with great joy that I stumbled upon this thoughtful blog entry from Gerard Houarner, inspired by my recently-published Peter S. Beagle interview in Brutarian.

This train of thought was inspired in part by an interview with Peter S. Beagle in Brutarian 48/49, in which he's asked by the interviewer, Jayme Lynn Blaschke, what can he do now he couldn't at 19 when writing his first novel.

In his enthusiastic response, he points out technical skills he’s developed, as well a willingness to handle scenes he couldn’t when he was younger. In short, his approach to writing has evolved, to the point where he says he finds himself less clever now than when he was 19.

He also talks about a writing internship he had at age 22 with Larry McMurty and Ken Kesey, in which he felt out of his depth. What particularly struck me there was his reaction to writers who were "very much from somewhere and could tap that, where I have the perspective of an immigrant's child. I could never be from the Bronx..."

The entire post is worth reading. He has some interesting angles on the give-and-take between myself and Beagle.

It probably goes without saying, but I find it gratifying that someone found my questions (and Beagle's answers) so thought-provoking and meaningful.

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