Kender’s read more Salvatore than I have; he was recently interviewed by the Willamette Week. I read the interview and really liked what he had to say about writer’s block and writing (click “read more” to see the passage I liked best). These are things I should try and remember when I’m in my own writing funks.
I’m not sure how I feel about the Kindle yet. As far as tech gadgets go, it’s really nifty. Droolworthy, even.
I’d LOVE to own the new Kindle. Just the thought of all my books (now portable on one unit) makes the compulsive declutterer in me squee with delight. Next to my tarot deck, computer, and iPod, it’s the perfect companion for any zombie invasion. On the other hand, I love my books. I love the smell of the ink and the paper. I love the way books feel when I hold them. And I love getting lost in the worlds they contain. I’m not sure if reading on an hand-held device will ever really replace the joy I have when I coddle and carry books around as if they were my baby.
With that said, apparently there’s some hubbub about the new Kindle’s ability to “read” books out loud. And as always, the wonderful Neil Gaiman puts it brilliantly,
There are times, like today, when I write and feel like the pen doesn’t capture exactly what is coming out of my mind. It’s like the language and words betray that perfect image I have in my head. It frustrates me and I get down on myself and think that I am not worthy of being a wordsmith, a writer.
Then, I read something like this quote from Neil Gaiman (in an interview he did on Goodreads.com):
And I’m glad I waited. I think it’s a better book than I set out to write 23 years ago, and I feel like the gods smiled on me, and I got very lucky. Normally, in anything I do, I’m fairly miserable. I do it, and I get grumpy because there is a huge, vast gulf, this aching disparity, between the platonic ideal of the project that was living in my head, and the small, sad, wizened, shaking, squeaking thing that I actually produce. And then there is The Graveyard Book, which is, I think, the first time I’ve felt really satisfied.
And suddenly, I don’t feel so bad about what I have written.
