This week I answered Sari Botton's excellent Oldster Magazine Questionnaire, available below. Like any superb exercise in self-discovery, her deceptively simple questions get to the heart of who I am.
I am so curious to hear your proposed change to the NFL’s Field Goal rule, David…..
also, my great grandfather was a writer and poet, I only recently discovered his books, one of which was a memoir of sorts he wrote looking “back” on his life as an 80 year old. Super fascinating. I’m still catching up on reading his other books
Harrison, my idea for the NFL was that once a game a team could elect a Special Field Goal where they could either move the ball closer by ten yards (worth two points) or farther away by ten yards (worth four points). You could only exercise either option if the line of scrimmage is between the thirty and forty yard line of your opponent.
Sounds like a great discovery of your great-grandfather's writing.
I appreciate the Blaise Pascal quote - it is very true, its much harder and more time consuming to write short, pithy, meaningful text vs spewing a stream of consciousness and writing it down. Although most good texts DO start as a stream of consciousness - that gets whittled down and refined over serial edits.
It is really great to read your answers to the Olster questionnaire especially concerning writing. Especially how the care and concern that you poured into asset management you have now poured or are pouring into your writing. Writing could be thought of as a form form of imagination asset management and life experiential management. All of this is different for everyone. But It seems that there will be direct link from the care and thoughtfulness in your nonfiction writing that will automatically transfer over into your fiction, the characters, the situations, the background, the plot and evolution of the beginning through the middle and into the end. The milieu you write about could be somewhat in the territory of John Updike, Bernard Malamud or Philip Roth although Roth would might have been happier if he'd had a life more like yours than the life he actually had. Maybe your main character will be totally different. There are so many pluses together with so many unknowns. It's difficult writing a first novel so relatively late because of all the missed high word count miles accumulated by writing fiction every day from a young age. But then again the frequent flyer miles on the living each day of one's life account look to be extremely high especially in accumulated knowledge and wisdom which the younger writer is always aiming for often with mixed results. Another plus is that writers always need to be creating a large presence on social media which you are already doing and it keeps growing. Readers of your nonfiction can easily transfer over into readers of your first novel. You have done a lot of the work a traditional publisher or literary agent would appreciate or if you decide to self publish you have already established of what looks like, a great startup reader base. So I am very much looking forward to reading your first novel and there are probably a lot of other readers of your Substack that are looking forward to reading it as well.
Your comment is incredibly encouraging. I'm in the midst of the second draft of the novel and I don't know how close to the beginning or end of the process I am. I am enjoying the process, most of the time.
Writing your first novel after reaching 50 is an encouragement to everyone who has ever thought about writing one. And you have been assembling your reader base as you go. Talk about lining all one's ducks up in a row? All the Best!
This may be a duplicate -- sent its predecessor prematurely.
Well said. Liked that phrase "iron math". Beware of the afterlife you do not expect: it may or may not be all that pleasant! (Mine, I fear, will punish me -- lifelong detention on the ground floor of Bloomingdale's.) Bravo.
I love Susannah McCorkle’s ‘The Waters of March’. I enjoy the lyrics from the original Brazilian version better, but her poetic musical interpretation is just lovely. I want to embrace all of life inside of this song, even at the end of the road.
David, I’ve been following along since I joined Substack back in November. Always a delight to read your words and perspective. This q&a has particularly inspired me and I have a question for you. When you were at the building stage or even through the precipice of your career, what do you think writing could have looked like? Work is busy right now so it seems hard to take on creative writing in any form other than journaling.
I left a comment under your survey answers, David.
I am so curious to hear your proposed change to the NFL’s Field Goal rule, David…..
also, my great grandfather was a writer and poet, I only recently discovered his books, one of which was a memoir of sorts he wrote looking “back” on his life as an 80 year old. Super fascinating. I’m still catching up on reading his other books
Harrison, my idea for the NFL was that once a game a team could elect a Special Field Goal where they could either move the ball closer by ten yards (worth two points) or farther away by ten yards (worth four points). You could only exercise either option if the line of scrimmage is between the thirty and forty yard line of your opponent.
Sounds like a great discovery of your great-grandfather's writing.
I appreciate the Blaise Pascal quote - it is very true, its much harder and more time consuming to write short, pithy, meaningful text vs spewing a stream of consciousness and writing it down. Although most good texts DO start as a stream of consciousness - that gets whittled down and refined over serial edits.
It is really great to read your answers to the Olster questionnaire especially concerning writing. Especially how the care and concern that you poured into asset management you have now poured or are pouring into your writing. Writing could be thought of as a form form of imagination asset management and life experiential management. All of this is different for everyone. But It seems that there will be direct link from the care and thoughtfulness in your nonfiction writing that will automatically transfer over into your fiction, the characters, the situations, the background, the plot and evolution of the beginning through the middle and into the end. The milieu you write about could be somewhat in the territory of John Updike, Bernard Malamud or Philip Roth although Roth would might have been happier if he'd had a life more like yours than the life he actually had. Maybe your main character will be totally different. There are so many pluses together with so many unknowns. It's difficult writing a first novel so relatively late because of all the missed high word count miles accumulated by writing fiction every day from a young age. But then again the frequent flyer miles on the living each day of one's life account look to be extremely high especially in accumulated knowledge and wisdom which the younger writer is always aiming for often with mixed results. Another plus is that writers always need to be creating a large presence on social media which you are already doing and it keeps growing. Readers of your nonfiction can easily transfer over into readers of your first novel. You have done a lot of the work a traditional publisher or literary agent would appreciate or if you decide to self publish you have already established of what looks like, a great startup reader base. So I am very much looking forward to reading your first novel and there are probably a lot of other readers of your Substack that are looking forward to reading it as well.
Larry,
Your comment is incredibly encouraging. I'm in the midst of the second draft of the novel and I don't know how close to the beginning or end of the process I am. I am enjoying the process, most of the time.
Writing your first novel after reaching 50 is an encouragement to everyone who has ever thought about writing one. And you have been assembling your reader base as you go. Talk about lining all one's ducks up in a row? All the Best!
This may be a duplicate -- sent its predecessor prematurely.
Well said. Liked that phrase "iron math". Beware of the afterlife you do not expect: it may or may not be all that pleasant! (Mine, I fear, will punish me -- lifelong detention on the ground floor of Bloomingdale's.) Bravo.
Bloomingdale's was intimidating to me too, Carll! Perfume and cologne sprayers darting out from the shadows.
I love Susannah McCorkle’s ‘The Waters of March’. I enjoy the lyrics from the original Brazilian version better, but her poetic musical interpretation is just lovely. I want to embrace all of life inside of this song, even at the end of the road.
Thanks Jennifer.
OMG that is one of the greatest songs ever. +1 to this!
The song "In Whatever Time We Have" gets to me.
Thanks Sandra.
I only have a moment so I’ll post my song about aging: Landslide by Fleetwood Mac.
https://youtu.be/WM7-PYtXtJM
I love these 1997 versions. Stevie Nicks’ voice was at its peak. the lyrics “Children get older; I’m getting older too” always get to me.
HUGE fan of Bob Segar. He’s a master.
I have been listening to him nonstop since your post.
David, I’ve been following along since I joined Substack back in November. Always a delight to read your words and perspective. This q&a has particularly inspired me and I have a question for you. When you were at the building stage or even through the precipice of your career, what do you think writing could have looked like? Work is busy right now so it seems hard to take on creative writing in any form other than journaling.
September by Earth Wind & Fire. Because it reminds me of the last year of high school when I was on the cusp of my own life.