Inspiration

I mentioned that I read Earnest Cline's "Ready Player One" recently. It was both invigorating and disheartening, because the book is so good.

Reading this incredible breakout novel reminded me of a few things. Foremost, beyond plot, character, setting, pacing, structure and even voice, the main thing we are after is immersion. I've read a lot of good books this year. Aside from Plath, who I mentioned last week, I've read Octavia Butler, Stella Gibbons, and William Goldman. I've also read local authors Adria Waters and C.J Weiland, and these are just a few. All fine books. They are thought provoking, clever, sometimes a lot of fun, but aside from that one I've been talking about four posts running now, the only one that got close to the same immersion was Weiland's. "Player One" shouldn't have, either. It was a stock protagonist, and from page one, any half-savvy reader could predict the end. It is packed with long digressions into eighties pop culture, full of inside jokes and references I could see being made, but couldn't appreciate because I was four years old in 1989 and my mom was so uptight she wouldn't even let me watch TMNT. It's a wish fulfillment fantasy, but I bought into it part and parcel. It reminded me of the magic of books.

Cline's first novel also reminded me to stick to my instincts. I liked this book, and a lot of other people liked this book. They like it a lot. He sold the manuscript in a bidding war; major publishing houses smelled success and tripped over themselves for the privilege of publishing it. It won awards. It's an NYT best seller. The paperback is in its 17th printing, and it's being made into a film. Maybe if I write something I like, those same people will like it, too.

But let me return to earth for a second. In all honesty, I don't think my own work is that good. I know, that novel was probably years in the making. The author mentioned several lesser drafts, and it was a major house with major editors, ensuring he did stick with that predictable plot and wish fulfilling ending. That's what sells, honestly, and I have not the luxury of an editor to hold my artistic sadist in check.  Additionally, success like that is incredibly rare. Not every huge seller like this deserves the attention it gets, and not every book that does deserve attention receives it. Life is not fair. If you build (or write) it, they may or may not come.

Still, if you don't write it, it's a guarantee they won't.