Don't Follow My Lead

In my first post I talked about how I never really liked reading til after college.   In fact in middle school I wouldn’t read the assigned books, I would just hear what my classmates would say, and then use that as the base for the story.   In high school I would get out of reading books, don’t ask me how, I don’t remember.  I guess my school wasn’t big in reading.   Parallel to my school life, this is when I actually started reading, but never school books.

I was fairly smart, so I would be able to do well in the rest of the class and other classes, that I would just remember the discussions and answers, and teachers didn’t ask me for deeper analysis, since I gave them the answer they gave the day before.   Quickly realized that MY teachers (can’t speak for all teachers) weren’t really interested in listening to my ideas, if they didn’t match what they already lined up for their ideas.  I think it was this thinking the reason why I didn’t like reading, what was the point? of it? if you never got to talk about your ideas, but tell the ones they want to hear?   I remember reading a few books actually, 3 books actually, and excerpts of a 4th one.   2 of them I remember, and the 4th one I want to read the whole book, not only the excerpts.  So I guess I did read some, but it was like pulling hair out of my nose.    Specially because I would read this other books, that seemed that much more interesting.

Of the three books I read for school, the one that made an impression on me was by far:   “Flowers for Algernon”  I loved the story and it was the first time I cry while watching/reading something.  I didn’t realize of the power that a story can bring you to tears.   It was also the first novel I read in English.  Like I said, English is not my native tongue, though the one I have assimilated best by now.   Even my thoughts are in English now.

Even with the impact of this novel, I wouldn’t really grab books for a few more years.  Don’t even ask me how I survive college without reading.  I guess I was a writer before I even knew it, because all the bullshit I wrote and try to pass as my understandings of this novels was amazing.  Would like to get my hands in some of those tests now to see what the hell did I say that it was good enough to pass the class.   In all fairness my major was in Business, so not a lot of reading (book reading that is) was expected beyond my freshman year.

So what changed? When did I started liking reading? That parallel life of hating school books but looking for some outside of school?  Of course I’m a guy, and as a young guy, there was nothing better than the destruction of the world.   So I would rent movies about death and killing.    But one of them I REALLY liked.   It was a mini-series “The Stand” written by Stephen King, and produce for ABC.  I didn’t see it on T.V.  Didn’t even know what “ABC” was at the time.    But I rented it latter on when it was on video and with subtitles.

Liked it so much, a story about a virus spreading quickly and deathly, and the survivors would be divided into two camps?  Good vs. Evil?  God, Devil?  that’s just what the doctor order for me!!!!  I knew about Stephen King, but didn’t know a lot about his writing.   Like I said reading wasn’t a big priority at this point in my life.

But my brother purchase a translated copy of “The Stand”.  The first book I read without really putting it down.  And after that I was just hooked.   I tried finding another of his book, translated, because at this point my English wasn’t bad, but far from perfect, and reading a full novel in English it just seemed daunting.

“The Stand” was followed by “The Dead Zone” and I knew I have found something I really liked.   Now this is the mid-90’s, so this books are at least 10 years old.   But then luck is on my side, and Stephen King (my mind is rusty about the details, so take it with a grain of salt) is challenged about pushing himself to write a story in six installments from scratch to finish and publish as it comes out, with only like a 2 month turnaround.  He starts writing and publishing “The Green Mile” and is being translated almost simultaneously!!!

So I’m able to read his current stuff now, in time, as he’s producing it.   So I buy the first two installments, but when the third one comes out, is only in English, my version is sold out!  I buy it in English, and read it, I surprise myself how much I’m able to pick up in English, when the fourth one comes out, I buy the translated version because this time it wasn’t sold out.    But that’s when I first realize, that, while the story doesn’t change with the translation, there’s something missing anyway.   Not fault of the translator, I think is just some sould is missing, that is there in English.   So I finished the 5th and 6th part in English.   Even since then I try to read the book in it’s original language.   Kind of hard when I don’t know any Japanese and I like Haruki Murakami.  Murakami almost deserves his own post at some point.

Back to King though, while his theme and not all his novels are hit with me.  I fell in love with his afterwords, in them he would explain some of the writing process he went through each book.   Because I started reading so late in my life, I don’t read in order of his writing, I might read one of his new stuff, read other authors and then come back to an older book.   So one of the last book I read from him when it came out was “Under the Dome” the book overall is just OK, not his greatest writing, but in the afterword he mentions how a version of this book idea has been with him for almost 30 years.

Some time later I’m reading “Cujo” and in it he’s talking about conversations with his editor, and how he’s going to be characterized as a “Horror” writer and if he’s OK with that title of horror writer.   He said he really didn’t mind, and being in the company of Poe, is an honor in itself.   But the part that caught my attention is, that as he’s writing about “Cujo” he has this idea that almost 30 years later DID become “Under the Dome”.   Is like you traveled in time.  He also talks about a horrible book he wrote with a character named Blaze, he would also release that book under his pseudonym Richard Bachman “Blaze“.

Get to the point fucker, I’m getting bored here. – Ok, ok, well, obviously sometimes stories need time to fester and mature, and I guess that’s what I’m hoping I’ve been doing during this time that I have been thinking about writing but never really done it.   But I’m trying to change that, and this is why you are reading this.   Is never to late to start writing.   Like I said, I’m not expecting to write “The Divine Comedy”.   For one I’m not an Italian poet, nor have I experienced the many levels of hell.  But I can write about my stupid observations in current life, and hopefully put my spin on things.

I thought I would write more, I can actually, but I’ll stop here for the moment, give you a moment til tomorrow when I write who knows what.   I think that if there’s something that this week is showing me, is that I can write, is not polish by any means and it still needs structure help, but I have the vocabulary and the mindset to keep writing.   And if you keep reading, well that’s just my cherry being popped. 🙂

Thanks.

-RM