Writing is an Uncool Enterprise
Haruki Murakami throws shade at novelists.
WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND THE LONELY VICTORIES COMMUNITY
Next Sunday (January 28) at 1PM EST, the Book Club for Writers will discuss Haruki Murakami’s book Novelist as a Vocation. If you’re a paid subscriber, you’ll receive the Zoom link next weekend.
One of my favorite things about Novelist as a Vocation, Haruki Murakami’s book about the trials and tribulations of the writing life, is his ongoing insistence that novelists are actually quite boring people.
“Writing novels is, to my way of thinking, basically a very uncool enterprise. I see hardly anything chic or stylish about it. Novelists sit cloistered in their rooms, intently fiddling with words1, batting around one possibility after another.”
Agreed! Nothing chic or stylish to see here, really. A lot of typing. A lot of sitting (though I swear this is the year I’m finally going to make the switch to a standing desk). A lot of rubbing my neck when I spend the morning with my shoulders up to my ears and my thinking cap on tight.
But if there’s nothing stylish about the writing process, why, then, is it still so damn interesting to read about?
Perhaps precisely because of how very uncool of an enterprise it is.
It’s a great mystery to me: why do so many of us chase after this, struggling to fold the writing into our already very busy lives? And often at the expense of loneliness?
And speaking of loneliness, here’s what Murakami has to say about that:
“It’s kind of a cliché to say it’s a lonely process, but writing a novel—especially a really long one—is exactly that: extremely lonely work. Sometimes I feel like I’m sitting all alone at the bottom of a well. Nobody will help me, and nobody’s there to pat me on the back and tell me I’ve done a great job.”
It sounds like Murakami could use a place to celebrate his own Lonely Victories! Boy, do I have the newsletter for him.
BOOK CLUB MEETING NEXT SUNDAY!
My Book Club for Writers will discuss Haruki Murakami’s Novelist as a Vocation on Zoom on January 28 at 1PM EST.
THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO CHATTING ABOUT
the importance of tinkering
Murakami’s English-to-Japanese translation practice
the question of “originality”
mental chests of drawers
the writing process vs. the living process
Even if you don’t have time to read the whole book, I’d love to have you there! We’ll chat about our own processes and spend some time on a few writing prompts. A guaranteed blast! 💥
If you’re not a member already, you can join the book club by becoming a paid subscriber of this newsletter for $5/month, or save 17% and subscribe for the year. You’ll also get 10% off my writing classes! Click below to upgrade.
Paid subscribers will receive the Zoom link to the book club discussion the day before the meeting. A recording will be available afterward for paid subscribers only.
Read more about what the Book Club for Writers will be reading for the rest of 2024:
THANKS FOR WRITING WITH ME
It was lovely to see so many friendly faces during our writing session last Sunday! Thanks to everyone who joined. More co-writing sessions will be announced here in the newsletter very soon! 🤸♀️
All this talk of fiddling with words reminds me of this very excellent tweet from the writer Chelsea Hodson.
I don't know if I can make the time work on the 28th, but I want to be there! As a person who feels deeply uncool most of the time, I can really identify with what Murakami is writing lol