I’m currently reading Ursula Le Guin’s No Time to Spare, a collection of blog entries from her final years. The editor has sorted these entries into broad categories–aging and writing and cultural trends–interspersed with stories about Le Guin’s cat, Pard. Even with the categories, there is a delightful sense of spontaneity as you turn from one entry to the next. It’s the delight that comes from reading a well-written blog or journal. Whatever you encounter is whatever the writer was thinking or reading on a particular day: a direct insight into the writer’s mind, and the intellectual equivalent of a fisherman’s catch of the day.
Sometimes, the thoughts Le Guin shared on her blog are deep, as when she writes about utopian novels or the diminishments of age. But as many times as Le Guin’s random thoughts lead to insightful connections, there are times when a given thought peters out, a seed fallen on rocky soil. Whether the topics Le Guin pursues are profound or mundane, however, they are always fresh, the product of an active and engaged mind.
Those thoughts would have never met a reader’s eye if Le Guin hadn’t set pen to paper or fingertip to key. That’s why the first step to good writing is simply showing up. In order to snag the catch of the day, you first have to cast your line.
Jun 7, 2018 at 12:31 am
Le Guin had a cat named Pard? Interesting. I’ve told people that, if I ever get a dog, I’m naming him/her “Joong-saeng,” the Korean Buddhist term for “sentient being” or “living creature.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jun 7, 2018 at 9:17 am
Yes, she has an entry on how she and her husband adopted the cat and how they named him. It was a more or less random choice that seemed apt.
LikeLike
Jun 7, 2018 at 1:49 am
Interesting! I’ve never heard of this book, but I love reading journals and diaries and blogs so I’ll have to look for it. I completely agree about the value of “showing up.” You never know what will emerge, even when you think you’ve got nothing to say.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jun 7, 2018 at 9:18 am
I hadn’t heard of it, either, but I saw it on the new books shelf at the library. I’d recommend it for people who are interested in blogs or journals.
LikeLike