A 43F oldie and a goodie (h/t Bill Nalen), this is Merlin writing about Neal Stephenson’s decision to be a poor correspondent so he can make time to be a good novelist:
As I read all this, I hear a man saying (at least in my words), “I can either be a guy who writes novels, or I can be a guy who answers email. Realizing I cannot be both, I’ve made the decision, and now I live with it.”
Like it or hate it, Neal Stephenson’s position is clear and well-articulated. If a bit pitched, it’s a stance I admire, and frankly I think it’s an only slightly more extreme version of a position every maker needs to define if he or she expects to create the time to keep making anything.
Myke Hurley and I talked about this topic last week while I was a guest on his new show, CMD+SPACE. I shared about why choosing to be poor at email correspondence has been one of the most painful decisions I’ve had to make in my career as a full-time writer for this website.