About On Purpose

Post 137:

            It may be that over the course of my life I crank out some books or stories that simply don’t work, but there’s one thing that scares me more than anything: Being unintentionally crappy.

            This will take some explaining, because at first, this sounds more obvious than it is. Taking crazy risks and trying to pull of challenging modes or forms of telling a story is worthwhile—you’re staring into the face of crushing fail-mode when you do this. Coloring outside the lines and all that.

            So failing while trying to be super original or artsy is understandable, as long as that was the intention from the start. The worst is when something comes off as strange or indiscernible to the audience and you weren’t even going for it. It takes a special lack of self-awareness to make crap on that level. If I’m guilty of it, somebody tell me right now. I’ll go work for the power company. If they’ll hire me.

            They wouldn’t hire me.

            I bring it up because I’m about finished reading Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. First of all, this isn’t crap. The guy is superbly talented at words, and I’m all about words. So my admiration is there.

            Honestly though, I don’t find the book or the style in which he writes to be very entertaining or all that insightful… but… there’s no freaking doubt, this guy knew what he was going for. When you don’t use a damn period for nineteen pages, you’re going for it. It might suck, but then again, why not?

            Two things. Marquez was a true talent that tried different ways to invigorate the craft and probably himself. Sticking to level ground is safe, but the mountain is where most are remembered. Of course, there’s lots of dead people that froze on the mountain. Opportunity costs.

            I’ve never tried to wander too far off the beaten. Mostly because until you have mad skins in the game, no one is going to think you are super clever for deciding to hell with all forms of punctuation. Even if your work is good, some dude in a suit is probably going to ask you why you’re being a presumptuous asshole who do you think you are Gabriel Garcia Marquez I mean what do you think where’s your Nobel Prize for literature oh you don’t have one well then give me some damn periods and throw in a few commas for your trouble now get out of my office so I can green light the next young adult series about werewolves that care.

            Seriously, some of his stuff runs that far on. And on. See what I did there? Yeah it was stupid, but it was on purpose. See you after.