Month: March 2018

Reading my old writing

Posted on by nicklemen

Reading things I wrote in the past—often I sound so dumb. Not that I thought it was all brilliant in the first place, but you know, I did write it and keep it, so I must have thought there was something worthwhile about it. Another problem is that I don’t write enough, so the duds really stick out. Obviously there is a way to help that.

An additional problem is that I over-censor to the point of hindering my writing. Before I even move a finger, I’m weeding out anything too unsure, too controversial, too already-been-said that that is also hindering the whole process… with the effect that I look back at the finished product years later and say to myself, what was the point? But any writing is better than no writing. So thank you, past me, for at least occasionally trying to write something.

Reading The Wind in the Willows

Posted on by nicklemen

I’ve been reading The Wind in the Willows this year. It’s a nice little book. I really enjoy the friendship between the Rat and the Mole.

The book’s introduction includes some sad details about the author, Kenneth Grahame. He had an unhappy marriage and one son, for whom he wrote the book, who died two days before his 20th birthday. After his son died, he stopped writing the stories about the animals who lived on the riverbank. He died twelve years later. It’s so sad reconciling the cheeriness and sentimental scenes between the characters in the book with the sad realities of the author’s life.