...don't go up to the stranger you see reading one of your books in LAX.
He might flip you the bird and tell you to buzz off.
That and lots of other fascinating stories of the writing life from
David Baldacci. His 12 bestselling novels have sold roughly 50 million copies. He's also working to eradicate illiteracy in America -- see the
Wish You Well Foundation.
Not surprisingly, Baldacci speaks eloquently. He told stories of his family, of the deranged reader in LAX and of changing his name to David Ford to sell his book to Italians, a people, he says, who do not believe that their countrymen can write well. Here are a few tips.
6 Be curious, no matter what you're writing. "Writing is having an innate curiosity about life. Even if you write fiction. You're writing more than fiction, you're writing about life."
7 Keep it simple. "The best stories have simple storylines." Reading, Baldacci says, takes energy in a way that watching a film does not. A simple story isn't a bad story, or an easy story. Very often, he says, it's a story that works.
8 "You can never allow research to interfere with a story." Baldacci's upcoming novel, "Simple Genius," is about a subject so complex I'm not sure anyone in the audience understood what he was talking about when he described it. A molecular computer. He says he interviewed scores of people, not to write a textbook, but to support the story, with truth.
And here's a good one. I like it because it speaks to our mission as journalists, and the mission of The Poynter Institute. Journalism, Nelson Poynter asserted many years ago, is essential to democracy.
So, Baldacci says, is literacy.
9 Encourage literacy in your community. According to Baldacci, half of all Americans are essentially illiterate. "An illiterate population is one that is easily manipulated. If you can't read, you can't really think. And if you can't think, how do you come up with your thoughts and ideas and opinions about things."
What does your news organization do to help people in the community learn to read. If you can't think of anything, Baldacci's newest effort might be a good way to start.
Check it out here.Coming soon >>> Chip Scanlan joins the blog. Jabari Asim on the power of language. Lots more today -- see schedule @ left.
