David Bowie Reinvention Riff
I had a curry with Mr. C last night. It was the first time I had seen him in five months. We talked all the usual author things – re-writes, good editors, lousy art directors and terrible covers. We talked all the usual weird stuff, but in a much more muted way than ever before. He noticed my spirits were raised and I believe he might have even understood what I was getting at in my David Bowie reinvention riff. However, there was a bit of boggling when I said I am seriously minded to give up writing anything like Secrets & Lies/Conspiracy Theories/Global Gangland ever again.
7 Comments:
Why are you giving up what you are so good at? I really want to read Secrets & Lies 2! I really want to read this crime book! What is happening?
Does 'David Bowie Reinvention Riff' mean that in your own words on Bowie, 'doing enough coke to fell an elephant'? Is coke the reason that you are giving up writing? What next? Are you going to Berlin with Brian Eno?
Unless you have been forced to do this, you should think about giving up very carefully. You have done some good, important work in your books and I think it would be more than a shame if you stopped writing about the parapolitics beat. I think it is obvious to anyone reading your blog that you have been very ill, but if you can still write, I would ask you to keep on going.
As fun and entertaining as your conspiracies/global crime stuff is, I've always thought you were a bit wasted doing stuff like that when you could accomplish a lot more interesting work if you gave yourself half a chance. You know this as well as anyone. Looking forward to seeing you working on some of the more important/intriguing, less corporate writing projects that you've mentioned recently. I think its time for your own voice as a writer to come to the fore a bit more, without being tempered so much by the demands of work-for-hire.
couldnt have put it better myself Mr Grasso. I think Mr Southwell has been contrived by the demands of as you put it 'work for hire' I myself would love to see a different direction with his hearts desire of his own work. A good writer can put his hand to any subject with the hypnotic lilt of word play , eloquence and subject matter~ something I feel is first nature to you Mr Southwell. “A powerful idea communicates some of its strength to him who challenges it.”
Writers are like otters. And otters are really hard to train. Dolphins are easy to train. They do a trick, you give them a fish, they do the trick again, you give them a fish. They will keep doing that trick until the end of time. Otters, if they do a trick and you give them a fish, the next time they'll do a better trick or a different trick because they'd already done that one. And writers tend to be otters. Most of us get pretty bored doing the same trick. We've done it, so let's do something different.
You cannot teach otters tricks and sometimes doing what you do best allows you to excel and become a master. I think you should continue to be a master of controversial things.
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