[stylist] Reasons for a separate book discussion list

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

Neil and everyone,

Robert, who is president and over-all supervisor of all this, has
already stated we will begin book discussion and book review threads to
occur at different points. He has asked me to be in charge of this and
moderate. The goal is to begin this endeavor and see where it goes.
Should we garner enough popularity, we will then revise  the suggestion
to create another listserve specific to book discussions/reviews.

As Stylist currently is in existence and receives the most traffic,
Robert, I and others on board with this idea, believe it's best to start
here on Stylist. We will be very cognizant about using specific subject
lines, and should people not want to participate or read about any
discussions/reviews, they can skip those posts.

As it has been decided to push forward with this endeavor, I will
comment on this post once, but I think we can all agree to move on from
debating the pros and cons, especially since Robert has set this in
motion and is a done deal.

Neil wrote: First, reading itself doesn't improve writing, much like
listening to music 
doesn't make you a musician or eating makes you a chef.

If you're not a writer, reading won't necessarily help you develop
writing skills. For writers, though, professional or not, reading is a
vital part of the reading process. Though not all of us plan to be
writers in any sense of the word, for those who wish to improve their
craft, Stylist should consider all and any ideas that can further the
writing process. Reading is one of the best, and easiest, ways in which
to develop as a writer; Most writers will say that writing and reading
are the two main components  furthering the writing process along.

As Ray Bradbury says, "If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays,
plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you
automatically explode like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in
my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I
wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like
jumping beans. I get out of bed, quickly, to trap them before they
escape."

Just as an Olympic athlete in training fuels themselves with proper food
for nutrition to maintain and develop their strength and skill, the
writer must fuel themselves with literature, the nourishment that feeds
our imaginations and minds.

Neil wrote: Second, should topics like ?My favorite ten authors? or ?The
best romance 
novels of the last decade? be discussed on a writing list? I don't think

they are relevant, yet we will get those types of posts. We would always

have the question of relevance, but a separate mailing list would
eliminate 
the controversy. The other solution would be to allow any and all 
discussions about books.

Who determines what is relevant or not for a writer? Any analysis of a
piece of literature, no matter genre, style or author, can contribute to
our well-being as a writer. Certain genres and styles are not everyone's
cup of tea, but we can come to a better understanding of the mechanics
of writing and grow and develop our own voice and style.

What elements can be taken from any genre of book to be studied? Does a
particular author write dialogue well? How do they accomplish this? How
can we apply this to our writing? Does another author create great
scenes; what literary devices are at work, do certain authors experiment
with structure and form? So much can be learned from the analysis of
books no matter the genre.

Neil wrote: The third problem is that every one of us likes to read, and
we aren?t 
looking at it from the other perspective. What if some NFB members want
to 
discuss books but have no interest in writing? Is it right to make them
join 
a group that may only sometimes discuss what interests them? I can't be 
sure, but I think many groups that discuss books do not also discuss 
writing, much like a film lovers group not posting about how to light an

outdoor scene at night. I am fairly sure if this had been the reverse ?
that 
is, the NFB Writers Group were the NFB Reading Group ? and someone
suggested 
that it be expanded to include how-to-write discussions, that many
people 
would have no interest in writing and would want to make a separate
writing 
list. And I think a valid argument can be made for that.

As already stated over and over (so I won't beat a dead horse, poor
horse) people participate on Stylist for many reasons. Many of us,
perhaps most, are writers, meaning we draft our own material created
from things in our head. Some write professionally, for some it's just a
hobby. Some just want to participate for no reason in particular.
Personally, beyond getting to know people from around the world, I don't
find Stylist helpful unless we're providing constructive criticism to
one another in order to help with the writing and revision process, or
deconstructing material, published or otherwise, in order to discuss
literature and what works and doesn't.

I think most are aware that upon joining Stylist, they will encounter a
variety of topics, which includes the discussion of books, or other
material, and recommendations for books and the like.

And of course, as always, if you don't want to read certain posts, skip
them; this is the golden rule on any listserve; at least one of them,
smile.

This is my final post defending this topic, and since our president has
already said it's a go, it is now useless to continue this thread. This
comment is not meant to be rude or mean; I just simply want to move on
from what has become a never-ending circle. Obviously this debating does
nothing to contribute to the writing process other than aiding us to
draft an intellectual argument, but at some point, we must move forward
and start fresh.

I will soon post my thoughts concerning the inception of this forum, and
how we will initially incorporate it into Stylist. I think it best we
wait until the New Year before embarking on this, but I do want to
submit a few things to be thinking of as we develop a formal book
discussion and review element to Stylist.

I leave you with this quote:

"Write, rewrite, when not writing. When not writing or rewriting, read.
I know of no short cuts."
-Larry L. King

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan