Youknow, it's beenyears, severalofthem, actually, Since I turnedonthiscamerawithoutknowingwhat I wasgonnatalkabout, maybewe'lltalkaboutthat.
Sowhen I wasstartingoutas a writer, someonetoldmethatwhenRayBradburywasaskedhowtowrite a goodshortstory, hesaid, Rightoneshortstoryeveryweekfor a yearbecausenobodycanwrite 52 badshortstories.
And I reallytookthatadvicetoheart.
Buttwothings.
Onehavingnowbeenaskedthatquestion a lot, I suspectthatwhatRayBradburywastryingtodowasnotsomuchoffergoodadviceasmakethequestiongoawayin a cleverandgentlemannerandalsotolotsofpeoplecanwrite 52 badshortstoriesin a row.
I mean, I couldasanybodywho's readmyZombieCornapocalypsestoriescanattest.
Or, I guess, inthecaseofMadamPomfrey, potentiallysometimesboth.
So I wasveryfortunatetobeginmywritingcareeras a bookreviewer, writing 175 wordbookreviewsforBooklistmagazine.
Thisforcedmetoread a lot, butalsotoreadreallybroadlypicturebooksinyoungadultnovelsandromancenovelssetinScottishcastlesandIslamichistoryandbooksaboutboxingandpoetry.
And, yes, alsomanybooksaboutconjoinedtwins.
Andthatmeantlotsofpracticeinboth.
Theaftermentioncontextnotjustpracticereadingbutalsoreadingwithaneyetowardwhatkindofexperiencethebookofferedandtowhom I mightrecommenditandrevealingalsoforcedmetopractisewritingin 175 wordunits.
Andbypracticingthatformoverandoveragain, I learnedhowtoinsert a bitofnuanceintoplotsummaryorwhichdetailorquotationtochoose.
I alsodeveloped a weirdinternalclockforknowingwhat 175 wordsfeelslike.
Like I knowit's beenabout 100 75 wordssince I saidMadamPomfrey, whichisinnowayuseful.
Buttheotherstuffhasbeenveryusefulbecausewhilewriting a bookreviewisverydifferentfromwriting a novel, I alreadyhad a lotofpracticethatthinkingaboutwhatstoriesconduceOh, andhowtheydoitandreviewingalsobrought a lotofstructureanddisciplinetomylife.
Ittaughtmethat I hadtomakewriting a practiceif I wantedtobegoodatit.
I shouldsay I'm notlike a naturallydisciplinedorganizedpersonasbestexpressedbymycar, whichisextremelymessy, likemydearfriend.
Hassanoncecommentedthateverytimehewalksuptothepassengersideofmycar, heexpectstosee a ratsittinginthepassengerseatholding a littlehandbag, saying, Wherewegoingtoday?
I amverymessyandundisturbed.
Lindand I lovetoprocrastinate, but I havealsolearnedtolovepracticebecauseitworks.
Itdoesn't workimmediately.
Likeintheearlydaysofreviewingbooks, I oftenfinished a bookwithnoideaofwhat I wantedtosayaboutit.
IntheearlydaysofmakingBloodBrothersvideos, I oftenranupagainstdeadlinesbecause I didn't haveideasforvideos.
Butoveryearsofpractice, thatstartstochange.
Likepeopleoftenaskmeif I everrunoutofideasforblood.
Butthere's videos, and I supposethat I do.
Butbymakingthis a consistentpracticeforover 13 yearsnow, inthesamewaymybrainjustkindofknowswhat 175 wordslookslike.