I’ve got bookish people on this site. Most of you read books, and most of you are capable of great things. Some of you have already accomplished great things.
Anyway, I realized long ago that I’m old for an Asian American blogger, but now it looks like I’m old for a novelist too: the NY Times just had an eye-opening article on the ages of great fiction writers when they wrote their great works, and how people should not view the New Yorker’s new issue on up-and-coming writers as an indication that these writers will create greater works in the future:
…the emphasis on futurity misses an essential truth about fiction writers: They often compose their best and most lasting work when they are young. “There’s something very misleading about the literary culture that looks at writers in their 30s and calls them ‘budding’ or ‘promising,’ when in fact they’re peaking,” Kazuo Ishiguro told an interviewer last year. Ishiguro (54 when he said this) added that since the age of 30 he had been haunted by the realization that most of the great novels had been written by authors under 40.
Old, old, old. If any of you are reading this now and are thinking about creating something, do it now. Right now I’m working on a few short stories that will get published hopefully next year. My novel is on hold as I further learn the craft (which I really only started studying in earnest last year.) I like to console myself by saying that I’m immature, but it’s also clear that I’m at a different place in life than most people in their 20′s and early 30′s. I’m getting old in mind AND body too. Sigh.
On a positive note, there are two Asian American writers in the list: Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum and Yiyun Li (who is perhaps the very first major confirmed AF writer who is NOT part of the AFCC). Check them both out.
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I agree with everything you said. About #1…I think...
Reminds me of a piece of advice my grandfather gave me before he passed away: “Whatever you do, don’t grow old. There’s no future in it.”
Oh gee thanks Byron. If you feel old, then how do you think I feel? I just hit 40, man
I wouldn’t worry too much about getting older. I always tell people, “I’ve been faking adulthood for 22 years.”
I do find that both my mind and body have slowed down over the years. My passion for things has died down, but I also think it’s because I’ve been there, done that. Very few ideas excite me anymore, because I’ve pretty much heard them all several times over.
But don’t get too discouraged with writing. You’re taking a much better route with short stories. Start with smaller projects, build on the successful completion of them.
Haha, thanks guys!
You know, the physical changes make a big difference. You can often tell a person’s age by the things he writes about. Like it says in the article, they see the ambition. Hopefully ambition doesn’t correlate with youthful vigor!
I do get excited when I write. It’s much deeper than the stuff I’ve written in the past; I guess that comes from knowledge. I still need to work on building my skills. Hopefully I’ll get there before I’m too old!
I’m looking forward to publication. I’ll let y’all know when the first one comes out.
One of my pet peeves is when my buddies complain of getting old. I have a friend who is a sports freak and he loves…LOVES…to gripe about having backaches, shoulder pain, etc, after playing a round of football or whatever else he does.
My response is: “OK, let me know if you need any Ben Gay, viagra, or anything else from the Geriatric section at CVS.” That usually shuts him up.
Nabokov supposedly finished “Lolita” in 1953. The dude was born in 1899. Buck the trend, man.
Thanks, Notty! I’m totally becoming a fan of old dudes who write. Nabokov was the man–Lolita was an awesome book. I had no idea he was that old when he wrote it. Thanks for the inspiration!