The Humble Typewriter

by Alton Gansky @AltonGansky

There’s been a new addition to our family.

No, not THAT kind of addition. I have become the proud owner of a typewriter. Remember those? Big. Boat anchor heavy. Clunky. Noisy. In short: wonderful.

I’ve been wanting an old typewriter. It’s an affliction that strikes many writers. I don’t know how many business cards from authors I’ve received over the years that included a photo of some old typewriter.

Writers often develop an interest in the way writing used to be done, and although most of us would not want to return to those days when everyone in your family and several of your closest neighbors knew when you were writing. How could they not? The rhythmic clacking of the type bar as letters were pounded into the paper have been known to travel great distances.

My new typewriter is from 1950 (so I use the word new ironically). Technically, it is a Royal KMG made in 1950. The KMG model debuted in 1949 although it is pretty much the same as KMM models that had been made for much longer. The big difference is that the KMG is gray, hence the G in KMG.

I suspect that most people will look at the picture above and see only obsolete technology. Let me tell you what I see. I see the same model of typewriter Ray Bradbury used to write Fahrenheit 451. He didn’t own it. He paid ten cents an hour to use the one in his local library.

I see the same kind of machine that helped Saul Bellow, winner of a Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, the National Medal of Arts, and the only author to receive the National Book Award for Fiction three times, do his work.

It’s a long list of famous names including William Faulkner, playwright Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Dorothy Parker, Rod Serling, and many others.

Each writer approaches a project in his or her own way. David McCullough still writes using a secondhand Royal KMM he picked up over forty years ago. That’s right.

Every book the biographer has written (he’s won two Pulitzers and a couple of National Book Awards) he has composed on that one typewriter. His reason? The typewriter slows him down. He has pounded out all of his books the old fashion way. Sure he had no choice in 1964 when he bought the typewriter, but he does have a choice today and he chooses his old Royal.

I’m not sure I could do what Mr. McCullough does, but I admire him for being able to create such wonderful books the old fashion way.

As you can tell, I love my new old typewriter and I hope to collect more. I don’t plan to abandon my computer. I don’t think I could sever the invisible chords that connect us, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the beauty, mechanical complexity, and history of the good ol’ typewriter.

By the way, the term “typewriter” used to apply as much to the typist as to the device the typist used. That’s right, a person can be a typewriter.

So, do you have an old typewriter hanging around your house? Does it inspire you?

Alton Gansky is the author of over forty books, novels and nonfiction. 

He is also the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. www.brmcwc.com

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How a Writer Weighs an Idea. Six Questions.

by Alton Ganksy @AltonGansky 

How a Writer Weighs an Idea

Benjamin Franklin used a simple technique to judge the value of an idea. When considering a decision, the founding father would draw a single line down the middle of a piece of paper. On the left side he’d mark a +; on the right side he put a - (minus sign). He would then make a list of the good points, and one for the negatives.

If the pluses outweighed the negatives, then he felt the idea was a good one. Too many negatives and he moved on to another idea.

I’ve always thought it was a great technique but it failed to weigh the pluses and minuses. For example a minus might be minor taking three or four to have more value than a single plus. Of course the same can be said in reverse. So my Ben Franklin lists included a value with each plus or minus. Maybe I really love the idea. I’m enthusiastic and have been for some time. That plus will out weigh several minuses.

Over the years I developed a different approach to evaluate an idea: a series of 6 questions. Not every idea that comes to mind is worthy of our time, efforts, and money. Some concepts arrive dressed in fancy clothes and blowing party whistles. We court them, chat them up, and then, over time, notice that the idea is hollow and only pretended to have value. I needed a way to apply a little logic to what is often an emotional process.

These six questions help me think about the concepts rolling around in my head and to gauge what I really think of it. This approach can be used in any form of decision making.

There are two steps.

First, I ask the following questions:

1. Is it satisfying?

Am I going to enjoy this? Staying focused and diligent requires either fear or enthusiasm.) 

2. Does it make a difference?

I’m one of those people things my work should leave a positive impact on my readers. If I didn’t believe that, I’d be churning out work that entertains for a few hours then evaporates.

3. Is it meaningful?

Related to #2 is meaningfulness. Meaningful means—wait for it—full of meaning. I don’t like to work on junk, fluff, or nonsense. My writing goal has always been to make the reader think. 

4. Is it profitable to others?

Am I chasing this idea because I think I might enjoy it? Nothing wrong with that but for me it needs a little more reason to exist. For many of us, writing is more than a hobby or art, it is a way to make a difference. A big difference? Sometimes. A small difference? Often. Still, making any kind of positive impact on the world is a good thing. The world needs it.

5. Is it doable?

Am I the one to do this job? I have many ideas that I have no training for. While I believe I can learn to do almost anything, I have to ask if the project is worth the time and effort.

6. Does it provide income?

We all have to eat and, as the Bible tells us, a workman is worthy of his hire (to be paid).

The next step is application.

So what does this look like in real life? On my desktop I have a series of digital sticky notes of things I want to do. The ones that I find myself looking at the most I run through the six questions. Here’s one I did for my Writer’s Talk podcast: 

WRITER'S TALK PODCAST

•    Is it satisfying? [3]

•    Does it make a difference? [2]

•    Is it meaningful? [2]

•    Is it profitable? [3]

•    Is it doable? [3]

•    Provide income? [1]

Total = 14/18

As you can see, I applied a numerical value to each question rating my confidence in  its possibility of success. So a question gets a 3 for “yes, I believe that strongly,” a 2 for “yep, I feel pretty confident in this element working out,” or a 1 for “I have reservations.”

In this example, I gave the first question a 3 because I enjoy doing the program. I love to talk to writers and learn about how they work. The second questions I assigned a 2 because the program helps some writers but not everyone. Is Writer’s Talk meaningful? I think so and gave it a 2. (There are many days when I would give it a 3.)

Is it profitable. I believe it can be of great use to writers and others in the publishing universe as well has help writers promote their work. 

Is it doable? Turns out it is. I’ve done 70 programs and will be doing more this year.

Does it provide income? No, not yet, and it may never do so. But if the program get’s a foothold, I believe people will support it.

Decision making can be confusing. Too many thoughts, ideas, and concepts make feel like we’re riding a runaway train. The key is to get our thoughts in order, taking one idea at a time, evaluate it, then move on.

How do you weigh your decisions?

Alton Gansky writes novels and nonfiction. He is the host of Writer's Talk and the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. When not writing, editing, blogging, podcasting, and the such things he likes to eat and sleep. To get the real down-low on Al visit www.altongansky.com

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What’s a Novelist Like You Doing in a Neighborhood Like This?

by Alton Gansky

Last week my newest book. 30 Events That Shaped the Church, hit the shelves (including digital shelves). Another nonfiction. It surprises some of my readers and fellow writers to learn that I write book-length nonfiction. After all, most of my books are novels. My first published book was a novel and a bunch more followed. So why write nonfiction? Why would a novelist wander the mean streets of the nonfiction neighborhoods?

That’s a little difficult to answer. Writing is a series of personal decisions. Those who have heard my “writing testimony” know that when I set out to be a writer I first assumed that I would write articles and nonfiction books. Novel writing appealed to me and I messed around with some short stories (which went nowhere).  I had a few articles accepted but nothing of consequence. I was still splashing in the shallow end of the writing pool.

Then, as a young pastor, I was called to Children’s Hospital in San Diego where one of the children who attended my church was being treated. The toddler had fallen from a moving car. Turns out, all was fine, just a few bruises and scrapes. Still, I had to walk through Children’s Hospital and that can be grueling. I glanced through a few open doors and saw enough pain to make me shift my focus to the shiny floor. I wished for the gift of healing and that got me to thinking about what might happen if a healer strolled the halls of a major hospital—my first real storyline. That idea became By My Hands (which I recently re-released). From that came over 30 other novels.

Still, the old urge to pen a nonfiction book stayed with me. Over my two decades of professional writing I’ve written 9 book-length nonfiction books and co-wrote 2 others. I have plans to write more.

So I ask again: What’s a novelist doing in the nonfiction neighborhood? Well, I’m fulfilling my mission of making my readers think. When someone asks, “What do you do for a living?” my brain seizes. Writer. Editor. Consultant. Novelist. Blogger. Podcaster. Teacher. Public speaker. How to respond? I’m tempted to say, “I’m a communicator,” but that just causes confusion.

Let’s face it: We writers have voices in our heads. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed the arts and sciences were inspired by the Muses. Some have more than one muse, that is, more than one field that interests them. On a good day I feel my mind is a multifaceted diamond; other days I’m pretty sure it’s just fragmented glass.

I view novels as exploration; nonfiction as explanation. I want my ideas, my books, to communicate as well as entertain. I want readers to think and learn and for some ideas I can only do that through nonfiction. 30 Events That Shaped the Church would be difficult to do as a novel. Yet, the material is important, especially in a world where much of church history is forgotten, overlooked, or undervalued. Because of that, most Christians have no idea what the church endured to become what it is today.

Nonfiction stretches me too. Writing nonfiction is very different from writing fiction, but I don’t think I could do it without all that I learned from writing novels.

I’ve always have been troubled by categories. I’ve also admired those who can focus on one thing and make it a life’s work. For me, however, writing is writing, and as long as it does something enduring, then it has great value.

Turns out, I like both neighborhoods.

Alton Gansky writes novels and nonfiction. He is the host of Writer's Talk and the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. When not writing, editing, blogging, podcasting, and the such things he likes to eat and sleep. To get the real down-low on Al visit www.altongansky.com

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The Frozen Yogurt Equivalency

By Alton Gansky

He was a young man, slightly older than me. (Since I was in my twenties, all my clients were older than me.) He walked into my architectural drafting studio seeking help with a small remodel to a restaurant he recently purchased. My first “art” was architecture and I worked in the field for over a decade. I drew plans for tiny houses (as small as 800 square feet) to multistory mid-size office buildings. I did room additions and custom homes, apartments and condos. I took whatever came my way. Architecture then, as now, can be as financially mercurial as writing.

He had brought a set of blue line plans and we opened the roll on my drafting table. I immediately recognized the building he had purchased. Anyone would. It was the Leaning Tower of Pizza. Well, not THE Leaning Tower of Pizza, in Italy, but a much smaller replica build as a pizza joint. It was situated on the busiest road in community. I was thrilled. The place was an icon in the city and it would be my first restaurant project.

That faded quickly. He wasn’t looking to make major renovations, just a couple of small things. He thought he needed a new set of working drawings. I—in a fit of honesty—told him he didn’t. All he wanted to do was put an opening in an interior bearing wall. No problem. I asked a few questions, sized the beam for him and gave him the name of a structural engineer who would do the few necessary calculations the Building Department would demand.

Then I got curious and asked a few more questions. It went something like this:

Me: So are you going to continue to sell pizza?

Him: No. In fact, I’m removing all the kitchen appliances.

Me: Um, no stove? No oven?

Him: Nah, I don’t need those things. I just need some space along one wall and a few electrical outlets.

I pause this dialogue to remind you gentle readers that this was almost four decades ago. That’s important to know for context.

Me: I don’t get it. What are you planning on selling?

Him (proudly): I’m opening a frozen yogurt shop.

Me (blinking): A what?

Him: Frozen yogurt. It’s like ice cream. People will choose one of three flavors then add toppings.

Me: Frozen yogurt. Isn’t yogurt spoiled milk?

Him: No. Well, sorta. But it’s good.

Me: So . . . you bought this building, gutted it, and now want to sell spoiled, er, yogurt?

Him: Right.

Me: No soft drinks?

Him: No just yogurt.

Me (since I had concluded that I wasn’t going to make a commission on this thing I felt free to offer an unrequested opinion): It’s none of my business, but I don’t see this working. No one is going to want to spend money on frozen yogurt.

Fast forward a few months. I decided to drive by the replica of the Leaning Tower of Pizza. I heard the place had opened. I wanted to see how things were going for the poor sap. Well, he had customers. Customers inside the building, customers in the doorway and a line of customers snaking its way along the parking lot to the sidewalk and halfway around the block. It was then I determined I had no future investing in the stock market.

Writers are artists that work in a world of business. Most of us write as a creative outlet, as a ministry, and to buy bread and pay for cable television. That makes us businesspeople and as such, we do our best to predict the future of publishing in general and our genre specifically. Many of us have been caught off guard. These are things I didn’t see coming:

1. Bookstores, general and CBA, finding themselves on the endangered species list.
2. The disappearance of men as writers and readers of CBA material. (I have list of reasons why this happened.)
3. Christian publishers would be gobbled up by massive secular publishing entities.
4. The economic crash of 2008 would last so long and have a devastating impact on publishing.
5. That books are judged by the money they earn and not the lives they touch.
6. E-books would be the powerful force it is today.
7. Self-publishing would take off like a rocket.

There are many good things that surprised me too:

1. The loyalty some publishers have demonstrated with a writer in whom they saw value in.
2. The willingness on the part of some publishers to issue book, not because it would bring great returns but because the world needed the book.
3. The commitment to excellence. In many ways, the quality of books put out by some CBA publishers rivals and even surpasses the general market. 

We writers must anticipate the future the best we can. At times the guesses will be wrong. Other times, we will get ahead of the curve. Either way, we need to be observant. The future will be different than it is today. That’s one prediction I am confident about.

What has surprised you about publishing?

Oh, and the conclusion of the frozen yogurt story: The client came back and let me design his 4000 square foot custom home. I still don’t know if did that out of gratitude that I had helped him for free, or if he just wanted to rub my nose it. The house turned out great.

Alton Gansky is the author of 43 books, novels and nonfiction. www.altongansky.com

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