Grisham and the third day.

Stats for Day Three:

Current word count: 3,386
Current mood: Cautiously Optimistic


So John Grisham's new book comes out today. The second book the man has published this year. The difference this time is that his latest volume, Ford County, is no mere legal thriller, but a collection of short stories he's been nursing for about twenty years. The book even received a favorable review in that bastion of literary taste, The New York Times.

Grisham is one of those writers people either seem to love or loathe. There's not much middle ground. His fans, and they are legion, rush out to buy each new novel in hardback the week it's released, quickly propelling it to the top of most bestseller lists. His detractors, numerous in their own right, poo-poo Grisham's work, as well as anything that may not be considered "serious" fiction.

As for me, I'm one of the rare few, I think, who goes both ways. The majority of my reading time is spent consuming books of a certain caliber, novels and non-fiction that educate, stretch, challenge, inspire. I most often seek out books with prose that will leap of the page and slap me in the face. Writing that knocks the wind from me, compelling me to set the book down for a moment or two and regain my composure. However, about once a year, for a period of about two or three months or so, I find myself inspired to take a respite from so-called "serious" fiction and go on a Grisham bender (Tom Clancy gets some face time, too). And no, Grisham's not a great writer. At least not in the vein of Updike, or Joyce, or Nabokov, or even a young, contemporary wunderkind like Jhumpa Lahiri or Nicole Krauss. But I think there's no denying that he's a great storyteller. The prose can be clunky at times, but it moves. It grabs you and takes you along with it, sometimes even in spite of yourself.

What's more, Grisham has an undeniably admirable work ethic. After listening to various interviews with him, I've come to appreciate what the man has to say about the craft of writing. He's prolific, but not cheap. For instance, he invests months in the book's outline alone. His view, and I agree, is "if you cheat on the outline, the book suffers." His detailed, comprehensive outlines are, I believe, the chief reason he can turn out a solid legal thriller in six months. Plus, he seems to have no delusions about who he is. By his own admission, he's not a great literary writer. He knows he's not winning a Pulitzer any time soon. But he's okay with that, okay with his multi-million dollar niche in contemporary American fiction. It's a little embarrassing to say, but Grisham has done more than almost any other writer to inspire me to simply knuckle down and write.

Speaking of which, since the time of my last post, the tide has turned somewhat. My last entry had me staring down the barrel of a deficit of over 1,100 words and, I must admit, feeling a little more than intimidated. But yesterday morning before work, I was able to crank out about 2,000 words. Then after work, I slogged through the typical post-shift fatigue and managed to bang out nearly another thousand words. So this morning I approach the day feeling pretty good, yet painfully aware that I need to tread carefully. How easy it would be for me to get cocky and comfortable and let time get away from me.

What's comforting is the knowledge that, after I begin and manage to put down about 300-500 words, the writing becomes addictive, and stopping becomes next to impossible. So, with that, I'm off to the races.

Oh, and by the way, I wanted to share with you my official NaNoWrimo home page, which keeps track of my current word count and features some info about my novel, including a rough excerpt from the first chapter. Cheers.