How to raise a writer
Dateline: SWA flight from Midway Chicago to Providence RI, 4 October 2004
The answer is a simple one: the same way you raise a reader. The way you raise a reader is to make sure they learn how to read, plus you read to them as much as possible. But studies have shown that the number one factor for predicting how much a kid will be a reader later in life is how much that child's parents simply demonstrate the act of reading in front of him or her. In short, it's first and foremost the power of example. I read the papers and magazines and books because my parents, while always having the TV on in the house (my Dad's influence), nonetheless were always reading while watching TV. To this day, except for DVDs on the big-screen system in the basement, it's almost impossible for me to watch TV without having something to read—I just get too antsy. Why? Blame it on my parents.
My son Kevin is an inveterate writer. He is always concocting new short stores, plays, whatever. As we ride home on the plane now he is sitting next to me, using a Handspring Visor I bought my wife (but which she never took to) and the Targus stowaway keyboard that goes with it. He's penning the tale of one "Ray Trinity," an X-Men-type figure whose superpower is his ability to affect the weather and other forces of nature. Even better than just writing, his piano playing has gotten him to the point where he's naturally typing with all ten fingers, despite no training. Why? He sees that's how you do it, and he wants to do it right.
Kev asked me once for some money for some scheme he was developing, coming up to me while I was doing some consulting work through an Internet search. I told him I didn't have any money for his dream scheme, and his reply was: "Just go on the Internet and get some!" At first I was flabbergasted, and then I realized how he had come to interpret my consulting (going online and getting money, basically). Now, it's his theory that if you want money, just starting writing and it will come. I love that sense of idealism, plus his work ethic (though he did talk me out of finishing another assignment on a long-term school project). I expect many great things from this boy, "Ray Trinity" being just a downpayment.
Today I'll offer a couple of guest pieces from Mark Safranski, aka ZenPundit, on the concept of System Perturbations, which I hold near and dear as a new definition of crisis but which few PNM reviewers have been brave enough to take on, due to its relatively high conceptual content. ZenPundit, as befitting his online name, clearly harbors no fears, so I pass along his stuff, comments to follow.
Following ZenPundit on System Perturbations, here's some articles I've picked up over my travels (missing the Sunday Times):
■Kerry's long TD-drive to start 3rd quarter had real effect on polls■Syria's Baath Party struggling in aftermath of Big Bang
■Don't blink! China's distant future is rushing into its current events!
■The basic lessons learned on our Sys Admin effort in postwar Iraq
■Key operational attribute of the Sys Admin force: loitering
■A good summary on how the world got to where we are in Darfur