Fictionalizing

People generally like stories, so some business books take the form of a fable or contain anecdotes that illustrate their points. In a way, the authors are fictionalizing non-fiction in order to make the books more appealing. If the situation were that fiction and non-fiction are competing for the favor of the masses, then is fiction winning, because non-fiction is taking on a partial mask of fiction? I would like to say so, but I am completely biased, because I love fiction.

Non-fiction lovers will probably disagree with me, because even if the book is in the form of a story, it is fundamentally non-fiction that contains facts or a purpose or message that is applicable to real life. In other words, it is not just an imagination of another life lived by imagined characters. But, if non-fiction must sometimes borrow a form of fiction to boost its appeal, then it is clear that fiction is not dead and cannot die. Even if publishing might be a stagnant industry right now, people just can't get enough of stories. Sure, people can self-publish, but that's still publishing, right? That means, publishing is alive and well, and will probably live on as long as stories exist. Both fiction and non-fiction stories, that is.

Good Books are Not Jealous

As I was resting my poor nail-less toe, I started reading Affluenza, 2nd Ed., because I remembered watching a part of the documentary in my environmental science class in high school. I also think the topic is absolutely fascinating and I myself am trying to live more simply without getting caught up in the world's consumer culture. In one of the sections, the authors refer to Henry David Thoreau, who's famous for his own quest for simplicity in his book Walden. Probably because I agree so strongly with living simply as possible, I got the sudden urge to read Walden, which I have never had the chance to read before.

And this happened when I wasn't even finished with Affluenza. But, not because the book was so boring that I wanted to read something else. If a book inspires you to read another book, then that book is definitely worthwhile. It makes you become interested in a topic that the book is pursuing, instead of limiting your interest to itself, a book that you will eventually finish and never read again. Instead of being jealous of other books, it directs you to them, helping you widen your horizons or learn more deeply about a certain topic. Now, that's some nice book.

The pun is intended :)

Marketing Workshop Day 1

Let me tell you...those cookie plates are dangerous.

Now, as for the more substantial aspect of the marketing workshop...overall, it was pretty awesome. A ton of information that I can't use right now, but I feel like I can apply to them to other aspects of my life that do not necessarily have anything to do with marketing your books. I think that ultimately, you're always marketing yourself, whether it's for a job, networking, or even if just wanting to form a good connection with someone else.

I would have to say that my favorite speaker was Michael Soon Lee, just because he was pretty hilarious. I didn't know that sales tactics that could be seen as "manipulative" could be so lovable.

The talk that was the most relevant to me was Marcia Reynolds talk on speaking. Public speaking goes beyond just book marketing into almost every career out there. And I absolutely love watching TED clips, and have always admired really engaging and inspiring TED speakers. I feel like the key to being a great speaker is being conversational, because that really forms a connection between the speaker and the audience. The audience gets sucked into what the speaker is saying, and of course, it's always nice if the speech is poetic (Eloquent, in one sense. I think eloquence always contains poetry.)

Strangely, despite being an ultra-introvert, I have no trouble with public speaking. Maybe, it's because I love acting, so I never feel stage fright. I guess it also might sound strange that an introvert loves acting, but I actually think acting is perfect for introverts. When you are acting, you are becoming someone else, so there is no vulnerability of exposing yourself. Introverts become freer to act when they are not themselves. That is not to say that I am not free when I am myself.. I am strictly speaking about the feeling that one might get from acting. But, here I am digressing to a completely different topic from what I've started with...

Anyways, I am disappointed that I won't be able to attend tomorrow's workshop, but there really isn't a more urgent concern when you are dragging around a pussing toe. Doctor's appointment, here I come, grimly.

Jeffrey Clements Author's Day and Politics

I had to be extra alert today, because Corporations are Not People is a very politically charged book, so people were talking a lot about politics and people from different parties. And let's just say that politics and I are not the closest buddies. (Whenever I read the newspaper, I go straight to the art/culture/travel and health sections. I guess that's a great improvement from just reading the comic section and looking over the ads to see if there are any sales at Macy's. But, I know, I could do better.)

But, I am realizing that politics is really important in people's daily lives. Not in that abstract sense of politics influencing and shaping our careers, market, etc., which is all true, but in the idea that people actually talk about these things once they graduate being a student. In the world of work, politics sometimes form a part of everyday talk, instead of the usual so-and-so-did-what-last-night trivial subjects that fill most of the conversations between students.

I have to say, I am not particularly interested in politics. (I am actually not interested in a lot of things that most people my age are interested in, but that's a whole new can of worms.) I don't have a t.v. at my Berkeley apartment, but back home, if I do decide to watch anything political, it's always Stephen Colbert Report. Only because that guy can make politics funnier than most standup comedies. (Which are supposed to be funny, but I think they are vulgar sometimes. Sorry if I sound snobby.) So, after realizing the importance of politics, will I start reading the politics section of the newspaper? Mmmm, let's just say, baby steps, okay?

For Once

For once this post is not about books or writing. It's, randomly, about ethnicity.

Not so random, I guess. I was talking to Jeevan about how I don't really consider myself Korean-American, but just Korean, probably because I came here when I was eight and am still superficially in tune with the Korean culture and language. But, I realized that I am not really...anything.

When I visit Korea, it feels like I am in a foreign country, even if I look like the people there and understand the language perfectly. I guess it's kind of like an American being in England or Australia. I am too comfortably settled in the American culture and the setting that Korean culture is like a foreign entity. But, at the same time, I don't consider myself American and probably wouldn't mind living in Korea. (Although it might be a bit difficult for me to adjust, seeing that I am more fluent in English than in Korean.) And, I just found out that I have a slight accent when I speak English, which was new to me. So, here I am, stuck in the middle, not fully anything, not able to fully decide to be anything, because I have two cultures inside my belly that both make my current self.

It's a weird feeling. It feels like I am floating inside a gigantic fish net that's hung from two lonely planets in space.

Revision: Productivity II

I need to slightly revise what I said previously about my writing process. I said that making writing into work makes me not want to write, but sometimes, discipline must be forced if I do not show self-discipline. The internal rule to write certain number of pages a day is pretty effective. As long as it's flexible, that is.

Strangely, I am re-learning a lot of things about myself by arranging my personal thoughts on this blog. As Stephen King said, "I write to find out what I think."

Productive II

Funny thing. I previously wrote about productivity and today, I read a book proposal about how to achieve maximum productivity. The society's obsession with productivity is tremendous, stemming from our dissatisfaction with just how lazy we are. So, why are we so lazy or unproductive?

Maybe, we are so unproductive because we obsess over productivity in the first place. Because there is this stress to be productive, productivity becomes an obligation, a burden, or for a lack of a better word, work. And people tend to get lazy if they think that what they are doing is work. Wouldn't we achieve maximum productivity if we don't think about productivity? If we don't think about how much work we have to get done in a certain amount of time, but just do things step by step without thinking about just how much of a workload we have? The constant pressure to be productive overwhelms us, and that might be why we get lazy. Because, we just don't want to deal with it.

This is coming from a personal experience of writing. If I make an obligation to write a certain amount, that writing becomes work, and I suddenly don't want to do it anymore. But, if I just write on and on without thinking of its end, if I just let the momentum take me, I end up writing more. (But, this is different from writing as much or little as you want. If I have that kind of mindset, I would just write one paragraph a day...). The best way to be productive is to only look at the process of work rather than the work as a whole with its beginning and its end.