I recently received the present of a copy of the book, “Fierce
Pajamas,” an anthology of humor writing from the New Yorker. One of the essays
is called “How to Achieve Success as a Writer.” It was written in 1936 by Ruth
Suckow. Here are some excerpts:
“You can achieve success as a writer by not being a writer….The surefire way to achieve success as a writer is to be a celebrity in any other line….As soon as any flier reaches the end of his flight, he may find that he is a writer. Sports is a good line, on the whole…Baseball stars, sprinters, swimmers, even prize-fighters, need have little or no trouble with their writing.
The government offers broad opportunities for success in writing by not being writers—to Presidents, ex-Presidents, First Ladies, ex-First Ladies; in fact, to all government officials and ex-government officials.
Nearly all the girls and boys of today hope to become movie stars. They could adopt no better method of achieving versatility as writers…once they are stars, beauty hints, health hints, hostess hints, fashion hints, and suggestions for interior-decorating will flow from their pens, putting the experts to shame….[and] articles telling why they’ll never get divorced from their wives just before they get divorced from their wives. ….A movie star will have spare time to turn out a novel or two, and a bit of profound philosophy…”
Some things have not changed in the last 70 years.
(If you want to write despite not being a celebrity, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," and the associated website: www.yourwritingcoach.com)
