A reader writes:
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, but haven’t really gotten engaged for the simple (if depressing) reason that college leaves me little time for any creative projects of my own. That said, there’s always been one nagging (meta-)question that I am finally going to ask: why? Not to sound thankless (far from it), but why are you so adamant on helping complete strangers for what seems to be little to no personal gain? As someone who spends 8 months of the year around New Yorkers (and the other 4 around retirees), your seemingly sincere altruism is refreshing, but also somewhat baffling.
I have had this question in the hopper since February. Every week I take a stab at it and every week I set it aside.
In the past seven months several glib answers come to mind, answers like:
Giving is the new taking.
(Unfortunately, like so many glib answers, it’s not as original as I thought.)
This spring, while playing Resident Evil 4, I latched on to something Luis said to Leon when Leon tried to get to the bottom of Luis’s zombie-killing altruism:
“It makes me feel good. Let’s leave it at that.”
There’s also this wonderful line from Clay Shirky’s HERE COMES EVERYBODY when he quotes former Internet Society trustee Scott Bradner:
“The internet means you don’t have to convince anyone else that something is a good idea before you try it.”
The”why” lies in a mixture of all three.
Depending on the day I do this primarily because I believe in altruism for altruism’s sake, or because helping people feels good, or because I don’t have to explain to anyone (and in particular a bored and jaded New York magazine editor) why writing about paragraphs and pineapples is important.
In short:
I care about writers and good writing and would like to see more of both.
For now those are good enough reasons for me. I hope they’re good enough for you.
6 Comments
September 30, 2009 at 1:35 pm
It absolutely astonishes me how many people in the writing/publishing industry give generously of their time to newbies and wanna be’s. And thank your deity of choice that they do. It makes me want to keep on writing and trying, just so I can hang out with such a great community.
September 30, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I for one am extremely grateful for the help and the tips – your blog reminds me how little I actually know, and has given me one more place to go when I run into a brick wall. Baby steps, and your blog is part of that.
October 1, 2009 at 9:12 am
I think you have to give. It doesn’t have to be a lot, it doesn’t necessarily have to be advice in your field, or money, but there should be some ‘give’ in everyone’s life. Particularly if you’re in a good position of ‘get.’ I get to make a living as a writer. That’s a fantastic ‘get’ and it keeps me grounded to balance some get with some give.
Sometimes it’s amazing how little of a give can have such a huge impact. I work a lot with teen writers. It takes a lot of courage for them to work up the nerve to ask me a question about writing, or to ask me to read something. They’re sure I’ll say no or blow them off because that attitude happens quite a bit to teenagers. Many view teens as not worth time or investment. I never turn them down and I never will. It takes me such little time to answer a question, or to read their work. But it means so much.
October 1, 2009 at 10:58 am
Some months ago one of the faithful contributors posted a link to a wonderfully informative blog by writer Dan Baum. There Mr. Baum posted about twenty of his magazine article pitch letters, some leading to an assignment some not. Terrifically enlightening. Well, those letters haven’t been posted for some time now and we can’t blame him for turning the art of the “query” into a commercial enterprize–his proposal writing expertise now for hire. No more free advice it seems from Mr. Baum. Makes one especially grateful for Dennis Cass. It can get lonely out here. Thanks.
October 1, 2009 at 11:47 am
I do my best to help other writers, doing talks, beta reading, the First Page Game at Electric Spec, not to mention the magazine itself, which I edit for free.
I continually insist that I get more out of it than anyone else. I learn something with every issue, with every book I beta. Encouraging new writers encourages me. It’s not for everyone, but it works for this writer.
Thanks Dennis, for all you do.
October 4, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Some of the people who have helped me out along the way have done so for no clear reason and with no expectation of getting anything in return (as if I had anything to offer them). This post made me think of a saying by an old philosopher: the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. You help a lot of people this way. Personally, I’m grateful.