BWoz Daily

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Have you heard of Marcel Proust? I’ve owned his complete six volume “In Search of Lost Time” for several years now and every six months or so I consider trying to finish. So far I’ve read the first two volumes, but altogether it’s about 4000 pages long.

Why would I want to read this now?

Marcel Proust was a master at pontificating about nothing. I’m feeling more and more like this is a valuable skill to have as a daily blog writer. (I’m sure if you’re trying your hand at NaNoWriMo you probably feel the same.)

“In Search of Lost Time” is mostly auto-biographical. His books aren’t plotted out like a Dean Koontz or a Stephen King novel. They meander.

If you’re not up to reading the whole thing, there’s a really breezy book by Alain de Botton called “How Proust Can Change Your Life.” Not only is it easy to read. It’s also the best self-help book I’ve ever read.

If you’ve seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine, you may recall that the main character a Proust scholar. The best he can say for Proust is this: “Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he’s also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare.” On top of that he was a very sickly fellow who spent the last 3 years of his life confined to a bed.

As a struggling writer, I’m always looking for nuggets of encouragement. From Marcel Proust I learned this: No plot? No problem. As long as you have thoughts, you’ll always have something to write about.

I’ve accepted that I’ll never write as well as Proust and I’m okay with that. I do want people to actually read what I’ve written after all.

If you’re ready to pick up the torch and become one of the few people who’ve read one of the greatest writers ever, here’s what you can expect…

In the first 15 pages of “In Search of Lost Time,” Proust describes the exact moment he’s waking up in the morning and that’s it. He doesn’t relate a story. He doesn’t even get up. He describes in great detail how his consciousness slowly fills the room, how he realizes that his bed is in fact a bed and his lamp is in fact a lamp, all the myriad of thoughts that enter his mind just as soon as his eyes begin to open. It’s brain surgery with a fountain pen. I’m not surprised there’s even a new book called “Proust was a Neuroscientist.”

Sure, there’s some that would call his writing torturous to read. After all, 15 pages is more than enough to tell an entire story from start to finish. Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story with six words: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Hell, William Shatner even did it: “Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.” You can check out other six word stories here. But that’s not Proust’s style.

It’s marvelous writing, but I’m not ready to tackle the beast just yet. I’ve decided to postpone another six months. Besides, they say if you’re trying to improve your writing you shouldn’t only read the best. You should mix in some bad writing, so you’ll learn to identify your own writing mistakes. Do you think that’s true? What are your reading habits?