Writing "Great American Novels."

"Hard writing makes easy reading." - Wallace Stegner

It's a fairly common opinion that writers should read great books, as it provides inspiration and fuel for our own creations. I also believe this theory to be true, as I always experience the black hole of writer's block when I'm not currently reading. So about 4 years ago, I set a goal to read 50 pieces of literature in a year. I like to switch up what I'm reading, so I don't fall into a slump: from memoirs to novels to short stories and poetry.

I never come anywhere near 50 books. Two years ago, I reached 21, which is the closest I've ever come to my goal.

This year, I opted not to set such an unreachable number, and decided to try to tackle 25 instead of 50. It's July 1, and I've read 7 books. I have a ways to go.

Currently, I'm knee-deep in a character study about 2 couples from the field of English academia who are the closest of friends and have a warm, loving, complicated relationship, right in the heart of the Depression-era. "Crossing to Safety" is a book that looked slightly dull to me after reading the outside jacket, but once I discovered the supreme talent and writing skills Mr. Stegner possesses, I changed my tune. It's chocked-full of English nerdery, and I see why it was recommended to me by someone at work who has a PhD in literature.

I couldn't have picked a better time to read this novel. The story is narrated by Larry, a writer and professor who loses his job at the University of Wisconsin due to lack of tenure and has to actually consider making a living from his writing.

How does one actually do this? To me that answer at times seems unreachable. It's so far from where I am, that I don't know that I'll ever get to that point where my office is a nomadic laptop or a notepad, not a desk that I need to sit at from 9-5.

Don't get me wrong: I love my job. I do. I work in the biggest hospital in downtown Minneapolis, for a data-based research company where employees are respectful of one another, where the doctors have invisible egos, and where everyone wants to learn. My retirement package is so amazing that it will have to take something truly grand for me to leave this place.

But true literary success would most likely send me out.

Deep in the pages of this book, Mr. Stegner gives lots of helpful advice on being the best writer you can be, as well as how unsuccessful a lot of writers are, and how it's important that you write for the "right reasons," which differs from person to person. A vast majority of us who consider ourselves writers would ideally love to be financially successful. We need only to work hard and often, find the niche that best suits us, and pray that eventually, someone will appreciate what we've poured our heart and soul into, and give us a book deal.

In the midst of a dinner scene, Larry is discussing books with a publisher and demeans something that had been recently published by them as "meaningless fluff."

In our time, I wonder what "fluff" would refer to. Danielle Steel? Dean Koontz? Maybe, but that could just be a matter of opinion; Danielle in Dean could actually and truly believe in their writing and be proud of it, and would probably tell people it's not just for the money. If so, good for them.

So "Crossing to Safety" is giving me a little flashlight into the literary hopes and dreams I've had stowed away in my brain ever since I was a little girl. I need to remember why I spent hours of my childhood at my desk, happily writing away and getting lost in writing stories I believed in. I need to write what matters to me, what I'm passionate about, and what makes me happy. However, it's also important to consider the business aspect, and make sure I end up where I'd like to be, whether that be an obscure indie author or another successful paperback on Oprah's Book Club list.

I think finding that balance is going to be slightly tricky. I may not know until I get there.