Mining for Gold in the Books We Read

What it is like to find the perfect phrase

The lover of books is a miner, searching for gold — Kathleen Norris

I think as readers, we are all searching for gold. That phrase that says so much. The line that describes exactly our experience or the thoughts we haven’t yet found the words to express. The perfect combination of words that can make us burst out laughing. These nuggets are what keep us lifelong readers. Whether it’s found in a book or an article, they’re the lines that make you pause.

As a member of Medium, I read far more articles than books every week, and I’m never disappointed. An example is a line in a poem by Shringi Kumari, Happy New Year. She wrote:

People have fallen off my branches like weakly clung leaves.

This was poignant to me because last year I decided to step away from a long time friendship for various reasons, and have with a few other friends over the years. It’s always a bit sad for me, but also brings a lightness to leave certain people behind.

I belong to an on-line writing group called Nexus Generation and we have a monthly book group discussion. Last month we read Stephen King’s — On Writing. Loaded with tips — the one that jumped out was:

There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.

This spoke to me as a fairly new writer who sometimes struggles with finding ideas to write about. I know they’re all around me but I’m still trying to recognize them as potential fodder.

Recently, I was looking through Change Your Life! a little book of big ideas (Allen Klein) for the perfect quote to add to a piece I was working on and came upon two unexpected ones that hopefully I can use elsewhere. I’m of the age to appreciate this one by Monta Crane,

One advantage of growing older is that you can stand for more and fall for less.

How true!

The next one was said by “The Great One” — hockey icon Wayne Gretzky.

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

That was directed right at me like a slap shot — I am a terrible self saboteur. I hold back on my potential success from fear. Fear of what I don’t know. Succeeding?

Last week I finished a fascinating book called Nomadland (Jessica Bruder) about the dark underbelly of the American economy. She explores the emerging wandering tribe of people who are, for various reasons, unable to afford traditional housing. They are having to embrace “wheel estate.” Vans, RVs, campers, travel trailers and even cars are becoming homes as the middle class has to face impossible choices. She writes:

Some call them homeless. The new nomads reject that label. Equipped with both shelter and transportation, they’ve adopted a different word. They refer to themselves, quite simply, as houseless. They are surviving America.

This is something that could potentially happen to any of us and made me think there but for the grace of God go I.

Changes made at Medium last year seemed to discourage some writers. Some felt they were in “curation jail” and others — the poets in particular — lamented a loss of revenue. Then I read, Writers No Longer Need to Be Curated by Medium to Do Extremely Well by Tim Denning. The gem for me was:

You could never make a dollar on Medium, have zero views, and if you write for five years straight, the rest will take care of itself. The opportunities to make money present themselves when you’ve written for long enough.

This was like having an infusion of oxygen and was the lift I needed.

Another “aha” moment was in an article by Natalie Frank, Ph.D.— Write What You Love, Not What You Know or What You Think Others Want to Read. Simple right? Not for some of us who are trying to build a Medium following and still aren’t sure what niche or genre we belong to. Her words:

When we’re passionate about and interested in what we write and when it comes from an authentic and genuine place, that translates onto the page.

I decided to do just that and felt joy when I wrote a simple story about tobogganing of all things.

I found Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic very encouraging. She talks about the rejection writers get at some point and refers to something blogger Mark Manson said:

Because if you love and want something enough — whatever it is — then you don’t really mind eating the shit sandwich that comes with it.

This and Stephen King (On Writing) who recalled his stack of rejection slips, had me prepared and almost looking forward to my first one! When I received it, I wasn’t exactly happy but neither was I sad. I knew it was an important rite to go through and I’m sure I’ll be in possession of many more as I try to build a good foundation as a writer.

Heck! As an amateur mushroom hunter, I even stumbled across a great line in the guide All That the Rain Promises, and More…(David Arora).

The miracle of mushrooms is in their spontaneity and resilience. Springing from ground that looked so hard and bleak, they seem to embody all that we carry, and bury, inside us: secret passions and dormant dreams awaiting inspiration, instigation, and conditions that precipitate growth. Rain has become my catalyst, drawing me up, bringing me out.

Was he describing me? Maybe. Something finally clicked a few years ago to motivate me to start writing and it was definitely something that I read. And the more I read, the more I have to/want to write.

Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. — Nora Ephron