I remember little from my reading of that book except his instructions to a student writer who couldn't think of what to write for her essay assignment. He starts with something like "look at one block of main street" and when the student still can't write, tightens the focus again and again until he's down to one brick in the wall of a particular building. Then and only then is the student able to write. I used that episode in my writing classes, called it the "brick by brick approach to finding a subject."
I remember seeing that book about motorcycle maintenance. I almost checked it out once but I was afraid it was too much about a topic I knew nothing about and would lose interest. Maybe I’ll try again sometime.
So that's the great bookstore in Denver that you were telling me about , Diamond. I have my own tattered cover copy of Zen and the Art that I read many years ago and can especially relate to because I've been a motorcyclist for decades. You should check our Zen and Now by Mark Richardson, which is about his following the route of Pirsig's 1968 journey in the early 2000s. I found a used copy of it in a thrift shop and it inspired me to get back into travel writing. I came up with the idea of 83 Odyssey after this.
I remember little from my reading of that book except his instructions to a student writer who couldn't think of what to write for her essay assignment. He starts with something like "look at one block of main street" and when the student still can't write, tightens the focus again and again until he's down to one brick in the wall of a particular building. Then and only then is the student able to write. I used that episode in my writing classes, called it the "brick by brick approach to finding a subject."
I remember seeing that book about motorcycle maintenance. I almost checked it out once but I was afraid it was too much about a topic I knew nothing about and would lose interest. Maybe I’ll try again sometime.
It’s truly an epic read Patrick. Highly recommend.
So that's the great bookstore in Denver that you were telling me about , Diamond. I have my own tattered cover copy of Zen and the Art that I read many years ago and can especially relate to because I've been a motorcyclist for decades. You should check our Zen and Now by Mark Richardson, which is about his following the route of Pirsig's 1968 journey in the early 2000s. I found a used copy of it in a thrift shop and it inspired me to get back into travel writing. I came up with the idea of 83 Odyssey after this.
“Zen and Now” — I’ll check that out.