Norman Mailer and the Discipline of Writing

Today, January 31st, is the birth anniversary of Norman Mailer… a “towering writer of matching ego” as his NY Times obituary read.

Mailer was prolific as a writer, and other things. Since the 1948 publication of The Naked and the Dead, he published 30 books, wrote untold numbers of short stories, essays, and plays, was married 6 times, had 9 children, received 2 Pulitzers and 1 National Book Award.

His first novel, The Naked and the Dead, was published as a 25-year-old literary novice. The NY Times book critic called it “the most impressive novel about the Second World War that I have ever read.” Mr. Mailer saw little combat in the war and finished his military career as a cook in occupied Japan. But his wartime experience, and in particular a single patrol he made on the island of Leyte, became the raw material for “The Naked and the Dead,” the book that put him on the map. The book sold 200,000 copies in just 3 months…an astonishing amount in those days. It was on the NY Times bestseller list for 11 consecutive weeks.

The Writing Discipline
Mailer said, “Being a real writer means being able to work on a bad day.” Mailer stuck to a strict writing regimen. He said: "Over the years, I've found one rule. It is the only one I give on those occasions when I talk about writing. A simple rule. If you tell yourself you are going to be at your desk tomorrow, you are by that declaration asking your unconscious to prepare the material. You are, in effect, contracting to pick up such valuables at a given time. Count on me, you are saying to a few forces below: I will be there to write."

He wrote daily from 9 to 5, up until his death at the age of 84. For the last 27 years of his life, he shared a studio with his sixth and last wife, Norris Church Mailer, an artist and writer. They each had their own space. Mailer sat on a wooden chair looking out at the Provincetown Bay — he liked to be near water when he wrote — but he closed the curtains when he really needed to concentrate. Mailer and his wife ate breakfast and lunch on their own schedule, but they would meet up at 6 p.m. to drink wine and eat dinner.

In an interview in 2007, months before his death, Mailer said…“I think the novel is on the way out. I also believe, because it’s natural to take one’s own occupation more seriously than others, that the world may be the less for that.”

by Chris Holman

Ask Not!

Fifty years ago today, January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered his only inaugural address. The address was among the shortest inaugurals ever presented…just 1364 words…and took 14 minutes from start-to-end. However, American Rhetoric magazine recognized this address as one of the best speeches of the 20th Century…second only to Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Kennedy’s words still resonate today. The memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country,” was a clarion call for a renewed commitment to government service. As President, Kennedy wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of human rights. With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps (Sargent Shriver, the program’s first director, passed away recently), he brought American idealism to the aid of developing nations.

(Interestingly, in a recent survey undertaken by AARP, 70% of Americans believe that the country has not yet lived up to Kennedy’s inaugural challenge.)

Who wrote the speech’s magnificent phrase… "Ask not…"? Ted Sorensen (who also passed away recently) was Kennedy’s advisor, speechwriter, and “intellectual blood bank,” and widely regarded as having a strong hand with this unforgettable expression. Throughout the years, Sorensen has loyally maintained a speechwriter’s code of silence with regard to the authorship of these words.

Following a talk that Ted Sorensen gave regarding his life and times, during the Q & A he was asked if the words were his...or JFK's. His brilliant response to the questioner was…“Ask not!”

by Chris Holman

Crossing Your Own Rubicon

It was on this day in 49 B.C. that Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River…and launched a civil war.

At the time, Caesar was the governor of Gaul…what is now France and Belgium. Caesar had conquered most of Western Europe, all the way to Britain. However, in Rome, Caesar’s political alliances were falling apart. Pompey, who had been a comrade, had turned against Caesar and was turning the Roman Senate against Caesar as well.

In 50 B.C., the Senate demanded that Caesar disband his army and return to Rome. According to Roman law, if a general was accompanied by a standing army when he entered the official Roman Republic from one of the Roman provinces, he would be considered a traitor. Caesar was convinced that, if he obeyed the Senate’s orders and disbanded his army, he would lose his base of power with no one to defend him.

When Caesar reached the Rubicon River, according to legend, he had still not made up his mind regarding his choice. With the famous phrase, “Alea iacta est,” or “The die is cast,” he decided to cross…and the Roman Republic was thrown into civil war. Eventually, Caesar defeated Pompey and became the emperor of Rome. As Emperor, he centralized power in Rome, eliminated much of the government’s debt, disbanded powerful guilds, launched a massive rebuilding effort, established a police force, modified the calendar…and demanded that he be revered as a part-deity. Five years later, he was assassinated.

Commitment and the Coaching Process
Coaching works because it can be difficult maintaining momentum by oneself. We have all had the experience of wanting to make a change in our life where we charge off with the best of intentions…only to look around a few months later to see that nothing has really happened.

However, with the simple act of telling your plan to another person, e.g. a coach, one raises the stakes and draws public awareness to your commitment… reinforcing its importance.

Moreover, with coaching, there is a process of regular commitment, accountability, and ongoing action. As many athletes are aware, the regular commitment instilled by the coaching process creates focus and discipline. Coaching uses the power of public commitment to keep the client on track, remain in action, and focus on the learning.

Crossing Your Own Rubicon
Today, the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has entered popular culture, meaning "past the point of no return." And it is used in all sorts of contexts big and small. Ok, ok, ok…I know that it’s a bit of a stretch to compare Caesar’s dramatic Rubicon moment to the mini-Rubicons that all of us face today. However, it is not a stretch to underscore how all of us can choose to commit ourselves to actions that, inexorably, lead us forward. The power of coaching is that we create co-active partners who are witness to our commitments to cross into new territories, stretching our boundaries.

“As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they can.”…Julius Caesar