I often feel newspapers are just filling up space. Of course, I also know people who write really long books.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Every day I tell myself that reading newspapers is a waste of time, but then... I cannot do without them. They are like a drug.
I come from a long line of people that write. My folks ran a weekly newspaper.
If you imagine writing 1,000 words a day, which most journalists do, that would be a very long book a year. I don't manage nearly that... but I have published slightly too much recently.
Reading a newspaper is like reading someone's letters, as opposed to a biography or a history. The writer really does not know what will happen. A novelist needs to feel what that is like.
We're newspaper junkies; I can't imagine life without a newspaper.
I admit that I am hopelessly hooked on the printed newspaper. I love turning the pages and the serendipity of stumbling across a piece of irresistible information or a photograph that I wasn't necessarily intending to read.
One of the saddest things about publishing is how quickly it ages what it touches. The frenzy involved in getting books on shelves, and in putting the word out that they're there, moves at a speed that is not the speed of writing, let alone of reading.
I hate actual newspapers. In my opinion, they are only good for wrapping up presents or cleaning mirrors. Or packing boxes. Or stuffing into knee-high boots to help retain their shape. Or using for fun crafts. Okay, I don't hate actual newspapers, I guess.
I take a certain pride in having maintained a reputation for fast copy throughout my newspaper career. Fast-breaking stories left my typewriter in a hurry. Not great literature, perhaps, but fast, and usually accurate.
I read the newspapers avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction.