Susan Orlean on writers and publishing

I just listened to MediaBistro's Jason Boog interview best selling author Susan Orlean about nonfiction writing and her new book Rin Tin Tin. Orlean had some great quotes about writing, and some generous tips for nonfiction writers. When I get access to the recording of the interview I will post some of the quotes.

In response to a question about the future of publishing Orlean said something really important. Her response went something like this (severely paraphrased)...

The publishing world is going to change. What it will look like in five years is (unknown) but there will always be (a hunger for) stories. 

I am a writer. What goes on in the publishing world is not my business. (Our job as writers) is to find (and write) stories.

Stories are the only thing that will endure, and the only thing (that a reader can't Google.) There will always be a hunger for them. If the New Yorker disappears tomorrow, something else will appear (to publish stories.) (Whether they are published in a paper or ebook format is irrelevant.)

Orlean's latest book is Rin Tin Tin.

Avoid the poisonous palm tree

We stepped carefully from rock to rock. They were wet and slick.  It was the second day of my Amazon visit, and a guide was leading us to a jungle camp. I stumbled and instinctively reached out to brace myself on a tree. The guide yelled, "NO! NO!"

I looked at my hand. It rested on a cleared space of the trunk of a palm tree. Above and below my hand, the trunk was covered with hard, sharp needles. If my hand had been six inches higher i would have had a dozen poisonous spikes through my palm.  We were four hours by trail, boat, and taxi ride from any kind of medical care.

I was lucky. Someone had carefully cleared the tree trunk of needles, exactly where a clumsy visitor's hand would land if he stumbled and fell.

I learned my first big lesson about the jungle: Look carefully before you put your hand anywhere.

I was too freaked out to remember to take a picture of the needles. When I got home I searched the Internet for several days before I finally found the tree. Its latin name is Bactris gasipaes. The tree trunk shown below has been cleared of spines every foot or so.

Four inch spines. Used for needles, weapons and fish hooks.

It seems like every plant in the Amazon has a dozen unexpected uses. The Pijuayo palm tree is no exception.

In the past, indigenous peoples used the spines for needles, fish hooks and weapons. The tree has been cultivated since pre-Columbian times, and today it is an important part of the economies of Central and South America. The tree is a source of food. The trunk is harvested for palm hearts. The fruit is eaten raw, reduced to edible cooking oil, processed into  flour, or cooked into jelly.

Anatomy of the Michelle Welsch blog post

My Michelle Welsch blog post has drawn more traffic, more quickly, than anything I've ever posted.

Why? Did I just get the words right? Is Michelle Welsch famous? I have no idea.

The original post:

Michelle Welsch is looking for a few interesting people.

What would you pay to spend an evening with interesting people who share your enthusiasms?

Michelle Welsch is a charming, likeable woman who apparently knows just about everybody. (One of her gigs is organizing events for Seth Godin.)

She is looking for a few people for a small gathering in downtown Manhattan on  Monday, July 23 from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM. The agenda is conversation, connection, and inspiration.

If you are an entrepreneur, student, writer, film maker or artist of any kind, apply here. You won't regret it.

A few writerly observations on why this short blog post works:
- Good title. It's provocative and interesting.
- Good opening sentence. It asks a question and makes a promise.
- Good intro to Michelle. It tells the truth and cites her authority for hosting this gig.
- Good specifics. What, when, and where are clearly stated.
- Good ending. Summary, where to find out more, and a clear promise of benefit.
- The title is 9 words long (An RSS feed will show about 7 words, so title is 2 more than ideal.)
- It is short. The body of the post is 89 words long (I don't like to go over 130 words for an 'average' post)
- The title follows Subject Verb Object construction with an active verb, "looking"
- The title begins with the name of a person.

The Great Moto Taxi Junket

The Adventurists.com and their Moto Taxi Junket across Peru.

Moto taxi across the Andes

A team of Australians with "questionable survival instincts" drive 2000 km across the Andes and through the Amazon in a moto taxi.

Dervla Murphy walks across the Andes

Update below

Dervla Murphy, her nine-year-old daughter Rachel and their mule Juana walked the length of Peru. Murphy tells the story in Eight Feet In the Andes.

Murphy is now in her early eighties, and still travels the world.

Update
I just started reading another Dervla Murphy book, Ireland. I got the book because I wanted to get a sense of how Murphy writes, while I look for a copy of Eight Feet in the Andes. Murphy is a fantastic writer. Her prose is compelling, energizing, electric. This is the first coffee table book I might actually finish. Klaus D Francke's accompanying photographs of Ireland are stunning. I can't find any of the Ireland photos online. Only Francke's arial photography is online. I like the Ireland shots better.

Would you ride a moto taxi?

The first  that struck me about Pucallpa Peru were the swarms of moto taxis on the streets. (Tony Dunnell wrote an excellent article about moto taxis.)  These three-wheel contraptions are fun to ride and cheap. 5 new soles (about $2 US) will take you just about anywhere. (Make sure to agree on a price before you step aboard.)

Each moto taxi is a small business. The driver is a "micro entrepreneur". Starting a moto taxi business looks simple: Think about it. Buy one. Do it.

When I told a US friend about the moto taxis, he replied, "I've given micro loans to people to buy moto taxis." You can make your own micro loan to a moto taxi driver at Kiva.org

Micro lending is big in Peru. According to AOL Daily Finance writer Emily Schmall, Peru ranks No. 1 in the annual Economist Intelligence Unit survey of world's best business environments for microlending.

Did I mention that they are fun to ride? Here's a video of a Pucallpa taxi ride posted by Hobo Traveller on YouTube.