Won't someone think of the children?

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let's screw this up.jpg

I have forced myself to start working on Lichtenbergianism for Kids [working title], and it's about as awful as an ABORTIVE ATTEMPT can be.

Part of the problem is that I seem to be rewriting Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy instead of refocusing, and that is because I haven't focused enough on our very own Precept of AUDIENCE: who is this book for?

As Georg Christoph Lichtenberg says, "It is almost impossible to write anything good without imagining someone, or a certain group of people, whom one is addressing. In 999 cases out of a thousand it at any rate greatly facilitates the execution."  I am forced to confess that the man was right.

So who is this book for? I'm not sure.  What I've written so far appears to be for an adult AUDIENCE with a shorter attention span. What it needs to be, I think, is for the creative 12–16-year-old crowd.

I guess. Maybe? I should ask my agent.  Oh wait.

Here's one part that I like and will keep:

STEP 1: HOW TO TELL IF YOU'RE CREATIVE.  TAKE THIS EASY QUIZ AND FIND OUT!

  • WHEN YOU WERE A LITTLE KID (OR EVEN NOW), DID YOU EVER SING SONGS? DID YOU MAKE UP SONGS?
  • DID YOU DANCE AROUND YOUR ROOM OR YOUR BACK YARD?
  • DID YOU MAKE UP STORIES FOR YOUR TOYS TO ACT OUT?
  • DID YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS PRETEND TO BE ACTION HEROES?
  • DID YOU EVER DRAW A PICTURE LIKE THIS?
kid drawing house.jpg

IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS, CONGRATULATIONS — YOU'RE CREATIVE!

IF YOU DIDN'T ANSWER YES TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY PUT THIS BOOK DOWN, BECAUSE YOU MAY BE A DOG OR A HOUSEPLANT AND YOU CANNOT READ.

Etc.

More work is required.  Failure is always an option. Cras melior est.