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I Will Not Write Your Book
Men, please stop asking.
I hope this doesn’t come as too much of a shock to anyone, but women can generate our own ideas. Upsetting, I know.
It’s clear just how upsetting this is to some when I say something fresh, new, and intelligent and folks respond with, “Wait, how did you learn that?”
I learned it the same way a man might. I read about it, spit-balled it with other intelligent friends, and then I thought hard on it for a while, synthesized the information I’d gathered, and came up with something novel.
But the most upset I ever see people is after they hear I’m a writer and spend the next ten minutes pulverizing my brain with “this great idea for a book” before hitting me with this generous pitch: “Maybe we could work on this together!”
Moments like these are what the phrase “bless your heart” was made for.
So I let the person know I’m not interested, because coming up with ideas is the easy part of being a writer.
It’s why so few people ever complete their first novel. First five pages? Nailed it. Next three hundred? Eh…
Hold up, though. Because if you’re imagining that most of the people who suggest I would be so lucky as to write their book are men, shame on you for your broad assumption. But…
