Journal of a Novel part 1

Started on Steinbeck's "Journal of a Novel - The East of Eden letters". The book is actually a compilation of letters which Steinbeck used to write every day to his publisher friend Pascal Covici while he was working on "East of Eden". Incidentally Pascal Covici(Pat) had given Steinbeck a large blue notebook to write his new novel. Steinbeck chose to write the novel only on the right hand page and used the left hand pages to write long letters for his friend. In that sense, the left hand pages was more like a bullpen for him where he used to practice before actually penning down his thoughts on the right hand pages. The letters offer a rare glimpse inside the mind of Steinbeck. His writing, his health, children are all mentioned though the real personal stuff have not been published. In one section he even mentions about the make and model of pencils he is using to write..
Normally I read books pretty quickly but this one is so deep (for lack of a better word) and has so many ideas floating around that I have to literally read a page two or three times to finally grasp it all. For example this is what Steinbeck writes about the creative process.

"The craft or art of writing is the clumsy attempt to find symbols for the wordlessness. In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable. And sometimes if he is very fortunate and the time is right, a very little of what he is trying to do trickles through - not ever much. And if he is a writer wise enough to know it can't be done, then he is not a writer at all. A good writer always works as the impossible. There is another kind who pulls in his horizons, drops his mind as one lowers rifle sights. And giving up the impossible he gives up writing. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, this has not happened to me. The same blinding effort, the straining and puffing go on in me. And always I hope that a little trickles through. This urge dies hard"

All this huffing and puffing comes from this guy who used to write upwards of 4000 words a day. Actually Steinbeck will never be considered as having the greatest talent but when it comes to hardwork, discipline and putting in long hours to create an absolute gem; he will be hard to beat.