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Writer 2

September 8, 2013

He was a writer but his books didn't sell well.  He asked one of the clerks at the company where his books were published why his books weren't selling. The clerk said, "Your stories somehow aren't 'real' enough."  He asked the clerk what he should do.  The clerk introduced him to a bestseller writer who had a reputation of writing 'real' stories.  He met the bestseller writer and asked him what made his stories 'real'.  The writer said, "I've never told my tips to anybody, but, because, I owe the clerk, who helped me when I was poor, I will talk with you.  Anyways, before I answer your question, what do you think makes stories 'real'?"  He thought for a second and answered, "Writer's experience?"       The writer laughed, "Amateurs think so. But, if you need experience for realistic stories, Agatha Christie must have killed hundreds of people."  "That makes sense," he agreed with the idea.  The bestseller writer asked, "Any other ideas?"  He hated that he had to think about it instead of getting answers but thought and replied, "How about through interviews? I've heard that some good writers interview others to get information for their stories."  The writer said, "It depends. It depends on whether the interviewee tells the truth or not.  Do you think vicious criminals would talk about their real crimes?  Remember, they have to say that they are innocent."  "True," he agreed with the idea again.       "You should think harder," the writer said.  He complained, "I'm here to ask you. What is your tip to make stories real?"  The writer said, "Don't be so haste. Young people tend to want to get answers easily.  Easy answers earn little. But this time, I'll rephrase it: What do you think the most tiring, boring story is?"  He was disgusted to answer but thought for a second and said, "I don't know, but common life is kind of boring."     "Good! You are not so bad!"  The writer got excited, "As you said, common things are boring.  In our usual lives, nobody is murdered, no handsome guys become detectives.  Common lives are real, because they are literally real life.  So, if you write the most realistic dramas, they will be boring stories, and they won't sell.  What will you do in that case?"       He hated the writer's asking him but he had started to think that the writer's approach was not so bad. "What should I do if stories are 'real', and not interesting?"  He came up with an idea.     (To be continued ...)

*reputation :the opinion that people have about someone or something based on their behaviour or character in the past (C)