Blog: Behind the Book, Issue 3

As the release of the non-fiction book The Boys in Brown approaches, author Jon J. Kerr takes readers inside the process. On Tuesdays, the series Brown Beginnings gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the conception and reporting of the story. Thursdays, he blogs about the writing and publishing steps before launch.

Ernest Hemingway

Writer Ernest Hemingway spoke one of the most prophetic lines about writing. When asked how long he worked on each novel, he said:

“The first draft of anything is shit.”

Billy Joel wrote a song called “Get It Right the First Time,” only he wasn’t crooning about songwriting. He was lamenting how boys rarely get second chances to make a good impression with girls.

“Get it right the first time that’s main thing…get it right the next time that’s not the same thing”

When it comes to book writing, Hemingway’s blunt opinion trumps Joel’s puppy love prose.

With The Boys in Brown, I thought I had it right the first time. I had a successful football team. I had smart, introspective players. I had colorful characters around the program. The relationship between the program, school, and surrounding community was fiercely loyal. I had all the makings of a vivid, evocative narrative.

Then Peter Meyer, my first editor, asked a seemingly innocuous question after reading the first draft in the summer of 2012.

“Is there more story?

Metaphorically, the question served as both a kick in the pants and cold splash of water to the face. I knew there was a greater, more socially complex story to be told. But I didn’t take action. I waffled. Reporters are just like athletes or regular people. At times, we are bold and self-assured. We are also human, a state of being accompanied by bouts of timidity and uncertainty. What I needed at that moment was an authority figure to give permission to act on what I already knew I had to do. By asking that question, Peter unknowingly gave me permission to go for it.

 

Original title page for The Boys in Brown

So what did I do?

In the fall of 2012, I started over. I found new sources to talk to. I did my interviews. I transcribed my interviews. I did research. I tracked down information. Basically, I did what a reporter does (I will write in more detail about this storyline in a future Brown Beginnings blog post). The next progression was to begin writing. But I didn’t. Instead, I stepped away.

I was busy with the normal balancing act of life–juggling work (I had a day job as a sports reporter for the Pioneer Press newspapers) and family. But we all juggle that stuff. Many of us have side businesses or charitable causes we squeeze into our daily lives. The writer Jeff Goins calls it “tension management.” Those who manage tensions (what used to be referred to as “multitasking”) are more productive. So it had nothing to do with lack of time.

No, what slowed the project to a screeching halt was potentially much calamitous than managing life’s tensions.

What I suffered from was a contemporary form of writer’s block.