'How can I take myself less seriously?'
Dear Daniel, I worry that as an author I take myself too seriously. Do you have any advice on avoiding this?
In my fortnightly Agony Author column, I answer questions from my readers about writing and navigating life as a Serious Literary Author. Because I sadly need to eat, these posts are exclusively for paid littérateurs. If you would like to submit a question for the next edition, please do so in the comments below.
‘Dear Daniel, I worry that as an author I take myself too seriously. Do you have any advice on how to avoid this?’ -
Daniel says:
My dear littérateur, you are asking the wrong question. If there is one thing I have been trying to teach my readers from day one, it is that, as a writer, it is impossible to take yourself too seriously. No writer has ever graduated from author to Serious Literary Author by taking themselves less seriously. And the work does not end once the coveted title of SLA has been achieved. Far from it. Even I, arguably the most serious of literary authors operating today, strive to reach higher levels of seriousness, literariness and authorness every single day. The question you should be asking is how to take yourself more seriously. And it is this question that, with your blessing, Mr. Blessing, I shall answer.