Writer Cat Fight

Alma is indeed quite right... in theory. But the reality is Jones is attention-whoring while pretending to be the great Montana everyday outdoorsman. He's been doing this for years. The phoniness in his blog and unchecked desire for acclaim reveal a man, with the right editing, capable of being an elite-level Jayson Blair.

 

Wow. That's a bit harsh. Comparing Jones to Jayson Blair? Not seeing it under any circumstances

 

Jayson Blair?

 

Writing to change people and create a ripple effect? That's going to sound an awful lot to some people like writing with an agenda.

 

Well, that just took a turn for the weird. And shit, Jones is from Montana?!?! What a phony. Here I've been thinking he's a nice Canuckistani, who has been good to other people in the biz.

Anyhoo, I like to win awards. I like the validation it gives from having others in the business read my work and determine it is the best.

Is it unseemly or beneath the dignity of the writer or their publication? Gots me. I just know that it feels nice. Particularly for a project you fought for or spent months working on. It doesn't just validate the words, it validates the effort you put into it.

 

And what the hell's an elite-level Jayson Blair? I guess that could be a description of Stephen Glass. And was Jayson Blair a poor man's Janet Cooke?

 

When I hit "send" on this baby I was expecting nothing less than "Thread of the Year".

 

No worries.

"When Emoticons Go Wrong. Film at 11:00."

 

Because I'm a Christian I feel compelled to say...we're all capable of being an elite-level Jayson Blair. And in "we," I include you. At any given time, we must be honest: What Blair did is two doors down on right. It only takes a handful of footsteps to get there. Some of us even make the walk and turn the knob for a peek inside. And what we're peeking at isn't what you presume it to be.

That's because what you accuse of Jones isn't the same kind of dishonesty Blair engaged in. Blair admitted his pathology. He was the guy proverbially inviting whores into his wife's bed and making them kiss her pillow with their red lipstick. He left clues. You're saying Jones is pretending to be something he's not. Blair wasn't pretending. He made up stories to intentionally reveal his dark heart. They're quite different.

 

A transparent Mitch Albom blog would read much the same as Jones's. You can't see it because Jones isn't in Michigan writing regularly. He writes 4 or 5 times a year for a Magazine you don't read. Same personality. Same goals.

 

Never read something that didn't have the most basic of agendas: Making sense.

You can't be blind to the realities of how words affect people. We're not Col. Klink here.

 

No it wouldn't. Boy, no it wouldn't.

Albom would write almost precisely the opposite. <i>Awards? Huh? Book sales? This is about <b>joie de escrit</b>, people!</i>