I am not a fan of Ernest Hemingway. Every time I tried to get through his books, I hit a wall. When I was younger, I enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea. But I can't even get through that book now. Yet, I find Mickey Spillane to be a much easier read, and more fun as well. I'll jokingly describe many of his Mike Hammer tales as love stories - between Mike and his gun, Betsy. Even his secretary, Velma, plays a background role in his stories compared with Betsy.
When I broke up with my recent ex-girlfriend, several people said that I should write a book about it. That I will not do. I have good reasons for that, including the wish not to hurt her or any of the people whose characters I'd rework to tell my tale. Instead, I have other tales I'd want to tell, such as a man who beats the Devil at 3 wagers but who doesn't want the prize, saying that he "cheated", having read Satan and Sam Shay. The Devil and this man develop a friendship based on mutual respect, as the man gives the Devil a way to both redeem himself and to cause problems for the God that cast him to hell.
Another story I'd want to tell is that of a man (or woman) who is a fervent believer in democracy, but ends up becoming a brutal dictator (temporarily) to restore the country to a state where democracy can flourish again. When asked about the country he (or she) is leaving behind, Benjamin Franklin's famous words are used once more: "A republic, if you can keep it."
Of course, I could also explore science fiction, telling a tale about what aliens find when they encounter Earth for the first time. This would be a wrinkle on the typical "Take me to your leader" story, as the secret to Earth's survival would be that we have outsourced self governance to artificial intelligences without the general public realizing it has done this. A second secret uncovered in this tale would be that the alien species also had to do this, and has come for its own benign reasons.
Unfortunately, writing takes a lot of practice, something I haven't taken the time to do. I'll never be like J.D.Salinger, a man who gave up being a public figure and stopped writing for public consumption. If I were to make the effort to be a popular author, I would stay in the public eye and have fun with the time I was there....
