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Working Days The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck Books

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Working Days The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck Books

This is fantastic -- it's a great resource for beginning writers who need to know how other successful authors actually felt as they were writing.

At the stage this journal was being written, Steinbeck had already put out well received work. He was in the middle of writing "The Grapes of Wrath" and had serious doubts about his ability to do the work. THIS is what other authors need to know -- that EVERYBODY doubts themselves as they write. If you don't, there's probably something seriously wrong with you! What a reassuring thing, to read that one of the giants of literature too felt the pangs of insecurity in his ability to produce the kind of work he hoped to write.


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Working Days The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck Books Reviews

Working Days is a voyeuristic pleasure which will speak to authors and aspiring authors. It is reassuring to know that even one of America's greatest novelists dealt with procrastination, self-doubt, and fear. His resolve to write each day (2000 words) and his dedication to his art can be an inspiration to all.
An excellent into Steinbeck's daily concerns, anxieties, artistic process while writing The Grapes of Wrath. It made me want to read the journals for East of Eden.
Working Days is for Steinbeck readers or any student of creative processes and habits of successful people. John Steinbeck wrote the beefy The Grapes of Wrath like a freight train, averaging 2,000 words a day in longhand, from June through October, 1938. He did not do this in isolation. He got up an average of five days a week, had breakfast, wrote in his journal, then went to work until early evening, while hammers from neighborhood construction pounded relentlessly, amid human intrusions of all kinds, a souring stomach and self doubt. He was a purposeful journal-keeper, using it to set the goals for the day, to talk himself into character development and plot movement. No doubt the journal also served to subconsiously swat away the distractions so he could focus on the work. Working Days is edited by Robert Demott who has seemingly devoted his career to the meticulous scrutiny of Steinbeck's life, works and habits. If there can be a criticism of this volume, it's that Demott hovers too much; his is, for instance, one of the longest critical introductions I've come across. But this does not detract from the enjoyment of crawling around in Steinbeck's mind, which the journal freely permits.
It's very interesting to read about Steinbeck's self-doubt; that's the one thing I will always remember from this book, especially when I feel defeated about something in my own life. He'd already published several acclaimed books, "Of Mice and Men" was a successful play, and he still said, "I'm not a writer; I've been fooling everybody, including myself." There are periods that he would get really down on himself and other times when he had to shut people out because he had to be productive. Very inspiring, especially if you're undertaking something like a dissertation or other big project that makes you feel hopeless at times. It's good to know that even the best have felt that way.
There are no surprises here, except for the fact that John Steinbeck was the best writer of his day. The workings of his mind as he crafts The Grapes of Wrath is a wonder to behold. Carefully weaving his compassion, his love of California and his futile belief in the Good of Mankind, amidst personal upheaval and self doubt, Working Days is a book that any serious writer should have on his shelf or bedside table for inspiration.
This book is illuminating. He had fame, a good writing practice, a dutiful wife, a nice place to live... and he still wasn't happy. He was haunted, always doubting himself and his work. This is a must read for any aspiring writer that believes fame and money is gonna make them happy. Actually, a must read for any writer. His schedule got the work done. His wife suffered greatly and their marriage ended soon after. He wasn't happy. But his legacy, producing The Grapes of Wrath - was it worth it? (Yes, in my humble opinion.)
In this book we see Steinbeck working as a journalist and learning about the lives of the Okies, the fugitives from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl. He would later turn what he learned into a number of electrifying novels, most notably "The Grapes of Wrath." He taught his fellow Americans to pity or at least sympathize a population who had been stigmatized as "lazy and shiftless." They were everything but -- they had been hard working farmers who suddenfly found the very soil in which they had planted crops literally disappearing.
This is fantastic -- it's a great resource for beginning writers who need to know how other successful authors actually felt as they were writing.

At the stage this journal was being written, Steinbeck had already put out well received work. He was in the middle of writing "The Grapes of Wrath" and had serious doubts about his ability to do the work. THIS is what other authors need to know -- that EVERYBODY doubts themselves as they write. If you don't, there's probably something seriously wrong with you! What a reassuring thing, to read that one of the giants of literature too felt the pangs of insecurity in his ability to produce the kind of work he hoped to write.