an example of REAL productivity

If you want to see an example of real productivity, as opposed to my own pale academic shadow thereof, just scroll to the bottom of the Wikipedia page of JOYCE CAROL OATES, and let the jaws drop.

Although one reviewer accused Oates of “an obsessive-compulsive disorder” for writing that much (James Wolcott: “Stop me before I write again: Six hundred more pages by Joyce Carol Oates”), the Nobel Prize nominators do not seem to have noticed any problems with quality; she’s been rumored on the short list for the Prize for some years now.

Wolcott’s review title is obviously very funny. I haven’t read the review itself, and so have no idea whether it was merely humorous or actually spiteful. But “spiteful” is always possible, and that’s the one bad thing about greatly magnified productivity– it creates bad feelings in some people, and you will find them suddenly insisting (or more likely, merely insinuating) that your “quality” has dropped off. You’ll hear a lot of vague hints about the supposed inverse ration between quantity or quality. No doubt this inverse ratio exists in the case of some people, but I strongly doubt it’s the rule; more often its’ the case that “the more you write, the better you write.”

It might be thought that the only way to deal with such criticisms is to ignore them. But there’s actually a better way– namely, start reading and associating with those who are doing even more. There’s always someone doing even more, and it’s better to expose yourself mentally to the imagined exhortations of those people than to the genuine digs of the others.

As for Oates, I also have an automatic soft spot for anyone who appreciates Lovecraft as much as she does.