Beijing Boyce XX: Mailbag!
Email: “Congratulations on passing the 50,000-word mark, but where do you find the time?” — A.E.
BB: It’s easier than it seems. An average biweekly issue is 2,500 words and, since most of the material constitutes simple observations, I can write 300 or more words per hour. That means about thirty or forty minutes per night on the laptop, less than many people spend watching TV, one habit I somehow failed to acquire.
As for research, the key is to mix work and play, food and drink. For example, if I meet a business acquaintance at Browns for dinner, then walk to Q Bar for a drink with a friend, popping my head into First Cafe and Beer Mania on the way, then in three hours I end up with one meal, two drinks and four newsletter entries. I’m sure this is disappointing to some who imagine me pounding down a dozen cocktails a night and stumbling about town, pockets full of taxi receipts, to serve the communal liver. I do indulge in the occasional pub crawl, but alack and alas this newsletter requires taking notes and that requires some sobriety.
(From Beijing Boyce XX, first emailed on July 13, 2006)
No comments yet. Be the first.
Leave a reply
