Life as a song; how are the lyrics?

“Storytelling is ultimately a creative act of pattern recognition. Through characters, plot and setting, a writer creates places where previously invisible truths become visible. Or the storyteller posits a series of dots that the reader can connect.” – Douglas Coupland

Canadian novelist and artist Coupland – who is celebrating his 55^th birthday today – has been described as "...possibly the most gifted exegete of North American mass culture writing today."  His fiction often is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training in that field. 

Coupland’s first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized both the term "Generation X” and the terms “McJob.”    To date, he has published 13 novels, 2 collections of short stories, 7 non-fiction books, and a number of dramatic works and screenplays for film and television.   And, in his “spare time” he is a columnist for Financial Times.

One of the great satirists of modern day consumerism,           

 Coupland advises, “Never loan a book to someone if you expect to get it back. Loaning books is the same as giving them away.”

As for sharing his thoughts with up and coming writers, he says simply to think about how you’re leading your life and what people will remember about you.  Put it into the context of a song, he said.  “Think that if your life had lyrics, would they be any good?”

Hmmm?  Still giving that question some thought.  And also wondering what I’d title it?

Share A Writer’s Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below.