…Including Literary Icons
Harper Lee is the Pulitzer-prize winning author of To Kill A Mockingbird. I love the story of Scout and Jem and Dill and Atticus. I despaired at the tragedy of Tom Robinson and cheered at the hope inspired by Boo Radley. I savored the writing and have reflected on our current reckoning with a beloved classic about race that doesn’t even include Black protagonists. I always wondered if maybe someday I could write something so impactful. But who am I to write like Harper Lee?
Then I read Lee’s second book, Go Set A Watchmen, published in 2015 shortly before her death.
It sucked.
Sorry, that sounds too harsh. It reads great as a first draft because that’s what it’s widely accepted to be: a first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. But there’s a reason her editor, all those years ago, felt it wasn’t ready for publication. So Ms. Lee rewrote the story to focus on the gems of the first draft—the flashbacks of Scout as a child.
Which reminded me that if someone with a talent like Ms. Lee still needs to write multiple drafts and get input from others, why should I expect to know what I’m doing all the time?
Maybe someday I will write a novel that has a lasting impact. Maybe I won’t. Either way, I’ll be in good company. Because if Ms. Lee can be in both camps, so can I.