The Mastodon theory of writing: Writing is like mastodon hunting. You have to go after the big kill. Photo courtesy of Nashad Abdu.
My colleague Marina Krakovsky mentioned that she learned the Mastodon theory of writing at a presentation at the ASJA conference last year.
Mastodon theory of writing, what’s that?
Think of being a writer as being like a prehistoric human. You’re a hunter and gatherer. You subsist on berries and nuts, grazing as you move from place to place.
But the big prize, the real treat, is the mastodon.
Only catching a mastodon isn’t easy.
It takes time.
It takes cooperation.
It takes persistence.
Writing is like that: the lower paying jobs, or just the easy stuff (the editor who comes to you with an assignment, the company you’ve been working for for several years) is the low-hanging fruit.
It’s the nuts and berries.
Delicious, yes.
Nutritious, sure.
But what you really want is the mastodon.
The mastodon is the Big Assignment. Maybe it’s the book you’ve always wanted to write.
Maybe it’s the 10,000-word narrative nonfiction piece.
Or the radio feature for NPR.
It could even be the 500-word piece in the Big Name Publication.
I know where I’m getting my nuts and berries.
And I know where the mastodon is.
I’m sharpening my spears. I’m ready to hunt this mastodon. And this time I plan to catch him.
What about your writing work? Are you picking nuts and berries or are you hunting a mastodon?
Published: June 13, 2010
Updated: January 20, 2020
I was getting really hungry eating nuts and berries, so I started a B&B and the food is more plentiful, but I still want to bag a mastodon, ie. in my case, get my book published.
Fascinating way to express the process. I never thought of writing in terms of hunting (I never thought I thought of much in terms of hunting!). But in thinking about it I realize that maybe I actually do. I try to be very selective about the work I accept and why. I believe we are meant to have many “mastadons” in our careers…for it means we are moving forward.
Honey, I’ve been living on nuts and berries for so long that my cholesterol of 2 and I get enough fiber to regulate the US Army. I dream of making the jump to fiction, but… just…. don’t.
The nuts and berries are nice for a while, but sometimes we need a good dose of a mastadon to get really full. So, the hunt continues…
This is great, and so visual. It really makes a lot of sense! Good luck on your hunt.
Thanks for this. I have a mastodon in mind, but I have to be more aggressive in hunting him down!!
I love this analogy. I have a couple mastodons in my future (I hope). I wonder if mastadons make good pets … that would make a good blog (and book). Ha!
Oh, I all mastodon nearly all the time right now. It’s quite the chase, but it’s a great one.
Really interesting analogy. I admit that I’ve been eating a lot of fruit and berries, but I’m trying to work towards the mastodon. It’s easy to grow complacent on fruits and berries after awhile as long as they’re enough to get you sated. But in the long run, the Mastodon is *more* satisfying.
love this! gonna print & keep as a reminder. gotta go hunt me down one massive mastodon — even though i can survive on nuts & berries, like you, i wanna thrive on something meatier;)