What Inspires Me? Amy Gallup
Amy Gallup isn’t a real person. And no, the photo below (same as the one in the preview) is not me—although, I must admit, that is what Covid hair me looked like—that’s Amy’s creator Jincy Willet.)
But, dang, don’t I wish Amy Gallup were real and that I could meet her. Amy’s creator, author Jincy Willett, similar to Amy in The Writing Class and others of Willett’s book, is a writer, editor, writing teacher living in San Diego, California, so theoretically I could meet Jincy in person. But I don’t think I will. (Although Jincy Willet’s website Intro is sassy and irreverent, read for yourself, but not now…wait until after you my post, please.) I am afraid I might be disappointed. Amy Gallup however, never disappoints me.
This morning, for example, I was reading a pre-facing-the-frost early chapter of The Writing Class when I came upon a passage explaining why Amy began writing a blog, even though she had no intention of doing so, nor did she want anyone to read it ever. Amy’s excuse for writing the blog is that “She did have to do something creative, even if it was just some little thing, because she was not writing and…
…not writing was hard work, almost as hard as writing.”—Amy Gallup, page 39 The Writing Class (published by Picador, 2008).
Amy/Jincy has a wicked wit she unleashes joyfully throughout her books. Take the usual disclaimer printed in The Writing Life:
And Jincy dreamed up—and unabashedly used—one of the most brilliant book titles ever: Winner of the National Book Award. Imagine it printed in author bio, dust jacket, or spoken in an introduction…go ahead.
One incy-wency problem with using Winner of the National Book Award as a title, and perhaps the reason it isn’t an actually National Book Award winner—because it totally should be—and the reason you might not have heard of author Jincy Willett before now, is that Winner of the National Book Award it is so flipping hard to find online: Try to find it—let alone buy it online. Google it every-single-other-NBA-winner-finalist-hopeful reference pops up.
Upon considering that title, I began listing other clever brilliant albeit probably equally problematic titles and made a list.
Lists are what Amy writes sometimes to make herself feel better… (refer back to above quote).
Here’s my list of titles to consider for future books. You’re welcome to use any-all as long as you publish before me! I’m calling it my
List of Brilliant Titles
Bestseller
NY Times Bestselling
All Time Bestseller
Blockbuster
Made into Movie
Adapted for Television
Booker Prize Winner
Million Selling Author
