Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

"But hey, who cares! We have fun in my blog! If you want news about Iraq, congratulations, you've come to the wrong fucking place! If you are distrustful of the media and want to know exactly what's going on in Iraq, you'll have to pray for divine enlightenment, because only god knows what the hell is going on over here!"

That’s Jason Christopher Hartley writing from Iraq in 2004, trying to describe the inexplicable, chaotic situation our soldiers face in the Middle East.

Everybody's got an opinion about the Iraq War, but most of us have absolutely no idea what that war is really like. That's why I brought on Hartley--he was one of the first bloggers to write from the front and published a memoir (Just Another Soldier) about his experience.

It's not pretty (and lots of language this week), but I think all writers should be thinking, grappling, and writing about this war. For the rest of the week, Hartley will turn all your pre-conceived ideas upside down and then dance on top of your wrecked stereotypes.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:

When you were in Iraq, how did you find time to write? More generally, how hard is it to actively write or blog about your experiences while still working as a military officer? Any advice for aspiring writers in the military?

Jason Christopher Hartley:

I did most my writing during the wee hours of the night when most my platoon was asleep. Continue reading...

It was a time where I could be alone (in a sense-- I was in a room with over thirty dudes all snoring in unison) and where I could try to process the experiences of the day. 

t gave me a project-- something to focus on that helped occupy my mind.  The immediate response I would get from readers with each new post is what motivated me to write. 

For a writer, getting praise for something you wrote less than five minutes ago is like getting a blow job out of a Coke machine.

The instant gratification is so quick that it makes the traditional way of toiling over a text for years and maybe getting it published before you die seem like waiting till after marriage to have sex-- quaint, antiquated, and anathema to our ADHD-addled internet age.

Writing in the military is very hard mostly because if you joined the military it means that you probably have absolutely no inclination whatsoever to write because you are the kind of person who joins the Army. 

For those precious few in the Army whose parents tried as hard as they could to raise their children as pussies who joined the Army mostly to become the badass they weren't in real life who also loved high school English class, well all I have by way of advice is this: 

Once you answer the question of what's more important, your identity as a soldier or your identity as a thinking, feeling human, and how you prioritize the decision-making process when these two identities come into conflict ... well the rest will work itself out.