An Oral History of TND Part 2
The spark
So yeah, during lockdown, Hen and I spent quite a bit of time napping and talking about napping. Somehow or other, we identified Evan as another true devotee of the nap, and so was born the TAENR as we know it. We joked that it would be fun to write a book about napping some day — not focusing on the science a la Dr. Sara Mednick, but more on the art, demonstrating our zest, zeal, and love of the game.
As a preliminary step towards realizing this dream, I reached out to my favorite author (and occasional pen pal), Dan Pink, who himself has previously written about napping. Dan was gracious enough to speak with me last summer as I asked his advice on writing a book; his first question was why on Earth I’d want to write a book, let alone one about napping. I must have given an acceptable answer because he stayed on and offered me some perspective that I found super helpful and interesting:
He only writes books that he wishes already existed because if they did, he’d to read them (but because they don’t, he writes them).
He’s incredibly thankful for his audience and approaches writing in such a way as to reflect his gratitude, respect, and appreciation.
He suggested starting small by writing some articles — then, if it seems there’s really a “there” there, I could pursue the book route.
Sage advice from a great writer and great guy. But why would someone hire me to write an article on napping or otherwise?