The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
Gary William Murning Online is really a place for me to share my views on any subject I find interesting. My brief is a very broad one. I discuss my work in progress there, share interesting insights into writing in general (I hope!), write the occasional satirical critique and, on the whole, try to keep it fun. For myself and my readers. As a tagline, I use a quote from the early 20th century American journalist, H.L. Mencken: “There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers.” I try not to be dull!

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
I really can’t see myself ever not growing as a writer. It is constantly a learning process. The more one writes, yes, the better one gets — but I don’t believe the process has a finite point. I don’t think any writer, when speaking about his or her own work, can ever conceive of being perfect. Personally, I try to do the best I can — to learn and grow as a writer day by day. It’s important to me, I suppose, because it enriches my life and, I would hope, the lives of my readers.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?

I feel it is extremely important to reply to any comments posted on my site. I like to make my readers feel welcome — and I genuinely appreciate their comments (they can be incredibly insightful and helpful.) I also try to keep up with my blog reading, commenting on the blogs of people I admire. It’s very much a community, and if you don’t participate… well, you can’t really expect other people to, can you? Bloggers help each other. Communication is vital — especially if you want your blog to be successful.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
I tend to feel that politicians on the whole have a woefully inadequate understanding of technology, and don’t actually use it all that well. But in a more general sense, I think that technology is very much shaping the political world we live in by allowing people like me, the people at the Pakistani Spectator and all those other bloggers/commentators out there to share our opinions and ideas freely, without borders and, for many of us, without the fear of censorship or punishment. The availability of information is politically very powerful… which, naturally, is another reason why some governments are afraid of it.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
I suppose it depends upon the circumstance. I have friends I still don’t hear from often enough, even though technology is supposed to make communication easier. And, yes, I also don’t respond quickly enough at times. Too often, really. But where it’s important, I’d have to say, yes. People respond more, I feel, with the advent of email, instant messaging, videoconferencing and so on and so forth. From my own point of view, when I’m not responsive it is largely because I now have far greater demands on my time than I had before the Internet. I get involved a lot more. I do a lot more.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
Determination. Very little success in life just happens. Hard work is necessary, but faced with the number of rejections with which every writer has to contend, determination is the number one characteristic as far as I’m concerned.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
I’m quite fortunate in that I’m a fairly happy person. I generally find something to be happy about and it’s quite hard to pick the happiest time. I suppose my childhood in general was very happy. Christmas was always a wonderful, family occasion. As for the gloomiest moment… I think that would have to be in my early teens. I had to have a couple of spinal operations and there was one very short period when I didn’t sleep too well in the hospital. Being awake at three o’clock in the morning in a hospital bed with no one to talk to… I found it quite a difficult time. Fortunately, it didn’t last.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
Indonesia. Memphis, Tennessee, USA. China.

What is your favorite book and why?
This is rather difficult. I’m tempted to say One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey or possibly Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. I love both of these books, but then there’s War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy! I am currently reading this after years of putting it off and even though I’m just over halfway through I know that it’s a book that I will return to again and again. It has everything you could possibly wish for. Love, death, disappointment, betrayal, naivety, hope, action — everything. A very rich and yet immensely readable novel. Naturally, once this interview is over I’ll probably think of a dozen more contenders!

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
Their eyes.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?
The first literary agent I submitted to told me that I had “a lot to learn about the narrative form”! I suppose that was just her clever way of telling me that I couldn’t write! (And, if I’m honest, she was at that time quite correct!)

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
I can’t really comment on this with any authority, since my blogging has not yet earned me so much as a penny. I do think they can be excellent tools for promoting existing work, however. Novels, books etc. Ask me this question again in a couple of years time and I might be able to give you a better answer!

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Well, I for one do many other things apart from blog. I have a life away from the computer and, of course, I spend a great deal of time working on my novels. Nevertheless, making a blog successful (however you define “successful”) requires regular work. I probably spend between three and four hours a day doing blog related work.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?
Oh, this is where I believe the real strength of blogging lies! It is true that there are and always will be argumentative people out there in the blogosphere, people who just want to cause trouble. But on the whole, I find that serious bloggers — consciously or otherwise — make a huge contribution to breaking down barriers of nationality, political ethos, religious belief and so on. Great things can come of this if we only remember to treat each other with respect.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

Sadly, I only on rare occasions encounter people from your country. When I do, however, I find them generally to be both polite and sincere.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?

There are many exceptional bloggers out there but, no, I don’t think one in particular has ever stood out as stunningly unique for me. But I shall continue searching!

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?

I’m afraid I don’t really feel qualified to answer that question but if I have to give an answer, I would probably have to say opportunity.

What is the future of blogging?
I wish I knew! I’d be a millionaire!… Seriously, though, I think over the next few years the blogosphere will begin to be taken more seriously. The mainstream media will, hopefully, give it the credit that it deserves and integrate it more fully.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
On a personal level, I try very hard not to let it have an effect — not a detrimental one, at least. I make sure that I turn the computer off at a certain time and stick to that.

Professionally, it is providing an invaluable way of communicating with my future readers — the people who I would hope will buy my novels once they are published. It’s a perfect opportunity to promote and also involve people. Feedback is extremely important and I haven’t yet found a better way of encouraging it.

What are your future plans?
Well, I want to keep blogging and growing. Gary William Murning Online is pulling in the readers daily and I want to keep building on that, delivering interesting content and involving people. My current priority, however, is my fiction. My latest novel, Children of the Resolution, is currently under consideration with a British agent and I’m working on the chapter outline for my next piece of work, The Yesterday Tree. Updates on my progress are always available on my site, naturally!

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Yes. I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this. The interview invitation was quite a surprise and I welcome and truly appreciate the chance to communicate with new people. You will always be welcome at my blog and treated respectfully should you choose to comment (please do!) I’m a little ashamed to say that I don’t know a great deal about Pakistani literature/culture. It is a regrettably neglected area in my life, but one I would love to address. If you have any suggestions for books (in English translation) that you feel I should read, please drop by and tell me why.