Jonathan Shaw recalls visiting Charles Bukowski's house as a teenager and getting blunt advice that stuck with him: he was a brain kid with loud talk and a ten dollar typer who needed to get out and live. Bukowski's words became the most important mentorship Shaw received as a writer.
I'd interacted with Bukowski. I actually was a frequent visitor to his house. When you were like 16 or 17? Yeah. So you would go to his house and just knock on the door? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what would you guys talk about? Writing, life, chicks, just whatever, just. Did you learn anything from him? He did give me the most important advice I've ever gotten as a writer. You know, I'd go over there with these reams of demented writing. Some point he said to me, you know, you're nothing but a brain kid with a lot of loud talk and ten dollar typer. Don't make you a writer. My advice to you is you get the out of here and go out and do some living.
