I’ve decided not to go grey, yet (see below). It’s something you might consider if you want to write a brilliant book.
I don’t mean that you will write a better book if you dye your hair (although there is an interesting idea). I mean the most thought-provoking books are those that challenge what everyone takes for granted.
Of course, I am not talking about conspiracy theories here. There is no cabal. There are no alternative truths.
Just challenge conventional thinking. Not long ago, going grey was considered daring. Now, perhaps I am transgressing a new social code by dipping into the dye bottle once in a while. Or am I imagining it?
The point remains. When an idea gets embedded, the best authors weed it out and check it against the facts. Do you remember that moment in the 1980s (or did you watch the movie) when everyone decided that ‘greed was good’?
Alain de Botton (‘Relationships’) suggests that the Romantics hijacked – and ruined – our relationships. Noam Chomsky challenges consumerism (‘Manufacturing Consent’).
Nassim Nicholas Taleb proposes that chaos helps us grow as people and as a society. (‘Antifragile’)
Go grey if you will but be an author who challenges the ‘sacred cow’. Put your head above the parapet.