Brooks Q & A continuted...

Next, Brooks gave an interesting analogy of writers and editors.
"I would compare writers and editors to spoiled children and nursery teachers," Brooks said, followed by light laughter from the students. " The writers must be forced to sit in a circle and be told what to do and what they need to do differently."
Brooks said that, dispite the sad truth, it is usually the writers and not the editors who get the most recognition for the work put into a story. As he put it, writers get the glory and editors get the stress of the load.
"It's a powerful job," Brooks said about his editing position, "but editors have to work a very long time to get the same recognition that the writers have."

Continuing on the topic of editing, Brooks was asked a question about how editors respond to the negative rap they receive for being "negative critics." Brooks responded that most people automatically think that a negative critic is smarter because of all the flaws they point out. He then asks why is it, then, that some suggest journalism is becoming a negative thing?
"It's pretty illogical," Brooks said. "It doesn't make sense... especially if you look at the statistic that says 80% of our country thinks we are headed in the wrong direcion."

Towards the end of the Q & A, a student asked, again, about the fate of the next generation. And, once again, Brooks had a compelling answer. He said that twenty or thirty years ago, when asked if they would be better off if they ran away from home, 60% of children and young adults said yes. However, in 2000, when asked if they thought they had a good relationship with their parents, 92% said yes.
"All of them may not have told the whole truth about a good relationship, but at least they would like to," Brooks said in a hopeful voice. "So, I think this is a very good sign that our children feel safer at home and have good relationships with their parents."

The Q & A ended up lasting about 50 minutes, but within that time that we all got to spend in the mind of a genius, I think we all took away something of great value.