Long before James Fenimore Cooper became a one of the most popular American authors of the early 19th century, he was issued a challenge by his wife.
The Coopers had a family tradition of reading aloud together each evening. One night James was reading a new bestseller from England to his wife Susan. Thinking the book was trash, he turned to his wife and exclaimed, “I could write you a better book than that myself!”
Susan laughed at the idea. She saw James’ comment as absurd, given his disgust for writing so much as a letter. So she responded, “then why don’t you, dear.”
I’m guessing this wasn’t the first time she had heard a comment like this so she basically said, “put your money where your mouth is.” Or given the time period, it probably sounded like, “Lay thy shilling from whence thou speak from, good sir.”
However it was said, James accepted the challenge. In fact, he started writing immediately and before long published his first novel, Precaution. Hardly a masterpiece, that first book received decent reviews and led to him a second book. Then a third, and a fourth.
Over the next 30 years, he would go on to write dozens of books including the American classic, The Last of the Mohicans.
How many times do we run across something and think, “I could do better than that?” Whether it’s a cookie recipe or a book like Cooper, how many times do we actually do something about it?
If you are anything like me, the answer is never. But if there is something to learn from this author, it is that instead of complaining we should do something about it.
We would have never had those great works of literature if not for Cooper’s wife essentially saying, “Think you can write a better book? I double dog dare you.”
Or as it probably sounded at the time, “‘I challenge you twice hound.”
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