updated 3d ago
Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style
On the opposite end of the spectrum, creating an “innocent” main character—one ignorant of the lay of the land or the problem to be solved—can be a wonderfully natural way to lead your reader into a story.
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
So a writer is someone who is willing to be uncomfortable enough—or is uncomfortable enough by nature—to wonder where people are, where they’re going, and why they’re going there. A writer is willing to take risks for that wondering. A writer cares that much about his or her subject.
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
Whether rigging or not, one’s self and the myriad aspects of oneself show up in one’s characters. The more you are able to encompass and give voice to those aspects, the larger you grow, and the better fiction writer you will be. You’ll meet yourself on the river, as it were.
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
Kurt calls reading an “art.” You are not born with it. You must learn how to do it, and as with any art, you can keep gaining skill and pleasure in it for the rest of your life.
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
Everyone wants to know The Way. But there is no single Way. There is only discovering your own. That entails imitating paths others have tread, taking advice, and exploring what works best for you.
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
Vonnegut’s seventh rule: “Pity the readers”:
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
Writing is hard work. Writing well is very hard work. It takes courage and perseverance.
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
You can steal a plot.
from Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut
Kojo added 4mo ago
Character and action impinge upon one another, in life as in fiction. A person’s inherent character shapes his or her choices. The opposite is also true: character rises out of choice and action. Interaction between a given personality and a situation of conflict that arises, provoking choice and action—consequently revealing, changing, or deepenin
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Kojo added 4mo ago