Re:How to Write with Style (Kurt Vonnegut)
by defunkt on Monday July 14, 2008 @03:23AM
(#245572)
I've always suspected Vonnegut's classification under "fiction" rather than "science fiction" is a result of the way his books are written. The man's all style - he could pretty much write about any subject and I'd find it interesting.
Re:How to Write with Style (Kurt Vonnegut)
by aaronblohowiak on Monday July 14, 2008 @02:13PM
(#245897)
That isn't necessarily true. You are mixing up defunkt's reading about something he may not care about with the prerequisite that the author care about the subject to write well about a subject.
Re:How to Write with Style (Kurt Vonnegut)
by nazgulnarsil on Monday July 14, 2008 @02:53AM
(#245560)
PG's essay on essays helped me a lot when I was stagnating. particularly his metaphor of a river. looking at the overall flow of a piece and shaping it with editing has immensely improved my writing.
I now enjoy deciding whether to make an essay inductive or deductive, and playing with the order in which I introduce things to create weird effects (used a lot by one of my favorites Douglas Adams).
Re:How to Write with Style (Kurt Vonnegut)
by maryrosecook on Saturday July 19, 2008 @03:08PM
(#250810)
I've come to value structuring an argument so that it mimics the process of reaching the conclusion.
For example, I might write an essay on gender. When I start, I might think that there are two genders: male and female. By the end, I might have concluded that gender is meaningless. If I stopped there, my essay would be: gender is meaningless because a, b and c.
However, I find it more interesting to rewrite and end up with a journey through my abandoned conclusions. This allows the reader to reason along with me as they read, thus strengthening my conclusion. For example:
1. There are two genders: male and female because a and b.
2. a and b are faulty because c and d. Gender as a continuum between male and female fits with c and d.
3. c and d are unsound because e and f and g. Gender as a vector of n points on n continuums might work.
Re:How to Write with Style (Kurt Vonnegut)
by DaniFong on Monday July 14, 2008 @03:40PM
(#246009)
Often essays come up in talking with someone, and when you're working on them you'll often feel a need to mention what you're writing about. I keep a list of names and emails at the bottom of the file as my draft readers.
Jaysus! Hasn't a bleedin' notion what he's bleating on about there; we're not like that at all, like. A right lula.
I also recommended: http://www.paulgraham.com/writing44.html
For example, I might write an essay on gender. When I start, I might think that there are two genders: male and female. By the end, I might have concluded that gender is meaningless. If I stopped there, my essay would be: gender is meaningless because a, b and c.
However, I find it more interesting to rewrite and end up with a journey through my abandoned conclusions. This allows the reader to reason along with me as they read, thus strengthening my conclusion. For example:
1. There are two genders: male and female because a and b.
2. a and b are faulty because c and d. Gender as a continuum between male and female fits with c and d.
3. c and d are unsound because e and f and g. Gender as a vector of n points on n continuums might work.
4. ...
RIP Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
http://www.reddit.com/r/writing/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/