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To become a better writer, read as much as you can

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Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#181

Post by johngossman »

johngossman wrote: post #179
Guestmodinfo wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please please suggest me some books where language and style of speaking sentences takes the crown rather than the story being the selling point. I'm tired of hearing about the usual greats and also booker prize ones because they have good characters and good story content or shocking emotionally but are quite bland on the language front because they assume their readers have grade 5 level capacity so the sentences a…

How far are you willing to go? If you want a novel that really emphasizes language over plot and character, read Ulysses.

I see Joyce was already recommended. How about Borges then?

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#182

Post by jkestner »

wyclif wrote: post #142
antonvs wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s hard to know what anyone considers the “usual greats”. Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize for literature, but she doesn’t seem to make it into the “average” person’s greats list, possibly because her use of language is very much not grade 5. Try The Golden Notebook , The Summer Before the Dark , The Grass Is Singing , The Good Terrorist , The Fifth Child , or the series that starts with Shikasta . E.L. Doctorow i…

The Name of the Rose by Eco is essential. Don't be fooled if you've only seen the movie, which was not good. The book itself is phenomenal.

Loved it. The earnest perspective of these monks can be very funny. Don’t know how to describe the rewarding prose except “chewy”, and this is a translation from Italian. Speaking of writing, the author’s extensive notes at the end are also excellent.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#183

Post by pmpmpmpm »

vintagedave wrote: post #63

> Why be a writer if you don’t love reading? Why devote your intellectual and emotional energy to creating a book, when it’s a form you’re not invested in? Why write, when you aren’t steeped in wonder of storytelling? This is the key point, I think. I've seen the same as the author: people who want to be writers but rarely read books. And I don't get it. I recently finished a novel (now shopping around for agents, wh…

I think because these people don’t see writing as a process, they see the finished product…either they don’t understand that writing isn’t just an action, it’s a synthesis that requires raw materials. Or maybe they don’t understand that experience isn’t sufficient raw material. You need experience and skill to create a story that sounds good and resonates.

I love reading so much I can’t imagine not loving it, but when it’s made to be hard when you learn or it’s presented as a chore it’s harder to develop that love. Teaching kids and other adults to love reading by reading to them and reading yourself is something every reading adult can do!

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#184

Post by letmevoteplease »

wyclif wrote: post #145
vintagedave wrote: post #63

> Why be a writer if you don’t love reading? Why devote your intellectual and emotional energy to creating a book, when it’s a form you’re not invested in? Why write, when you aren’t steeped in wonder of storytelling? This is the key point, I think. I've seen the same as the author: people who want to be writers but rarely read books. And I don't get it. I recently finished a novel (now shopping around for agents, wh…

I was quite fortunate to have an AP English teacher my senior year of high school that understood this advice, and expounded on it often. I recall that he boiled it down to one simple line: Garbage in, garbage out. What he meant by that was that it's not enough to simply read. You have to read high quality literature if you want to become a writer. You can't expect to read nothing but news, comic books, National Lamp…

“Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.” - Faulkner

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#185

Post by shnock »

YinglingHeavy wrote: post #177
svara wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We're reading more words than ever, but instead of coming from books, they're coming from digital media. We're losing that same muscle for long-form reading and deep focus (...) Yes, true, but that's also very much a thing you can do something about by, well: reading books. It's a technique we must preserve for the good of our culture, but, also, in a society full of people who have forgotten how to, an individual…

That offers no solution to the masses, only the individual. The former its a much more difficult and demanding discussion.

How so? The masses are composed of individuals... who can commit to continuing to read.

Are you talking about incentives?

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#186

Post by shnock »

Guestmodinfo wrote: post #68
vintagedave wrote: post #63

> Why be a writer if you don’t love reading? Why devote your intellectual and emotional energy to creating a book, when it’s a form you’re not invested in? Why write, when you aren’t steeped in wonder of storytelling? This is the key point, I think. I've seen the same as the author: people who want to be writers but rarely read books. And I don't get it. I recently finished a novel (now shopping around for agents, wh…

Please please suggest me some books where language and style of speaking sentences takes the crown rather than the story being the selling point. I'm tired of hearing about the usual greats and also booker prize ones because they have good characters and good story content or shocking emotionally but are quite bland on the language front because they assume their readers have grade 5 level capacity so the sentences a…

This has both: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/65058/pale-lights

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#187

Post by shnock »

vintagedave wrote: post #63

> Why be a writer if you don’t love reading? Why devote your intellectual and emotional energy to creating a book, when it’s a form you’re not invested in? Why write, when you aren’t steeped in wonder of storytelling? This is the key point, I think. I've seen the same as the author: people who want to be writers but rarely read books. And I don't get it. I recently finished a novel (now shopping around for agents, wh…

You could always post it on a web-serial site like: https://www.royalroad.com

I have seen that to be a viable path to publishing many times now, as well as other benefits like building a community of readers.

Re: To become a better writer, read as much as you can

#190

Post by philipov »

shnock wrote: post #185
YinglingHeavy wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That offers no solution to the masses, only the individual. The former its a much more difficult and demanding discussion.

How so? The masses are composed of individuals... who can commit to continuing to read. Are you talking about incentives?

The mass is more than the sum of its parts, and if only a small minority exercise critical thinking they will be overwhelmed by the whole. As the great comic wrote - those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but those who learn from history are doomed to stand by helplessly as everyone else repeats it.

And furthermore, a democracy can not survive if the majority of the voter base is incapable of critical thinking. It needs to be better than even a simple majority. It worked in the Colonies because the citizens were mostly middle class independent farmers, for whom critical thinking was essential. And even after the second industrial revolution, small business continued to be the cornerstone of the economy. The political landscape will mirror the economic one, and our economy is now ruled by petty tyrants.

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