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Every aspiring writer should read terrible books (2022) [video]

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Re: Every aspiring writer should read terrible books (2022) [video]

#81

Post by touisteur »

j7ake wrote: post #71
touisteur wrote: post #58

One of the worst, and best reading experiences I get is anything long-form Frédéric Beigbeder. It's all over the place, always too much, showing off (both in style, dialogues, plots...), inconsistent, I find myself shaking my head or sighing most of the book, every damn time. And then, the bastard manages to turn his stories around and do something often good, sometimes great of it. Not sure whether it's on purpose o…

Are the English translations as good as the original French?

No idea. I should look one day. I really hated most José Saramago for a long time until I leveled up in Portuguese and went to read in the original and... I would add shitty translations to the hefty list of crap horrible terrible books. Most Bulgakov translations, I guess, too. I hear I'm supposed to enjoy and understand some of it, one day, with a good translation...

Edit: I worry that they won't translate well, no. Edit2: I think he got inspired by Don Delillo a bit, so you might get a taste there (I remember feeling very much similar ending his books).

Re: Every aspiring writer should read terrible books (2022) [video]

#82

Post by bexsella »

dagw wrote: post #46
bexsella wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not who you were asking, but I'm a big Moore fan as well: * From Hell (Some might be put off by the original comic's black and white art, but there was a recent release that colourised them by the original illustrator) * Providence * Jerusalem * V for Vendetta

Illuminations, his latest short story collection, is a fantastic introduction to his prose writing for people who only know his comic book work.

This is a good call, I love Jerusalem, but it is girthy.

Re: Every aspiring writer should read terrible books (2022) [video]

#83

Post by atleastoptimal »

Eddy_Viscosity2 wrote: post #51
atleastoptimal wrote: post #21

Also I recommend reading mediocre books. Especially first time authors. They're the best way to be on the other side of someone reading your first book. It's easy for anyone with a college education to avoid being truly terrible, but the middling eternity of mediocrity is a far harder to navigate out of.

I recently stopped reading such a book. It wasn't terrible and had no blatant flaws, but it also had nothing good either. It was all just meh. Music can also like this -- there is a big gap between being able to make something that isn't bad and making something that is actually good.

Salieri vs Mozart phenomenon. Listening to Salieri's music, there's nothing ostensibly bad about it. People use labels like "forgettable", "bland", or anything else that seems more like labeling a symptom without analyzing the cause. The cause being, why do two pieces, both without any notable faults and in a music theory sense well-made, have two significantly different reactions and impact in the general musical consciousness over centuries? What defines the genius that keeps people playing Mozart's pieces over and over, and only play Salieri's when they're trying to make a contrived point about him not being that bad?

Re: Every aspiring writer should read terrible books (2022) [video]

#84

Post by gexla »

rcarr wrote: post #62
senthil_rajasek wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OP is about writing. Stand Up Comedy != Writing, stand up comedy is mostly a performance (art) with a little bit of writing. I realized this after doing stand up comedy for over 12 years. I don't know what makes good writing but I know that if it gets a laugh then it's a good joke. No one has figured out the rules of what is good stand up comedy which is probably why studying comedy using "via negativa" or any ot…

I've read quite a few books on writing comedy and stand up comedy and far and away the best for understanding the mechanics of it was What Are You Laughing At? A Comprehensive Guide to the Comedic Event by Dan O'Shannon. Some basic golden rules: Comedy is about surprise. Don't let them see the punchline coming. Related to the above, make sure you've done enough setup so the audience can reach the punchline. An obviou…

I would argue that it's about bringing out the rediculous of normal social things and then amplify that on the punchline. You take a social thing, deconstruct it, and then reconstruct it in such a way that the result is hilarious. The building process itself should get laughs, and then the biggest laugh on completing the picture (punchline.) A skilled performer can keep you smiling just in anticipation (as you might be smiling as your friend is telling you a joke, knowing the punchline is coming.) Norm might be one of the greatest joke tellers I have ever observed.

As to the writing, I feel that you should be a great thinker to be a great joke creator. Maybe not all comics need to actually write jokes. But writing in general is a creative process, which is also thinking. And writing jokes gives you material for remixing. I agree it's mostly performance though. Some comics are all performance and little to no dialogue.

Re: Every aspiring writer should read terrible books (2022) [video]

#85

Post by offices »

fodkodrasz wrote: post #54
Robin_Message wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with the Dosadi Experiment? I remember enjoying reading it and finding the worldbuilding really interesting and the drama kept me reading. But I am a sucker for Frank Herbert so maybe I missed the flaws.

As I said: it is/feels like a sketch. The prose (often) reads like notes which should be rewritten, and filled with depth, and life. Also the story is bad, there is too much "deus ex machina". Also no characters one can relate to. Sounds like you read a totally different book than me :P. If I had read it and the Dune without knowing their authors, I could not have told them they were written by the same person. Espec…

But most of your first paragraph also describes Dune!
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