Your Pointillism examples get me to remember the Liquid Television show "Aeon Flux." The show almost always made a point to drop the viewer right into the middle of the story. It rarely gave clues as to how the situation/story began. I always thought that was fascinating because I quickly realized I didn't care at all about where I was dropped in the story as a viewer because the writers immediately hit the ground running and propelled the viewer forward with brilliant animation, action, characters, and story telling. It was a very compelling show.
Now there’s the keys to the car, alright. That’s the best lesson yet!! Thank you. The other was learning about the clock in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” That lesson was life altering for whatever it is that I write or try to.
I was going to ask what lesson I needed to learn through reading “Harvest.” I’ve never read anything like that before. It was like the story was a bomb and then, an unarmed bomb— but told us why it became a bomb. Hempel— just WOW.
The final stage a writer can reach is basically Kaa from The Jungle Book. They read out their lyrical work to a crowd and the people in the audience listen in a trance with their eyes swirling in rainbow colours. (Or so I’ve heard.)
So basically what you're saying is, we should go get our heads kicked in, or find a way to spend a bit of time in a coma. And after that, all our writing will come out great.
Are drive-ins gone everywhere else in the US? In New England there’s still multiple still functioning Drive-ins. In fact during the spring and summer they’re loaded with kids playing frisbee and screaming in circles. What they’re really losing, and watching in real time is malls and regular theaters.
This is freaking amazing. I can't believe I get to learn from someone who's dedicated his life to the craft of storytelling, analyzed it in every format, become an expert expert, then freely shares everything he's learned and continues to learn every day. I feel super blessed. Thank you.
I haven’t lived in Boston for many years, but I’m pretty sure I know which bar the Good Will Hunting scene was filmed in, and it was (obviously) never that quiet. Too many frat bros, though. There was a heavy metal bar that served food VERY late, down near the Charles, that was where the cool kids went.
Thanks for all the excellent tips - I love pointillism. Amy Hempel is a master - you both are. Makes me wonder if I should walk out in traffic and get hit and hopefully survive and become a master writer, too. Or not.
I love knowing the why and nuts and bolts behind your work that we can learn to apply and try out. Makes me suspicious there’s a paralysis by analysis issue in my writing as it draws me in so. And referencing things like visual art to make it concrete translates so well.
Off topic: Read Supercommunicators. Turns out that being the first person in a group to say something that may be stupid doesn't only give permission to everyone else to risk looking silly. It is a step toward cohesion. When a "Supercommunicator" is present, everyones brains fire in the same way. Seems to me that a supercommunicator is just someone who values connection over status.
Similar to “choruses”?
- Sorry Mom. Sorry God.
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Absolutely brilliant. Fantastic piece, Chuck!
Golly, what a giant lesson, Mr Palahniuk! I know what I'm doing for the next three hours. My goodness.
Your Pointillism examples get me to remember the Liquid Television show "Aeon Flux." The show almost always made a point to drop the viewer right into the middle of the story. It rarely gave clues as to how the situation/story began. I always thought that was fascinating because I quickly realized I didn't care at all about where I was dropped in the story as a viewer because the writers immediately hit the ground running and propelled the viewer forward with brilliant animation, action, characters, and story telling. It was a very compelling show.
Now there’s the keys to the car, alright. That’s the best lesson yet!! Thank you. The other was learning about the clock in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” That lesson was life altering for whatever it is that I write or try to.
I was going to ask what lesson I needed to learn through reading “Harvest.” I’ve never read anything like that before. It was like the story was a bomb and then, an unarmed bomb— but told us why it became a bomb. Hempel— just WOW.
That bar in southie is actually being sold this month. L Street Tavern
The final stage a writer can reach is basically Kaa from The Jungle Book. They read out their lyrical work to a crowd and the people in the audience listen in a trance with their eyes swirling in rainbow colours. (Or so I’ve heard.)
So basically what you're saying is, we should go get our heads kicked in, or find a way to spend a bit of time in a coma. And after that, all our writing will come out great.
OK, I'm on it!
Are drive-ins gone everywhere else in the US? In New England there’s still multiple still functioning Drive-ins. In fact during the spring and summer they’re loaded with kids playing frisbee and screaming in circles. What they’re really losing, and watching in real time is malls and regular theaters.
This is freaking amazing. I can't believe I get to learn from someone who's dedicated his life to the craft of storytelling, analyzed it in every format, become an expert expert, then freely shares everything he's learned and continues to learn every day. I feel super blessed. Thank you.
I haven’t lived in Boston for many years, but I’m pretty sure I know which bar the Good Will Hunting scene was filmed in, and it was (obviously) never that quiet. Too many frat bros, though. There was a heavy metal bar that served food VERY late, down near the Charles, that was where the cool kids went.
Thanks for all the excellent tips - I love pointillism. Amy Hempel is a master - you both are. Makes me wonder if I should walk out in traffic and get hit and hopefully survive and become a master writer, too. Or not.
Would elongated sentences scare some readers off?
Im guessing that this would be used sparingly between curt, easy to read prose.
And I do throw in a Cormac sentence with lots of ands and no commas every once in a while to vary the rhythm.
I love knowing the why and nuts and bolts behind your work that we can learn to apply and try out. Makes me suspicious there’s a paralysis by analysis issue in my writing as it draws me in so. And referencing things like visual art to make it concrete translates so well.
Thank you.
Off topic: Read Supercommunicators. Turns out that being the first person in a group to say something that may be stupid doesn't only give permission to everyone else to risk looking silly. It is a step toward cohesion. When a "Supercommunicator" is present, everyones brains fire in the same way. Seems to me that a supercommunicator is just someone who values connection over status.
Ricotta cock is why I stopped eating seed oils.