Make it Memorable...On Writing

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

creative nonfiction, also known as the fourth genre,

A few months ago I picked up an excellent book on creative nonfiction, titled "Telling True Stories". It's a collection of essays from seasoned professionals; sketching a broad map of the industry with guide posts along the way.

http://www.amazon.com/Telling-True-S.../dp/0452287553

writers like...atul gawande...david sedaris...barbara ehrenreich

Thanks for the list of writers and links to their work. All new names to me.

we approach the craft differently

It's an interesting contrast, the way you two each practice your work. Tag team writers.


By chance do either of you create a unique music playlist for each big project?

[pumpkinboy]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

Great replies everyone!

Thanks for continuing to post and for keeping this thread alive with very useful information on creative writing for both fiction and non-fiction.

Another pet peeve of mine is the local media's tendency to make up words that do not exist in the dictionary or to use words as verbs when they are not verbs.

"He executive-produced that show" is used a lot but I think the right way to state this is:

"He is the executive producer of the show."


Just today, I see a headline "Ship Dry-Docked"

It should read "Ship in Dry Dock"


Anyone else see this a lot?

Oh yeah, and not to embarrass anyone but I recently saw a local reporter actually use PIDGIN in his report as if it were proper English!

He was reporting on an assault where a man allegedly punched his victim, when the victim wasn't expecting it.

The sentence read to the effect:

"A Honolulu man is on trial for allegedly false cracking another man in Waikiki."


I'm not using the actual facts, but the usage of that word "false crack" just blew me away.

I could literally see all the question marks popping up over the heads of the tourists reading that sentence.

What the heck is a false crack? A fissure that isn't geniuine?

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

Another pet peeve of mine is the local media's tendency to...

Oh yeah, and not to embarrass anyone but I recently saw a local reporter actually use PIDGIN in his report as if it were proper English!

If you want to express negative stuff, consider picking non-local examples. Or stick with positive local ones

I could literally see all the question marks popping up over the heads of the tourists reading that sentence.

It's a good thing tourists aren't the target audience. Who knows, it might even encourage them to ask locals a few questions and learn a bit about our culture.

[cynsaligia]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

By chance do either of you create a unique music playlist for each big project?

define "big project," pls.

and yep, we are definitely a team.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

define "big project," pls

Oh I dunno, something that takes 2 weeks or months to work on, say. And I don't mean just random background music. Like composing a soundtrack for a given writing project.

(sorry for being off topic a tad)

[scrivener]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

This looks like a good spot for a DailyWritingTip.com plug! Not for you, cyn. You're too good for my tips already.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

Came across an interesting observation:

A professional writer -- a writer who gets published and succeeds -- will evoke images from the reader's experience base. An amateur writer -- someone who may have excellent technical writing but lacks this insight -- will often attempt to invoke the images they see or the beliefs they hold through the direct application of sufficient verbiage and may lose potential readers as a result.

When I write, it's self-centered. My experiences. My images. My observations. It makes my writing unique and interesting. Of course if I dive too deep into my private twisted world, readers "won't get it."

Being too reader-centric seems like it would be problematic also, though I can't put my finger on it at the moment. I want to say it would make my writing fuzzy and lifeless.

Being able to dance between the two ends of the spectrum, as with most things in life, is probably the key.


The link I got the quote from:
http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/...2/Advevoke.htm

[scrivener]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

When I write, it's self-centered. My experiences. My images. My observations. It makes my writing unique and interesting. Of course if I dive too deep into my private twisted world, readers "won't get it."

Being too reader-centric seems like it would be problematic also, though I can't put my finger on it at the moment. I want to say it would make my writing fuzzy and lifeless.

Being able to dance between the two ends of the spectrum, as with most things in life, is probably the key.

If you write for yourself, you're the only person you have to please, as when you write in a journal. Once you put it out there for others, they are your first and most important consideration, unless what you're offering is a public glimpse at private writing, such as with a blog.

If it's a story, an article, an essay, or a review, once you submit the thing for publication and for reading by others, you have lost the right to say, "I know what I mean and that's what matters." If you do not care what your readers think or how they interpret your words, why are you sharing them, and why should they care?

You do not need to lock yourself into your own world in order to be unique and interesting. Nobody wrote like Hemingway, but you'd be a fool to think that he didn't write with his audience in mind. Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee shows off the most original and singular voice in children's literature since Dr. Seuss, and I'm certain that every page was written and edited with the reader in mind.

If you know what you meant to say but your reader doesn't get it, you have FAILED. You can say, "You'd have to be me, or you'd have to be in my head in order to get it," but if that's true, why did you give this to me to read, knowing that I am neither you nor in your head?

[cynsaligia]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

This looks like a good spot for a DailyWritingTip.com plug! Not for you, cyn. You're too good for my tips already.

really? *blush* wow! coming from you, that is a great honor. *swoons*

do you think you could tell leo lakio that? he (gently) reprimanded me for my lack of interest in the caps key.

*adds "dailywritingtip" to bookmarks*

Came across an interesting observation:

When I write, it's self-centered. My experiences. My images. My observations. It makes my writing unique and interesting. Of course if I dive too deep into my private twisted world, readers "won't get it."[/URL]

tell me if i am understanding what you mean:

in my writing class, my workshop group told me that they didn't get my character's motivation (my motivation, really, since the piece we were talking about was a memoir) for doing a certain thing. more specifically, they didn't understand why i decided to go on my first date with eric.

i didn't want to say, "we had a lot in common and i thought he'd be fun to hang out with." i wanted to be a little subtle. while a certain level of subtlety enhances a story, obscurity lends itself to reader dissatisfaction. so i sucked it up and added three paragraphs. i haven't given anyone besides my prof the new version to critique yet but i will share it with a couple friends who read the original version. i hope my revision doesn't end up making them feel as if i've hammered them over the head with the reasons why.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

You do not need to lock yourself into your own world in order to be unique and interesting.

That's reassuring

If you know what you meant to say but your reader doesn't get it, you have FAILED. You can say, "You'd have to be me, or you'd have to be in my head in order to get it," but if that's true, why did you give this to me to read, knowing that I am neither you nor in your head?

I guess writing only for yourself is lazy. Why does writing have to be so much work!? ;D


Thanks for taking the time to share your hard earned wisdom, Scrivener. I'll check out your blog.

[cynsaligia]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

ooh! ooh! the last two posts remind me of a piece by phillip lopate. in his "on the necessity of turning oneself into a character," he wrote:

The student essayist is torn between two contrasting extremes:

A. "I am so wierd that I could never tell on the page what is really, secretly, going on in my mind."

B. "I am so boring, nothing ever happens to me out of the ordinary, so who would want to read about me?"

Both extremes are rooted in shame, and both reflect a lack of worldliness....In short, they must be nudged to recognize that life remains a mystery - even one's own so-called boring life. They must also be taught to recognize the charm of the ordinary: the daily life that has nourished some of the most endearing essays.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

*blush*
*swoons*
*adds "dailywritingtip" to bookmarks*

why do I get the feeling you play WoW?
/ponder

i wanted to be a little subtle...

tell me if i am understanding what you mean:

I think so.

I like sneaking subtle things in, because I'm curious to know if other people will catch it. It's like a secret handshake. Of course the downside is it could belong to an exclusive club; perhaps with only one member!

Or I'll write something that makes me all giddy (because I think I'm being oh so clever), and I'm hoping someone else will marvel at it too. I suppose that's conceit.

i hope my revision doesn't end up making them feel as if i've hammered them over the head with the reasons why.

It's possible it might be too much, and you'll need to write yet another revision to nudge it back towards the subtle side.

Or perhaps you'll find what you consider to be heavy handed is just right for the "average" reader.

You remind me of my friend who used to be an orchestra conductor. I nagged him to listen to Sarah McLachlan's "When Somebody Loved Me" (from Toy Story 2). The first verse wasn't even done yet, and he was already cringing.

"Why does she do THAT with her voice?"

"Do what?"

"She..." <insert long string of technical terms which I had no clue what they meant but made me feel very guilty about liking the song>

His ear is so well trained, he can't enjoy pop music. It's painful and ugly to him. Ah well. I still like it

[MyopicJoe]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

ooh! ooh! the last two posts remind me of a piece by phillip lopate. in his "on the necessity of turning oneself into a character," he wrote:

Oh nice quote!

[pumpkinboy]

Re: Make it Memorable...On Writing

I'm sorry I didn't mean to embarass anyone.

Ok, if you are going to commit yourself to writing and being a reporter and if you truly consider yourself a journalist you better have thick skin.

You have a responsibility to your readers, your employer, your co-workers and to journalism itself to write better than that.

I make zero apologies.