God Bless You Mr. Vonnegut

[puppetmaker]

The phrase American literary giant gets bandied about when talking about various authors, but I believe that Kurt Vonnegut was one of them. He created a style and a tone that was often duplicated but never surpassed in American literature. "Cat's Cradle" was my first exploration into his work. My parents had most of his books on their bookshelf but I was not allowed to read them until I reached a certain age which in hindsight was a good thing because I think I really would not have understood what I was reading before that. I devoured his works in college and would occasionally pick up his newer stuff when I was in the mood to read Vonnegut. My sympathies to his family and friends. He was one of the greats. I think I am going to find my copy of "Sirens of Titan" and reread it.

Some writing advise by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on the subject of short stories from Bagombo Snuff Box

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

In other news, I got stuff done yesterday and I feel pretty good about it. Caroline continues to improve. I just have to keep on top of her antibiotics for 4 more days to make sure that she is over this thing. I do have a lot to get done today but I have a cunning plan to get me through it. We'll see how that goes.

I am grateful that I am feeling more myself.

Comments

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting the writing advice, Kath. I'm going to copy it and share it with friends. They're both a good reminder and a nice tribute to Mr. Vonnegut.

[wandereringray.livejournal.com]

Thanks Kath.

I need to reread too, and read some of his stuff I never got around to reading.