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Jul. 19th, 2013 08:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vicarzJanna and I got back together. I think given our otherwise drama-free but together, not, together, not (but always friends) history people are not sure whether to "endorse" us or not.
I had a million unimportant things I meant to write here and I can't think of many right now, and I'm in a bit of a work panic.
I accidentally got stuck on a plane with a Vonnegut biography; well it wasn't an accident so much as I expected the book to be more interesting. I read it at first finding it painfully dull (I checked out skymall inbetween chapters) but then ... I don't know that I enjoyed reading it so much as it made me think.
IF the biographer was accurate, Vonnegut not only borrowed heavily from his own life events but people he knew (the author theorized about people V knew and how they emerged as characters in his books). More, his style wasn't necessarily his...voice. When I write, generally it's my voice you hear (people find my writing 200% less offensive when they know me in person, attributing my voice and inflection to the dry humor much faster than "strangers)." The voice I heard was (possibly) based on V being coached to deliver a heavy message with light text - I'd call this tricking the reader into your view rather than bashing them over the head with preachy misery. Unlike a self-fulfilling twit protester (right or left) he really wanted to teach his audience and ranted in other places...in his books he created a voice, tailored his messages, and made direct efforts to target his audience. The short sentences,chapters, and words were all on purpose. He wrote for years in school and local papers, learning to deliver a message with heavy editorial limitations. It totally worked on me - suckered me in and I didn't even know it.
I may write someday, and I've learned some basic lessons about reaching an audience. I'm not likely to be a writer, as over time I've learned that writers write and solicit an audience for years - it's not some accident when they get discovered, it's typically the result of thousands of "failures" along the way plus years of dedicated hard work not just writing, but farming publishers. At least I'm in a position where I must write for targeted audiences due to my work.
I had a million unimportant things I meant to write here and I can't think of many right now, and I'm in a bit of a work panic.
I accidentally got stuck on a plane with a Vonnegut biography; well it wasn't an accident so much as I expected the book to be more interesting. I read it at first finding it painfully dull (I checked out skymall inbetween chapters) but then ... I don't know that I enjoyed reading it so much as it made me think.
IF the biographer was accurate, Vonnegut not only borrowed heavily from his own life events but people he knew (the author theorized about people V knew and how they emerged as characters in his books). More, his style wasn't necessarily his...voice. When I write, generally it's my voice you hear (people find my writing 200% less offensive when they know me in person, attributing my voice and inflection to the dry humor much faster than "strangers)." The voice I heard was (possibly) based on V being coached to deliver a heavy message with light text - I'd call this tricking the reader into your view rather than bashing them over the head with preachy misery. Unlike a self-fulfilling twit protester (right or left) he really wanted to teach his audience and ranted in other places...in his books he created a voice, tailored his messages, and made direct efforts to target his audience. The short sentences,chapters, and words were all on purpose. He wrote for years in school and local papers, learning to deliver a message with heavy editorial limitations. It totally worked on me - suckered me in and I didn't even know it.
I may write someday, and I've learned some basic lessons about reaching an audience. I'm not likely to be a writer, as over time I've learned that writers write and solicit an audience for years - it's not some accident when they get discovered, it's typically the result of thousands of "failures" along the way plus years of dedicated hard work not just writing, but farming publishers. At least I'm in a position where I must write for targeted audiences due to my work.
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Date: 2013-07-19 01:39 pm (UTC)I might have to try and borrow this biography from you. What you've said does fit in with what I've read from SF critics who work with Vonnegut's stories, though I've not read any biographies on the man myself.
You are not completely correct about writing. Discovery can happen quickly, but only if you are submitting your work (fiction or nonfiction) for publication. Outside of political pundits and celebrity wonks it is rare for someone in publishing to rad a blog and decide "hey! they might be the next Stephen King!"
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Date: 2013-07-19 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-19 10:46 pm (UTC)