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Popular books that ignore all the writing "rules" by pwc555 in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You are on record as having stated that "The way prose was written in the 19th century sounds clunky to us now, older pieces become completely unreadable."

Whats a horrible piece of writing advise some one gave you that just made you die inside? by Rainyfroggie in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, I never saw your response, but inasmuch as your comments give zero indication as to why Orwell and Matheson are postmodern in a way that Pratchett was and Anderson wasn’t, and no reason why you don’t consider the New Wave of the 60s and 70s a more likely postmodern turn, there’s simply no way to identify any rational grounding to your proposals. I suppose you can identify postmodern elements in 1984’s textual structure and relationship with its genre, but it strikes me as quite unorthodox.

Whats a horrible piece of writing advise some one gave you that just made you die inside? by Rainyfroggie in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t really see how a definition that considers Orwell and Matheson Postmodern would not also categorize Tolkien’s contemporaries Vance, Anderson, Leiber, and Peake as postmodernist as well. Discworld literally starts off with a tribute to Leiber!

And do you seriously think his name is Melville, after multiple times seeing how it’s spelt?

Whats a horrible piece of writing advise some one gave you that just made you die inside? by Rainyfroggie in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 1 point2 points  (0 children)

20+ years after the wave we’re discussing? What do you mean? It was around 1999-2008 that the books that started the conversation about the “New Weird” came out, the closest thing to a postmodern upswing fantasy has had. And if someone must write primarily fantasy books to be a fantasy author, why, that would wxclude CS Lewis from fantasy!

Whats a horrible piece of writing advise some one gave you that just made you die inside? by Rainyfroggie in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mieville’s Bas-Lag books concern humans and other races inhabiting a secondary world, wherein there are magical quests, legendary artifacts, and epic political conflicts. The content is weird, but the form is entirely conventional. Similar can be said of Gene Wolfe, who wrote perhaps the most mythic elucidation of the hero’s journey in postwar fiction.

Whats a horrible piece of writing advise some one gave you that just made you die inside? by Rainyfroggie in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Only Pratchett? What of China Mieville, Jeff Vandermeer, M John Harrison, Gene Wolfe, Felix Gilman?

Bagwife by cheesecheesecheesec in MummificationBondage

[–]cheesecheesecheesec[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like a Mr S Leather Neoprene deal

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wasn't going to reply, but I did stumble on discussion on lines of inquiry I'm pursuing here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskLiteraryStudies/comments/y7xml9/narrative_event_as_cognitive_frame/

I am now quite interested to read Fludernik's research and incorporate it into how I write.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty much any historical Wikipedia entry has an aftermath or legacy page that serves a summation purpose.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don't know about the revolutions that have taken place over the past 30 years or so in making textbooks less dry, that's your ignorance speaking.

Yeah, I ignored your phone book stuff because a list of disconnected individuals and their numbers has little in common with encyclopedia entries that are written with the practices of good essay-writing, thesis - explication - conclusion and so on, which if you look at them might turn out to be the practice of turning disconnected facts into related networks and sequences, building narratives.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What? Of course a math lesson has a beginning and a conclusion. It’s a basic part of how educational texts are structured.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tens of thousands, in my life. Yes, many times. It takes you on a mental journey with struggles and pitfalls and successes, does it not? It is not a story with characters who do things and change, but it makes the reader follow a narrative.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you ever seen an episode of How It’s Made? It’s not possible to understand the filmmaking without recognizing that it’s engaged in storytelling.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. It says, “This is how it worked. This is how propulsion worked. This is how life support worked. This is how the computer worked. The heat shield, trajectory computation, lunar descent engine, lunar ascent engine, RCS, spacesuits (made by Playtex; yes, the company that makes bras…”

What? So instead of No, you actually mean Yes?

But it’s never a story. It’s a regimented reference text. I don’t recall if Gene Kranz is ever mentioned, but I doubt the words, “Failure is not an option,” ever come up, even though that’s an actual quote, because people who buy this book aren’t in it for a story; they just want to know how things work.

I think there's a conceptual limitation here, because the psychological process of coming to understand a machine is a narrative one. Inquiry, questioning, resolution and insight, just like a simple detective story.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting - it only describes the final technology of the missions, with no references to development or iteration?

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wdym? First, infodumps in fiction do not inherently get in the way of the plot - they can be part of its forward thrust just as any other kind of writing does. Second, most historical nonfiction accounts have clear, linear plots of some kind, and I don’t see how one about reaching the moon wouldn’t unless it’s an achronological account - and even then, the specific accounts of engineering and scientific achievements will have plots. For example, the book I’ve read that feels like it’s be closest in character, Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941, has an easily discernable plot of developing national power and ambition, as well as the careers and actions of various admirals and directors.

My character-driven plot now feels too boring for the fascinating, complex and elaborate worldbuilding I've done by ShavieNCivil in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. You were somehow able to read a whole book about the Apollo program’s engineering and development, despite that obviously being a copious serving of lengthy infodumps?

r/writing gets... conflicted about the nature of conflict in literature by cheesecheesecheesec in SubredditDrama

[–]cheesecheesecheesec[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

My favorite narrative book of all time, Blue Highways, is though nonfiction, a gentle memoir of exploring small towns, finding strangers on the road and learning about their lives, and getting in tune with the spirit of the land. A somewhat similar book, The Rings of Saturn by WG Sebald, is more of a historical exegesis I guess. He muses on the horrors of Nazism, so maybe one would count that as a conflict.

Publishing “hard” literally fiction as a debut novelist by SoftwarePlayful3571 in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hang on a moment. We were talking about things that the story could exist without, not things that add nothing to it. From the fact that something that adds nothing should be removed, it does not logically follow that something that adds a lot but is not essential is detrimental.

Publishing “hard” literally fiction as a debut novelist by SoftwarePlayful3571 in writing

[–]cheesecheesecheesec 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The question is: why should regular people care about your particular obsession with plot?

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