Quote

Posted by Mikko on July 28, 2001 at 04:35:13:

In Reply to: Re: I'm glad someone else has commented on Matches writing style cos he won't believe me about it. nt posted by Matches on July 28, 2001 at 00:11:01:

: I never said I didn't believe you, but the fact is that no one gives a God damn about anything that I write about. There's nothing at all interesting to write about.

"Informal essays are, by and large, silly and insubstantial things; unless you get a job as a columnist at your local newspaper, writing such fluffery is a skill you'll never use in the actual mall-and-filling-station world. Teachers assign them when they can't think of any other way to waste your time. The most notorious subject, of course, is 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation.'"

So says Stephen King in 'On Writing', page 147. I have a suggestion: if there isn't anything interesting to write about in the world, make something new up.

Mikko

Follow Ups:

• Re: Quote Matches 22:36:59 07/28/01 (0)
• I prefer Matches style to that of King and so do many people who read novels. nt Tiggy 18:49:15 07/28/01 (7)
  • Yes, and Matches has the sales figures to back that up with. [nt] Mikko 03:57:23 07/29/01 (6)
    • Thankfully, many more literary works are bestsellers now. nt Tiggy 21:32:58 07/29/01 (5)
      • Avoid adverbs whenever you can. [nt] Mikko 18:25:36 07/31/01 (4)
        • Ok, 'are now bestsellers'. I think I'll just avoid pedantic Finns. nt Tiggy 19:02:58 08/03/01 (2)
          • Maybe I was referring to 'thankfully'? What you corrected isn't an adverb at all. [nt] Mikko 11:41:35 08/04/01 (1)
            • Or wrong, for that matter. [nt] Mikko 11:42:57 08/04/01 (0)
        • Ok, 'are now bestsellers'. I think I'll just avoid pedantic Finns. nt Tiggy 19:02:35 08/03/01 (0)

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