If you’re familiar with Kurt Vonnegut Jr., you know his writing style. He’s witty and often satirical. He sheds light on our society and on war, and death in a way that can feel uniquely Vonnegut. He has a know-it-when-you-see-it kind of feeling.
This list is certainly more on the writerly-existentialism than I’m used to sharing. But not to worry, next week we’ll be talking craft more explicitly. That being said, for the 5-Minute Writer series today I wanted to share what I learned about writing by doing research for my day living & writing like Kurt Vonnegut.
3 THINGS I LEARNED
🥛 Every character should want something even if it is a glass of water
This first lesson comes from Vonnegut’s rules for writing short stories.
Like a good student of writing, I read these years ago. And this might be the one that has most transformed my writing.
It seems to me that novice writers sometimes forget to give ALL of our characters a goal. Our protagonist might have one. But she might meander in and out of the world running across people who, presumably, exist just to interact with her.
They have no before. And no after. Isn’t that a shame?
When I read this tip, it reminded me to be attuned to every character’s goals, even the ones who have little interaction with my protagonist.
Thinking this way will help us craft three dimensional characters in a more three dimensional world!
😇 “Well if this isn’t nice…”
Vonnegut had a saying that apparently he got from an uncle or something…and in various speeches he would give, he’d relay it to the audience.
The saying went like this: “And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”
As writers we sometimes get so mired in the struggles of writing a cohesive story, of publishing the stories we write, and of securing and optimizing writing time.
But sometimes we forget to slow down and remember why we tell stories. Why is it important to us to wake up early, to stay up late, to forego binging a television show or skip yard work?
Appreciate your journey, the work, and the effort. Appreciate that you can even do this thing called writing.
🌹 Isn’t that romantic?
Writing is hard.
In the video I linked above, I had an entire day to write.
Normally (with two kids in diapers) I have to squeeze time in whenever I can. But what I realized was how mentally taxing it was to write for extended periods of time.
Writers sometimes romanticize the writer’s life and forget we have limitations.
I’m all for pushing yourself in your work. But remember to recharge your batteries with the things you love to do besides writing.
Don’t feel bad about your other hobbies, try not to resent your family for taking up time and find happiness in the time away from your writing. It can be those breaks that make the writing times more productive!
2 QUOTES
“Many people need desperately to receive this message: ‘I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake
“Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
1 QUESTION/THOUGHT
When Vonnegut was writing, he seemed to try to weave humor into these really complex and sometimes nihilistic ideas. How do you use humor in your own work? Do you seek out humor in your writing?
I have to make a conscious effort to add humor to my writing and it’s hard for me at times. So any advice would be appreciated! Happy writing!
