Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with writing and literature

Innovative Book Designs

0bvious — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:37:46 -0800

Innovative Books: I am looking to compile a list of the most innovative uses of the book format. Books that break the mould in their layout and design, perhaps books that use online systems to extend their content value or push their form into new places. I am most interested in narrative and theory, but any book that is interesting (artist books etc.) would be really appreciated. I have a few examples, in order of publication, to set the ball rolling:

Compendium for literates : a system of writing by Karl Gerstner - A book about book form in an innovative form. Beautiful and still fresh

Dictionary of the Khazars: a lexicon novel in 100,000 words by Pavic - a 'dictionary novel' "written in two versions, male and female, which are identical save for seventeen crucial lines"

A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel by Tom Philips - an artist who has used one particular edition of one particular book as a space for his work for many years

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larson - extended use of footnote, side-note and illustration to give the narrative dimension

I would love any ideas you have!

Beyond Poe: canonical short stories

Bleusman — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:13:04 -0800

What are the world's most acclaimed short stories? These are short stories you'd call part of the Canon with a capital C. The short stories that influenced people to write more short stories, and more. I'm not looking for novellas - I'm referring to things like Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants", with a similar sort of length.

What does it take to author and illustrate kids books?

filthy light thief — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:10:58 -0800

My wife and I are interested in writing and illustrating kids books and getting them published. I realize there are plenty of neat books great illustrations, so what's the best way to find out what we'd be getting into if we were to pursue this as a hobby, or even as a main source of income?

Great American Novels

Busoni — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:06:00 -0800

People talk about "writing the Great American Novel." What do you think are valid examples of the G.A.N.? What novels, American or otherwise, did you enjoy reading and wish you had written?

How to write a scientific literature review?

doctor.dan — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:18:25 -0800

I'm at that point in my PhD where my experiment is (almost) up and running, so I have more free time to do other stuff. I've decided that writing a general introduction to my thesis will be less beneficial than trying to get a review article published. How do I go about writing a review article, from the perspective of an unpublished graduate student? I'll be getting help from my advisers, both of whom are well respected in their individual fields. I'm looking at a number of different areas and trying to tie them together, which hasn't been done in any previous review (that should buy me enough originality, right?). I've done the obligatory Google search, but all the advice out on the intertubes is pretty generic, and usually aimed at small reviews instead of reviews aimed at publication.

I have more articles on the topics than I need, I just need to start writing something now. What do you guys do to streamline writing reviews (not just scientific, any kind)? Any tips on reducing the pain and increasing the fun? How do I go about planning this thing? Tips for writing it without drowning in information?

New theories of Mimesis (in digital/hypertextual/hypermedial cultures)

0bvious — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:09:48 -0800

I am looking for writings on mimesis in regards new, digital, hypertext and hypermedial technologies and cultures. I am following the redefinition of mimesis. From Plato's disregard of oral culture, through his mimesis of Socrates' dialogues in writing. Following Plato, Aristotle's theory was always a written mimesis, thus the order and processes of representation and mimicry were fundamentally written.

In essence, I am interested in how the artefacts of oral culture differed in their mimesis to written culture, and thus, how our modern move from a written to a digital/hypertextual culture will similarly impact on mimetic embodiment.

(I am also concerned with the terms 'digital' and 'hypertextual' - perhaps they are too narrow. Oral, written cultures and then XXXXX? The terms 'Cybertext' and 'Ergodic' do not seem to cover the ground wide enough.)

I have been reading Marshall McLuhan, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man and Gunter Gebauer's and Christoph Wulf's Mimesis: Culture--Art--Society. I am looking for writings on digital, hypertextual mimesis, and how it differs, how it has altered, the theoretical embodiment of representation in thought, artefacts, language and culture.

Your help, ideas and advice are much appreciated, as always

Gay Writing

blue shadows — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:44:33 -0800

Can anyone recommend good novels about gay people? Not just genre fiction but actually literature? It seems to me there must be, but I've never been able to find any.

Are there successful multi-genre authors?

wackybrit — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:31:28 -0800

Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre? It's very easy to find authors whose writing is predominantly in a single genre - horror (King, Koontz), fantasy (Tolkien, Rowling), crime (Crumley, Christie), romance, and the like. But are there any famous (or at least semi-known) authors who jump between genres regularly?

Variety doesn't seem to be a remarkable attribute in musicians (Sting, for example), but while I can think of writers who straddle or work with two distinct genres (Ballard, Dahl), I cannot think of any who have produced significant works in, say, all of horror, crime, romance, and sci-fi - and I would like to look into the works of any who have.

The phenomenology of text

0bvious — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:21:33 -0800

The phenomenology / ontology of text: has anyone examined this issue directly in philosophical, literary and/or critical terms? I am interested in the experience and perception of text, both within readership and on an abstract (more holistic level perhaps) as the archetypical mediator and virtual-archive of human culture. I wish to explore it via its mediums (e.g. book, computer screen), its modes (e.g. semiotics, translation) and its means (e.g. poetry, fiction, encryption).

I came at this problem through Heidegger (most specifically in his re-appropriation of the term 'techné'), looking at text as a technology.

I have since come upon the writings of D.C. Greetham and a couple of other bits and pieces.

I feel that this is an area not much covered by the critical fields, especially in these times of ever encompassing digital/web-based mediums. I'm interested in following through some of this to a PhD proposal.

What paths should I be taking?

Your help, as always, is much appreciated.

___________

serazin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:06:15 -0800

Why do novelists use "________" in place of a character's name? Most recently, I noticed this convention in The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but I've for sure seen this used elsewhere as well.

Is this supposed to make the novel feel more "real" - as if the author is protecting the identity of some particularly heinous or vulnerable character? That makes no sense to me since I've never read a non-fiction book or essay where there was a blank (or first letter only) instead of a name.

Am I missing something obvious?

Kate Chopin's "The Awakening"

madmamasmith — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:43:24 -0800

I am trying to get a better understanding of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" **Spoiler Alert** I see it as a woman's discovery of her freedom and independence. The main character forsakes her role as wife and mother in late 19th century society and pursues her own happiness. I don’t really understand the juxtaposition of the men in the story. Her husband ,who she escapes, is not violent or demanding and reacts to her leaving rather well by my standards; showing there was little emotional investment in their relationship. Women cant initiate divorce yet I suppose, but Edna does the next best thing by moving out. The object of her affection, Robert, refuses to be with her even though she has left her husband (because he "loves" her).But Alcee Arobin has no problem being private or public with Edna. So what do all these different male characters represent? Please let me know your ideas, Thanks!!

Star Wars did a pretty good job at this too...

Navelgazer — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:30:51 -0800

A question about creating literary mythologies and the antagonistic forces within them. I'm working on a couple of different stories at the moment, which are both ostensibly set in the "real world," but which both also peel back a layer to an either mystical/invented theological level (for one of them) or a cabal-type political level (for the other one) pulling the strings behind them. In both cases, for obvious reasons, the mythology behind these worlds is part and parcel with the origins and motivations behind the antagonists.

I know the tenets of story design quite well, and am a super-nerd for structure and all of the things that can be done with it, but I just can't quite find the rhyme or reason (if there is any) to how one properly sets up a comprehensive, yet finite, world which also defines the villain within it, and yet doesn't fall into over-exposition about the elements of that world (particularly once the pieces should all be in place and things should keep moving along without bringing in extra elements.)

Some examples of what works for me and doesn't:

Lord of the Rings: There are peaceful parts of Middle Earth, and evil parts, and the only place for the One Ring, the most evil of artifacts, to be destroyed, is in the most evil and dangerous part of Middle Earth where it was created. Thus the story takes the Hero deeper and deeper into danger as he moves along: Brilliant

Harry Potter: At once a world of magic, but more importantly a political world, where pure-blood supremacists fight against the egalitarians, all portrayed well within the microcosm of Hogwarts, with boundaries slowly ever-expanding to the greater, and similar, world outside its walls: also brilliant

Battlestar Galactica: Small group of survivors from different planets with different religious readings and different philosophies having to try to work together against a common outside force, which they don't understand: Very nice. The readings of the scriptures of the Lords of Kobol, and the Cylon monotheism, however, have never had a clear backbone and may be used to fit whatever is necessary, so not as nice.

His Dark Materials: Works like gangbusters at first, when it sets up the Daemons and the politics at Oxford and with the church essentially trying to destroy puberty, and then runs off the rails as it continues to introduce new elements (like the land of the dead and all that entails) in the final installment.

What I'm asking for is not how to create something unique - if I can't do that then I have no business writing to begin with - but rather what common elements and Meta-ideas I need to be looking into in order to create a functional world.

Looking for detractors of Literary Darwinism

0bvious — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:45:07 -0800

Literary Darwinism: A relatively new field of evolutionary psychology / literary theory. What has recently been written in argument against it? I have read through some of the works of:

Joseph Carroll
Ellen Dissanayake
Jonathan Gottschall
Robert Storey
Michelle Scalise Sugiyama

...and a few others, yet I am having a hard time finding critical work designed to bring down the arguments of Darwinian Literary Studies. It appears that the field of Poststructuralism is one of the main targets of Literary Darwinism's (Lit-Dar) proponents.

Has anyone attempted to re-address the balance?

I have found little in Lit-Dar writings about specifically text and textuality, something the Postmodernists very much conern themselves with. Surely there is some work on the subject that addresses its absence from Lit-Dar writings?

(I am not interested in the critique of Evolutionary Psychology - of which there is plenty - unless it specifically addresses the Literary and Textual concerns of Darwinian Literary Studies.)

Thanks a lot

short story recommendations?

Salvatorparadise — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:53:47 -0800

What are your favorite short stories or short story collections, anthologies etc. Hi all. I'm interested in writing short stories, but really need to read more of them before I dive into this. What are some of your favorite short stories, anthologies or collections that I should check out?

I'm a reporter and write for a living, and wrote a book a few years ago (haven't tried to publish it, i'd like to try to write it again sometime to make it better) and want to begin writing fiction more seriously. I'd like to start with short stories but I haven't read very many, and that's a problem when one wants to write them!

help me out!

Which books are most representative of each city?

reenum — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:21:37 -0800

What one book will allow others to gain the truest insight into the soul of each city or region Inspired by this recent Metafilter post and blatantly stealing the idea (and some text) from this AskMe post, I have decided to try and read a book about all of the major cities in the United States and the world. I've seen AskMe's in the past about various cities, such as London and New York.

So: which single book from each city is most revealing of the lifestyle, customs, struggles, and spirit of that nation? I lived in San Francisco a while back, and I would recommend any of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City' books to get a true idea of life in the City.

I want to write for interesting online magazines

0bvious — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:16:42 -0800

I am looking for online magazines to submit art/literature/experimental/fun articles to. I think 'The Believer' magazine is a good example of the type I crave. UK based would be best, but not completely necessary. Any ideas?

How Things 'Become': The Infinity of Definition

0bvious — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:18:41 -0800

I am looking for writings on the infinity of definition. I am interested in the exponentially divergent curve that is definition.

We create writings and art to better define the world, yet true definition is infinite.

We mediate the universe by erecting borders of definition, i.e. all striped, four-legged, hooved mammals are probably zebras. We categorise the universe into hierarchies, but the more we examine the more pronounced and expansive these hierarchies become.

Language is our greatest defining tool. Yet, the metaphors we evolve to expand the potential of language can themselves only be made to refer back to the language which created them. An infinite loop emerges in most definition.

As new technology emerges we use it to 'add' meaning to artifacts which are already partly defined. By looking at the world with ever more refined microscopes we bring reality into greater clarity. This metaphor can be expanded to refer to texts, art, archaeology, culture etc.

Who has written on the problem of definition? What critical theory has been written on the emergence of infinity?

This question adds on to past questions I have asked at MeFi including (in reverse order):

- Art and artifacts experienced through technology
- The mimetic and narrative capacities of artefacts
- Examples of 'The Infinite' in Myth and Their Effect on Conditions of Truth

Here's hoping you have some ideas...

Recommendations/sources for good erotic writing?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:11:48 -0800

Recommendations/sources for good erotic writing? My girlfriend recently revealed to me that she is/used to be into erotic stories, and I'd like to learn more about this topic, to liven up and deepen our sex life. I'd like to improve my dirty talk and my ability to talk about her and my fantasies. I don't know much about erotic fiction, so I guess I'm looking for some direction.

So, please share with me your favorite stories, books, collections, websites, etc. Any academic/critical/analytical writings about this topic are welcomed as well. Also of interest is advice about talking about and sort of creating fantasies before and during sex.

Also, I'm a man, if that information is useful.

The mimetic and narrative capacities of artefacts

0bvious — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:58:58 -0800

I am interested in the mimetic and narrative capacities of artefacts, how cultural remnants transmit information through time and how meaning is translated once an artefact is re-appropriated or examined from a new perspective. I have several avenues of study at the moment (a list in extended explanation), but would like some more ideas. Areas of critical theory, linguistics, evolutionary psychology and poetics are all relevant. I want to show that the narratives and metaphors which can be understood as the architecture of our brains are somehow mimetically present in the physical, cultural and linguistic artefacts which surround us.

Here are a few of the readings I have gathered so far:

- Anthropological and evolutionary studies into the nature and transmission of narrative by Michelle Scalise Sugiyama (in particular her essay 'Reverse-Engineering Narrative' from the book 'The Literary Animal').
- Mikhail Bakhtin's 'Discourse in the Novel' (where he talks about language as having 'genres' or 'tastes' which can transmit as much meaning as the words themselves).
- Michael Shanks and Lynn Hershman Leeson's conversation at Seed Magazine on 'Presence' in art and archaeology and how new technologies affect it.
- Susan A. Stewart's book 'On Longing'.
- Gaston Bachelard's book 'The Poetics of Space'

Thanks in advance!

The tip of the tongue, taking a trip to the foreignerland.

GrooveStix — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:51:23 -0800

I am in a search of a program that will help me memorize words... I am an avid reader, but since English is my second language, I've been using dictionary a lot. I've noticed that I had to look up the same words twice, thrice and so on, so for some time I've been thinking about making a word collection and sticking everything on my wall in a post-it-note fashion. Now, writing every word down will prove a tedious task. For example, I was reading Nabokov's Lolita (which by the way, molested me on more than one level) :) and I can't even remember how many times I had to look through a dictionary per single paragraph.

What I am looking for is software or something, that will automate the whole process, where I copy/paste a certain definition in the program (or whatever) and that would create (PDF perhaps?) pages that I can later print, cut and stick on my wall.

Does anybody know something resembling what I am describing?

Great works of literature created from humble resources

survivorman — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:20:33 -0800

Any examples of great works of literature that were written on scraps of paper or created using inferior devices?

What are tomorrow's avant-garde monuments

jayder — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:20:35 -0800

What are tomorrow's avant-garde art/film/writing monuments that are being done today? What are the contemporary avant-garde works that will be regarded as classics in twenty years? What are the works being done right now, or in the last couple of years, that everyone will know in twenty years, but that few know about today? I'm talking about works in literature, film, music; things like Einstein on the Beach, Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle, Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, the art and sculpture of Bruce Naumann, James Joyce's Ulysses, the films of Ernie Gehr and Stan Brakhage, etc.

(I realize that it requires a large element of conjecture to answer this question, but I think that people "in the know" often have a pretty good idea what works of art will eventually be widely known.)

I've got a mini-door stop, now how do I revise it?

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:55:07 -0800

I've just finished my first novel, now how do I revise this thing? I've spent the past three months furiously writing my first novel. I was quite inspired, and managed to put down a little more than 90,000 words. The book is a true rough-draft.

I believe in the plot and am attached to the characters--I really think I have a good book here--but every time I sit down to start revising, I end up quitting after an hour feeling defeated. The process I've been using so far is to simply go through, one chapter at a time, and take a red pen to the printed copy before sitting down at the computer and making changes. This just doesn't seem to be cutting it. I'm bogged down and frustrated. The sheer size of what I've written overwhelms me, and though I'd like to polish it, I'm unsure how to continue.

What are some other methods that successful authors have used to revise their novels? I'd love to hear any tips or suggestions, personal or from the greats.

I need a patron so I can quit making lattes

Galen — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:12:29 -0800

PatronFilter: I'm tired of working for Starbucks. I want to write full time. Help me construct a letter to the opulent to remind them of yesteryear when the arts were supported by benefactors. Help me convince the rich that paying for me to live comfortably will serve humanity. Here's the catch: I've only been published in my university's journal, for an experimental poem. I want to continue experimenting in poetry and eventually write an experimental novel.

Thus, getting an advance from a publisher is out of the question (publishers aren't to be trusted anyway).

I'm counting on people with more money then they know what to do with bestowing upon me an allowance in exchange for bragging rights ("I'm a patron for a young man experimenting in poetry"). I'll even go to their parties and let them gawk at me.

Good nonfiction books about Seattle?

The corpse in the library — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:53:52 -0800

Recommendations for well-written narrative nonfiction books about Seattle? I'm currently enjoying Peter Hessler's Oracle Bones, for example. So like that, but about Seattle. (Which would make it an entirely different book, yes -- I just mean I like his style.)