/lit/ - Literature

A physical book is a symbol that has planted itself firmly in the minds of many people. It isn't just about posturing with your books. It's about feeling them; seeing that you are making tangible, physical progress, knowing that the book will forever bear the scars of use, etchings that inspire nostalgia every time you crack it open and smell the pages as they gently fan fragrant air across your face. The collection, too, is important. It is exquisitely gratifying to walk into a room that smells of old books and see them all collected and ordered on shelves like old friends reminding you of the time that you lived with them. It's much like how many older people feel about their records, for though they understand the value of digital music, they cannot help but feel nostalgic upon examining their old collection. With digital books you absorb content. With physical books you live the experience.

I do write, though rarely do I write anything of any import. I write at least four or five short stories a week, though I often delete them, they being entirely private pieces. I have written columns for newspapers and websites, speeches for local politicians, and essays for various local publications. My goal is to release a novel, though I am still in the idea stage.

My process varies in relation to the nature of work I'm doing. If I am writing something official, like an essay or a research paper, I typically sit down to write it in very large chunks, sometimes only two or three (or one if it's below six pages or so). I often use this time to listen to new albums. I typically use a fairly assertive tone, similar to the one I use to post on 4chan (tip: if you're struggling with an argumentative or position paper, imagine that someone has just made a post arguing against your point, and that you need to construct a valid rebuttal). If I am writing a column, I listen to upbeat music and write in a generally informal tone, taking care to make my readers feel "included." If I am writing a speech, I visualize a screenplay and a storyboard, and I listen to powerful orchestral music (it's important to coach your speech reader on how to perform the speech). Finally, if I am writing fiction, my tone varies widely between academic and formal (purple, I suppose), and short and to the point. I listen to music that fits what I am writing.

>>2744243

You are talking about importance? Of course the study of literature and language is important. You are contributing to the constant motion of ideas that defines the societies of every nation on Earth. That isn't important to you? If it weren't for English or literature intellectuals, people would neither read nor write nearly as often. Image the shape society would be in if no one read or wrote anything—ever.

Bookmarks are for the elite. I have very specific bookmarks based on the genre and mood. Many hand crafted and from different parts of the world. They help me channel the correct energy into the book to create more ultimate experiences.

Folding pages, remembering page numbers, using business cards is all pleb action.

>Don't worry. Anything important will still be written by men.

This, mostly because what people read today is pop literature. Women write silly pop lit well because its juicy.

Maybe you are just looking at the wrong books. Non-ficiton is typically produced by men. So is historical fiction. What genre are you chasing?

I don't often read books that were written in the last ten years, but when I do they are written GRRM.

I've had this short story sitting unfinished for quite a while. I have the climax and ending all planned out, and I've written probably the first two-thirds already. The problem is in the bit they're in right now, there's nothing for them to do.

To put it simply, two children are searching for something hidden in a cave. A psychotic man is chasing after them. They're going to find something later at which the climax of the story takes place, but I need something to fill the time between then and now.

It's somewhat fantasy-themed though in the end revealed to be slightly more sci-fi in nature though as of yet they haven't really encountered any monsters or anything, the story is it's own setting. Think old western town in winter.

Obviously what they're wandering through could be like a maze, but it wouldn't make any sense in the story for there to be puzzles or traps inside. They will find a fossilized corpse before they get to what they're looking for though.

I figure I can't just have them enter the cave, and then a paragraph or two later find what they're looking for.

>>680516
1. Oh noes I saged my non-contributing post in a thread on the front page, an action which does nothing aside from preventing my post from bumping the thread. Bad llama.
2. Congratulations, you have successfully forced me to change my complaint from "four comic-type choices seems like cheating" to "four film choices seems like cheating", YOU dolt.
3. Sage again because I'm still not contributing. Plus, it gives me an extra item for my list, because lists are awesome.

>>443449

The REAL official bookface of approval.