/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.7379798]

My favourite author is Hemingway and I want to write like him, but my life isn't comparable. Should I just make it up?

It's not the fact that my life is boring:
>I spent the first 8 years of my life in West Africa living in the bush
>I then grew up in an abusive household in the UK and went travelling homeless around Europe for 2 years
>I had a baby with a woman and fell in love with somebody else

It's more the fact that I don't think people care about those things, and I don't have the fishing/bullfighting/Parisian subplots to back it up.

>Interests are video games & reading (duh)
>Never step outside of the comfort zone any more
>Don't have any ambitions besides writing
>Happily married with child and pretty much think my life is completed

I guess the topic of the thread is coming up with plots that are relevant to your life but also archetypal/literary

[Anonymous No.7379858]

Why do people keep thinking the most defining element in Hemingway's works is his thematic style? What he really takes to great heights in his writing is, first of all, the minimalism: in his prose and in his storytelling. Second after that comes the very unique psychologic states his characters are put in because of different relationships with other people and the reality they live in.

You really, really don't need to live a thrilling life in order to resemble Hemingway.

[Anonymous No.7379938]

>>7379858

This, t b h f a m.

It's most likely easier to emulate his style when you DO lead a less exciting life.

[Anonymous No.7379948]

>>7379798
>Should I just make it up?
Yes. This is what we call 'fiction'.

[Anonymous No.7379957]

>>7379798


DESU an interesting life does not make you an interesting writer.

Its just that people with interesting lives are more often introduced to the reality that if you do something unique well enough that no rules apply to you.

Interesting people who have gone through adversity often times also work harder and understand what making a sacrifice feels like

Its entirely possible to be coddled in life and still be a mental rebel, but its very rare because nothing in your factical environments ever cause that side of you to develop.


also
>writing for plot

you took your first step in the wrong direction.

[Anonymous No.7380034]

>>7379957
>writing for plot
>you took your first step in the wrong direction.
Can someone explain this meme

[Anonymous No.7380045]

Being a good writer means you can take something dull, uninteresting and make it exciting, interesting. Having an interesting life is helpful, but not essential.

[Anonymous No.7380135]

>>7379957
I agree with the
>reading for plot
meme, but I suspect it doesn't translate into
>writing for plot
A writer who doesn't give a shit about the plot is not going to produce a good book.

[Anonymous No.7380146]

>>7380034
The best plot isn't worth shit if you're a bad writer. Worth as in worth of itself, not money. Good plots sell. See every detective novel ever sold. But it's nothing of worth.
But shit plots can be great literature, see a couple of board favorites:
>Infinite Jest - plot absolute mess, great characters and depiction of depression
>Ulysses - plot mundane, great language and depth
>Catcher in the Rye - boring plot, good portrait of edgy teenagers

Page turners that reel you in with a great plot are usually just entertainement. They're good at that but often have nothing else to offer. A great plot is of course good, but doesn't mean shit on its own.

I'm drunk btw. Don't take my word for this.

[Anonymous No.7380155]

>>7379798
>Never step outside of the comfort zone any more

>went around Europe as a hobo for 2 years while also knocking up some girl and having a kid
intredasting opee
>Happily married with child and pretty much think my life is completed
So you got two kids?