tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post106617477571997857..comments2023-07-14T04:28:49.111-06:00Comments on Now What: what should fiction do?Lance Olsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13659209766706247259noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-29840737502226338682007-04-11T16:03:00.000-06:002007-04-11T16:03:00.000-06:00it should make us feel like we're nothing while re...it should make us feel like we're nothing while reading it and, once we're finished with the story or novel, it should make us feel like we're everything. <BR/><BR/>sorry. i know that's vaguely maudlin, but it was the first thing that popped into my head. and fiction is also be an ardent proponent of the spontaneous. so. it's her fault.Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06276237067695885214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27325099.post-57155289697539555242007-04-05T17:02:00.000-06:002007-04-05T17:02:00.000-06:00Often when I write, I think about something that G...Often when I write, I think about something that Guy Davenport wrote about Donald Barthelme's [excellent] writing. He said, "Barthelme can focus our feeling into a bright point that can raise a blister."<BR/><BR/>I like that. A large part of writing is understanding the way emotions work, and, to put it bluntly, exploit them. The more genuinely we do so, the more effective the writing will be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com