How can I write like him, /lit/?
Why would you even want to anon? Of all the greats you could aspire to imitate why DFW of all people? Just why? It's like you actually desire to be pretentious.
>>7558216
Autism
>>7558223
this 2bh. DFW was a good writer but pretentious as all fuck,
>>7558216
start watching anime
ape pynchon
>mfw I tried to write a Wallacesque essay in high school lit class and got my worst mark of the year for it
Been parroting Bloom ever since.
>>7558216
Be an ugly sperg
>>7558216
Writing like your favorite author[1] is looked down upon culturally. There is a trend within literary circles, and one that was heavily influenced by such nuance writers like Shakespeare to 'find your own voice'. This is a message that has passed down through entertainment and through art in a linear progression and one that can still be found in such pieces today. This concept of the 'voice' and of the individual nature of it is something to be looked in to. There are many instances in life where you are day in day out using the words of other people. Sometimes this is done consciously - under the suspicion or knowledge that you are being watched - and othertimes it is performed unconsciously - through the tiredness and the laziness[2] that lies at the core of our being. The task then becomes 'finding' your own voice. This is a burden that not many people are willing to perform. It is like riding your bike against the wind to a destination you don't know. For you now see as and when you are writing in your own voice the pleasure that you once withdrew from using one that wasn't your own.[3] Instead of looking at your writing as a piece of art - a piece of something that benefits and helps people in society - it becomes a selfish, introspective, careless, spiteful and above all, lonely piece of work.
[1]Whatever it means to be an 'author', that is. There are innumerable synonyms and metaphorical links in language - especially in the English language - that can be used to describe practically anything and everything in our day to day lives. This is an 'etymological evolution' - the process of language development under the laws of nature. That is to say, absolute chaos. This evolution of language has meant, as I previously mentioned, that many words have developed out of a few. In this instance, 'author', which has developed (see: evolved) from the Latin 'auctorem' which translates into something like 'leader, master, founder'[a] is not the same as 'writer' which comes from the Old English (but newer than Latin) 'writere' which translates into 'somebody who writes'. These two terms don't mean the same thing, but they are used interchangeably with one another, which is potentially a product of the chaos that exists within society.
[a] Note that because of the chaos of language, we cannot actually translate archaic language accurately.
[2]This is not to say it is a bad thing. Laziness, despite social frowning, is through natural wants and desires, something that you are programmed to do. Anything that takes thought or effort or strain is punished bitterly by our social systems and by nature. Laziness belongs, in this sense, to the Good.
[3]That is to say, using a voice that belonged to someone else, which using in your own writing is akin to looking at a painting or studying a piece of complicated music in that it isn't something that you created, but something that you feel somewhere deep down that you are a part of.
>>7558294
Heh. I actually did a parody of DFW with a (fairly short) NewsRadio fanfic a few years back.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7022461/1/The-NewsRadio-FanFic
>>7558300
Same person that wrote the thing above here.
First impression (not even read a word yet) of your piece is how funny the format is. The main body is tiny and the footnotes are the only things that look interesting.
Second impression (actually read it now): Jesus Christ.
Perhaps it was my reading, but in some sections, it seemed that the characters were doing more than one thing at any time - not just metaphorically so, but impossibly so. It came across as confusing for its own sake - which I suppose as a parody of DFW it was meant to be.
Enjoyed it though, it was funny. Not only was it funny, but it had some serious points behind its humour about drug-induced hallucinations, suicide, paranoia and relationships between men and women (though this theme could have been developed)
Good anyway. Keep it going but remember to always put character above theme. If a character is human enough, the themes will follow.
wear that head-cover thing.
>>7558331
Heh, thanks. If I wrote it today, I certainly wouldn't include a rape for the sake of comedy, but I'm glad you liked it.
Constantly mention how hard it is to put what you're trying to say into words.
>>7558216
weed, over-exposure to books, private education, and an influential circle of friends
>>7558457
Can a sufficient amount of weed overcome the lack of over-exposure to books, private education, and an influential circle of friends?
>>7558486
sur bro wed iss lik the cur tto lyf and make you rel kwl
>>7558216
By killing yourself
You'd have to purge yourself of irony and memes, which I doubt anyone on 4chan could do.
>>7558223
I don't think you know what "pretentious" means.
DFW was very smart, had a great concept of plot, character, theme, development. I think what people mainly don't enjoy about his writing is how overt and in-your-face it gets at times with the points it makes. He's not a subtle writer by any means, but I guess that's a component of New Sincerity
>>7558243
you simply lacked the talent to write in any style. i bet your bloomian essays are shit as well, just more palatable shit
>>7558808
I'm not saying that DFW wasn't smart because he definitely was. I meant pretentious in the sense of "trying too hard to be special" and this is exactly what he does. All his work just seems too forced, I can't exactly put my finger on it and perhaps pretentious isn't the proper term but I don't know any other that fits as well.
Why would you want to write like him, he's a claptrap journalist.
In interviews, DFW called things pretentious quite often. Was he aware of his own pretentiousness?
>>7560709
Deep
>>7558294
This really isn't how he writes. 0/10
>>7558300
This is great. Made me lol.
