I don't watch Youtube video's so I have no idea what this is really about so I'm commenting on the headline only. The idea of a writer who doesn't read books doesn't even make sense to me. A...
I don't watch Youtube video's so I have no idea what this is really about so I'm commenting on the headline only.
The idea of a writer who doesn't read books doesn't even make sense to me. A writer needs to be an absolutely voracious reader, it should consume their entire life. A great writer lives and breathes language and reading/writing. Think of the library of Cormac McCarthy, thousands of titles, chicken scratch and margin notes in a huge amount of them. Hunter S. Thompson said he wanted to know what it felt like to write a great book so he literally sat down and typed out the entirety of 'The Great Gatsby' on his typewriter. Books piled up all over the place at Owl Farm. The best artists are usually obsessive and partly insane.
But also reading at scale does not always equal a great writer, I think about the critic Howard Bloom whom claimed to read up to 5 books every day. You may not agree with his views but the man was a genius and deeply loved literature. His attempts at fiction never really went anywhere.
Could you imagine a musician who doesn't listen to music? The ones I have met are obsessed with music and have a deep and wide knowledge.
He uses similar examples to call out the absurdity. One of the beliefs is that consuming mass media will corrupt your natural creativity and expose you to trite ideas that'll seep into your work....
He uses similar examples to call out the absurdity.
One of the beliefs is that consuming mass media will corrupt your natural creativity and expose you to trite ideas that'll seep into your work. This idea of inherent genius is pointless though because it ignores cultural context and most readers being, well, readers. Stories are always written in the fabric of a certain time and place.
If an undiscovered tribe independently invented bicycles, that'd be incredible, but their invention wouldn't be anything truly unique and valuable. We already have bicycles.
Being widely read is important both to stir up your own creativity and know what has come before. Unique creations aren't born in a vacuum. They're only unique by comparison to everything else around them.
I don't watch Youtube video's so I have no idea what this is really about so I'm commenting on the headline only.
The idea of a writer who doesn't read books doesn't even make sense to me. A writer needs to be an absolutely voracious reader, it should consume their entire life. A great writer lives and breathes language and reading/writing. Think of the library of Cormac McCarthy, thousands of titles, chicken scratch and margin notes in a huge amount of them. Hunter S. Thompson said he wanted to know what it felt like to write a great book so he literally sat down and typed out the entirety of 'The Great Gatsby' on his typewriter. Books piled up all over the place at Owl Farm. The best artists are usually obsessive and partly insane.
But also reading at scale does not always equal a great writer, I think about the critic Howard Bloom whom claimed to read up to 5 books every day. You may not agree with his views but the man was a genius and deeply loved literature. His attempts at fiction never really went anywhere.
Could you imagine a musician who doesn't listen to music? The ones I have met are obsessed with music and have a deep and wide knowledge.
He uses similar examples to call out the absurdity.
One of the beliefs is that consuming mass media will corrupt your natural creativity and expose you to trite ideas that'll seep into your work. This idea of inherent genius is pointless though because it ignores cultural context and most readers being, well, readers. Stories are always written in the fabric of a certain time and place.
If an undiscovered tribe independently invented bicycles, that'd be incredible, but their invention wouldn't be anything truly unique and valuable. We already have bicycles.
Being widely read is important both to stir up your own creativity and know what has come before. Unique creations aren't born in a vacuum. They're only unique by comparison to everything else around them.
We all stand on the shoulders of giants.
He's on Nebula too, if you prefer.
https://nebula.tv/videos/mancarryingthing-writers-who-dont-read-books-a-response