Brazilians don't get dry, minimalist literature. A bit of a rant.
I know! It seems obvious, right? We are a hot, humid, colorful, vibrant Latin American country. Of course, our literature is the same! But that wasn't always the case! In the 1990s, Rubem Fonseca was a huge hit with his dry, ruthless Brazilian noir. Luís Fernando Veríssimo often mirrored Ernest Hemingway with long dialogues with little to no explanation.
Well, for better or worse, this is how I write most of the time. Trying to get the most from a minimal amount of words and not many adjectives and adverbs.
That seems to confuse paid Brazilian readers. There's never any consideration of style or why I choose to write the story that way. They stamp my writing for infringing on half a dozen rules and proceed to completely ignore the content.
The idea is that writing must be riddled with metaphors, poetic language, and sensorial anchors through extensive descriptions. Something I only do when I feel that it is necessary.
I sent a dry, minimalist story written in language that reflected the harshness of those people with an equally dry open ending. One reader essentially suggested turning it into an emotional journey with a Black Mirror ending.
That is often what happens with Brazilian readers: they just don't get it.
English speakers, on the other hand, get everything, including the style. They understand that the ideas are the important bit, speculate on them, and bring their own references. They seem to get everything I do easily.
I am starting to think that I should make writing in English my priority.
This is partially why I write in english tbh. …This and the depressing fact of the cost and inaccessibility of the written word to most brazilians.
Coming from academia, I have observed the label of “good writing” being applied liberally to unreadably bad texts: overwrought and flowery prose; smug overusage of “educated” words no one, not even professors, not even other academics, know; stupid sentence construction that seems to think flexing complexity is a marker of “good.”
In seems (at least in academia) it has calmed down somewhat in the past couple years as post-doc books become more readable, but there’s still a long way to go. I don’t know why this became the case, but my usual scapegoat is viralatismo.
By chance I happen to know that a viralata is a stray dog, but can you explain what viralatismo is in academia?
It's an expression used when you despise your own stuff (place, home etc.) in face of a supposedly better alternative elsewhere. An example: a Brazilian saying that US or Europe are better in every aspect and that Brazil is shit. That's viralatismo.
Thanks!
Wishing you the best on your writing journey Lou.
Joseph Conrad was an incredibly successful, now classic writer in English who learned English as an adult.
Speaking selfishly, I'd like to read your work in English.
I was shocked to find this out about Conrad when I did, his english prose is amazing. Same goes for Nabokov, how is it even possible to one of the best in English Prose ever and it not even be your native language? Impressive ability.
I wondered the same thing, but it became clearer once I discovered that he had learned English and French as a child. Not to disparage his obvious talent, but he didn’t move to the US and pick up English as a middle aged man.
That's a harsh, generalizing opinion to have regarding literally millions of people and based in one rejection. Not a genre that I'm into, but off the top of my head I can remember Carla Madeira, a contemporary that fits this description/style.
I am not talking about one rejection. It would be pretty weird to arrive at conclusions based on one rejection. This is not even based on rejections, but rather their overall opinions, the things they like, etc. I am Brazilian, and I have ample access to Brazilian readers. Their preferences are clear. The current trends are clear. It would be nice if the issue was merely a single rejection.
A Carla Madeira certamente se parece comigo. Obrigado pela sugestão! Ainda considero que alguém como ela está indo contra a maré, mas é bom saber que alguém conseguiu fazê-lo.
O pior é que além de tudo eu também escrevo um sci-fi meio esquisito. É uma combinação difícil mesmo ao que parece.
Escrever algo longo como um romance me parece uma forma de lidar com o problema. A extensão seleciona o leitor, você não precisa lidar tanto com gente que só vai bater o olho e dizer "não respeitou regrinha X Y e Z". A pessoa é obrigada a realmente se engajar na leitura para emitir uma opinião. Não me importo muito em fazer romance, mas talvez eu faça só por esse motivo.
Maybe part of it is that there are a lot more English speakers, so if your work doesn't fit with the culture in the US it could still find an audience in Canada, the UK, Ireland, or Australia. Perhaps try branching out into Spanish language writing? Or try sending your work to Portuguese publishers?
You are correct. At this point, I am more familiar with English than Spanish. I might try learning Spanish, but that is a whole other thing. Publishers from Portugal? Maybe. Brazil and Portugal are not as friendly as one would hope. But it is a possibility. Science fiction doesn't seem very popular over there -- at least that is what one Portuguese guy told me. I could ask more Portuguese about that.
Thanks!
For what it's worth, I think your posts on this site are generally excellent reading, even when I might not agree with your opinions. I'd say English suits you!
Thanks buddy ;)
The curse of genius is to be misunderstood by the stupid and unappreciated by the dull.
Why, and for whom, do you write?
I don't know. I am certainly not a genius and Brazilians are certainly not dull. They're just under a trend that does not favor me.
I write so people feel certain things that I also feel. I don't have a big project for society or anything like that.
Well, I admit the comment was partly intended to stroke your ego, and you wisely didn't fall for it. But I am sincere in the questions of why and for whom. At the fundamental level, are you putting it out there for yourself or for others? For community? Validation? If no one in the world ever any paid attention, would you write the same? Would you publish anything at all?
Now, I'm not the least bit creative. I don't think I have enough artistic ability to fill a thimble. Friends and colleagues have accused me of being elitist in my tastes, but I do try to empathize with artists. Dreamers are important. There was a time when I didn't get it, though... you really can't please everyone. So maybe it's a question of finding your audience. Or maybe you need to have no audience, I don't know. What I do know is that we all have to keep adding our own magic to this world, in whatever way we can. Or at least, that we should keep trying to. Keep going.