Being under influence doesn't make you a writer

[arpad]

Jonathan Carroll
The Wooden Sea
1991

I am sick of books like that. The technique consist of writing down your dreams (I don't care if that was achieved through drugs or not) and hope that emotional load will somehow outweigh absence of a story.

Two mistakes.

First - author forget that these emotions do exist in writer's, not reader's head. In process of transfer they rot, they smell bad, they smell false.

Second - author actually expect the reader to like that mess of storyline. Sorry - I can't. I can take open end, I can take loose ends, I can take even a failure to reach the end. But I can't stomach the blind following of author's dream. Dreams lead nowhere. They need to be interpreted awake to make sense.

Writing is about a fight with the universe. Attempt to understand, attempt to create order out of chaos.
Writing is about a fight with a language – pushing borders of what is allowed, creating names for things that weren't named.
Writing is about a fight with a reader for his attention, for making him follow into your vision.

Writing is not about luring a reader into rotten compost heap of your subconscious. Regardless of how many pearls can be found in that heap.

Comments

[-kk.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

The Wooden Sea

[(Anonymous)]

Judging by your own incompetent and confusing prose, it is clear why you don't like Jonathan Carroll's work. The Wooden Sea was chosen as one of the books of the year by the New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Washington Post. And what has your prose been nominated for? Hmm?

[arpad.livejournal.com]

Judging by your own manners... you got my meaning?