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What do you read to get better?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by What Deadline, Oct 29, 2009.

  1. golfnut8924

    golfnut8924 Guest

    Obviously. But it doesn't matter. Reading the words, phrases and sentences of any great author -- whether fiction or not -- can help you become a better writer. It doesn't matter if what you're reading is true or not. Look at some of the names that other people have posted on here. They aren't all non-fiction writers.
     
  2. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    Yeah, I understand that. We're many years removed from HST's peak, and I want to make sure people who weren't around understand that his work is not the "reporting" it might appear to be.
     
  3. clutchcargo

    clutchcargo Active Member

    David Halberstam, Jon Krakauer. Relentless reporting and rich narrative.

    But what still inspires me most as a reporter is a movie--All The President's Men.
     
  4. BigDog

    BigDog Active Member

    Tramp stamps.
     
  5. rpmmutant

    rpmmutant Member

    Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, it doesn't diminish how well they were written. A lot of what is in the Campaign Trail is how HST perceived politics was evolving and how much BS was surrounding Nixon's campaign. A lot of it was HST's perception and intuition, thus the analysis. Most of what is in the Campaign Trail actually happened, from a certain point of view.
     
  6. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    I think I covered that. It's very entertaining. But if someone is wondering how he came up with such consistently good stuff that no one else had, the answer is he often made it up. That's a luxury not available to most people working for newspapers.

    And BS surrounding a Presidential campaign? You don't say.
     
  7. CarltonBanks

    CarltonBanks New Member

    I loved HST's Hell's Angels book. Fear and Loathing...not so much. Campaign Trail was okay, but I was let down because Hell's Angels was so friggin awesome and I expected much more. BTW, does anyone else have problems getting through Yves Levigne's Hell's Angels books? He is one of the few Canadian writers I read and think, "this guy is clearly Canadian." Not that there is anything wrong with being Canadian (I love those silly bastards and think Grand Bend, Ontario and Edmonton are two of the greatest places on earth), but I want my outlaw motorcycle literature to be a little more Americanized...when I think Hell's Angels I think San Francisco, not Sorel.
     
  8. About four or five years ago I felt like my writing just wasn't progressing like I wanted it to. I thought I was lacking description, or color as I like to call it. A co-worker gave me his copy of Catcher in the Rye to read.

    If nothing else, that book taught me that painting a picture with words is about observing everything that is going on around you. Being aware of your surroundings and knowing that no detail is too small. My writing has drastically changed since then, and I think it's been much more for the better. It taught me you can observe a lot just by watching.
     
  9. golfnut8924

    golfnut8924 Guest

    All the HST fans here -- take notice of the shirt the girl is wearing in the "Noise Bot" ad in the upper right part of this screen. (This is bat country!)

    You know you've made it as a writer when you have clothing contracts.
     
  10. gutenberg

    gutenberg Guest

    Bazooka Joe.

    It puts me on the same wavelength as this era's managing editors, publishers and sports editors.
     
  11. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    Awesome!
     
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