Kurt Vonnegut's advice on telling stories and writing jokes
Be a sadist. End on a high note. Continually jump off cliffs. And more...
Kurt Vonnegut explains stories.
“Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — so the reader may see what they're made of.”
Also:
End on a high note. Vonnegut says, “It’s not accidental that the line ends up higher than where it began. This is encouraging to readers.” The way a story makes people feel when they finish is how they remember it. It’s called recency bias. Lift people up and they will love you.
Gary Gulman’s Comedy Tips have a lot of Vonnegut advice sprinkled in the mix too.
Tip No. 37: My favorite writer Kurt Vonnegut said he wrote for an audience of one, his sister Alice. I write for a 21-year-old me. Today, think about your ideal audience member. This should help you narrow your writing focus and help you find your voice.
Tip No. 85: Feel too old? 50 years ago this month Kurt Vonnegut published this masterpiece (Slaughterhouse Five or The Children’s Crusade) He was 47. That’s like 65 today. He’d written five or six books before but reached only a small audience. It continues to heal and educate and inspire. Please don’t give up!
Tip No. 106: Read and heed! This essay by Kurt Vonnegut has gotten me through so many rough times. Print it and tack it up where you can see it when you need it.
Tip No. 171: Summer goal: “We have to be continually jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” — Kurt Vonnegut. Maybe your goal is your first open mic. Keep this quote in mind now and throughout your journey. There’s no blueprint. Take that leap of faith!
Tip No. 186: “Practice any art … no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow. Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives!” — Kurt Vonnegut
“We have to be continually jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.”
-Kurt Vonnegut
“I'm learning to fly but I ain't got wings /
Coming down is the hardest thing”
-Tom Petty
Related: 15 things Kurt Vonnegut said better than anyone else ever has or will [AV Club]
I am going to gift a subscription of this letter to a friend. You have so many gems. I am a big fan of Vonnegut and have some of his quotes posted around my house to keep me going. I wasn’t able to access the essay to print, but I will. Thanks for sharing.
I love Vonnegut and Gary Gilman, but I never thought I would see them in the same sentence.