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Literature Is More than a Sum of Its Parts

August 3, 2019

Writing

art, meaning, symbolism, visuality, writing

I have often mentioned this in the blog: Literature is more than a sum of its parts. In other words, a literary text – like any self-respecting art form – provides you with more than simply all of its words, paragraphs, and chapters.

To talk about literature being more than a sum of its parts is another way of saying the following two things:

Literature Is More than a Sum of Its Parts
If you can read more in the verse “Like the beautiful houses lying low/ that are still kept in life’s undertow” than the words reveal, you are closer to understanding why literature is more than a sum of its parts

I was pondering on today’s topic while listening to a song – as I mentioned above, all self-respecting art is more than a sum of its parts. And so, I decided to use this song as an example case.

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Separate the Art from the Artist

June 10, 2019

Literature

art, artist, bigotry, idiocy, literature, review, social media

No, this isn’t a post about the chaos of meaning and authorial intention. Or, then again, maybe it’s at least related to it. Today I want to talk about those peculiar readers who seem utterly unable to separate the art from the artist.

But what does it mean, to separate the art from the artist? In a sense, it’s about understanding that meaning is created by the author as well as the audience.

However, in our context, not to separate the art from the artist refers to those who cannot objectively assess a work of art as a result of their preconceptions about the artist.

separate the art from the artist
Where do you draw the line between art and artist?
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How to Manipulate Readers: A Short Guide for Fiction Authors

December 3, 2018

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, creativity, literature, manipulation, meaning, reading, writing

As a fiction writer, you create worlds. You create a different reality, populating it with characters and meaning. In essence, the role of writing as art is to inspire affect – that is, an emotion, a thought, or a state of mind. And learning how to manipulate readers can be an integral part of this endeavor.

At first, the idea of an author manipulating readers might sound controversial. This is probably a result of the connotations the word “manipulation” contains. But, as with so many other things, the controversy stops once you realize what manipulating an audience really refers to in this context.

Manipulating your readers creatively has nothing to do with writing gimmicks. The former is a legitimate literary device; the latter has nothing to do with the art.

In today’s article I’ll show you:

  1. What it means to manipulate your audience.
  2. Why would you want to do that.
  3. How to manipulate readers in an efficient, respectful way.
how to manipulate readers
Writing fiction is not about a strict representation of reality, but about affect
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