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/lit/ - Literature

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6568394 No.6568394 [Reply] [Original]

How do I write a masterpiece?

>> No.6568400

>>6568394
Don't try to write a masterpiece.

>> No.6568404

1. Be intelligent.

Do you meet this condition?

>> No.6568410

>>6568394
Start with the Greeks.

>> No.6568412

>>6568394
Find an idea that has never been found
Make the idea come alive

>> No.6568416

>masterpiece

kek what is this, 1850?

>> No.6568536
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6568536

>>6568416
y-you too...

>> No.6568541

>>6568394
spend more time on 4chan

>> No.6568549

>>6568541
this

become NEET also

>> No.6568557

>>6568394
Microwave a pile of your own shit

>> No.6568564

>>6568394
Put perfect words to universal, meaningful experiences in ways that people never knew they wanted.

Or maybe you could call your mother every once in a while, OP.

>> No.6568596

>>6568564
I called my mother just last mother's day though

>> No.6568618

1. Read Finnegans Wake until it makes sense in its entirety
2. Then proceed to write the first thing that comes to your head
3. Done

>> No.6568903
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6568903

The hell /lit/?

>>6568394
You write a bunch of books of some sort and then a really good one that stands out in every way and will be considered your best work.

>> No.6568921

>>6568394

Step 1: Have a really fucked up childhood.
Step 2: Acquire serious, life threatening addiction.
Step 3: Write.

>> No.6568930

>>6568394
>know your subject profoundly
>be ingenious and empathetic
>?????
>masterpiece

>> No.6569624
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6569624

All of /lit/ secretly admit this is true

>> No.6569783

>>6568394
how do I write at all?

>> No.6569794

>>6568921

>implying the bourgeoise critical establishment can relate
>implying Denis Johnson and Burroughs aren't the only two junkie fucks to write successfully, and they were well educated

>> No.6569803

>>6568921
>Step 1: Have a really fucked up childhood.
d-does daily emotional abuse count? I have complex ptsd

>> No.6569810

>>6569783
Use words

>> No.6569820

>>6568394
be angry at something

>> No.6569826

It's all about marketing my friend. You just need some academics and publishers to shill it as a masterpiece. People will just take that as their opinion.

>> No.6569847
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6569847

Masterpieces of Pathos - Chekhov, Joyce, Dosteyewski

Masterpieces of Logos - O'Brian (He had never been at sea).... Hmmm, who else? This is kind of a niche in literature.

Masterpieces of Ethos - Tolstoy, Dickens, C.S. Lewis (I'm thinking Screwtape Letters)

>> No.6569878

>>6568394
Study philosophy so you have something to say
Study literature so you can say in a worthwhile way
Write short stories to practice and to gain recognition/constructive criticism
Write the thing

>> No.6569904
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6569904

>>6569878
>Study philosophy so you have something to say

>> No.6569907

>>6569783
I dont even have fingers.

>> No.6569910

>>6568394
Start with the Greeks

>> No.6569969
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6569969

>>6569878
Which philosopher has the most to say about human nature, anon?

>> No.6569978
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6569978

Wow. That's a hell of a question. I have to agree with the earlier poster who said "write a ton of work and the best one will be your masterpiece". My own take is that you're going to have to start a long voyage into the obscure or twist a well known concept about so viciously that it metaphorically begins eating its own tail so that its ultimate meaning is ambiguous enough that it applies to broader subjects or concepts.
I guess

>> No.6570032

>>6568618
i'm trying this it's not working someone please call my doctor

>> No.6570036
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6570036

>>6569969
Start with the Greeks. Its partially a meme , but the Greeks were the starting point of anything of consequence in world history. Learn the basics from Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, then you can move onto the enlightenment and modern fags

>> No.6570059

>>6568394

Play more dwarf fortress.

>> No.6570064

>>6570059
Go back to be, Carbaugh.

>> No.6570066

>>6568394
believe in urself and follow ur dreams

>> No.6570076

>>6568394

Write what you want to write to the best of your ability, and work as hard as you can to see that the object of your pains is as complete, and true to your conception of it as you can make it.

If you can do this you have a statistically anomalous, but still extant chance of having your work considered a "masterpiece" by a given group of people, for a brief period of time before sinking into the oblivion of obscurity that claims every mortal work in the end.

>> No.6571293

>>6568596
Things haven't been the same since you left dad

>> No.6571631

Is this copypasta bellow right about start with the greeks?

About becoming a better writer and mostly where to start with the greeks.
I saved a comment from someone who answered this question pretty well. I would give them credit if I knew them or knew how to.

The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles
Sophocles' Electra
Euripides' Electa and Other Plays
Herodotus' Histories
Aeschylus' Oresteia
Hesiod's Work and Days
Hesiod's Theogony
Menander's Plays and Fragments

I'd start with Oxford World's "The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists"which provides a great introduction to understanding what the philosopher's achieved and why understanding the Presocratic philosophers is essential to understanding all of philosophy. Then, I would probably pick up the Penguin Classic's "Early Greek Philosophy" which is less of an introduction to study from and more of a guide used for references to later Greek philosophers who spoke of the Presocratics.

After this, go onwards to Plato's dialogues about Socrates. DO NOT start with "The Republic". Instead, begin with one of Plato's earlier dialogues. Get "Plato: Complete Works" edited by John M. Cooper. If you prefer to split up the books, get "The Last Days of Socrates" from the Penguin Classics collection first, then get "The Republic" from the Penguin Classics as well, and read them in that order. "The Republic" can be difficult for some, especially for those who aren't totally knowledgeable of Socrates beforehand, and even then, an analysis guide is usually recommended, if not required. I don't know one myself, but "The Blackwell Guide to Plato's Republic" seems to do the trick.

Following that, you typically learn about Aristotle. I'm obviously a bit biased with Penguin Classics since those are what I read, but really, translations really only affect poetry and fiction prose in my opinion, not non-fiction or essays like these unless they really go to great liberties to change things around. Anyway, I said that, because I recommend the penguin classics version of Aristotle's "The Metaphyiscs", and following that, the penguin classics version of his "The Nicomachean Ethics". Both should have a Blackwell guide as well, but I don't feel like its as required as it is for the Republic.

Thank whoever this was.

>> No.6571787

>>6571631
*below

Fix'd

>> No.6571821

>>6569794
>>implying Denis Johnson and Burroughs aren't the only two junkie fucks to write successfully

Who said anything about being a junkie? Most of the great writers were addicts, most alcoholics, a few were junkies also. But addiction and great writing tends to go hand and hand.

So drink/smoke up boys.

>> No.6572015

>>6569624
oh shit I gonna start following this advice!

>> No.6572024

>>6568394
The same way you get rich: you trust all those gurus that only want to exploit your naivety.

>> No.6572749

>>6568400
/thread

>> No.6573513

>>6569624
How does anyone of that help you write better?

>> No.6573524

>>6573513
And that isn't even what OP asked.

>> No.6573544

It requires networking, creativity, knowledge, and a lot of time on your hands. In our current generation, you would be extremely lucky for a masterpiece to catch any sort of mass appeal.

>> No.6573563

>>6573544
Seriously?
You're still not looking at the question?

How has this board sunk this low?

>> No.6573595

>>6573563
OP's question sucks anyway. What constitutes a masterpiece first of all? There is definitely no work that everyone can agree is great, much less a masterpiece.. Based on where the majority of /lit/ leans, it can be observed a masterpiece can't be shorter than 800+ pages. OP, just write the way you enjoy and care little about whether it's a masterpiece. I'm sure there are probably some great authors you would draw influence from.

>> No.6573612

>>6573595
A favored piece, either by the author or by the majority of the reader/audience. >>6568903

>OP's question sucks anyway
So why continue with this thread? I donno, lit...

>> No.6573648

>>6568394
You don't. If you try to write a masterpiece, you'll set yourself up to fail because you'll be trying too hard. I know this from personal experience.

The only thing you can do is avoid bad writing. Don't try too hard, learn how to edit and take criticism, and be simple and clear in your writing without dumbing it down too much.

If you want to be a great writer, be interesting, honest, and witty. Start with a fun idea and bleed it out. If you get stuck, do what Hemingway suggested and write the truest sentence you know.

Once you've finished your story, cross your fingers and try not to take the dozens of rejection letters to hope. God speed, anon.

>> No.6573658

>>6573648
to heart*

>> No.6575489

>>6571821
>Most of the great writers were addicts
proofs?

>> No.6575573

>>6571631
Thx for reposting this m8. I have been looking for a guide to plato's republic for a while.

>> No.6575592

>>6568394
If you have to ask, you have no chance.

>> No.6575595

>>6568394
get off 4chan

>> No.6577496

>>6575592
Or perhaps asking is the prerequisite of making the greatest novel of all time

>> No.6578680

>>6568394
Be Christopher Nolan

>> No.6578683

>>6578680

this x explosions

>> No.6578690

Firstly, determine why eggs got stuck being breakfast food.

>> No.6578693

>>6568412
copy all the most popular memes you can find.
tell a story with these memes
this is what is meant by capturing the idiom of the times or epitomizing the zeitgeist or whatever. people just want to hear the same shit they already know repeated back to them but from an authoritative voice.

>> No.6578712

>>6573595
a masterpiece doesn't need to be long

http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/5.01/ffsupertoys_pr.html

art can be incredibly simple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Field

what is important is that the idea is conveyed effectively, not that it serve as a protracted mental masturbatory toy.

>> No.6578717

>>6578693
Ugh thats so unfortunately true.

>> No.6578749

>>6578717
here is an even sadder truth.
the only reason the start with the greeks meme is so true for artists who are considered top tier intellectual minds is because the faculty chairs were born in an age where at english high brow schools, they all learnt greek classics. take a look at why WW1 was such a fuck up. officers were people who had studied ancient greek classics basically. the greeks are just the memes that appeal to them.

>> No.6578751

>>6578749
Eh, I studies Ancient Greek and Latin in school :( And most people consider my writing excellent :( I'm probably pretty fucking evil. :(
I just don't want to deal with it.

>> No.6578753

>>6578751
studied* Would still but FUCK they are hard.

>> No.6578774

>>6578751
yeah that's all fine and dandy. but I'm just explaining why the people who are considered the preeminent minds in their fields have ended up training generation after generation of hipster faggots to believe that the height of western culture happened 2500 years ago when we were still building houses out of horse shit and the most valuable commodities were honey and olive oil and so we should attempt to emulate that forever.

>> No.6578778

>>6578774
but I'm a jew... so we are kinda obsessed with that stuff. am i just a hipster faggot? I mean I am like an actual faggot (I'm gay) irl. I do actually think the lessons of the Roman Empire would help us run the American Empire more effectively and that's why the tradition has been preserved.

>> No.6578827
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6578827

>>6578778
oh i completely agree. but the way it is taught is as historical literalism. the same arguments aristotle used to justify slavery which was a necessity back then is the exact same argument being used to keep plebs in jobs selling phone contracts to each other instead of engaged in productive, creative work.

the whole neo-liberal thing is based on ideas from that and platos republic. that the plebs are just retards. the elites of the dominant culture should be allowed complete freedom as, having studied plato, they are most able to enact a society in his image. its a massive circle jerk.

if you dont look like this then you're not a real jew, you're gypsy scum calling yourself jew.
Sephardim and Ashkenazim jews are fake jews. their cultures originated in western europe so that makes these communities of western origin.

>> No.6578864

>>6578778
>but I'm a jew
>I mean I am like an actual faggot (I'm gay) irl
you're triggering me hard right now

>> No.6578890

>>6578864
what does the "triggering" meme even mean?

>> No.6579007

>>6568394
Take the masterpiece inside you and put it on paper.