Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style

As a long-time Vonnegut reader, particularly of stories and non-fiction alongside familiarity with some of his novels (e.g. see my review of “A Man Without a Country”), my interest was piqued when I saw this title had been released. On the one hand, since I was preparing a couple of academic/professional papers I thought I might benefit from the writing advice. On the other hand, as the book is a compilation/distillation of Vonnegut’s material on the topic by his former student McConnell, I feared it would just be a rehash of what I have already read. Fortunately, I was glad I took a chance with this book as I got some more Vonnegut insight into writing as well as about the man and a writer’s life. It was fun to see McConnell incorporate Will Schutz's notion of "endarkenment" as a means of capturing and portraying her mentor's use of irony and humor for illumination and learning.More particularly, the book consists of an Introduction and 37 chapters: (1) Advice for Everyone on Writing Anything, (2) About Writing Fiction, (3) The Prime Mover, (4) Detouring Forward, (5) Dead Ahead, (6) Breakthrough, (7) Fear of Finding a Worthy Subject or A Dearth of Death, (8) The Last Word on the Prime Mover or Fear Not, (9) Soul Growth, (10) Sanctuary, (11) What Makes Great Art or Art and Soul, (12) Agents of Change, (13) Writers as Teachers or The Noblest Profession, (14) Vonnegut in Class, (15) Heft and Comfort, (16) Talent, (17) Diligence, (18) Pitfalls, (19) Methodologism, (20) Materializations, (21) Propagation, (22) Regeneration, (23) The Mother of All Pearls, (24) Beginnings, (25) Plot, (26) Character, (27) Prose, the Audial, (28) Prose, the Visual, (29) The Joke Biz, (30) Black Humor, (31) Much Better Stories: Re-vision and Revision, (32) Eeny-Meeny-Miny-Moe or Choice, (33) Making a Living, (34) Caring for Your Piece in the Game, (35) Farting Around in Life and Art, (36) Love, Marriage, and Baby Carriage, (37) Better Together or Community. There are also Acknowledgments, Permissions, Bibliography, and an extensive Notes section (documenting the origins of all the Vonnegut texts used).Given my focus at the time, I particularly appreciated the writing tips such as to keep it simple, revise (revise, revise) to get to clear language, sound like yourself, and have “guts to cut.” As per the title and one of Vonnegut’s caveats, we have to ‘Pity the Reader’ in recognizing the difficulty of reading while endeavoring to make it interesting, captivating, and entertaining while imparting something of true value. Finding such balance is the real art that Vonnegut worked so hard at during his career as an author. As he said, “I keep losing and regaining my equilibrium, which is the basic plot of all popular fiction. And I myself am a work of fiction.”In addition, I liked the passages that make reference to his work related to artists as in “Breakfast of Champions” and “Blue Beard” as well as to his own drawings (see my review of Hollebecq’s “The Map and the Territory”). As Vonnegut says, artists are like the ‘canary in the coalmine’ and agents of change in their own way as he was with his humor and his own drawings (One drawback to the Kindle edition is that the “doodles” that McConnell mentions do not seem to be included.)Related to change, there are places where Vonnegut’s characters describe “. . . notions about what was required for a society’s transformation----[namely,] a gifted leader who described cultural changes which should be made; two or more respected citizens who testified that this leader was well worth listening to; and a glib, personable explainer, who told the general public what the leader was up to.” Such remarks led me to recall the three branches of the classical learning (see my review of Joseph’s “The Trivium”).Regarding writing as a career, Vonnegut suggests one consider choosing another profession that’s satisfying, lucrative, and that can provide raw material and support for writing as an advocation (as many of us might pursue unless such effort might become self-supporting; also see my review of Scholes’ “English After the Fall” and Varna et al’s “Communication Major for the Undecided”). Later remarks suggest, that we “. . . embrace the designations within which your work seems to fall, cleave to those with which you have an affinity, and thereby empower yourself.” Indeed, McConnell has done a masterful job in weaving together Vonnegut’s wisdom yet again to help empower us as writers.

Entertaining book with a lot of Vonnegut quotes. More of an homage than a bio. Not written by Vonnegut though.

This is the type of writing that figuratively puts its arm around your shoulder and says, in a gentle, fatherly voice, " You can do this. I did.."In the style of an annecdotal retrospective of Kurt Vonnegut's life, Suzanne McConnell skillfully blends a how-to -write manual using novel and short storyquotes as well as casual conversations, class room banter and bullet point guidelines. Her writing style is friendly and warm and very readable. She praises the author as a friend would but does not hesitate to reveal his darker moments. No pedestal here.The KINDLE edition is nicely illustrated . The author's use of italics a bit tiring.If you're an aspiring writer or just a Vonnegut fan or just looking to read something laid back and instructive....give this book your attention.

Suzanne McConnell has cobbled together something that didn't seem possible--with a bibliography, footnotes, and biographical facts. If you write, love Vonnegut, or both, you'll unearth diamonds on practically every page: tidbits about the novels, his simplistic style, and sage advice he must've typed with that rascally Vonnegut grin. Open the book anywhere and you're hooked. Fascinating stuff. - James Gary Vineyard, author of The Grave on Peckerwood Hill

For what it is, it is a nice little book filled with Vonnegut history and anecdotes. I came in to the book thinking that- based on the title "On Writing...." - that it might contain some tips on how to write fiction, but this is not the case. Fans who want to learn more about Vonnegut will enjoy this well-written book. People - like me- who think it is about how to write will be disappointed.

One of the best books about the writing life - would be great to use in any class on writing

I've never considered myself a huge Vonnegut fan, but I have often enjoyed reading him and about him. What I like about this book "co-written" and curated by Suzanne McConnell is that it is both a glimpse into Vonnegut's life and work and, at the same time, a comprehensive book about the craft of writing. I wish I could assemble a group of writing friends to meet once a week to discuss a chapter because I think by discussing we could absorb it better. Mostly for writers, but potentially entertaining for non-writers also.

But not what I expected. Many good ideas on writing are helpful, but the readers will have to think through the conflicting views to find what works for them.

A comprehensive melange of the personal and professorial that allows for Vonnegut's writer style to have greater meaning.The book took several reading sessions to complete, as you have to concentrate/ponder each insight, but if you're up for the mental work, it's time well spent.A Vonnegut fan or not, if you're a writer, this should be a must-read. 4 out of 5 stars simply because it could be a dry read at times.

But that's a bit like the man himself. Lots to enjoy, but don't expect the content to reflect the title, just enjoy the things the man said.

The title should be like ' Memoirs of Vonnegut ', Not On Writing. Very little about tips for writing. A looot of extract from his books. Read his actual books instead of this one you will learn heaps more about writing.

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