/lit/ - Literature

>>7867834

Can you explain why I'm wrong? I'm not interested in an argument, but evidence I've come across indicates intelligence is mostly inherited and it's mostly from the mother.

Here's the WSJ:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB835919711841023500

What do you base your belief on?

>>7866906
>>Protip: Always seek women who are smarter than you.
>protip: this is nu-male bullshit
>>7867702
>>Always seek women who are smarter than you.
>You say that like they're easy to find. Or maybe they are for you.

They're damn near impossible to find - for all of us. And just the fact that you are here having this discussion suggests you are on the right side of 130, too.

It's not enough that they're just smart, either. They also have to be physically attractive. You might not have trouble landing a land whale with a PhD in Chemistry.

Lost track of the times I spotted a qt3.14 and the first sentence out of her mouth revealed an average or barely above-average intellect and was crushed.

Anyway, why do you want a woman smarter than you are? Same reason you want an employee or business partner smarter than you: they make you and your life better.

This is especially true of a wife. You want a woman fertile, beautiful, and brilliant. Most of a child's intelligence comes from their mother's genetics, and intelligence is largely hereditary.

I do have friends who like their women dumb because they want someone perpetually in awe of them, because they are insecure. This is a reflection of their own weaknesses.

>>7865114

Don't think I'm a 'normie' because I'm here (QED).

I've been in the midst of a personal crisis for a while and have neglected writing and literature because of it. I've had to withdraw from a rather notorious MFA program.

But the crisis is now ended and visiting this forum feels like coming home again. Ideally, I'll be back in the program this fall, too, and am going to teach a workshop this summer. Said crisis may even lead to a book I can crank out before the semester begins, too.

>>7864291
Met my current GF (and soon to be more) because we were distant FB friends and she agreed to become one of my many readers.

Her appreciation for books - both classic and current - surpasses mine even though she's much younger.

I think she's a good critic in her own right, too, though her assessment of my earlier work is on the harsh side. But that makes her approval of my more recent work that much more special to me.

She's done some writing herself but is too insecure to share it with me - yet.

Protip: Always seek women who are smarter than you.

>>7863617
Sam Lipsyte
Tobias Wolff
John Cheever
Flannery O'Conner

>>7859691
Easiest question I've gotten all day.

Ayn Rand answered it about fifty years ago:

http://fare.tunes.org/liberty/library/pwni.html

>>7858926

That's a terrific realization that you've stumbled upon. An epiphany. You're already ahead of many aspiring, beginner writers.

But I do believe you have enough inside you to get started already. Just have to mine it. A few tips:

1. Read a couple of craft books. "Zen and the Art of Writing" by Ray Bradbury. "The Art of Fiction" by Ayn Rand. "On Writing" by Steven King.

Consider their ideas critically. Look for other craft books. One absolute must-have is "The Art of the Short Story" by Gioia. It take you through all of the short-fiction cannon, and each story includes a bio of the author and an essay or interview by the author about the craft itself. I can't recommend this book enough.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Short-Story-Dana-Gioia/dp/0321363639/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1459166055&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Art+of+the+Short+Story&linkCode=ll1&tag=ddrtrailogfro-20&linkId=7683792d61054d18c597cdaedd6c6839

2. Read a lot of news. Think about people or incidents that have stuck with you for some reason and try to understand why. This is your material.

3. Begin to ask 'what if?' This question is at the root of imagination and creation. Take small what if's. And use that to start your writing process.

4. Write small, both in length and scope. Start with single-scenes. Limit yourself to a thousand words and two or three characters. Here's a prompt: write about the last meal you shared with someone else, but imagine something was burnt. Think the story through in your head and outline it before you start to put pen to page; understand it well upstairs. A lot will change as you write it - that's okay - but start with a plan, an outline.

Good luck.

>>7852764
>I consider myself a feminist
no wonder you lost an argument to a woman, stupid fagot cuck.

>>7851898
just showed this to gf who <3 Notes and she is now pinching my nuts.

>>7252233
In that he 'does what he wants,' yeah.

Whether it's any good or not is your call.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0-KZS1dDyw

>>7164514

When is teaching philosophy in academia isn't 'normie'? That's the only place the op cuck is heading.

>>7163928

So you don't ever plan to get a real job, right?

>>7157320
>makes you a composer as we

You can't be a competent one without listening to a lot of music unless you're name is Beethoven.

>>7157332
>published game designer

But that doesn't matter here.

>the greatest one currently working today

And now you're lying. And why would you lie unless you know I'm right and I hit a nerve, root canal-level.

You're an unread fool.

>>7157132
>remember the plague of squares

Seems like yesterday....

I got here just before Boxxy broke.

>>7156146
>The Great Gatsby

>>7157037

I am trying to put my finger on why I sense an internal rebellion when I see them; they just jump out so much that, regardless of rhythm, they pull me out of the story, like using the British spelling of a word.

>>7153397

Here is your problem, OP, in a nutshell.

You are unread. You have not read cannon; you have not read the classics. You are unfamiliar with the rules and have not earned the wisdom necessary to break them successfully.

I suspect you have read a lot of shitty stuff or some hyper-experimental stuff that you thought was cool but were unable to correctly appreciate.

Start with this book: "The Art of the Short Story" from Gioia and Gwynn. This is a great text because, in addition to the many stories of cannon, it includes a biography from the author and an essay or interview from the on the subject of craft.

Read a story a day. Look at the common lists of the top hundred literary novels and pick the ones that appeal to you. I can't recommend Hemingway enough, not because he's a great writer, but because of what you can learn from him.

Also, look into some craft books. Ayn Rand a solid intro called "The Art of Ficiton" that covers the fundamentals. A fun craft book with a lot of energy is Ray Bradbury's "Zen in the Art of Writing."

The "Best American Fiction" annual collections are also a good read for finding out what people are doing today. All of the stories in there can teach you something, even if you don't enjoy them (it's not possible to be a critic and a student at the same time.)

Now, OP, here's another hard fact to face: you're a lazy faggot and you're not going to do any of this, you're going to get discouraged and quit, and you're going to end up doing some shitty clerical job or whatever.

You can't be a (good) writer because you lack the one thing necessary to be a good writer: an interesting mind.

So why did I write all this out?

Because I suspect there's someone else here, someone ambitious who might find a little wisdom in this, will digest this, and it will help them make good art.

What's your take on these? Perhaps my historical horizon is to short, but they seem to be a recent thing.

>"She twisted the faucet, sluiced the plates."

versus

>"She twisted the faucet and sluiced the plates."
or
>"She twisted the faucet and then sluiced the plates."

I think I'm generally opposed to their use because when they are used, I notice them and they take me out of the story.

I could make an exception, though, for then they appear to be dropped but are really a restatement of the subject.

>"The war was over, lost."

Thoughts on this and my sexuality for posting about it?

>>7104047

Be funny.

>>7103119

Pic related.

>>5703010

In most street encounters, they can be settled quickly if one person knows a bit of boxing and the other does not.

It's a pretty straightfoward and handy skill to have.