Chris Dietzel's Blog - Posts Tagged "vonnegut"

I’m always looking to learn from other writers. As I progressed into having my own writing voice and my own style of telling stories, I’ve found various lessons and insights that were helpful. Here is a collection from three authors I’ve enjoyed.

Robert Heinelein’s Rules of Writing:
1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
6. Start Working on something else.

Heinlein’s rules were the very first set of writing tips I remember reading. Of course, this was a long time ago and the industry has changed a lot since he wrote those rules, especially in regards to Rules #4 and #5.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Basic Tips for Writing:
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

I included Vonnegut’s tips because I love everything that has anything to do with him. His voice as a writer made a big impact on me and 'Slaughterhouse-Five’ is one of my all-time favorite books. I also enjoy how frank he is in everything he says, even his writing advice.

Stephen King’s Tips for Becoming a Better Writer:
1. Get to the point.
2. Write a draft, then let it rest.
3. Cut down your text.
4. Be relateable and honest.
5. Don’t care too much what others may think.
6. Read a lot.
7. Write a lot.

Stephen King’s tips are last because I relate to them the most. If I were going to suggest some tips for aspiring authors they would most resemble the list King put together.

For another list of writing tips, check out an article the Guardian posted a couple years ago, with writing tips by the likes of Margaret Atwood, Elmore Leonard, Richard Ford, Neil Gaiman, and others.

If these tips help at least one aspiring writer, then they have served their purpose. If you’ve found other writing tips that are particularly useful, I’d love to hear them.

I’ve always been a huge fan of science fiction. Every year I find new stories that remind me of just how good sci fi can be. Here are five of the best science fiction books I’ve read this year (regardless of when they were originally published).

5. Brilliance - If you can get past a couple minor issues, this is an excellent book. The first issue, as others have noted, is that if you've read an X-men comic before you've read a story with a premise very similar to this book's, which makes the quote by Lee Child on the cover exceedingly annoying. The next is that if you drank a shot every time the author wrote, "He opened his mouth, closed it," you'd be piss drunk the entire time you read it. And third, the ending is like something Hollywood would love, which is to say predictable and much too neat and happy-feeling. After having said all of that, however, I would still recommend this book. It was fun, moved at a great pace, and Sakey did a great job of keeping the plot interesting.

4. The Stars My Destination – As with many works of science fiction published decades ago, there were parts of this book that showed their age and parts that reminded me why the classics remain influential today. One of the pleasant surprises about this for me was that the end was the best part. Bester concludes on a high note, which every reader loves.

3. Old Man's War - Scalzi does a great job of blending humor with action. I was also impressed with the amount of plot shifts he brought into the story. This is one of the few instances I can think of where I wish the story would have been drawn out more. I would have had no problem with the entire first book in the series being the old man's time in boot camp rather than only spending a couple chapters on that area. Either way, I'll definitely be reading more from Scalzi in the future.

2. Ready Player One - What a pleasure to read! In an age where authors are hit over the head with the idea that the first chapter has to catch the reader's interest right away, Ready Player One has one of the best opening chapters I've read in a long time. At every plot point Cline had an endless amount of directions he could have taken the story and I never once was disappointed with the way he veered the story. One of the few books I wish might have ended abruptly and without a resolution so the chance existed for a sequel. I’m eagerly awaiting Spielberg’s movie based on the book.

1. The Sirens of TitanThe Sirens of Titan - This is Vonnegut at his best. Ever since reading Slaughterhouse-Five I've been looking for something that could compare to it. While Vonnegut's other books are also great, they didn't combine the same blend of science fiction, humor, and grand moral tale that his masterpiece did. The Sirens of Titan is worthy of being held in the same light and is truly great science fiction. This book makes me remember why I fell in love with Vonnegut in the first place.

My next book is coming out on January 19 and I’m excited to share the cover!

Two candidates no one wants to vote for…
An election the students want to forget about…
A story everyone can identify with.



The Faulty Process of Electing a Senior Class President is satire based on the recent Presidential election. It combines the extended allegory of Orwell with the black humor of Vonnegut. It is not a partisan book against any one candidate or political party. Rather, it is a call to change a system that keeps offering bad choices. It is also a reminder that no matter how old you are you should expect better from your leaders.

Each year, I look back at all the books I’ve read. Here are the five books I read for the first time this year that I most enjoyed (regardless of when they were originally published).

5. Slapstick, or Lonesome No More! (1976) – This is yet another example of what makes Vonnegut so great. "Slapstick" combines sarcasm, humor, an absurd plot, and a critique of society, and each aspect comes together just right. This is no where near his best work and yet it's still leaps and bounds over most other books.

4. The Zahir (2005) - Combine autobiographical details of Coelho's life (his mindset before following his dream, his life and mental state before and after writing The Alchemist) with a Romantic's version of the movie, "The Vanishing" (the original French version, not the terrible U.S. remake) and you have 'The Zahir.' Coelho does a great job of writing to a spiritual mystery and providing the type of life-learning story that readers of the author have grown to enjoy. It says a lot about how much I love 'The Alchemist' that I give this book 5 stars and yet acknowledge it is no where as good as his best-seller, which I would rank as one of my favorite books of all time.

3. Norwegian Wood (1987) - This was very different from the other books of Murakami's that I've read. Those had fantastic and surreal aspects. This, on the other hand, was very 'ordinary' in its story and characters. If that was how this book was described to me I wouldn't have guessed that I would enjoy it as much as Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World or Dance Dance Dance but shockingly I enjoyed it even more than those. This was a great book, and I can see why it made the author popular.

2. Words from the Myths (1969) - I really enjoyed Asimov's charting of how Greek and Roman myths influence many of today's words. The book was filled with names and ideas that have evolved over the centuries, many of which I had no idea about. Reading this is a great combination of learning about ancient myths, appreciating today's language, and a little bit of Asimov's recounting of epic tales.

1. Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt (2015) – I read this all the way back in February and knew even then that I wasn’t going to read a better book all year. Hedges starts with the premise that revolutions occur when the point between people's expectations for their government and the actual reality of what they get instead reaches a tipping point. He then goes into detail on all of the areas where the U.S. is rapidly trending in the wrong direction. He concludes by going into detail on all of the ways governments that fear a revolt manage to maintain control. Those chapters in particular read like a nonfiction version of Jack London's dystopian classic, The Iron Heel. There is nothing pleasurable about reading this book and yet I know I won't read anything more worthwhile in a long time. Highest possible recommendation for anyone interested in real-life dystopians, sociology, and "the powers that be."

Honorable mention. Between the World and Me (2015) – This was my favorite book read in 2016 so I decided to read it again in 2017. If my list wasn’t only for books I read for the first time, Coates' letter to his son would have easily been in the top 2 again. It’s impossible to read this and not feel incredibly saddened by the injustices all around us. My highest possible recommendation to everyone.

Classic novels have given us memorable characters of all sorts, from heroes we never forget to villains we can never forgive. In this list, here are the top five most memorable fictional writers of all time.

5. Elizabeth Costello – Costello is J.M. Coetzee’s alter ego. Like Coetzee, she lectures about literature and animal rights. She also happens to be one of Coetzee’s less likeable characters because she is overbearing and obtuse. In addition to appearing in a couple of Coetzee’s works, an entire book is named after her.

4. Jack Torrance – “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Ever since a crazed Torrance wrote that over and over in Stephen King’s The Shining, readers and moviegoers have loved being terrified by the abusive and alcoholic writer. Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Torrance helped elevate the fictional author to popular culture.

3. Benno von Archimboldi – 2666 is considered Roberto Bolano’s masterpiece and Archimboldi, a fictional German writer, is at the center of many of the plotlines in the story. At the beginning of the novel, he is introduced as an elusive writer who not even his most loyal critics and professors know much about and have never seen a picture of. At the end of the novel, you find out exactly who Archimboldi is and how his life has driven varying storylines to converge. The amount of mystery at one point, combined with the amount of depth throughout, makes Archimboldi impossible to forget.

2. Ellsworth Toohey – Toohey is a journalist and critic in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. He represents the embodiment of establishment opinion and the power of creating popular conformity. In the novel, Toohey starts off as a sort of bumbling and lowly critic, but as the story progresses you come to understand that he’s more powerful than the business owners and the men and women of true ability because he shapes the public’s opinion. How many times have we heard of a lackluster movie or book that became a success just because the critics all said it was great, or a movie or book of true genius that bombed because critics convinced people it wasn't worth their time? Toohey is the embodiment of that idea, and Rand’s success in using him to that end makes Toohey a highly underrated villain.

1. Kilgore Trout – Although the character was inspired by one of Kurt Vonnegut’s friends, in many lights, Trout is also Vonnegut’s alter ego. Like Vonnegut, Trout is a science fiction writer. Also like Vonnegut, many readers simply don’t know how to interpret much of Trout’s writing. He is noted as being a prolific writer and even writes his own memoir. Trout is mentioned or appears in almost a dozen of Vonnegut’s stories, most notably in Slaughterhouse-Five.

Honorable mention - Richard Bachman – Bachman was Stephen King’s pseudonym for many of his early novels and isn’t a fictional author in the classic sense. He’s included here because the idea of two different writing personas within one man, which is what Bachman represents, was King’s inspiration for The Dark Half. I include Bachman here because he went from being a pseudonym to a fictional author when King dedicated The Dark Half to "The late Richard Bachman."

I’m always looking to learn from other writers. As I developed my own writing voice and my own style of telling stories, I’ve found various lessons and insights that were helpful. Here is a collection from three authors I’ve enjoyed.






Robert Heinelein’s Rules of Writing:
1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
6. Start Working on something else.

Heinlein’s rules were the very first set of writing tips I remember reading. Of course, this was a long time ago and the industry has changed a lot since he wrote those rules, especially in regards to Rules #4 and #5.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Basic Tips for Writing:
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

I included Vonnegut’s tips because I love everything that has anything to do with him. His voice as a writer made a big impact on me and ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ is one of my all-time favorite books. I also enjoy how frank he is in everything he says, even his writing advice.

Stephen King’s Tips for Becoming a Better Writer:
1. Get to the point.
2. Write a draft, then let it rest.
3. Cut down your text.
4. Be relateable and honest.
5. Don’t care too much what others may think.
6. Read a lot.
7. Write a lot.

Stephen King’s tips are last because I relate to them the most. If I were going to suggest some tips for aspiring authors they would most resemble the list King put together.

For another list of writing tips, check out an article the Guardian posted a couple years ago, with writing tips by the likes of Margaret Atwood, Elmore Leonard, Richard Ford, Neil Gaiman, and others.

If these tips help at least one aspiring writer, then they have served their purpose. If you’ve found other writing tips that are particularly useful, I’d love to hear them.

Each year, I make a list of the books that I read for the first time and most enjoyed. As usual, many of the books that I read last year were very good but only a few will stick with me for a long time.

8. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (2013) by Malcolm Gladwell – I enjoyed this a lot. I learned a lot and Gladwell presents one fascinating story after another, although I slightly preferred the other books of his that I’ve read over this one. The last couple chapters in particular felt like they had been cut from The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and were a better fit there. Regardless, this was an easy and enjoyable read. Recommended.

7. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017) by Timothy Snyder – I liked this but it felt rushed at times and I wish it would have had a little more behind each of the twenty lessons. In terms of approach, it was a good move to start by listing all twenty lessons right away and then explaining them. One thing did irk me, however, and that was the author’s establishment bias. He notes how propaganda is put out by Russian-produced news stations but not the propaganda disseminated by U.S. news stations, he notes ways in which we are closer to tyranny because of the current president but not ways in which we are closer to tyranny because of previous presidents, etc.. I liked his overall message but wish he could have distanced himself from the establishment narrative a little more.

6. So You've Been Publicly Shamed (2015) by Jon Ronson – This books dissects how social media shaming has become a force for both good and bad and often ruins lives. Ronson starts with an account of a journalist who added slight falsehoods to a Bob Dylan story and how the shaming he received was completely uneven with the scale of what he had done. The rest of the book goes into detail on various other times that social media shamings have ruined people’s lives and the group think that causes today’s society to engage in that kind of behavior. A really fascinating read.

5. Siddhartha (1922) by Hermann Hesse – As a huge fan of Paulo Coelho’s, the biggest compliment I can give this book is saying that if Coelho had been born 70 years earlier and been German instead of Brazilian, this is a book he would have written. Everything that I enjoy about Coehlo’s writing was present here as well. I felt like I was learning about life via a simple, very accessible tale. I’ll definitely be adding Hesse’s other major works to my to-read list.

4. I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2016) by Iain Reid – This story reminded me of what it would be like if David Lynch spent his time writing books instead of making movies. The book does an excellent job of being creepy and keeping you guessing as to what is really happening. I had a feeling the end would use the device that was ultimately employed but I was wrong about the direction in which it was delivered (avoiding spoilers). There were a couple books I enjoyed more than this one in 2019 but I found myself thinking of this book long after I had finished it, and that’s the mark of a good book.

Odd side note: The worst part of this book is the publisher’s description, which focuses on something that happens 75% of the way through the book. This can only lead to either misleading readers or else making them feel like the first 75% of the story is a waste when it isn’t at all.

3. Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment (1998) by Surya Das – This was excellent. I’ve read a couple books that are similar, most notably I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. What makes this book so much more enjoyable than the others I’ve read is that it’s accessible and casual at every turn. There were huge chunks of I Am That that were dense and just didn’t make sense to a novice like me. This book excels by being extremely easy to follow while also not preaching. Highly recommended if this subject matter interests you at all.

2. Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage (1981) by Kurt Vonnegut – This is Vonnegut at his nonfiction best. As much as I liked A Man Without a Country, I think this was superior. Among the highlights for me were his thoughts back when he was a writing teacher, the self interview he did for the Paris review, his family’s thoughts on his writing, and the impact that the Dresdon fire bombing that he wrote about in Slaughterhouse 5 had on him throughout his life. Much of the book is classic Vonnegut in the fact that it is humorous and pessimistic, but there are also plenty of touching parts where you feel like you are actually getting to know the man behind the sarcasm and wit.

1. Wolf in White Van (2014) by John Darnielle – It’s extremely rare to find a book that is flawless in approach and execution but there isn’t a single thing I would change about Wolf In White Van. There are two ways authors can evoke childhood memories from their readers. The first is by focusing on pop culture, as Ready Player One successfully does. The second is by focusing on the sense of alienation that all kids have at one time or another. Darnielle excels in this regard, and yet it is only one aspect of the story that is excellent.

The story itself is enthralling but it also leads to a mystery of what ultimately happens, which is not fully explained until the end. The climax, detailing what happened, worked perfectly for me. However, the best part of this book might be the second mystery, which you can only think about after you finish the book, and this is ‘Why’ the climax happened the way it did. As for this element, you have to remember small clues Darnielle gives throughout the book. A sentence here and a sentence there provide hints as to why this series of events unfolds. If you’re like me, you’ll be thinking about all of the subtle clues that are offered as the story plays out to a haunting conclusion. Answers are never clearly given, you have to work for them, and I absolutely loved that.

Even when I read this I knew it would be my favorite book of the year. The last book I can remember that evoked such a successfully haunting story is Hannah Pittard’s The Fates Will Find Their Way, which I also loved and was my favorite book read of 2013.

Honorable mention: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster (1997) by Jon Krakauer – This isn’t included above because it was my third time reading it. I originally read this in high school and loved it. It’s by far my favorite outdoors / nonfiction adventure / true-life disaster book. Krakauer has a straight forward way of recounting the events that unfolded in a way that’s extremely engrossing. He originally went to Everest to write an article for Outside magazine about the commercialism of the world’s highest peak and how it had become over-traveled and polluted as a result. Through recounting the events of that expedition, he successfully discourages others from wanting to do the same thing. In that regard, the book is not only entertaining but also an effective public service announcement.

Kurt Vonnegut is one of my all-time favorite authors and Slaughterhouse-Five is one of my all-time favorite books so I was happy to find an excellent analysis of it by GoodReads member Simon Fay.

You can watch it here:

How to Tell the Story of a Tragedy - Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut Jr

It's time for my annual list of the best books I read this year. You can find the complete list of both fiction and nonfiction selections here:

Best Books Read In 2020


Hope you like the list, and if you have recommendations for other books you think I might like, give me a shout.

Check out my latest blog post, in which I name my eight favorite fiction books read in 2021 and my seven favorite nonfiction books read in 2021. Available here:

http://chrisdietzel.com/2021/12/best-...