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writingwithfolklore · 9 months

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Making Meaning, Not Sense

I took a contemporary creative writing class last semester, and one of my prof’s favourite things to say was “Make meaning, not sense.” What she meant by that is that by just putting two elements next to each other, they form meaning, even if they don’t necessarily make ‘sense’ next to each other.

We spent the entire semester making meaning without making sense. She encouraged us to not ‘over-explain’ ourselves—to let the readers interpret the meaning of our work in their own way.

While I would argue clarity is an important thing to consider when writing for others, this idea of allowing the readers interpretation can be a freeing exercise, and open up some unique creative decisions!

I rewrote the same piece twice—the first time trying to give context to the things I was talking about, and then the second time, letting those things just sit without trying to smother them. The first one was a good story, but it was my story—and may be forgettable for someone just passing by. The second allowed the readers their own interpretation—in a way, making the piece as much theirs as it was mine. I let up control in order to create meaning for the individuals who would read it.

All this is to say that while clarity and ‘sense’ is important in a story, there is a point where you may be smothering your meaning by attempting to make too much sense. Try experimenting by letting up the reins a bit and allowing your readers to take the work in their own unique direction. You can sacrifice a bit of sense to make a lot of meaning.

Good luck!

#writing #writers #writing tips #writing advice #writing inspiration #creative writing #writing community #books #film #filmmaking #screenwriting #novel writing #fanfiction #writeblr #make meaning not sense #contemporary literature

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juan-francisco-palencia · 7 months

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A flower on the road.

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metamorphesque · 10 months

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How cyclical and bittersweet for a child to retrace the image of their mother. For a subject to turn back to document their archivist.

― Michelle Zauner, Crying in H Mart

#michelle zauner #crying in h mart #quotes #literature #grief #memoir #contemporary literature #mother

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galina · 17 days

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Whale Fall, Elizabeth O'Connor – I was sent an advance review copy by picador, it comes out later this month. A powerful short novel with themes of environment, relationships with nature, colonisation, fascism, community, loss, grief, the impact of biased documentation and archiving, and the role of gender in society.

I really liked this, it hones in on a young girl coming of age on an unnamed island off the coast of wales, in the weeks leading up to war being declared in england.

What struck me was how precise and unflinching the language is in this text where images of island life are shrouded in a blanket of dramatic irony. Whales as literary allegory could feel overdone but not here, where the urgent message against fascism, against humans selfishly taking and appropriating for their own gain – whether from nature or other humans – is frank but not overwritten.

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newvision · 11 months

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— Danez Smith, iv. not an ode for John Crawford (a bop) from Black Movie

#danez smith #Black Movie #American lit #american literature #litblr #literature #books #poetry #contemporary poetry #contemporary literature #contemporary #dark academia #aesthetic #light academia #academia #dark academia style #dark academia aesthetic

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ladycatashtrophe · 6 days

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"Let people enjoy things", "It's not that deep", "Stop being a hater", No.

You are capable of criticizing something and still enjoying it. Criticism should add to your enjoyment of the thing. Contextualizing and analyzing media is the only true sign that you enjoy it instead of just consume it. Stop selling the straggling iotas of your final brain cell to a fascio-capitalist system that wants to gorge you til you burst. Not consuming anything is better than blindly inhaling whatever is put in front of you without discretion.

Be an intellectual and have respect for yourself so you can have some sugary Wattpad fanfic and a Netflix reality TV show for dessert.

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fragmentsofgrief · 3 months

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Forough Farrokhzad poetry for today

#persian literature #persian poetry #iranian cinema #modern poetry #forough farrokhzad #mahmoud darwish #foreign languages #poetry by women #poems by women #writers of color #web weaving #text post #contemporary literature #litblr #contemporary poetry #sylvia plath #joan didion #virginia woolf #farsi

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chai-n-ivy · 5 months

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*drinking black coffee, learning chess, reading Russian novels, wearing mostly black*

"I liked The Secret History a normal amount."

#original #mine #dark academia #literature #aesthetic #academia #books #light academia #english literature #contemporary literature #russian literature #the secret history #tsh

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klasterni-tajemstvi · 2 years

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there's this haunting moment in the Secret History that sends chills down my spine everytime stumble across it and it's towards the end when Francis and Richard visit the disheveled alcoholic Charles in his messy apartment to invite him to the country. at some point Charles pulls out pills Henry had supposedly given him for sleeping and Richard realizes it's the Nembutals he brought Henry to ease his migraine.... and although Henry denies giving the pills to Charles you just have to wonder.. did Henry lost it and gave Charles the Nembutal in hopes he'd accidentally poisoned himself and died? Nembutal becomes toxic if mixed with alcohol and is possibly lethal and Henry must have known well if Charles was to take those pills he'd definitely drink on them.. did he lost it and wanted to get rid of Charles like he got rid of Bun? it gives me chills, the way the book is structured too; you are aware Henry finds Charles a nuisance and the idea of killing him is an option, however unlikely it seems, but then comes the abrupt realization that Henry actually took the steps to achieve it and gave Charles dangerous drugs disguised as sleeping pills, in that moment, is very powerful. to me it is one of the most terrifying scenes, honestly. it almost comes out of nowhere and it shocks me every time. in short Donna Tartt is an amazing writer and i hope she publishes another book soon lol

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moderngothicbooks · 10 months

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so i decided to start something in my chronic unemployment in the hopes of becoming more employable: i made a newsletter!

a friend got me onto substack and i’ll be posting newsletters on there, on an ad hoc basis, discussing the Gothic, contemporary literary theories, and culture. there’ll be articles, book reviews and more, it’ll be developed as it grows. if there is anything you would like to see explored, please let me know!

so if you’re interested in contemporary literature and theory, please go and have a look at The Wandering Scholar on substack, and click subscribe if you want to be notified when i post!

https://thewanderingscholar.substack.com/

#news #newsletter #substack #literature #gothic #gothic literature #contemporary literature #studyblr #studentblr #uniblr #literatureblr #bookblr

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mrsstrangewinter · 2 months

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These Violent Delights, Chloe Gong

#these violent delights #chloe gong #dark academia quotes #contemporary literature #dark academia #dark academic #quotes #quotes that mrs strange winter found

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moranjpg · 1 year

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The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin

#own post #booklr #literature #reading #books #contemporary literature #litblr #book rec #the left hand of darkness #ursula k le guin #sci fi literature #lgbt literature #queer lit #quote #quotes #for your web weaving needs

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juan-francisco-palencia · 3 months

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Eine Blume auf dem Weg.

"The privilege of having a love, of finding meaning in life through caring, the same trust promotes the development of the same love and the same feelings and makes you look like who you really are."

— Juan Francisco Palencia.