Dallas Morning News Staff writer Michael Merschel recently
reported on some of the speakers at the Mayborn Literary Non-Fiction
Conference:
RAY BLOUNT JR – essayist and humourist
“If you can write things that make the tongue move around
pleasantly and write things that make the reader's mind move around pleasantly,
you can hold a reader's attention."
IRA GLASS – host of National Public Radio
“He talked about what makes a good story, which included a
structure that allows for build-up, surprise, and most importantly, a mixture
of emotions. To write a piece that conveys only one feeling is ‘just a total
failure to the craft.’
I find Glass’s observation the more interesting, especially since it seems so much of current entertainment lacks this ambition. I think maybe that has to do with age—when you’re young, you want things to be simple; when you get older, you realize they’re not and want to understand their complexity (or at least get the feeling that you’re not the only one who is confused by how easy it is to hold two equally valid but conflicting ideas or emotions at the same time…).
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