Update: Perhaps as a result of my good-natured (I hope) needling, "E. B. Satt" has abandoned said pseudonym in favor of good old Jason, over on Ten Car Train. I'm going to let the title of this post stand, but I figured I'd clear up any potential confusion now.
If you head over to Ten Car Train, you'll find some pretty cool stuff. You'll also find E. B. Satt - or Jason Sattler, or whatever else he's calling himself. I can't figure it out, but hey, I go by a handle too, so who am I to talk.
Anyway, Satt's stuff isn't just cool - it's excellent. OK, I lied, it's actually somewhat hit-or-miss, but some of it is really excellent.
Like his story A Single Drop of Water Helps to Swell the Ocean, or How I Need a Hand in Mine to Feel, which may be his best piece on the site (I'm not 100%, because I'm not entirely certain that I've read every one of them).
The stories are somewhat reminiscent of Jeffery Harrell's - over at Lies that are true (He's currently selling his book, so buy it, but he says the stories will be back up for free sometime at the start of 08).
The prose is soft, and somewhat conversational. That's not to say that it feels like dialogue, but neither does it feel like a diary. Still, you get the feeling that the narrator is talking to you, and that they're real.
I know I'm not the only person to be uncertain whether these were stories, or real life tales like those of Sedaris.
That's what they're like.
I'm not doing a good job articulating this, and I haven't even mentioned the tragic-but-commonplace themes of the stories. You should go read the stories and come back to me with your thoughts.
Oh, and if you like them, you might also check out A Softer World.
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Friday, December 21, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Fiction on the Net
I had intended for this blog to focus on books I've read, but I am coming to realize that there is an abundance of material on the net for me to comment on.
In fact, I am only now starting to see the web really begin to display the sort of revolutionary fiction you'd expect out of such a revolutionary medium. Keep in mind that the internet is the first medium for communication that is both a true mass medium and genuinely interactive. We're seeing a rise in egalitarianism as a result (the very fact that you are reading a blog is evidence of this.)
I see two main innovations in fiction on the net (so far). The first is that writers who appeal to a quirky, small, or otherwise non-mainstream audience are able to reach readers on a wide scale, and in a way that is not possible with the traditional print media. This is true of any successful writer with prose (or poetry, though I have less interest) on the net. However, someone who has caught my eye is Jeff Harrell, who, in a Vonnegut-esque fashion has titled his collection of stories "Lies that are true". His stories are here. I particularly suggest "When Alone Was Forgotten," "Cheshire Smile," and "The Slow Ones."
The other innovation I see is very similar to what many webcomics have been doing for a while - that is, using lengths and formats that would be inappropriate for print. A prime example of this is Lexy Erin's writing, particularly her superhero serial Star Harbor Nights, as well as the superior (and currently updating) Tales Of MU. Lexy's writing is certainly an example of an author reaching a readership largely unavailable through print, but she is also writing serials. Each "chapter" is roughly the length of a short novel chapter, but she is in the third book of "MU," and, while the writing would occupy three volumes, the pacing is quite different from that of your average novel. The day to day narratives that get lost in a novel are fully explored here, and, while I have no inside knowledge, I can easily imagine the entire arc of a novel-length plot, but with each smaller sidestory fully developed. I think the format lends itself to empathy with the characters, because it is easy to feel like you are living their lives alongside them.
Again, check out Lies that are true and Tales Of MU.
PS - Tales of MU can be a bit... involved, particularly in the more recent chapters - to the point that they're nsfw. I would say that if you're easily offend you should avoid it, but, frankly, if you're easily offended, I'm not sure why you're reading this blog.
In fact, I am only now starting to see the web really begin to display the sort of revolutionary fiction you'd expect out of such a revolutionary medium. Keep in mind that the internet is the first medium for communication that is both a true mass medium and genuinely interactive. We're seeing a rise in egalitarianism as a result (the very fact that you are reading a blog is evidence of this.)
I see two main innovations in fiction on the net (so far). The first is that writers who appeal to a quirky, small, or otherwise non-mainstream audience are able to reach readers on a wide scale, and in a way that is not possible with the traditional print media. This is true of any successful writer with prose (or poetry, though I have less interest) on the net. However, someone who has caught my eye is Jeff Harrell, who, in a Vonnegut-esque fashion has titled his collection of stories "Lies that are true". His stories are here. I particularly suggest "When Alone Was Forgotten," "Cheshire Smile," and "The Slow Ones."
The other innovation I see is very similar to what many webcomics have been doing for a while - that is, using lengths and formats that would be inappropriate for print. A prime example of this is Lexy Erin's writing, particularly her superhero serial Star Harbor Nights, as well as the superior (and currently updating) Tales Of MU. Lexy's writing is certainly an example of an author reaching a readership largely unavailable through print, but she is also writing serials. Each "chapter" is roughly the length of a short novel chapter, but she is in the third book of "MU," and, while the writing would occupy three volumes, the pacing is quite different from that of your average novel. The day to day narratives that get lost in a novel are fully explored here, and, while I have no inside knowledge, I can easily imagine the entire arc of a novel-length plot, but with each smaller sidestory fully developed. I think the format lends itself to empathy with the characters, because it is easy to feel like you are living their lives alongside them.
Again, check out Lies that are true and Tales Of MU.
PS - Tales of MU can be a bit... involved, particularly in the more recent chapters - to the point that they're nsfw. I would say that if you're easily offend you should avoid it, but, frankly, if you're easily offended, I'm not sure why you're reading this blog.
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