7 Ideas From Author Chuck Palahniuk that Will Improve Your Writing
“If it’s an idea that films, comics, or gaming can depict, why bother writing the book?”
Chuck Palahniuk is a renowned American author famed for his unconventional storytelling.
His debut novel, Fight Club, explored themes of masculinity and consumerism and became a cult classic, later adapted into a successful film.
Palahniuk is known for his dark humor, social satire, and willingness to tackle taboo subjects in works like Choke, Invisible Monsters, and Survivor.
What can you learn from Palahniuk? Probably more than you’ll ever need to know, but here are a few things that stood out to me…
1.
Limit your distractions. “The roof leaked, but in that tiny house with no distractions, I wrote my first four books,” says author Chuck Palahniuk.
2.
Use all of your senses. “Write about something you can hardly remember,” suggests Chuck Palahniuk in Consider This, his book on writing. “Your body is a recording device, more effective than your mind.” Use your other senses, like scent, taste, smell, and the small tangibles that make up memories you can hardly remember.
3.
Move your characters around. “Once you’ve exhausted your standard settings, consider gathering your characters and sending them into the great outside world for some fresh perspective. The larger world reminds characters of their smallness and mortality, and it prompts them to take disastrous action.”
Many of these quotes and ideas come from Chuck Palahniuk’s remarkable book, Consider This. Buy your copy right here.
4.
Understand your medium. “When choosing an idea for a book, make sure it’s an idea that only a book can best represent. If it’s an idea that films, comics, or gaming can depict, why bother writing the book?”
5.
Use real life as examples. “Watch what people do unconsciously. Collect the stories they tell to explain their behavior,” he advises. “It’s standard practice for writers to keep an everyday book, in which to jot down ideas or useful trivia, but the best stuff sticks in your brain until you find a place to showcase it.”
6.
You are every character. Author Chuck Palahniuk writes, “Getting inside a character might seem like a vacation from being you, but face it, you’re never not you.”
7.
Accept that you must promote all of your work. “Promoting a book is part of your profession, so there’s no point in hating the process,” voices Chuck Palahniuk.
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Want more? All of these quotes help make up my first book about the craft of writing, Ink by the Barrel — Secrets From Prolific Writers. Get your copy for free, right here.
