Raymond Chandler on Writing

[Rafellin]

Raymond Chandler on Writing | Brain Pickings

I really need a :bowdown: smiley for this.

 

[sknox]

You'll never go wrong learning from Chandler.

He was the first writer I encountered who taught me that "ordinary" writing could be great literature. This statement of his encapsulates this perfectly:

When a book, any sort of book, reaches a certain intensity of artistic performance, it becomes literature. That intensity may be a matter of style, situation, character, emotional tone, or idea, or half a dozen other things. It may also be a perfection of control over the movement of a story similar to the control a great pitcher has over the ball.

 

[Toby Frost]

Chandler is a tremendous writer: easy to parody, but very hard to copy. Thanks for finding this. I'd also recommend the essay "The Simple Art of Murder" - the copy I have is in a set of short stories called "Pearls are a Nuisance".

 

[TheDustyZebra]

The reading public is intellectually adolescent at best, and it is obvious that what is called “significant literature” will only be sold to this public by exactly the same methods that are used to sell it toothpaste, cathartics and automobiles.

The public haven't changed much, have they?