Ray Bradbury’s “Zen in the Art of Writing” Nonfiction Book Test
1. “Each of the men I have listed seized a bit of the quicksilver of life, froze it for all time and turned, in the blaze of their creativity, to point at it and cry, “Isn’t this good!” And it was good.”
This quote establishes the upbeat, enthusiastic tone that Bradbury maintains throughout the entire text. In the beginning of the book where this quote is located, Bradbury emphasizes the joy that great artists, authors, and musicians experience from their work. Bradbury specifically cites El Greco, Tintoretto, and Thutmose in order to show that all great creators share a love for their creations. Following the quote, Bradbury states that people who write without “zest, gusto, or fun” are not complete writers.
Right out of the gate, Bradbury explains arguably the most important characteristic any writer can possess: love for one’s work. Instead of droning on about boring fundamentals, Bradbury leaps right into the fun stuff. Instead of espousing trite clichés about his craft, Bradbury embraces the passion and enjoyment that writing fosters. Bradbury immediately gains the reader’s interest by rejecting the conventional methods of discussing writing and instead focusing on why people love to write.
2. “But it is easy to doubt yourself, because you look around at a community of notions held by other writers, other intellectuals, and they make you blush with guilt. Writing is supposed to be difficult, agonizing, a dreadful exercise, a terrible occupation.”
This quote tempers the abundance of optimism Bradbury showed in the beginning of the text. Before the quote, Bradbury shares how the approval of renowned art scholar Bernard Berenson inspired him to cope with his...
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...n turned upside down. I no longer view writing as a laborious chore but as a unique tool for self-exploration. I can plunge deeply into the sunken recesses of my mind to dig up wonderfully entertaining stories and ideas. Instead of strictly adhering to a preconceived method, I can now allow my ideas to flow unto the page, constructing an infinite array of plots and characters. Most importantly, I can now love the act of writing. Instead of slogging through an endless stream of mind numbing assignments, I can now confront each school paper with every bit of my intellect while enjoying myself. I can also engage in writing for personal fulfillment as I now possess the enlightened view that writing does not have to be boring. I have always admired your character and your work, and I hope to the information in your great contribution to good use.
Sincerely,
Joshua Boyd
One of the biggest determinants for the success of a writer is engaging and maintaining the interest of a variety of readers. While there are endless approaches to telling a story, as well as many writing styles, the most effective writings are the ones that successfully impress a diverse audience. The essays Eating Chili Peppers and Conforming to Stand Out: A Look at American Beauty are two different styles of essays that unveil a similar search for self-gratification. While the essays cover different topics and the authors use different writing styles and approaches to engage the reader, they both unveil a similar underlying message of a search for self-gratification.
On December 10, 1950, in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the greatest literary minds of the twentieth century, William Faulkner, presented his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. If one reads in between the lines of this acceptance speech, they can detect a certain message – more of a cry or plead – aimed directly to adolescent authors and writers, and that message is to be the voice of your own generation; write about things with true importance. This also means that authors should include heart, soul, spirit, and raw, truthful emotion into their writing. “Love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice” (Faulkner) should all be frequently embraced – it is the duty of authors to do so. If these young and adolescent authors ignore this message and duty, the already endangered state of literature will continue to diminish until its unfortunate extinction.
This assignment is a testament of growth and contributed to my outlook on strategies towards improving my writing through the importance of understanding how crucial, each component of the writing process is and how in depth you should take each process. Lastly, this reflection advocated how editing is the principal task of every good writer. “To write is human, to edit is divine,” Stephen
stories on butcher paper. In 1932, after his father was laid off his job as
Through the characterization of Ricardo, the photographer, and the fellow townspeople, Ray Bradbury expresses his viewpoint on the controversy of invading western societies, and the impact it can have on indigenous people. Having experienced the encroachment from outsiders, Ricardo is faced with the persistent fight against the exploitation of innocent towns being turned into fashion sets. We, all members walking together on Earth, must realize the momentousness of unity cooperation regardless of wealth, or power, or race, or class.
Many of Ray Bradbury’s works are satires on modern society from a traditional, humanistic viewpoint (Bernardo). Technology, as represented in his works, often displays human pride and foolishness (Wolfe). “In all of these stories, technology, backed up by philosophy and commercialism, tries to remove the inconveniences, difficulties, and challenges of being human and, in its effort to improve the human condition, impoverishes its spiritual condition” (Bernardo). Ray Bradbury’s use of technology is common in Fahrenheit 451, “The Veldt,” and The Martian Chronicles.
In the past three months I feel like I have accomplished a great deal. As the semester comes to an end I find myself reflecting not only how I have survived the first semester but also what I have learned. The most important thing I have learned so far is how to become a better writer. I did not think it could really happen to me. I did not think I could handle all the work. I did not think I could actually become a better writer. Some how after all the hours of writing, and putting effort into the papers that I wrote this semester, I became a better writer. I did this because I concentrated on two very important areas, with the attitude of, if I could just become better in those then I would become a better writer. With help from an awesome teacher and a reliable tutor I have become a better writer by improving my skills in the areas of procrastination and content.
Abcarian, Richard. Literature: the Human Experience : Reading and Writing. : Bedford/Saint Martin's, 2012. Print.
As every well-read person knows, the background in which you grow up plays a huge role in how you write and your opinions. Fuller grew up with a very strict education, learning multiple classic languages before she was eight years old. Fern grew up with writers all throughout her family and had a traditional education and saw first hand the iniquities of what hard-working had to contend with. Through close analysis of their work, a reader can quickly find the connections between their tone, style, content, and purpose and their history of their lives and their educational upbringing.
As these few tales reveal, my memories of writing are strongly connected with the intense emotions I felt as I grew up. They are filled with joy, disappointment, boredom, and pride. I believe that each of these experiences has brought me to where I am today. I can only look to the future and hope that my growth will continue, and my writing will reflect those changes within me. As a writer, I have grown immeasurably and will continue to so long as I can find some paper and a pencil.
In William Faulkner’s “Speech Accepting the Nobel Prize in Literature,” he asserted, “It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past” (Faulkner). Humans, by nature, are capable of achieving the unimaginable. However, individuals often do not believe very strongly in this ability. While they possess the potential, many people do not have enough determination to reach toward their goals and “not merely endure: prevail” (Faulkner). As expressed by Faulkner, writers hold the duty to motivate their readers in an optimistic way. Although many individuals believe that the “writer’s duty” is primarily
"For some, Life is rich and creamy ... while Art is a pallid commercial confection ... For others, Art is the truer thing, full, bustling and emotionally satisfying, while Life is worse than the poorest novel: devoid of narrative, peopled by bores and rogues, short on wit ... and leading to a painfully predictable denouement."1
I suppose it’s a good thing that many things shaped my literacy skills. A dozen heads are better than one, after all (and to think out my ideas, sometimes I need those extra brains, but that’s what friends are for). I’m confident that I will succeed in the writing field, wherever it may be – literature, movies, gaming – and I’m forever thankful for my talents, for I know that so many others have not had the encouragement or will to read and write as I have. So, here’s to the future of my writing, and hopefully it will be just as creative as my past was.
"The Illustrated Man: LITERARY ANALYSIS / NOTES by Ray Bradury." The Illustrated Man: LITERARY ANALYSIS / NOTES by Ray Bradbury. The Best Notes, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .
“Your Creative Power” was filled with trick and strategies to inspire other individuals on writing and how to put your ideas into words. Osborn’s most celebrated idea was the one discussed in Chapter 33, “H...