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neuroscience and fiction / david foster wallace 2

March 21, 2012 by L.S. Johnson

so with my dfw rant still knocking about in my head a bit, I saw this in the river of text that is twitter:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html

and if i’m reading it correctly, i think it gives some credence to my soapbox demands for richer language.  it’s not only that fiction makes you a better person, it’s that the details of fiction are what really engage the brain, that how the story is conveyed is as important (perhaps moreso?) than the tale itself.  precise nouns, sensory adjectives, metaphor—all the ways that we can stretch our language past dick and jane are how we reach into our readers’ minds and keep them hooked.  plot may keep the conscious mind turning pages, but it’s the language that stimulates the brain and makes the experience enjoyable, even pleasurable.  Hurrah for words! Hurrah for detail, for rich prose, for slow fiction!

Filed Under: Reading Tagged With: David Foster Wallace, fiction writing, writing advice

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