"it is done. people do not like it here."

[travisezell]

On pages 9 and 10 of his book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, Vonnegut listed eight rules for writing a short story:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a

Comments

[before_you_go]

I just recently finished Galapagos, and I am thinking how much he applied #8, with success, in that book particularly.

[travisezell]

I generally take the most issue with #8, but then again, like anything else, it can be handled so well (like Galapogos). I think the good rule-of-thumb is, consider it a rule not to break unless you know what you're doing/intend to break it. And that is something I can get behind.