As a rare feature of writing and publishing, "Genius Catcher" features not only the legendary editor Max Perkins, but also three talented writers: Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Thomas Waugh Elf, all three of these people were discovered by Max. Compared with the first two, the last writer may sound a bit unfamiliar, but in the history of American literature, he is actually famous, and was named by Faulkner as one of the "Five Best Living Writers in America" in his heart. In this film, Wolff, starring middle-aged handsome bald Jude Law, falls in love with and kills editor Max, played by Colin Firth.
The screen is full of glittering stars inside and out, and every frame from start to finish seems to be shot for fans of both literature and film. For a writing learner, the biggest attraction of this film is not the overflowing love, not the wild acting, but the four great writers talking about how to write. After all, this movie includes four great masters, Max Perkins, Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe, and their words are as sharp as swords and shadows. Writing juniors can benefit a lot even if they hold their heads high.
Follow the "Genius Catcher" to learn to write, the first rule: start writing. Even if there are millions of words in the chest, it is in vain not to write them down. According to gossip, Liang Zuo once joked at a dinner party and hid a dream of Red Mansions in his belly. Once written, it will be a legend for a lifetime. So the first rule of writing is always: write. In the film, Fitzgerald is a counter-example, sinking deep into self-doubt, surrounded by his mentally ill wife Zelda, and "can't write a simple sentence." Although he wrote the great "The Great Gatsby", he can now write 100 words a day when he is in good shape. Contrasted with Thomas Wolfe, alcoholic, unruly, chaotic, but still able to write 5,000 words a day. He has a surging desire for expression, a trendy idea, and a tidal wave of code words.
Article 2, deletion. "Angel, Hometown" was written by Thomas Wolfe for four years, and Max's first request after reading it was: to delete it. I've read the old translation of the book, and it's still long-winded after I've edited it. The first draft of Wolfe's second book, Time and Drift, was 5,000 pages long, and it was not completed after 9 months of sleepless revision by Max and Wolfe. The main clip of the film shows that they are constantly arguing and editing in the office. Wolf shouts, "Not a single word is allowed to be changed", and Max shouts back, "This text is not necessary." The whole book was edited for two years before it was published. Hemingway, who cherishes words like gold, has only two words for the evaluation of this book: "nonsense". Of course, Fitzgerald, who wrote only 100 words a day, probably didn't need such redactions, and he went through the process when he wrote it himself.
Number three, find passion. Needless to say, Thomas Wolfe's passion was in his youthful age, full of vigorous vitality, almost insane. And Fitzgerald was already past his prime at that time. He said goodbye to the "jazz age" that was lavishing money, bid farewell to the "flowing feast" of Paris, and went to Hollywood to make a living. His appearance is in Max's office, complaining to him about the embarrassment of life and can only rely on relief to survive. He and Wolfe seemed to be the same person, each in a time of bleak and brilliant talent. Hemingway is another kind of writer, always looking for a passion for writing. His appearance was at the pier by the sea, returning from fishing at sea, and chatting with Max about his plan to go to Spain (to join the fifth column), "I want to feel the passion of fighting for life again". Hemingway's life was about taking risks and finding passion. The third rule of learning to write in "Genius Catcher": Write something that makes you not vomit unpleasantly. If not, go find it.
Fourth, give the work a good title. In the film, Max persuades Wolff to modify the title of "Oh, Lost" in order to use a vivid example. "Imagine you're a reader, wandering around a bookstore with a dazzling array of books in front of you, and you see a book called Temaril Joe of West Egg and a book called The Great Gatsby, Which one would you buy?" The answer was self-evident. So, if you've worked hard to write a good title for it, don't betray your labor.
The above are the writing rules of "Genius Catcher". If you practice according to the law, even if you can't become Wolf, you may be able to become Ah Yi. At the end of writing, I have a question in my mind: How can Max Perkins, as a book editor, live in a suburban mansion and support a family of seven? who will answer.
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