The chapter explores the speaker's process of intensely observing events like basketball games to capture emotions and nuances for writing. It delves into the transformation of abstract thoughts into concrete sentences, discussing the challenges of being a critic and balancing personal opinion when crafting sentences.
Vinson Cunningham is a staff writer for The New Yorker. His novel, published in March 2024, is Great Expectations.
“I think the job is just paying a bunch of attention. If you're a person like me, where thoughts and worries are intruding on your consciousness all the time, it is a great relief to have something to just over-describe and over-pay-attention to—and kind of just give all of your latent, usually anxious attention to this one thing. That, to me, is a great joy.”
Show notes:
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