Chapter 23 - Writer’s Notebook: Totally Gonzo
Write fiction as journalism and journalism as fiction
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
— Hunter S. Thompson
Write fiction as journalism and journalism as fiction.
use scene by scene construction (write the story as a traditional narrative). You get your stories by hanging out, observing, not interviewing
use dialogue. It engages the reader and reveals character
3rd person POV. Get inside their heads.
Record everything. 5 senses. Background noise. “get the name of the dog” (Recording Angel). The journalist shows they were there. Acts as witness and sometimes participant.
Deadline pressure: just start typing and print what comes out. From your head to the readers.
I was an outsider before I was a traveller. I was a traveller before I was a writer. I think one led to the other.
— Paul Theroux
