David Shields
David Shields
David Shieldsis an American author of fiction and nonfiction...
sacrifice too-much plot
With relatively few exceptions, the novel sacrifices too much, for me, on the altar of plot.
long novel built
The novel is dead. Long live the antinovel, built from scraps.
reality talking nonfiction
To me, the moment you're talking about nonfiction you're talking about reality.
teaching editing miracle
Thomas Jefferson went through the New Testament and removed all the miracles, leaving only the teachings. Take a source, extract what appeals to you, discard the rest. Such an act of editorship is bound to reflect something of the individual doing the editing: a plaster cast of an aesthetic-not the actual thing, but the imprint of it.
narrative allies honest
I'm not interested in collage as the refuge of the composition-ally disabled. I'm interested in collage as (to be honest) an evolution beyond narrative.
believe writing data
Everything I write, I believe instinctively, is to some extent collage. Meaning, ultimately, is a matter of adjacent data.
groups care littles
In my own little way, I feel like I'm part of a group of writers who care deeply about pushing the essay forward.
momentum narrative mosaics
Momentum, in literary mosaic, derives not from narrative but from the subtle, progressive buildup of thematic resonances.
distance rumor matter
I don’t know what’s the matter with me, why I’m so adept at distance, why I feel so remote from things, why life feels like a rumor.
thinking rooms plot
The absence of plot leaves the reader room to think about other things.
thinking literature serious
I take literature as a really serious human activity. It's not just a playful thing. It can be hilarious and wonderful and performative, but I think it's really serious.
book reading order
If I'm reading a book and it seems truly interesting, I tend to start reading back to front in order not to be too deeply under the sway of progress.
novel mediums prose
My medium is prose, not the novel.
memories fiction
Anything processed by memory is fiction.