Cormac McCarthy on Writing Novels

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  • čas pƙidĂĄn 29. 12. 2022
  • Cormac McCarthy rarely gives advice on writing novels, but in this video today we will be reading a lost interview (until 2022) with Cormac McCarthy where he is more candid about his writing process than ever before.
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    Cormac McCarthy is an American writer who we consider one of the greatest authors of all time. He was born in Rhode Island but was raised and wrote his initial works in Tennessee. However, his most famous (and best) works were written in the Southwestern United States. Below are some links and my opinion on all his books!
    Book Name: Stella Maris
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: December 6th, 2022
    Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
    Rating: 8/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3YaZa5r
    Book Name: The Passenger
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: October 2022
    Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
    Rating: 8.5/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3YiEdFN
    Book Name: The Road
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: September 2006
    Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
    Rating: 7/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3xfGuW8
    Book Name: No Country For Old Men
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: July 2005
    Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
    Rating: 7/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3JZD3KW
    Book Name: Cities of the Plain
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: May 1998
    Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
    Rating: 8/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3lqAreJ
    Book Name: The Crossing
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: June 1994
    Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
    Rating: 10/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3DVdlTX
    Book Name: All the Pretty Horses
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: May 1992
    Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
    Rating: 9/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3ld0R3B
    Book Name: Blood Meridian
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: April 1985
    Publisher: Random House
    Rating: 10/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3RKMEY2
    Book Name: Suttree
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: May 1979
    Publisher: Random House
    Rating: 9.5/10
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3jGCwmD
    Book Name: Child of God
    Author: Cormac McCarthy
    Publication Date: 1973
    Publisher: Random House
    Rating: 6.5
    Purchase link to support Write Conscious: amzn.to/3jDOFc0

Komentáƙe • 50

  • @jungastein3952
    @jungastein3952 Pƙed rokem +15

    L.F. Celine said he wrote 80,000 long hand pages for 800 published pages. He said the difference between him and the other moderns is that he was a worker, essentially. A born worker, of necessity. He quotes Descartes: I have no more genius but I have more method.

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +3

      It's all about deliberate practice.

    • @TheHundredHeads
      @TheHundredHeads Pƙed 4 měsĂ­ci

      Interesting comparison because Descartes was actually very lazy. He died from waking up too early

  • @Bolgini
    @Bolgini Pƙed rokem +9

    As a writer, I’m constantly looking for the writing thoughts of those authors who I consider influences and inspire me. Personally, I don’t really plan my stuff. I have an image or two and just see where it leads. I think McCarthy has a similar approach, and this act of discovery is a lot of fun.

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +2

      Exactly. I feel like anyone who plots and plans their stuff must write a lot flatter material. Thanks for the comment Nicolas and good luck with your writing journey. You are doing great!

    • @theoracle7148
      @theoracle7148 Pƙed rokem +3

      He used his grant to extensively travel from Mexico to Texas to California (the route the kid took) when he wrote blood meridian. Nothing is done on a whim. The man is a genius.

  • @Cholata123
    @Cholata123 Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci +4

    Sometimes I wonder how many words the wrote per day, how many novels he work at the same time and if he even writes every day. Nothing of that matters since everyone has a different process, but I am always curious lol

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci +4

      Up to five works at a time and for decades he did write almost everyday for about five to seven hours.

    • @Cholata123
      @Cholata123 Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci +2

      @@WriteConscious Thanks a lot! Also, amazing channel you have here, I will look some videos of yours

  • @enriccoc7794
    @enriccoc7794 Pƙed rokem +3

    I'd love to have that feeling like I was meant to do something like be a writer. I've worked at several different art forms, including self publishing 2 books and working on my 3rd currently, and it's always a lot of mental anguish and emotional pain. It's only those little bits where I get into a flow state writing about an idea I have that feel worthwhile. I just want to record my ideas and writing seems like the only good option

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem

      For sure. I've heard from multiple people only pursue writing if it feels like the only good option. The reward you get isn't enough when other artistic mediums are more popular (if you are talented in them.)

    • @donvonfilms2937
      @donvonfilms2937 Pƙed 4 měsĂ­ci

      Richard Walter who taught screenwriting at UCLA for many years says all writers hate writing.

  • @joeomalley2835
    @joeomalley2835 Pƙed 10 měsĂ­ci +1

    Interesting thoughts. I've read four McCarthy novels and reading my fifth one now and have enjoyed them all so far, whether they be dark, bleak, mysterious, depressing. He never seems to not deliver. Anyhow, it's interesting to hear some of the background into his makeup and what his thoughts were about his craft. I liked his quote about "not giving a damn" about what people think (maybe I'm paraphrasing) when he is writing. I think some modern authors and most likely film producers of today are not of this mold at all and try their best to appeal to the masses. Anyhow, love the video. Great analysis and discussion here. I just subscribed.

  • @donvonfilms2937
    @donvonfilms2937 Pƙed 4 měsĂ­ci +1

    To be fair though, writers have the most important job in the film industry, which does pay more than most other arts. Without Nic Pizzolatto, there would be no True Detective season one, for example. Writing is important. Writers are the true original artists in the film industry, the most important minds. Even for activists, if you want to fight for or against something, you gotta be able to write about it, talk about it, and make films about it. If you can write well, using rhetorical techniques, for example, you can convince more people about your case. Writing is important. Look at Karl Marx. Your writing can literally change the world. Just make sure it is for the better.

  • @Mathadosius
    @Mathadosius Pƙed rokem +1

    LETS GOOOO!!!

  • @abdallahtalam1348
    @abdallahtalam1348 Pƙed rokem +2

    This is basically now the Cormac McCarthy CZcams channel wth

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +1

      Lol, don't worry. I will be covering a ton of other books and authors in 2023 :)

    • @Mooseman327
      @Mooseman327 Pƙed rokem

      The Official Cormac McCarthy Grifter CZcams Channel.

  • @acolus3413
    @acolus3413 Pƙed rokem +1

    where can i read this interview? can you share it some way with me Ian? Thanks!

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +1

      Yeah, I have a bunch of people asking. I will find a copy somewhere online and reply back here when I get it!

  • @miguelmarques4583
    @miguelmarques4583 Pƙed rokem +1

    I like this old interview. Honestly I would rather no interview, than an interview where a writer talks about other things that isn't his work or the themes of his books. I mean, I want to know about the Jacob Boehme epigraph, not other stuff.

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +1

      Check out Julius Greve's book "Shreds of Matter" it's about Cormac McCarthy and German Idealism. Also interesting to note, a lot of authors used Boehme as epigraphs in their work because he wasn't copyrighted for them. I know of at least five really good books that use him.

    • @miguelmarques4583
      @miguelmarques4583 Pƙed rokem +1

      @@WriteConscious Thanks, I'll check it out.

  • @jungastein3952
    @jungastein3952 Pƙed rokem +3

    I've read all his novels but The Passenger was DNF for me after 140 pages

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +2

      I would say you should try and finish. The first 140 are a little rough, but it does really expand in the last 150 into something very very beautiful.

  • @hamzasaid3368
    @hamzasaid3368 Pƙed rokem +4

    At least he ain't Pynchon when it comes to interviews

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +2

      agreed lol! Something is way better than nothing.

    • @Mooseman327
      @Mooseman327 Pƙed rokem

      Actually, when it comes to writer interviews, nothing is better than something.

    • @billyalarie929
      @billyalarie929 Pƙed rokem

      @@Mooseman327 what?

    • @rustyshackelford934
      @rustyshackelford934 Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci +1

      @@billyalarie929I think he means sometimes it’s better that a lot of authors don’t release interviews cause they suck as people lol although McCarthy actually seems to be a pretty chill, down to earth and interesting guy.

  • @quandalebingletonda3rd957
    @quandalebingletonda3rd957 Pƙed rokem +1

    What should I read after no country for old men

  • @baserink3941
    @baserink3941 Pƙed rokem +2

    Did you see the Cormac interview on Lawrence Krauss's podcast yet?

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed rokem +1

      Yeah! Was more of a Lawrence Krauss monologue though lmao. Cormac was somewhat dismissal of literature, but was being led into those questions by Krauss. Planning to cover it though!

    • @baserink3941
      @baserink3941 Pƙed rokem

      I get why he would be though, and I'd say it's better that he is.

  • @user-xd1xf9rp5p
    @user-xd1xf9rp5p Pƙed 29 dny

    I think McCarthy doesn’t like other writers for the same reason many people don’t like others in their professions, is that there is a sort of comparing that goes on, and writers, maybe more than a lot of professions, are very opinionated, and since writing covers such a wide range of topics and ideas and backgrounds, Cormac is probably just annoyed seeing people do things he wouldn’t do, or say things he wouldn’t say, and by being around those people, it basically volunteers one’s self into being an equal where even the worst writers have the right to say something. When I was a personal trainer, I hated arguing with other trainers about squats or exercise programs, and when I was a cook, I hated working with some cooks who were sloppy or didn’t clean their area, and now I hate when my current coworkers have an opinion but at the same time they are not good at their job so who cares what they think. By purposely hanging out with intellectuals he doesn’t have to compete. He can be wrong because it’s more honest truth seeking conversations and he’ doesn’t have money in the game, while also having respect because he is a famous writer. So it makes sense. I hate being around lots of types of people because I’ve had a very unique life and most people are under achievers, so I prefer to be around people who are professionals in other disciplines.

  • @t0dd000
    @t0dd000 Pƙed rokem +2

    McCarthy is definitely a character. Heh.

  • @Oldman808
    @Oldman808 Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci +1

    What a bizarre way to sit. You can find a cheap chair at any flea market.

    • @WriteConscious
      @WriteConscious  Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci

      Lol, sitting in a chair and letting your hips get tight is terrible for you.

  • @mikechick651
    @mikechick651 Pƙed měsĂ­cem

    I'm sorry but I can't agree with you in being a writer when you're not good at anything else because of different reasons. I am a published author in germany and I am also a painter (studied fine arts in germany). Both of these mediums include being alone while doing your job. Don't get me wrong. I agree that you have to feel lonelyness as a gift. But you can do two things wih the same intensity and passion. I love painting and writing. And I enjoy what I am doing. Both give me different opportunities and perspectives on life. Painting is a medium that can't be described with words. Stories are a medium that can't be presented with thousands of pictures. Both are art. So, if you put it that way: you're doing only one job: ART.