WEBVTT

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I suppose it's a, well, a
poem that arose out of--

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I was going through some bizarre
period as I was reading--

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I was reading this book
called, "How to Write Fiction".

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I should have just stuck
with Elmore Leonard's book

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about the 10 rules, but I was
reading a much less smart book

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about how to write fiction.

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And the book was
aimed at a fairly--

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let's say it was written on
a fairly rudimentary level,

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and it included do's and don'ts.

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And it was a series of basic
pages about what you should

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and shouldn't do in fiction.

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One of them, for
example, one of the rules

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was if you have dialogue
tags, that you should always

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make the adverb or
the adjective go along

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with what was just said.

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So you wouldn't want to
say, "help, I'm drowning,

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she implied."

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[LAUGHTER]

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[INAUDIBLE] explained.

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[LAUGHTER]

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But there was one piece of
advice that jumped out at me.

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And the advice was, never
use the word "suddenly" just

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to create tension.

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And one of the
examples I've heard

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of the overuse of
this adverb was,

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this sounds like
something out of an Elmore

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Leonard [INAUDIBLE] the end,
I pointed the gun at her head

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and pulled the trigger.

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Suddenly, shots rang out.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Well, after I returned to
writing poetry, not only

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was I liberated
from these rules,

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but I could actually
violate some.

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So the result is this
poem called "Tension."

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"Suddenly, you were planting
some yellow petunias outside

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in the garden,
and suddenly I was

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in the study looking up the word
oligarchy for the 37th time.

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When suddenly, without warning,
you planted the last petunia

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in the flat, and I suddenly
closed the dictionary now

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that I was reminded of that
vile form of governance.

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A moment later,
we found ourselves

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standing suddenly in the
kitchen where you suddenly

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opened a can of cat food and
I just as suddenly watched you

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doing that.

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I observed a window
of leafy activity

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and, beyond that, a bird
perched on the edge of the stone

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birdbath when
suddenly you announced

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you were leaving to pick up
a few things at the market

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and I stunned you by
impulsively pointing out

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that we were getting low on
butter and another case of wine

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would not be a bad idea.

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Who could tell what the
next moment would hold?

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Another drip from the faucet?

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Another little spasm
on the second hand?

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Would the painting
of a bowl of pears

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continue to hang on the
wall from that nail?

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Would the heavy anthologies
remain on their shelves?

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Would the stove
hold its position?

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Suddenly, it was anyone's guess.

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[LAUGHTER]

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The sun rose ever
higher in the sky.

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The state capitals remained
motionless on the wall map

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when suddenly I found myself
lying on a couch where I closed

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my eyes and without any warning
began to picture the Andes,

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of all places, and
a path that led over

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the mountains to another
country with strange customs

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and eye-catching hats,
each one suddenly fringed

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with colorful little tassels."

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[APPLAUSE]

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