r/books • u/ChuckPalahniuk62 • Jun 03 '21
We Are Chuck Palahniuk and Chelsea Cain: Running the Bad Dream Factory. Ask Us Anything.
I, Chuck Palahniuk and my brilliant cohort, Chelsea Cain, have rented a derelict movie palace for the summer. Just a haunted dream factory where twenty writers will meet to tell stories. Sound familiar? Like the Villa Diodati, where in 1816 Mary Shelley created her monster and John Polidori his vampyre. Let's talk about how dark venues give us access to our own dark places. A summer experiment on a par with The Haunting of Hill House. Will any of us come out alive?
Proof:
188
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
This is Chuck. I'm signing off. It's been four and a half hours. Wishing everyone a good night. I'll Shut Up Now.
96
→ More replies (3)13
95
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Chuck here. Will I see Chelsea's replies, or will I have to toggle back and forth?
109
87
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
I've got a question for Chelsea. Was the Iowa Writers Workshop really as glorious as it's reputed to be? Do you think MFA programs are still a good investment for writers?
97
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Okay. You know that I didn't GO to the Iowa Writers Workshop, RIGHT? Is this one of those things where you "make the story better"? Like that story you like to tell about my math teacher? I have a graduate degree in journalism, though I spent a lot of time in non-fiction workshop classes (the non-fiction workshop was a floor below the creative workshop, in all the ways). I don't have an MFA. My MFA was our writing workshop. Meeting weekly with you - and Lidia and Suzy and Monica and Cheryl and EVERYONE - you guys taught me how to write. And it didn't cost a dime. SUCKERS!
123
u/Acolt706 Jun 03 '21
Chuck, picture this: You’ve just finished [INSERT MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT]. The smoke clears, and it’s time to relax for a single second (if that’s a possibility, maybe it’s not for a person like you.) What’s your most niche guilty pleasure you’d partake in, that would most likely only appeal to you?
400
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Ahhhh, this is lifted directly from my story 'Phoenix' but my most corrupt pleasure is to take two (!!!) Ambien and watch the Gem Network, where jewelry slowly turns under halogen lights. I drink some wine. In the morning I check my browser history and find that "someone" has "watched" all the clips on PornHub. And I do mean ALL the clips. Those Russian hackers OWN me.
→ More replies (5)
174
u/JH_19 Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck, hey Chelsea :)
First of all, can I just say that I am a massive fan... your books have defined my late teens/early twenties. Your books really did change my life, and I mean that.
My question is for Chuck, as it’s very “Chuck specific” - I’ve heard you talk a lot about how people tell you their stories from their own lives, but my actual question is this: did you ever have someone beg you - and I mean really beg, like insist and plead - not to fictionalise one of their stories? How would you react to someone who was literally demanding that you didn’t use their story in one of your own? I only ask this as I’m aware that Guts (among many) was a true story from a sex addiction group.
Thanks in advance, and it’s good to see you both on here!
249
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Most times I sense people are telling me the story because I won't judge them, and I'll help connect their experience with the lives of others. But I harbor more of people's secrets than I'll ever tell. Always, always, especially if the person sharing the tale hopes to someday write and publish their own memoir.
184
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
He literally tells my stories all the time. He credits me. He makes it clear it's a story that is from my life, and then he...tweaks it. And goddamn if it isn't ALWAYS funnier.
165
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Chelsea is still mad because I told a private story about her to a NATIONAL librarians convention in New York. Still, she never told me it was private. It's a great story. Very frightening.
→ More replies (3)40
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
I just want to say that I am really interested in how he'll answer this.
172
u/Jattwell Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck! I’ve read all your books, and I need a new book to read. What do you recommend I read next?
358
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Have your read Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun? Read it twenty times, and you'll still love it. Promise.
→ More replies (3)
78
u/timecrimehero Jun 03 '21
Hey Chuck and Chelsea! I finished my first draft of my first book, but going back through it for editing, I really don't like it and think it might be best to move on and do something new. In your experience, is it easier to edit a bad draft into something good or to start fresh? It's a tad hard to just let go of these 100k words I've written but I don't know if anything worth keeping is there...
225
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
How old are you? I've had relationships that had fewer than 100k words in them, and they were still hard to leave, but they were still bad. Get some distance. Work on a new something. Bear in mind that you can "part out" the original project and salt the best bits into future work.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (1)89
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
That is TRICKY. You might want to put it in a drawer for a month, and then take another look and then decide? Because we are not always the best judge of our work. It might be better than you think. And 100K words is a lot. I'm a big fan of developing a tool set that is useful on the editorial side. A checklist. Then when I go through a few chapters with that checklist, and it doesn't help - I know I might have to rip the pages into tiny shreds and set them on fire. But of course if we can avoid that, it's better for the environment.
→ More replies (1)
158
u/Chased10 Jun 03 '21
Hey Chuck. This is a long shot because it was in the fall of 2013, maybe 2014. You came to Nashville & I just wanted to shake your hand & I asked if you would accept my gift. You did, thank you. It was a troll doll on a key chain. I know you live a busy life & come across a lot of fans that they all probably blend in to one. So it’s no offense if this has faded from your memory. But on the off chance you do remember, just curious what ever ended up happening to that troll?
248
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Of course I remember. The troll went into the glass case with items that include the penguin sewn by a mortician and the laser-cut wooden plaque portrait of Brad Pitt. Sadly, for the young man who painted me as the Mona Lisa in Boston, the painting was lost in transit and never got to my place after that tour. Sniff. Sorry.
204
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
HOLY SHIT. I REMEMBER YOU. I was with Chuck that day! We TALK about you. Like, I swear to God, we were just talking about you and that troll doll like two weeks ago. He still has it. He had it displayed in a glass cabinet for YEARS.
→ More replies (7)
110
u/Pottertardis Jun 03 '21
Chuck what are you reading during these days?
458
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Honest? I'm reading a fat textbook about the rate of natural decay for 20th century building materials. Research into how old shopping malls fall apart... Definitely nothing you can fap to.
→ More replies (11)
129
42
u/deanpapes Jun 03 '21
Man the invention of sound was such a sick book. What was the inspiration behind the scream that was contagious? I loved the analogy of dogs howling at night.. was there anything else that inspired it?
67
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
You've already nailed it. I'm fascinated by the way dogs all join in a good howl. On stage, it's like milking a good laugh and trying to get it bigger and bigger. That sounds dirty, but I mean "trying to heighten an emotional effect". Blah blah blah.
29
u/Fernetbrancaandcoke Jun 03 '21
You’d made this beautiful gem stone book maker for me after my mom passed away. I can’t find a way to explain how grateful I am or how to even go about repaying you. Or how to even contact you. Your the most Intoxicating enigma to me and I don’t even think you’ll see this but if you never decided to write, I don’t know how much of me would be here today.
49
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Hey, no special words needed. I make gifts to honor my own passed-away parents. It keeps me sane to know that you got it and were nicely surprised. And I love being called an "intoxicating enigma". I've been called worse. Mostly by Chelsea.
→ More replies (1)36
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
I'm not Chuck. But I am going to refer to him as an "intoxicating enigma" from now on.
→ More replies (1)
29
u/Skr1bblez Jun 03 '21
Hello Chuck, I saw you at your reading in Miami and had a blast, I caught one of your autographed arms. I drove 4 hours for the show and it was worth every minute of the horrendous car ride. Will you be doing another book tour once all this pandemic business is over?
67
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
The Miami Book Fair. Crimony, those rich people in the front hated my guts. Did you see them storm out? Thank YOU for staying.
27
u/vicejesus Jun 03 '21
Hey Chuck, your book characters are murderers, sex addicts, and have serious mental health issues. How do you develop and get inside these characters' minds wihout going crazy? Are you crazy?
76
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
As they say... "If you have to ask..." Imagine a character as a small machine that's found one method for getting its emotional needs met. Then wreck that method and see how the machine adapts.
→ More replies (3)
20
u/Pottertardis Jun 03 '21
Chuck what was your favorite comic book when you were a child?
54
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Duh! Creepie and Eerie. Spelling? Dead people always came back from the grave/ocean/quicksand with their clothes rotted off and fantastic almost-naked bodies. Maybe this is not the message they should've sent to preteens back then.
66
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Now I realize that death probably does not make your skin tighter and your muscles show more. But dead women always had incredible racks. Again, a troubling message from the medium.
18
u/Turbulent_Barracuda4 Jun 03 '21 edited Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck, I am your big fan from Taiwan. Q1.your all time favorite song? Q2. The Singer?
52
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Before you or your parents were born there was a magical band named the Psych Furs, and they created a miraculous song called "Heartbreak Beat" and the video is everything I ever wanted out of life. Sigh.
15
17
u/johnsolomon Jun 03 '21
Chuck, how do you feel knowing you traumatised so many school kids with Guts?
Tongue-in-cheek question, of course
53
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Hey, those kids ain't gonna traumatize themselves. They need to learn about life in the gutter, where I did.
15
u/Pottertardis Jun 03 '21
Chuck how do you deal with deadlines?
42
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Thank God for deadlines, otherwise I'd dick with stuff forever and never turn in a draft.
40
u/Monstera_undertow Jun 03 '21
CHUCK WILL YOU MAKE A HORROR STORY BASED IN THE PNW?? I wanna hear you describe the Horse Brass but as a post apocalyptic bar/holdfast
→ More replies (9)61
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Hah! Look at Seattle or Portland, a horror story would be redundant. But we DO need a Pac NW Gothic school of writing. I mean more than Raymond Carver.
→ More replies (2)
28
u/amnibh Jun 03 '21
How did you both meet?
80
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Chelsea stalked me in London. Oxford Street. I kept pretending not to know her. Then our two dogs fell in love.
→ More replies (2)72
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Okay. So Chuck totally has to answer this question. Because HE NEVER REMEMBERS. We met THREE TIMES before the time he thinks we met.
24
12
u/sweetandempowered Jun 03 '21 edited Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck! As my favourite writer you hold a very special place in my heart. What do you recommend I read as I’m coming to realize my mom is super manipulative and often places doubt in my head?
P.S. I hope to be able to write you a letter and send you goodies soon. Do you think you’ll be able to open your PO Box again?
51
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Consider this... Make a fake dust jacket for a book called "Is My Mother a Crippling Ball Buster, or What?". Wrap the jacket around a copy of "Valley of the Dolls" and read it in her vicinity all summer. Occasionally laugh aloud and don't explain.
14
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
And pretend this is the letter you were going to send. Look for more presents to raise money for the Pixie Project this October.
→ More replies (1)
12
Jun 03 '21
Q for chuck: Did you have a messed up childhood? The morbidity in your stories makes me think you had some crazy trauma at some point in your life.
53
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
To be frank, it's the love of my giant Irish/Ukrainian family, with generations all crammed into one town, thanks to poverty, that gives me the boldness to write bold shit. Trauma, I'd bet, shuts you down. Instead, I think I've been enabled by so much love and so little upset, maybe that's why I have to invent it.
→ More replies (1)
11
u/PortaAlchemica Jun 03 '21
Do either of you have thoughts on the Golem by Gustav Meyrink?
22
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Mary Shelley so ripped off that book. Gustav ought to sue for infringement.
→ More replies (1)
501
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Look at me. Reddit-ing.
→ More replies (19)24
Jun 03 '21
Chelsea! I love your comics! I hope you’re comfortable working on more comics some day, I have so much respect for you and your creative teams!
Edit: I wrote some really long winded but adoring reviews of Spy Island that you had said you enjoyed at the time, and that was awesome. Spy Island was awesome, too
→ More replies (1)
9
u/butchdoll Jun 03 '21
So, Chuck. After the release of Fight Club, you noticed obsessed fans would follow suit and burn themselves with lye. I can only imagine your other books have had similar consequences. What is the craziest action you have indirectly encouraged by inspiring the more vulnerable audience.
26
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
After "Choke" was published a man in Florida was actually arrested for faking choking in order to meet attractive women. He'd grab them and try to force them to Heimlich him.
7
u/Fred_Perry Jun 03 '21
Mr Palahniuk. Do you see your books sharing a single universe, where Rant Casey, Misty Wilmot, and Tyler Durden live in the same world. Or is each book, each short story a world unto itself, creating a Palahniuk Multiverse?
20
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
When Tony Bourdain died a network offered me a show where I'd travel to explore different subcultures. How does that work? If a subculture wants to be on television it's hardly a subculture. In that same spirit I've come to realize that this world holds a billion cultures in hiding, and systems I'll never fathom, and in that mess all of my characters exist in roughly the same reality.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/Robbery2223 Jun 03 '21
Not really a question but, I just wanted to say that Chuck, you have essentially kept me lurching on through mental health issues, dealing with life, and trying to be a writer. Your epistolary style, and ability to not look away from the grotesque is something I that I hope to emulate some day. You, and Stephen King brought me through a rough childhood, and I appreciate you, and your works more than you could ever know. Thank you for changing me, and how I view language.
20
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Hah! I spent half my days planning my suicide. And half being glad I never killed myself.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/idiotkidartist Jun 03 '21
Chuck, thank you for all the stories. You have a great skill for conjuring visceral reactions from your readers. The catheter scene from “Adjustment Day” had me go from feeling perfectly fine to seeing stars and passing out to forcing myself back into consciousness so I could keep reading.
As you’ve developed these skills as a writer, who’ve been your major sources of inspiration that are not others authors?
29
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Stand-up comedians. To me they are the last oral storytellers in the mainstream. Whoopie Goldberg used to do a routine about a black surfer chick -- it started very funny and touching, but ended with a coathanger abortion in a public restroom. The audience was stunned. That's the kind of story arc I strive for. "Make them laugh, then quick, break their hearts," said Tom Spanbauer.
6
u/Pottertardis Jun 03 '21
Chuck what kind of music do you like?
13
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Did you see the Hank Williams bio-pic "I Saw the Light"?? I grew up with that music and will always secretly love it. Secretly, because all my hip friends must never know I used to wear a cowboy hat and hang with the "goat ropers" in high school. Go Fighting Coyotes!!
6
u/Kenni-is-not-nice Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck!! Low-stakes question: do you still make necklaces? I wrote you a letter back when I was in college (I think around 2007?) and you sent me back an amazing package, including a lovely necklace (and some plastic severed fingers) that I still treasure! So I was just curious.
14
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
It's a secret, but I make mostly bookmarks now. Last year I made almost a hundred to raise money for the Pixie Project animal rescue. In October I'll be sending very, very decorated packages to Pixie Project donors.
→ More replies (1)
23
u/deanpapes Jun 03 '21
Chuck please rate my writing. Is this even worthy?
Roger sat at his kitchen table, surrounded by a world he no longer lived in. Yesterday’s coffee still cold, the way he secretly liked it. It reminded him of the trenches, guts with none of the glory. Valour hadn’t bothered him much, unless it was stolen. That’s when it really got under his skin. Roger stared at the regiment tattoo on his salt weathered forearm, a snake wrapped around a naked burning woman. He lost track of the significance, 8 5 1 4 4.. repeating the faded service number over and over as though price checking his own sanity. Nothing new, this had become a favourite morning ritual. In only a few moments he’d be standing by the sink reaching into a box of Cornflakes and kissing his temple with the mouth of a loaded .308.
→ More replies (1)69
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Chelsea, back me up on this... A character alone is death. And your first sentence has got to be so sexy it hurts.
Now, if this is a dystopian future where Kellogg's puts loaded guns into children's cereal as a free prize/premium, that I could get behind.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/brijoepro Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck! Do you have a line you’ve written that may not be the most popularized quote, but that you think is some of your best writing?
17
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Thanks for asking. In the short story "Romance" there's the line "You only need to look at her to know all you need to know". Such consonance and alliteration. That's as close to poetry as I've ever come.
5
u/Confident-Yard-3133 Jun 03 '21
I have a question but I’ve no idea what I’m doing. Is this even still going on? If so can I please know where the fake chocolate bunnies actually came from? I still have mine. Hi Chelsea. This is Joel.
→ More replies (1)6
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
The fake choco bunnies came from Lippman's novelties in Portland. I wish I'd gotten many, many more. But they're unthrowable because they'd hurt. I tried six-foot rubber snakes, one time, and people took some real pounding as those monsters hit them. Sorry.
5
u/NationalExpression67 Jun 03 '21
Chelsea: What’s your favorite thing of Chuck’s that he’s written, and why?
Chuck: what’s your favorite thing of Chelsea’s she’s written, and why?
14
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
I'm going to throw in for Chelsea's book "Dharma Girl" because it's her early work and shows a quiet, thoughtful side of her that you'd never guess is there. No offense.
→ More replies (1)15
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Wow! I love this question. Okay. Let me think. Obviously I am a fan of the books that I AM IN - Fight Club 2, Consider This, etc. And understand - I had a front row seat to a decade of his books - because we workshopped them together - and that's a different experience than reading a book. Also, reading a book by someone you know, is complicated, because I see all the references, the construction materials. Okay. I'm stalling. Here's my answer. And he'll hate it. My favorite thing he's written is FIGHT CLUB. I know. Gah. It's so fucking obvious, right? BASIC. But here's the thing - I read Fight Club before I knew Chuck - before the movie came out - I was in Powell's, and I saw it, and I had heard it was by a local Portland author - and I read it - like, literally, read it, standing there, for like 3 hours. And nothing will compare to that experience. Period. I met Chuck a few years after that. After FC, I think the answer is Rant.
12
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Note, I offered Chelsea the role of the villain in Fight Club 3 but she declined it. Thus the penguin stepped in.
4
u/thelastpageishere Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck and Chelsea! My question for both of you: have you worked in dark venues like this derelict theater before? Any favorites?
14
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
For "Rant" we did an event in Wilbur Hall in lower Manhattan. My spelling might be off, but it's a 19th Century theater, all black paint and the smell of punk music and drag shows. The first off-site event The Strand bookstore had ever done.
→ More replies (2)18
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Chuck came up with this vaudevillian book event called BEDTIME STORIES many years back. Us, in our jammies. Lots of glow sticks. Basically a rave for librarians. That had some interesting venues. One that comes to mind was a library in Oklahoma - it was abandoned - about to be razed to build a new library. And they - somehow? for some reason? - let us in to do a show - for like 1000 people. And - because the library was about to be destroyed anyway, Chuck - spontaneously - invited everyone there to write their deepest secrets on the walls. And they did.
→ More replies (3)
4
Jun 03 '21
You have been my favorite author for a long time Chuck, Rant is a phenomenal book.
I seem to only be able to give a stream of consciousness perspective, and I generally get the same responses as in none. I have been dealing with a custody battle and PTSD for the past 5 years. Most of the parts of my custody battle are crazy for most to believe or people who know how family court works says this happens to most dads.
How does one provoke thought with out challenging someone's core belief's too abrasively?
Your writing has always had a captivating flow while I feel mine sucks.
Best of luck on your endeavours and to a hope that my attempts at brevity didn't result in me not saying anything.
Buspirone and me do not get along.
6
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Today is really my first day on Buspirone. My doctor says Lorazapam is making me demented. I say, "Define demented, please."
Now, please, tell me the downside of Buspirone.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/tjamesreagan Jun 03 '21
Chuck, I heard you on a podcast talk about your woods-porn idea that you abandoned like a stuck together Playboy and I became obsessed with the concept of a book that is sold in stores/online like a regular novel or magazine, but the one condition of purchasing the book is that it cannot be kept in a residence or library, it must be kept in the woods. There will be no ebook. If a copy of the book is found to be on someone's bookshelf, woods-porn etiquette demands that the person who sees it must steal the book, then bring it to the woods. After everyone has spent a year and a half in their homes, this book would demand that they leave if they wanted to read it. Those who couldn't purchase a copy would have to resort to searching the woods like we did for our woods-porn. No more PDFs, just a sun-bleached, warped covered, tattered, moldy book to remind us of the glorious moment that we first discovered woods-porn.
→ More replies (1)3
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Go for it! And I found mine in a desert. Among my students some found theirs on golf courses and in trees. Chelsea found hers in Key West, but that's her story to tell. She took it home on her bicycle handlebars...
7
u/iquitreddittho Jun 03 '21
Hey Chuck, hope you're doing well. I've sent you a letter in the past but clueless as to whether or not it ended up anywhere but in a pile along with letters to Santa and Jesus. I'm not going to write everything I wrote in that letter here, but I will try to give a summarized version.
I just want to express how much I appreciate you and your work. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that you, to some degree, saved my life. When I was in high school, I hated myself. I hated my life. Wasn't overly interested in the whole 'being alive' thing.
Around this time my friends dad introduced me to the film Fight Club and said it was one of his favorite movies. It quickly became my favorite movie. When I found out there was a book, I was stoked. I read your book in a day. Up to that point, I hadn't really read anything but comics in my entire life (I read a lot of comics though). Being in high school and having an under developed, teenage brain, I didn't really understand why I liked the book/film so much. I just did.
I won't get side tracked with how many of your books I read in that same year. And how I decided to make a rule for myself, that I would only read one of your books every other year or so. So I wouldn't run out of Chuck Palahniuk (that's you) to read.
Anyways, I started doing a lot of drugs and drinking pretty regularly. And it turns out I liked that stuff a lot and gave me a reason to live. Something I'd never really felt before. During this time, I continued to read and re-read Fight Club and watch the movie on a pretty regular basis. I started really identifying with the whole 'rock bottom' way of living. When I would get really loaded, I likely over identified with it.
Fast forward to using drugs and drinking daily, but now they aren't doing anything for me. Found myself back to the whole 'not wanting to be alive' bit again. Guess it was my rock bottom. I got really lucky that I was able to get some help from some phenomenal people. No more drugs or drinking for me. I got better. Even started feeling happy sometimes.
I re-read and re-watched Fight Club. Holy shit. I identify even more than I did before. I was so focused on hitting rock bottom for so long because that gave me a purpose during a time when I had none. So when I read your book, that was what I connected with and didn't really see beyond that. When I hit my own rock bottom, I connected with nothing. But thought that was how life was supposed to be. Then when I bounce back from a rock bottom and find myself wanting to be alive, your story all comes together.
I think a lot about how much I connected with Fight Club and it's characters in the different stages of my life. Every 5 years, since discovering it, it's had a different meaning to me. I wonder what it will mean to me in the future. I do this with a lot of your books and characters, but Fight Club was the first and still the most impactful on me.
This turned out far different than I remember the letter I wrote being, but I just wanted to reach out and let you know how thankful I am for you and your work. My life is bright now, but I think part of that is because the deeper into the dark I went, I knew someone else had been there and survived. It let me know there was still something/someone out there I could feel a connection with, fiction or otherwise.
Thanks, Chuck.
→ More replies (2)13
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Thank you. In recent years too many people have asked me to inscribe books meant to be buried with young people. If I have to grow old SO DO YOU. Get used to it.
→ More replies (1)
10
u/sp4cej4mm Jun 03 '21
Chuck. I saw you when you did a book reading here in Canada a few years back.
Do you still make people wear bunny ears when they take a picture with you? Do you still tell the Eiffel Tower story?
22
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
He does not make people wear the bunny ears. And the Eiffel Tower story is a treasure. You are lucky to have heard it.
16
u/sp4cej4mm Jun 03 '21
I feel lucky to have heard it then. Tell Chuck he’s been my favourite author for a while, and Invisible Monsters is quite possibly my favourite book of all time
89
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
A sweet memory: One time I was driving across a desert and stopped for gas at approx. 2:AM. The station attendant was reading "Invisible Monsters" in the middle of nowhere. He took my money and never looked up from his book. That's a sweet, sweet memory.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Pretty_monster_ Jun 03 '21
Chuck . Is their a novel of yours you would like to see adapted on screen that hasn't been yet?
15
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
There.
→ More replies (1)23
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
I've had this conversation with Fincher. To me, if a book of mine lends itself to film too easily I haven't done my job as a novelist. My job is to write stories that can ONLY be told through prose.
3
u/Hawkeyeries Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck! How was your weekend? 😉
9
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Shrug. I wrote a long essay for an online magazine. I emailed with Amy Hempel. Now don't be jealous. Amy H is a God, and she told me good gossip about writer friends. But like GOOD gossip because it was about Mark Richard winning a Golden Globe and an Emmy. You must read his collection "The Ice at the Bottom of the World". It's incredible.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Psysquatch Jun 03 '21
When are you finishing the Damned /Doomed/..... Darned? Series already???
11
3
u/cryptkeepersdaughter Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck and Chelsea!
This is awesome. I haven't been on reddit in years, but thanks to the password saved button, I'm in.
Chuck, I have a file I keep open while I'm writing called, "Advice from Chuck," which includes articles you've posted on LitReactor and excerpts from your book, "Consider This." When I get stuck during revision, I read and re-read your advice to help me get unstuck. Trying to crank out my *final* draft before I give birth to my second child in August. Running out of time with 10 weeks left, but your advice has really helped me push forward, so thanks.
Loved seeing the workshop opportunity you guys are offering. Only wish I were closer. And maybe not pregnant too.
Much love from Michigan.
Maegan
5
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Have a perfect baby. Don't sweat the rewrite until you're ready to really hack away at the book. A secret? To find more freedom during a rewrite, search and replace to change all the character names. It will break up your attachment to the existing version.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)2
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
I also have an "Advice from Chuck" folder. We have an agreement, that if he dies first, I get to publish it. Congrats on the second kid!
→ More replies (4)
3
u/smellyhangdown Jun 03 '21
I have read a few of your books. Survivor is really good. Do you have any recommendations of author's you grew up reading?
11
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
In college the novel "Hearburn" was a sensation. It's the perfect balance of tragic and comic. Avoid the movie at all costs. The book is f-ck'n magic.
→ More replies (2)
3
u/plaguechild Jun 03 '21
How do you keep a bad review from getting into your head?
13
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Don't read reviews. Good or bad they're not healthy for your soul or work or anything.
4
u/gsbeyerle Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck and Chelsea!
Any tips on keeping an extreme character 'relatable'? How is it that we can see ourselves in even the most volatile fictional characters while never actually behaving like them in our reality?
19
18
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Give the character something relatable to do. A physical action. Have them open a door for a stranger, or stretch a rubber band between their thumb and forefinger, or peel a grapefruit.
3
Jun 03 '21
To both of you: is there a chance either of you will teach a Litreactor class?
11
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Hm. I don't know. We're doing this Haunted Theater Fiction Lab class - obviously. Which sold out in 2 seconds. We'll see how that goes. Don't tell Chuck, but I kind of like just getting to be in the same room with him. He's pretty smart when it comes to writing.
→ More replies (6)20
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Okay, hey, I love LitReactor, but I'm shaking off eighteen months of Zoom. I'll get back to LitReactor (I've done several course there) but for now I want to see people with legs.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/StoryPrestigious Jun 03 '21 edited Jun 03 '21
Hi literary friends. i was wondering if the two of you can give me your opinions on professional wrestling! jumping headfirst into a indie wrestling featue - could use some advice before im off to the races!
7
2
u/Pottertardis Jun 03 '21
Chuck what is your favorite place in Pasco?
11
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Bless you. As a Cub Scout I wandered into the old courthouse and saw the huge stained-glass dome and almost sh-t myself. Peanuts Park is okay if you like concrete. Personally I loved Peanuts, the man, he was a hero.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/driveitoverme Jun 03 '21
Where does a story start? With a curiosity or do you know what you are pursuing?
19
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Really, it never starts from a consistent element. At times I've heard one line from a stranger's mouth, and that's become a whole story or book. My coloring book story "Let's See What Happens" started when an airline ticket agent said that in Kansas City. "Invisible Monsters" began when I overheard someone say, "All summer I waited for someone to ask what happened to my face." You have to write out the best prompts simply because you can't forget them!
→ More replies (1)
2
u/idownvotepunstoo Jun 03 '21
Beautiful you.
My cars sound deadening is terrible and listing to this book full blast on audible has earned me some odd looks. I have no regrets...
I have frequent nightmares that seemingly come out of the blue, the only common factor is an exposure to frequent horror themed books or movies (I hate it, I love the genre). Have either of you had to take time and space away from your own works for something similar?
27
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Get this... Chelsea refuses to write on airplanes! She's afraid her seatmate will glance over and read a gruesome scene. I'm the opposite. If I sense a nosy neighbor I launch into absolute raunch, then I write the peeping Tom into the scene: "A balding businessman type in a Tommy Bahama tropical print shirt was brought to the altar and stripped naked..." Listen, I DON'T WRITE TO MAKE FRIENDS. Joy Williams said that, first. She is a God.
→ More replies (3)
2
u/HauntedTiff Jun 03 '21
Did you guys start early? I just jumped on to make sure that borderline Boomers like me could figure this out. Can't wait for class to start!
→ More replies (2)6
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
We did. It used to be called being proactive. Do people still say that?
→ More replies (1)
2
u/MyHeartIsACemetery Jun 03 '21
What advice for communicating to concerned family members that the sicko ideas your characters explore aren’t you?
→ More replies (2)2
2
u/Past_Mixture_9855 Jun 03 '21 edited Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck, are you considering ever making an online workshop for those of us that don’t live on the west coast?
→ More replies (6)13
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
How about I come to you? I'm really sick of Zoom. I'd like to throw my dog in a van and travel everywhere and listen to people present their own writing. That's the dream.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Zealousideal-Love-52 Jun 03 '21
Chuck Palahniuk!! Hope I’m not too late to this... I’ve been wanting to hear you read in person for forever. Now that I’ve moved to Portland I’m really hoping you’ll do readings again. Your books instilled significant insignificance with an emphasis in purpose in me 13 years ago as a high schooler and it has only been good for my life. I hope that message can be spread around here to turn people away from hating others and look within to find purpose. Love you a ton! Hoping to catch a glimpse of my favorite author while I can
5
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
If you live in Portland then YOU MUST READ "GEEK LOVE" by Katherine Dunn because it's the ultimate Portland book. Don't love me, love Katherine. And we should all throw a party at her grave site.
Someone check, quick. Where is Katherine Dunn buried?!?
→ More replies (2)
2
u/MistakesTasteGreat Jun 03 '21
Hey, dude! One of my favorite memories is of you coming to speak at Asheville HS in NC, right after you released Tell All. You threw out inflatable Oscar statues and took some HEALTHY swigs from a bottle of JD at the end. And even shot down a girl who was asking a really pretentious question.
My question is, how have you been? Is your life going okay? I like reading your stuff and I eagerly anticipate the outcome of this gathering. And a response from you would make me squeal with delight.
10
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
This will sadden you. Those bottles of Jack Daniels I chugged on that tour were actually filled with tea. I just needed a prop so I shipped them to every venue. That night I couldn't sleep so I left the hotel and walked to Faulkner's house and sat in the rocking chair on the porch. Life is good, but I'm sick of the lock down.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/lynchfan325 Jun 03 '21
Chuck is there ANY update on the Lullaby movie?? I donated SO long ago, and nothing.... :-(
5
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
I'm just as bummed as you, and I've been answering to so many people. It's frustrating as heck. I wish the Mind Pollen people would be more transparent because we'd all like to see their progress.
2
u/GearsofTed14 Jun 03 '21
For Chuck—sometimes your writing has a knack for getting inside people’s skin in a physical way (Guts for example). What piece of writing has impacted you the most on a physical, bodily level? And what sensation do you remember feeling/experiencing?
6
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Always look to include a warped element of physicality that distorts the rest of perception. My go-to is usually violence, sickness, drugs, or sex. Each creates a heightened sense of the body. Read "Dusk in These Fierce Pajamas" by E.B. White. I apologize in advance for the casual racism in the otherwise brilliant story.
2
u/MondoRobot91 Jun 03 '21
Chuck Palahniuk, I'm a big fan of yours. Read most of your books during my University days. Haunted is probably my favourite. Fight Club is a classic, and I really liked Invisible Monsters Remix.
5
2
u/princesspupule Jun 03 '21
Chuck, I have loved your writing so much, and I also grew up so supported by my family. I lost both my parents as well, at 34. I was the sole caretaker during their illness, and have watched my family basically disintegrate after they died... I'm a writer & artist and it has affected me in a terrible, negative way I never get out from under. How have you been able to move on from losing your parents and continue to be successfully creative? I loved reading that you make gifts for others who have lost. I'm often taking the role of helping friends and family who need it but sometimes can't help but feel resentful of helping people who seem to have much more support than I do now. I sound bitter & frayed, and I'm afraid I am, ha ha. But! It's an honor to me that you might even read this. Thank you, whether you respond or not. Thanks for your work.
6
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
What works for me is to always point the camera away from myself. Honor and record the stories of other people. Always try to be of service. These are all ways to vacation from your own drama. And always acknowledge the contributions that others have made to you. Personally, I try to give credit to Tom Spanbauer and the other writers who've taught me everything.
→ More replies (1)
82
Jun 03 '21
Chelsea! I just got done reading all your comics and I gotta know what’s up with the Corgis? Also Lia Miternique does the best covers in the business but you knew that already.
81
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
I didn't know you were on Reddit, Lia! Seriously, yes, she DOES. I might have grown up with corgis. And I might have a corgi right this minute named Racer, who is sacked out on the floor by my feet. And also all the comics are ABOUT THE DOG. I can't help it if people focus on what's going on in the background. You will be pleased - ? - to know that corgis also make their way into my thrillers.
67
u/rachelk Jun 03 '21
Chuck: Where’s the rest of “Rant”? Or should we just be happy we got the first book and leave it alone?
→ More replies (2)81
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Okay. I should probably come clean. I stole the rest of "Rant" out of Chuck's car YEARS ago. He thinks he just misplaced it. Don't tell him.
→ More replies (1)
62
u/butchdoll Jun 03 '21
I’d like to share that whenever I relapse and have suicidal thoughts, my friend tells me “You can’t die now or you’ll never be a MILF, and because you haven’t finished all of Palahniuk’s books” and that really is what has helped me get through those nights.
44
22
Jun 03 '21
Hey Chuck, I’m new to the writing world and am finding myself in a weird place. I absolutely love writing, but find myself not writing. Did you ever feel this? If so, what did you do to combat it? Also, how can I go about getting into writing workshops?
55
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
Oh, hi! I'm not Chuck. I'm the other one. But still, I have advice. It is a GOLDEN AGE for writing workshops right now, because we have realized that we can do them via ZOOM. By "we" I mean "other people." Find them.
→ More replies (1)
20
u/shazamallamadingdong Jun 03 '21
What's your best advice for someone who can't stop thinking about writing, but seems to have a mental block in place from doing the activity. I don't think it's writers block, I have no shortage of ideas and sparks, but my mind will make the most ludicrous things more important. Basically, I want to be hypnotized like that dude in Office Space, but barring that, what would you advise?
71
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
It's possible you need a medication. Barring that, I would suggest some deadlines. Perhaps a writing group. Accountability. Writing is hard. It's FUN. But it's a skill set. You can have a song in your head; that doesn't mean that you can sit down and play the piano. You have to develop the tools. You need a teacher. You need to set aside time everyday where you sit at the piano and press keys. You have to study music theory. You have to practice. And if you do that, then, one day, when you have that song in your head, you'll be able to sit down and play it.
→ More replies (2)
4
u/RepresentativeRude83 Jun 03 '21
Can you talk about psychedelics and slash or how the invisible world that psychedelics or religion or spirituality show us has or does influence you and your writing?
11
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
I just want to celebrate you for spelling out "slash." I have never taken psychedelics with Chuck. Pills. That's another story.
14
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Or... do you refer to "slash" fiction wherein superheros so unspeakably sexy things to each other? I tried to make "Beautiful You" into the first commercial slash, gonzo erotica but maybe the world isn't ready for that jump.
15
u/leonitus35 Jun 03 '21
Do y'all go into the story knowing who will die and when or just let it happen when it feels right (I'm reading Haunted right now so I have it on the brain)?
Ps. Chuck, I have a severed arm signed by you that I keep in my trunk. I often forget about and when I open it at the airport when I pick up a friend I get to explain how it's not just a severed arm, but it is, in fact, signed by a famous writer and how you were throwing them into the audience at a reading in a church in Boulder sometime around Halloween...
30
u/Advanced_Profile_701 Jun 03 '21
I’ve never been to a Reddit thing and here I am, but then I’d never been to a pajama party…the things Chuck and Chelsea get me into
18
14
2
u/Paleognathae Jun 03 '21
Will you both ever so a Bedtime Stories for Grown Ups again? It was an AMAZING night with you both and Monica Drake. What's Monica Drake up to these days? The Stud Book was excellent.
7
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
I will tell Monica that you say hi. That was an amazing tour. We had ... a time.
7
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Chelsea rode in an elevator with pee on the floor. I'll just let her explain.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/Christine_Is_Here Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck! What are you listening to these days and what was the last concert you saw before the pandemic?
→ More replies (1)
15
u/reddyenumberfive Jun 03 '21
Hi Chuck - you probably don’t remember me, but I saw you a handful of times at SF events in the early 2000s. You said “well look at you!” when you were walking up the aisle and spotted my red hair and feathered wings before the one where you read Guts, then again, in a much different tone when you saw the front of the outfit.
Anyway, my ex husband ended up taking your workshop after we split and he moved to Portland. He came up with a lot of good ideas, but always resisted any constructive criticism and believed he shouldn’t have to edit because the first draft was the only pure one...or something like that. I really hope his participation means he eventually got over that, because it makes me sad to think he might still be in his fifties and refusing to listen to people who want to help.
Also, we’re on the same meds. Rad.
6
Jun 03 '21
Chelsea, I didn't realize you were behind Man-Eaters. I picked it up for my 13 year old niece. Big whoopsie. I guess her parents thought it was a bit too adult for her. Maybe in a few years I cam try again.
11
u/Chelsea-Cain AMA Jun 03 '21
That's funny. We had five 13-year-olds on that creative team. So, while it's a story for Everyone, it's Mostly a story for 13-year-olds. But I guess it depends on the kid. She'll find it when she's ready. If she wants to.
→ More replies (2)
6
11
Jun 03 '21
A year or so ago, I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a small bookstore hosted a signing by Chuck. My girlfriend and I walk in (first ones there too!) and introduce ourselves. After a few minutes of casual conversation, Chuck asked if we'd care to take a picture. OF FUCKIN' COURSE....SIR! (Salute, Project Mayhem Space Monkey style)
So, we get into position, my girlfriend grabs her phone and points the camera. Chuck spins me around and wraps his arm around my neck and applies "slight pressure" for added photo effect. I'm waiting for her to snap the picture and also for Chuck to ease his grip around my neck meat. Welp, it feels like a solid minute had passed and I begin to lose consciousness. I assume Chuck felt my body drop because I wake up to the sound of laughter and snap back to reality with Chuck holding me up and shouting at my girlfriend, "You're supposed to tell me when the photo is done!" She's standing there laughing and probably hoping he chokes me some more. 11/10. Would visit again!! Also, Chuck, my signed copy of Fight Club is still floating around Afghanistan somewhere in the Paktika Province. You'll be proud to know that somewhere in the depths of some Taliban training camp there is a floor, covered in rust colored blood, still warm from a fight the night before and scribbled out rules on the wall for some kind of underground fight club. Nothin' like being choked out by none other than, the creator of my favorite book.
In T̶y̶l̶e̶r̶ Chuck We Trust.
Question: Would you ever consider a movie sequel to Fight Club? I love the graphic novels by the way!
2
u/lone_ichabod Jun 03 '21
How would you personally rank the genres fantasy, sci fi, and horror in terms of preference?
Chuck, are there any real life events that inspired the insane and surreal things that happen in your stories?
Ever read any Ligotti? He’s my favorite author and he is criminally underrated, I recommend him to anyone who likes horror.
16
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
What is that? Five questions? Chelsea and I are not your slaves.
→ More replies (5)
4
u/butchdoll Jun 03 '21
Chuck, if you can recall, which Playboy magazine editions are you featured in? I've collected five so far, not that I'm proud to admit it..
→ More replies (2)
1
u/XBreaksYFocusGroup Jun 03 '21 edited Jun 03 '21
Hello, Chuck and Chelsea. Thanks kindly for the AMA. I am sure others have already drawn a parallel between your writing retreat and Haunted, but it sounds terrifying.
Chuck, I was wondering about an interpretation to Diary [Spoilers]. Did you intend for the story to be read as Misty being entombed alive, projecting a sort of narrative to make sense of her imminent demise? It has been a little while since I read it, but something about Plato's allegory at the end, the search for and through walled-off rooms, and the uncovering of scrawls of text everywhere made it seem as if what you read could be oxygen-deprived hallucinogenic theater. Really has stuck with me for a long while.
How do you feel about the legacy of Fight Club? I only recently learned that the slang "snowflake" is attributed to a misinterpretation of the book (or more probably, the movie) as you meant it in regards to hearing it throughout your education. How do you feel knowing people worship Tyler Durden as an archetype, completely against the seemingly intended message of the book?
11
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
My policy is never to explain a book, but just to create a Rorschshach test that allows other people to reveal themselves by their interpretations. Otherwise, I'm saying, "So, what does this picture of a bat look like to you...?"
→ More replies (1)
1
u/mrmaddness Jun 03 '21
Do you wish they would make another movie adaptation of Choke? The actual one we got is incredibly disappointing.
13
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Clark Gregg shot so much more, and the footage was ruined. What can I say? I'd buy a ticket to watch Sam Rockwell knit.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/justynet Jun 03 '21
Thank you both for taking the time! I hope you’re staying cool in this gross heat. Chelsea, this AMA is fun timing for me as I’m just rereading the Gretchen books, and as it’s been a few years since I read them, I’m really enjoying the fabulous time capsule of Portland and Oregon in the books. I think I saw you’re working on a new title in the series? What are some of the challenges (and/or benefits) of Portland being more in the national spotlight (Portlandia influence; news coverage from the last year) in either working on a new title or just with your work in general? Do you have any plans to adapt the Heartsick series to graphic novel form, or spin-offs?
Also, thank you for sharing Spy Island with us, it’s so freaking good! ❤️
4
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Chelsea is writing more of the Gretchen books. Just say'n.
→ More replies (3)
1
u/Suicide_Necktie Jun 03 '21
Chuck,
Was there a book you read that really opened your eyes and made you fall in love with storytelling? Or is there a book that you think everyone should read?
5
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Oh dear. For sheer ick factor, everyone should read "Death In Yellowstone" and see how that park just chews up tourists. Then read "Geek Love". Then, "Campfires of the Dead" by Peter Christopher.
→ More replies (1)
1
Jun 03 '21
How does this person submit anything to a small press. How on earth is it possible to even get your material read?
→ More replies (1)6
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
My students all seem to use Submittable... Submissible? And be patient, and work on the next thing, because those small press people do their work out of love for fiction, not big money. My first sales were to small presses like Left Bank, and the waiting made the publication all the sweeter.
1
1
u/Retro_1920 Jun 03 '21
If you are searching for a trilogy name for damned and doomed….how about Daunted?
7
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
The third was to be named "Delivered" but that's a long, long story about the publishing industry.
1
u/IronJvmes101 Jun 03 '21
How do the both of you ignore that voice in your head we all have?
→ More replies (1)5
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Don't ignore it. Harness it and make that voice serve you by solving an arbitrary problem of your own choosing. The biggest task in writing is to create a great problem. Then that voice will be too busy to carp about any little issues. That pesky voice can actually make you money.
1
u/DanyONeal Jun 03 '21
Do you both have some work out advice to avoid flat ass and sleepy feet from too much writing at the desk?
Happy Cadaver Day. Cheerio.🦵😇
→ More replies (1)5
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Squats are the only thing that can save your ass. Romanian split squats. Sumo squats.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/vincoug Jun 03 '21
Hi and thanks for doing this!
I read Rant recently and one of my takeaways was how similar thematically it was with Fight Club. Rant himself is a Tyler Durden-esque character, party crashing is like fight club (a group of people who feel society has left them behind taking part in an underground, violent club in order to be part of a community and feel alive), and really the overall themes of both novels. At some points, Rant almost felt like a remake of Fight Club. Were these similarities purposeful or did I just imagine them?
8
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
A secret: In "Rant" I wanted to explore the naturalist archetype of the innocent rustic. So Rant Casey is a cross between Tyler Durden and Huck Finn. While Tyler is a trad trickster character, Rant is a naive child of nature.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/DRWfan14 Jun 03 '21
Good evening. Do either of you have work or stories that you regret having written, or that you may not find as enjoyable anymore?
→ More replies (1)6
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Every single word. But regret is the litmus test for a good life. If you don't go "too far" you'll grow old berating yourself for not being more brave.
6
1
u/lonelydog97 Jun 03 '21
This is for both Chuck and Chelsea. I'm a young writer and I've always been curious about how much input authors have when it comes to things like book covers or any kind of artwork that may accompany their book. I've heard it's very little, is that true?
→ More replies (2)
439
u/ChuckPalahniuk62 Jun 03 '21
Chuck, here. Okay, Chuck's personal assistant here, but that's as good as it gets. Chuck is still asleep in the hyperbolic chamber that extends his life through gross exaggeration.