In this piece I will look at the works of a feature writer and discuss the things that stand out and are interesting and also the things that are an annoyance.
Charlie
Brooker uses his style of writing in a way that makes the audience agree with
his opinion, he does this by his use of persuasive language and an informal
tone to show his views. I think he does this to show how he is a completely
different writer than most and is willing to go the extra mile to have his work
stand out and get people talking. Brooker obviously writes to get a strong
reaction from his readers by showing that they could be being manipulated or
lied to. I feel like his style is the main reason many satirical news sites or
news pieces are getting really popular in recent years, and I also think the
ways in which news is presented is also due to the way that Mr Broker presented
his work in the mid 2000’s.
In this
article that I found (“Don’t judge me, but I love sniping games”) Charlie
describes his love of sniper-based videogames, particularly Sniper Ghost
Warrior 2 and sniper Elite V2. His use of language and writing to convey his
words is really interesting yet overly simplistic enough for people who are not
necessarily fans of videogames would understand what he means when explaining
the core mechanics. For example, he mentions how in Sniper Elite V2 you are
often rewarded with “astonishing slow-motion sequences depicting your bullet
exiting the barrel… passing through the body of your victim”, now that sounds
really harrowing but the way Broker writes about it, it somewhat makes it
charming and just a normal conversational piece instead of a horrifying part of
the game.
Another
thing that gets me interested in Charlie Broker’s words is how once again when
describing a crucial part of the mechanics of being a sniper is that the game
has a shocking amount of detail of the inner organs. “It actually shows
specific internal organs being ruptured in graphic detail, so you know whether
you’ve hit them in the lung, liver or the kidney”. This shows me that while
Charlie Broker is clearly a fan of the game he is also somewhat disturbed by
the level of detail on the internal organs, he also mentions that you can make
the enemy’s testicles explode “like a pair of microwaved eggs” showing his
colourful use of language. (With this piece about sniping games, Charlie Broker
ended up being a pre-order bonus for Sniper Elite 3 being one of Hitler’s
commanders).
This piece
about sniping video games is really interesting mainly with the use of words
and how things are described in detail but also explained really simply. It
really stands out from when I have been reading other articles and news pieces
about sniping games because those writers only talk about the game, how it
plays and what they think of it rarely do they go into detail and add little
anecdotes like Charlie Broker does throughout this piece making it immediately
stand out and be different. This writing style is the main reason why I enjoy
Charlie’s work and am always interested in the new ways that he uses his own
experiences when playing games especially when he goes on a big long winded way
of saying how much more impactful and gruesome the kills should be in Sniper
Elite 3 “after an even more explicit close-up of the bullet boring a path
through some Nazi intestine, the camera hurtles to the other side of the world
and shows his sweetheart’s expression” he then goes onto say in the next
paragraph “At this point it’s probably worth stating that in real life I’m so
squeamish I have to close my eyes while browning mince” shows a complete contradiction
of what he is like when playing these sniping games.
In this
second article that I found (“Forget those creative writing workshops. If you
want to write, get threatened”) Charlie Broker writes about how he seems to
have struggles of his own when trying to get ideas for writing articles and how
to make these articles make sense. His very honest tone with this piece
definitely makes it seem very real and a personal struggle that he goes through
when coming up with ideas for stories, “there isn’t much advice I can give them
and partly because I suspect they’re actually seeking encouragement rather than
practical guidance”.
Another
thing that has me interested in this article is how honest Charlie Broker is
when giving advice where he does not want to give any because in his words “I’d
prefer you to never achieve anything, ever” this shows me that he is sick of
giving people advice when they could just write normally and see if it gets
seen by anyone or by a group of people that would be interested in the things
they talk about. Further in this article Charlie talks about things that many
writers go through that being writers block this specifically hits me when
writing about how hard it can be “Some days I’ll rapidly thump out an article
in a steady gaze, scarcely aware of my own breath. Other times it’s like slowly
dragging individual letters of the alphabet from a mire of cold glue.” The
language and words used here make this article a lot more interesting to read
because it is not boring to read or a slog to get through it is simply
compelling to hear about an acclaimed writer go through the same troubles and
struggles that I myself have went through when writing and coming up with ideas
for a short story.
“Anyway the
trick is to teleport yourself into that productive trance-state as quickly as
possible, therefore minimising procrastination and maximising output”. This
tells me that Charlie Broker is often thinking aloud when wanting to solve some
issues like these ones and how well he can get to the point in his work and how
much hes wanting to get a hold of being able to concentrate. His colourful use
of language also shines through near the end when mentioning how to get good at
writing and how well a deadline will work to get people motivated to do writing
that will get noticed. “Forget about luck. Don’t fret about talent. Just pay
someone larger than you to kick your knees until they fold the wrong way if you
don’t hand in 800 words by five o’clock. You’ll be amazed at what comes out”.
This is the kind of advice that many people would laugh at and think would be
pointless considering it sounds a bit over the top but that’s just the way that
Charlie Broker writes using his colourful use of language to show how different
he actually is as a journalist.
There are
things that I like about these articles mainly the ways that they are written
and how well worded they are having some parts comedic effect, more parts
serious tone, final part great writing. The few things that I do not like that
much about this article is how much time is spent on telling the reader that
people should not go seeking advice from prolific writers and just keep writing
and eventually they are get better at it. Another thing that I do not like
about this article is that the less supportive language is used in the
beginning parts while near the end it just mentions actually advice for writers
contradicting itself. (But I feel like it was written this way on purpose to
get people reading to see if there is any actual advice)
Bibliography:
Forget Those Creative Writing Workshops. If You
Want To Write, Get Threatened. [online]
Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/16/charlie-brooker-writing-deadlines>
[Accessed 22 December 2020].
Don't Judge Me, But I Love Sniping Games | Charlie Brooker. [online]
Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/17/dont-judge-me-i-love-sniping-games>
[Accessed 28 December 2020].
