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September 13th: HA! I read from MY Novel :-p

2007-09-13 · story · Hank · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Comedy & performance · tags: song or performance

Hank, saying John ignored his question, reads the first page of his own unpublished novel, then gives feedback on the Paper Towns flashback and advises would-be writers to explore by taking a walk in their own brain.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting; John ignored Hank's question, so Hank reads the first page of his unpublished novel

  • ★★ Hank says John did not answer the question Hank asked him but ignored it and asked his own question instead. (playful) — 00:00:00 · John Green
  • ★★★ Hank says he is ignoring John's question and, since John read from his novel, will read the first page of his own unpublished, unfinished novel. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank says his novel is unfinished, has no agent, and will probably remain unpublished forever. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:00

00:00:32 — Reading: Danny, his Buddhist mother, the bacon, and "I've been lying to you"

  • ★★ In the excerpt, Danny's mother offers bacon though they rarely eat meat, for religious and financial reasons; Danny jokes that pigs are not on the Buddha path. (fiction) — 00:00:40
  • ★ The excerpt says meat had not been cheap since before Danny was born but was getting cheaper, and things on the whole were getting better. (fiction) — 00:00:40
  • ★★★ Danny's mother cries; she had been a strict Buddhist since meeting his father, long unseen, and has been losing interest in religion. She ends: "I've been lying to you." (fiction) — 00:01:38

00:02:30 — Offer to finish the chapter; feedback on the Paper Towns flashback cliffhanger

  • ★★ Hank says he would not mind finishing the (short) chapter and asks to be told whether anyone is interested. — 00:02:15
  • ★★ Answering John's request for input, Hank says the only problem with the Paper Towns flashback is that he cannot read the rest of the book; cliffhangers drive him crazy. (playful) — 00:02:15 · Paper Towns

00:03:02 — Thanks to viewers who shared September 11 experiences

  • ★★ Hank thanks everyone who shared their experiences of September 11th, especially people who were very young then. — 00:03:02
  • ★ Hank remarks that seven years is a long time, referring to the time since September 11th. — 00:03:02
    • check: Seven years — slip of the tongue

00:03:15 — Writing advice: start with a line and take a walk in your brain

  • ★★ Hank says his novel is about a third of the way to normal novel length and that he began by simply writing down its first line. (hedged) — 00:03:02
  • ★★★ Answering people who ask how to become a writer, Hank says writing is exploring, a walk in your own brain; don't worry about being a writer or novelist. — 00:03:34

Humor (significant)

  • Hank thanks John for answering his question, then immediately contradicts himself. — 00:00:00

    “No, you didn't. You didn't. You ignored my question, and then you asked me a question.”

  • Hank introduces the novel he is about to read. — 00:00:00

    “unfinished, unrepresented, and probably will remain unpublished forever”

  • The excerpt ends on the mother's confession, and Hank turns it into a TV-style cliffhanger. — 00:02:15

    “What's Danny's mom been lying about? Tune in next time to Brotherhood 2.0 to find out!”

  • Hank's writing advice: take a walk or a bike ride in your brain. — 00:03:34

    “But don't drive, because that's bad for the environment.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Hank's untitled novel (2007)

Also: Brotherhood 2.0 · Buddhism · Danny · Paper Towns · September 11 attacks

Replies to

Later videos replying to this one

Part of an exchange of 4 videos, 2007-09-11 – 2007-09-14.