Hunter S. Thompson: The Craft of Writing Effectively

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No writer has influenced my style like Hunter S. Thompson.

Most of the time (in his early life at least) Hunter was a drug-addicted, alcoholic, hippy, “gonzo” journalist who was an embarrassment to whoever hired him and didn’t respect anything or anyone.

He was monstrously degenerate, exhilarating a life of absolute raw freedom.

Then, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once said of his own career, “Now is the time to get a grip.” Hunter stepped up. He got good. He made a beast of himself, subsequently freeing himself from the pains of mankind.

And he killed himself after doing what he loved all his life.

The problem is every 20-year-old boy reads Thompson, tries to rip it off, and mistakes their subsequent third rate style as substance. The worst don’t grow out of it. Like Sean Penn.

I’m in the process of unlearning Thompson because he influenced me so much. But if you haven’t read or heard of him, his writing advice will change your life.

Get Stomped By the Hell’s Angels

Hunter had real talent as a writer with style and substance, but the industry didn’t care about that.