Have you ever felt like your life is an episode of a comedy series? Do you sometimes feel as if the weirdest things, not alien weird but like coincidental weird, are happening to you? Have you ever felt peculiar with your peers? If you do then you can take writing advice from David Sedaris.
David Raymond Sedaris, also known as David Sedaris, is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay “SantaLand Diaries“. He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994.
If you resonate with these sentiments, then delving into David Sedaris’ works could be a game-changer for you. His unique ability to extract humor from life’s quirks and present them in a relatable, down-to-earth manner is unparalleled. Through his writing, Sedaris invites readers into a world where the mundane transforms into the extraordinary, and the ordinary into the uproarious. His anecdotes often strike a chord, leaving you nodding in agreement or bursting into fits of laughter. Beyond the comedic aspect, Sedaris has an uncanny knack for revealing the poignant moments that reside beneath the surface of everyday life. It’s this delicate balance of humor and insight that sets him apart in the world of literature
Here are some David Sedaris quotes that would surely put you at the edge of your seat, writing-wise;
“When asked “What do we need to learn this for?” any high-school teacher can confidently answer that, regardless of the subject, the knowledge will come in handy once the student hits middle age and starts working crossword puzzles in order to stave off the terrible loneliness.”
― David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day“For the first twenty years of my life, I rocked myself to sleep. It was a harmless enough hobby, but eventually, I had to give it up. Throughout the next twenty-two years I lay still and discovered that after a few minutes I could drop off with no problem. Follow seven beers with a couple of scotches and a thimble of good marijuana, and it’s funny how sleep just sort of comes on its own. Often I never even made it to the bed. I’d squat down to pet the cat and wake up on the floor eight hours later, having lost a perfectly good excuse to change my clothes. I’m now told that this is not called “going to sleep” but rather “passing out,” a phrase that carries a distinct hint of judgment.”
― David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day“Every day we’re told that we live in the greatest country on earth. And it’s always stated as an undeniable fact: Leos are born between July 23 and August 22, fitted queen-size sheets measure sixty by eighty inches, and America is the greatest country on earth. Having grown up with this in our ears, it’s startling to realize that other countries have nationalistic slogans of their own, none of which are ‘We’re number two!”
― David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day
As a humorist, David Sedaris teaches us that paragraphs can have a whole lot of meaning than just stacking up words to create an idea. It is more of expressing one’s uniqueness. A long paragraph leads to a point, another writing method that all of us can learn something from.