Ballard imitation exercise for Wed. the 8th (due Tues.)

Think of it as a one-page or half-page story. update: post this in your blog but also bring four copies to class. (Sorry for the change.) Tips on how to imitate the writing of Crash, which is also a good way to understand it.

1. use a motif: Ballard discusses everything in mechanical terms, using the peculiar language of machines. In American Psycho the narrator discusses everything in terms of consumer products and buying. Use a "language" (such as the language of beauty, military talk, medical jargon, computer talk, academic/theoretical jargon, architectural terms) and limit yourself to this language. 
2. use technical, descriptive language: Ballard is descriptive, but usually in a dry, almost pedantically detailed way. His tone is almost never casual or colloquial.
3. if you want, use a transgressive style: this is optional: but you can talk about disturbing or taboo behavior without giving an indication of whether the behavior is good or bad.
4. set it in a familiar, yet imaginary world: as we discussed, Ballard makes his world distinct by limiting it. This is a great lesson for any fiction writer. What if a fictional story had an amusement park feel with bright colors, games, rides, clowns, and gaffers. That's a world: real yet not.

This can be short and is essentially for fun and as a way to understand experimental fiction. Don't sweat it too much.