What Makes Writing Immersive?
The Nation ran a story in 1965 by a writer that had started making a name writing for various outlets. This one was called “The Motorcycle Gangs: Losers and Outsiders.” It detailed the rise of what we call 1% motorcycle gangs today—groups like the Hell’s Angels, Bandidos, and Vagos. It was a successful article, and prompted a book deal from several publishers that would go on to launch the writer’s career. You might’ve heard of him:hompson was known for his signature style—something he called “gonzo journalism.” It makes no claim of objectivity, and usually features the point of view of the writer. Thompson experimented with the style in Hell’s Angels, but it wouldn’t be until 1970 that the term would exist. He wrote a piece called “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved,” in collaboration with artist Ralph Steadman. There’s a lot of his later Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the spirit of this—including the ending, where Thompson and Steadman realize they’ve become exactly what they’ve been judging the entire time. Gonzo, the New Journalism of people like Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe, the literature-cum-memoir musing of Joan Didion, they all have one thing in common—they’re incredibly immersive. What makes a biting story on the Kentucky Derby and a book that starts with a dreamlike drive down California’s highways (Didion’s seminal Play it As it Lays) so immersive? Creating something immersive has long been something writers have pulled hair and rent garments over trying to figure out. Fantasy writers obsess over it.
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