Kurt Vonnegut on Creative Writing Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., one of American literature's foremost satirists, published 14 novels between 1952 and 1997, including his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five. In his introduction to Bagombo Snuff Box, a collection of his early short fiction, he offered aspiring writers what he described as "Creative Writing 101" in the form of eight rules. Here they are: Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. Every character should want something, [...]