Vonnegut's Seven Principles to Writing a Confusing Novel

• Find a subject you care about.
• Do not ramble, though.
• Keep it simple.
• Have the guts to cut.
• Sound like yourself.
• Say what you mean to say.
• Pity the readers.

This is how I perceive it all:

•  Find a subject you care about and put it into the most complex form of writing so that barely anyone can decipher the subject
• Keep switching from plot to plot as if nothing happens
• Create 40 plots
• Have the guts to cut (thank god for this principle)
• Sound like yourself ( I'll give him this one)
• Say what will confuse people
• Make the plot so confusing that you will have to feel sorry for the readers for picking up the book

Maybe Vonnegut wasn't necessarily talking about SH5 in particular when quoting this, but still, it explains his own writing style, or the correct writing style (which does not exist). Practically none of this relates to his writing style in SH5. The way I perceive the principles might make it look as though I didn't understand the novel. This is untrue. I had a hard time finding which subject he is actually writing about specifically. He has multiple. Plural. Rule 1 broken right off the bat. His dozens of plots make it a whole lot more difficult to find the subject as well. There go rules 2, 3 and 4. I haven't really read much of his other works, so I'll say he sounds like himself. How can you say what you mean to say when it seems as though you have multiple opinions? I don't know.

The last perception is a joke. Vonnegut states that "our audience requires us to be sympathetic and patient teachers, ever willing to simplify and clarify--whereas we would rather soar high above the crowd, singing like nightingales. That is the bad news." So the real explanation is to feel sorry for the reader because they are less informed about the subject that you wrote about. Yes, I do believe that this principle applies very well to the novel.
So it goes.