Posts filed under ‘WALT’S OBSERVATIONS’
THE NEED FOR OBSERVATION
The following is my observation of the writer to be constantly aware of the world he or she occupies. I do a great deal of reading, both fiction and nonfiction, and as I read find a great deal of depth some authors give, to their characters in the case of fiction or the events they are recording in the case of nonfiction, by asides that bring to their writing, details which enliven their work, springing from the well of their life’s experiences. These details are born from a life spent closely observing their world. Only from my limited experience as an author do I speak of the importance of a keen sense of observation necessary to enhance your stories, bring life to your characters, to add dimension to their experiences.
To those experience authors who may stumble across this blog, I am perhaps stating the obvious, the power of observation and the ability to file those observations away. Then as a character is being developed, you go back to that well of memories to breathe life into that being of your imagination.
Can this strong power to observe be taught?
When an individual decides to become a writer, if he hasn’t already spent his life in absorbing the world around can he suddenly begin?
Are writers born or created?
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN VS JIM BUTCHER, PADDING VS ACTION
In my last piece where I discussed how my approach to reading a book has changed since becoming a writer, I mentioned that I noticed that some authors overwrite. They add a vast amount of unnecessary detail which pads, and in my opinion, slows down the story.
I, on the other hand, feel I don’t give enough detail. I have had stories rejected where the editor said that it wasn’t a story but an outline. I hope to remedy this and will discuss it my approach to the ‘fix’ in a future piece.
The example of an author that gives far more detail in his stories than I feel is necessary is George R. R. Martin. I know this may ruffle some feathers and that he is all over the bestseller lists, but I stand by my observations.
I have read a couple of his books and what I find is an opulence of description that is totally unnecessary. If there is a banquet, he describes in great detail what people are wearing. There is nothing wrong with this, but to go on and give the history of garments and belt buckles I find does not add anything to the story and slows down the action to a crawl.
Another fault I find in his very popular series is a total lack of advancement in technology and the life of the characters. In one story he talks of a sword that has been in the family for a thousand years and is in use by the current generation. In the course of a thousand years, shouldn’t some advance been made in warfare, for better of for worse.
I have read another fantasy series, The Codex Alera, by Jim Butcher. His stories are fast paced and not padded by details that add nothing to the story. His characters use ‘furies’ which are natural powers of the earth. In one story he explains that the culture once used an advanced technology which is now long forgotten. Since the discovery of the ‘furies’ the technology became obsolete. I find this detail more satisfying than believing that no advancement has occurred in a thousand years.
These are the observations I have made as a writer. If you want, let me know how right or wrong you think I am.
READING AS A WRITER
I’ve always been an avid reader to the point where it’s almost an obsession. I cannot remember the last time I was not in the process of reading a book. If I go anywhere where there is the slightest chance of waiting, I feel naked if I do not bring a book along.
I’m sure most writers would agree that being a compulsive reader is a prerequisite for being a writer.
What I would like to discuss in this piece is how the appreciation of the book I am reading has changed. I began writing fiction approximately twelve years ago, and since then I have noticed that the qualities I look for in a book are different. Before I became a writer I was just appreciating the story at face value. Now I look for much more.
Now, when I read a book I look for character development. I look for descriptions of the character and how this sometimes leads to overwriting of the book. I will discuss this in an upcoming piece giving examples. Plot is something I examine, wondering if the author outlined the story or if events occur which the author did not see coming. In my writing, I sometimes use a dynamic outline with nothing cast in stone. I also have events occur that are created during the writing process.
Another quality I look for in a story is background information to explain details in the story. In science fiction, horror and fantasy not everything needs to be explained, nor should it be. But there comes a point where some background is necessary.
These are some of the changes I have in mind when reading. I wonder if other writers
approach a story differently since they began writing.
THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD by H.P. LOVECRAFT
Our lab-mix, Millie, has not tolerated the thunderstorms very Here in southeastern Pennsylvania we have endured, for the last week or so, and continue to endure almost daily rain and thunderstorms.
well. My computer table is rather small with a printer beneath and all the necessary plugs and cords. During one particularly violent storm Millie squeezed all of her 61 pounds under the table while I was working. I fear that if I decided to turn on the vacuum cleaner during one of these events I would surely send poor Millie over the edge.
These storms, however, provided the perfect atmosphere for my latest reading endeavor, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft.
The background of a good thunderstorm forms the perfect atmosphere of a story full of the nameless and unspeakable.
Unlike most of Lovecraft’s writing efforts, primarily short stories, this work is a short novel, one of his longest works. The story begins with Joseph Curwen and follows his activities during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Curwen is consumed with certain mystical activities involving obscure chemistry and strange chants. Charles Dexter Ward is his great-great-great-grandson and follows in his relatives footsteps.
I love Lovecraft’s stories and his style of writing. However, I think he would have some difficulty finding a publisher in today’s market. This effort is almost exclusively narrative. As usual, the atmosphere of the story is rich with the bazaar and implied bazaar, but he occasionally violates the writer’s rule of ‘show don’t tell’.
Yet, no matter how archaic his work may be, I still enjoy his stories a great deal.
ANOTHER CLASSIC NOVEL
Writer’s Digest once published a list of famous authors and the books they considered essential books in their lives. One book mentioned by a great deal of them was One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The English translation was first published in 1970. In 1982, Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
I felt an obligation to obtain this novel and recently finished reading it. It is both a haunting and haunted story. The one problem I had was the names and remembering which character was which, but Marquez provides a genealogy chart to help in this matter. The problem was that many of the names are very similar, but that confusion, on my part, was a small price to pay. This was a most excellent read. It’s one of those stories that is a little difficult to get into but once you’re there, you’re sorry when you’re finished.
It essentially follows a family that establishes a town in the Caribbean. The exact location is never revealed nor is the date. The story is populated by some characters that live well over a hundred years and by a healthy amount of ghosts. The book is full of both sorrow and humor. One common theme for most of the characters is no matter how many family members or friends they have, they experience a feeling of solitude in their lives.
I highly recommend giving this book a try.
A FATHER’S DAY POEM
The members of my writers group, The Wordwrights, were given an assignment to write a Father’s Day piece. I decided to write a poem.
The poem is bleak, but it reflects a trend I see.
I could be totally wrong. I hope I am.
THE FATHER THAT NEVER WAS
Contributing their seed,
They flee,
Gone.
Not knowing life was passed,
Never hearing the first cry
In the silent night,
Creating a hollow being,
Guidance from the streets
Of despair,
Walking a path
Into a world
Of dead ends,
Death, all too young
The only future.
A NEW APPRECIATION OF AN OLD STORY
For the last few months I’ve been doing a lot of reading and I’d like to share with you a book that I recently finished that I found to be a fantastic read.
I’ve been haunting the local Goodwill Store lately, picking up books and stumbled across a paperback written by Nikos Kazantzakis and first published in 1952. The title of the book was well-known to me but I had no idea of what the story involved. I should add that he is also the author of The Last Temptation of Christ. The title of the book I wish to discuss is his novel, Zorba the Greek.
Who has not heard of this book, yet again how many continue to read this work? If I hadn’t stumbled upon it I too would have remained ignorant of this fantastic story.
The story takes place in Crete. The two main characters are the narrator, whom I think is never named. He is bookish young man who comes to Crete with money, hoping to make more. He hires Zorba and together they start mining for coal.
The thrust of the book is the frequent talks about what life is about and the existence of God between a young man wrapped in words and not life and 65 year old Zorba who has experienced life to its fullest and is not ready to stop his search for love and his lust for life.
This is not meant to be a review but only to let you know that this is a most satisfying read and worth the trouble to seek out this book.
Michael Dirda, a book critic for the Washington Post, loves used book stores. He said in one of his books that you should try reading something written fifty years ago indicating that there are long forgotten treasures out there. I found one.
MY INTERNATIONAL READERS
I would like to do something I have meant to do for some time now. That is to thank the residents of the many nations that have visited my blog. In the past year my blog was viewed by 39 nations, granted of those 39, 21 were just a single visit. I don’t think I can use the term ‘global’ yet, but I appreciate your interest.
In the future I plan to post more regularly. I hope to share with you my current writing projects and completed novels I am trying to publish.
Take care my friends.
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