Thursday, April 19, 2012
The Art of Writing No. 18
A reader has pointed out that my dichotomy
of clay and lego to crudely divide approaches to writing are somewhat
patronizing and imbalanced. That was not the intention. By clay I meant
organically developed narratives where the writer is only one step ahead of the
reader in understanding what is going on, while by lego I meant that much of
literature is plugged together from familiar elements within a genre. Maybe I should have used plasticine and
meccano as metaphors, though those remembering that latter are fewer on the
ground as each decade passes! The reader pointed out that the terms themselves
are from a child’s world, not from an adult’s. I tried to defend myself by
saying (did I wholly believe it?) that authors should have a child-like
playfulness to be properly creative. Engaging with the construction of a novel
is akin to entering a playroom, bursting with potential, eyes wide and trusting.
Actually, the reason we have genres in
writing is because there forms are so appealing. Most successfully rich authors are those who mine a stratum of precious metal efficiently,
satisfying their readers’ desire for certain verities; structural topographies,
a range of characters, degrees of credibility and satisfying narratives. It does not mean that they do not
borrow from plasticine’s organic elements. Better still if their novels belong
to a series where the reader feels s/he knows the chief protagonists and their
relationships, traits and modus operandi. If clay is an art and lego is a
craft, all writers will try to utilize some elements from each.
A reader’s review I had the other day
regarding Azimuth (http://www.azimuthtrilogy.com/reviews)
said she loved the trilogy but did not know much about the genre. This
nonplussed me. What genre is it? By stipulating a genre it might be easier to
market it to a specific audience but that would obviously be limiting, as well.
Most writers would love a crossover hit of a novel that appeals to everyone at
some level or other. Azimuth contains elements of fantasy, fable, modern
philosophy, labyrinthine plotting and pulsating (!) adventuring. A one name
genre title would surely be too restrictive.
I realize this blog has been less practical
than I might have wished so will tether an useful insight to it.
Because I write organically myself,
wondering where the next paragraph of a meal is coming from and because it is
easy to forget detail as I progress through my novel’s circumlocutions, I
constantly make notes about people, places and events at the bottom of my draft
concerning what has just been written. These are seeds which alert me to what
MUST be dealt with later, what facets of character might affect future
behaviours, what puzzles must then be solved, what an environment looks like,
the colour of hair and eyes, the skills and/or character defects of
individuals. Once I have satisfied the reason for keeping this self-advisory
note in my later writing, I scrub
it. Thus, I try to ensure that there are no loose ends that will trip up the
storyline. It is the novelist’s version of ‘continuity’ in film. This does not
mean being too smartass neat and tidy at the end of a book but rather that the
integrity of character and plot has been maintained throughout , even if there
are still poignant questions hanging in the air at the end.
Labels: Writing. Formula or organic? Keeping a grip on continuity.
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