Reading, writing, and "The Dark Side."

I'm reading a book I truly dislike. Better yet, I just stopped reading it. I usually can plow through most everything I commence reading--only 2 or 3 books per year achieve this level of demerit...out of 125-135 books read per year!

When an author is so taken by their cunning turn of phrase, by the inclusion of "telling details" that put you right into the "dusty street with only the sound of the dry tumbleweed clunking off the abandoned storefronts," when they fail to develop plot or character--sorry, when I gave you forty pages worth of attention and my only feeling was of the need to recruit all my speed-reading tools...we're done. Really, have you ever met a knight who was never angry but always in "high dudgeon"? Makes one to wonder, what's low dudgeon? And, of course, the knight's armor is always "glinting with brilliance under the low wintry sun just rising over the gloomy ramparts of the evil duke's turreted castle." Pah!

Now, lest you think that this is merely a rant, my intent was to explore the world of writing from the dark side. Or, as I often told my kids, "They are setting you a horrible example--just do exactly the opposite and you'll be in good shape!" I truly learn a lot about writing from works that I consider sub-par. Okay, deplorable! (And, I wonder, WHERE was their editor, and how did such a poorly-written, flowery and vague, typo-ridden book ever meet up with a printing press?)

Characters that you hate, you cannot wait for them to get their just reward--that's a well-limned character. Characters who charm you, whom you hope won't step over that creaking threshold and into the cobwebbed darkness--again, you've bought into the author's world; success! When you get sweaty pits and you cannot put the book down--YES! THAT is the response to good writing, whether it's Dean Koontz, Shakespeare, or whomever. Characters who bore you, playing against other characters who have nothing to love or hate or laugh at, characters who trundle on through a story line that doesn't make you marvel at that last strange twist or wonder what's next...bah!

As Truman Capote is alleged to say of Jack Kerouac, "That's not writing, that's typing."

May our life's work be "writing" rather than "typing"!

Can you bear it?

Once upon a time, there were three bears:
a poppa bear,
   a momma bear,
      and a Camembert.
(Geo. Kaufman)
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   Some days, I feel so witty (and pretty, and bright) that I cannot bear it. When I finally focus enough to start writing, the silliness sometimes needs to simply work its way out of my system...so I write silly stuff. Sometimes it remains goofy garbage; sometimes it morphs into something with lasting humor; sometimes it leads to a mordant insight that would never have emerged if I hadn't started down silly lane...akin to this moment.
   More simply stated--ignore your mood, and follow your calling. Is it to love your kids? They don't care if you started the board game or the book with an attitude in your heart that was less-than-perfect--just do it. Is your calling to please your boss with your attention to detail? Again, NIKE--just do it...oh, and quit yer whining, that's just grump-fertilizer, making things worse. Buckle down and do it. If your calling requires a different attitude than what you're sporting now--hey, you get to choose your attitude. You respond to life's vicissitudes (gosh, I love that word, but don't get to use it much!) with a choice: will you be reactive or pro-active? You don't need me to tell you that there's really only one mature response to this question. Duh. Do it.
   I subscribe to or visit a number of writing-related web sites. Most advice rattles on for several ppghs, but could be boiled down to this: Nike...just do it. No excuses/rationalizing, just shuddup, siddown, and get to work.
  

Discovery

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought.
--Gyorgyi, Hungarian scientist.
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Discovery: what a writer tries to do every time we sit in front of an empty screen or piece of paper. We try to see what everyone else has seen and render it clearer and crisper, by finding a different angle, a twist in the usual interpretation, a way of wording things that has never been used in the history of humanity! THAT is discovery, my friends.

Discovery: what a writer tries to do when the germ of a story presents itself. Is the character highly life-like? A caricature? A fantasy? Is the plot going to be the main focus, in which the characters play? Or, will the strength of the characters be more important than the plot? Do I have a plan or an ulterior motive as I write? Or, as Stephen King says (in my words, but a pretty fair representation of his words): take strong characters; throw them into difficult straits; see how they react; repeat. King goes on to say, "I love writing--I can hardly wait to find out on't know how these characters are going to respond!"

Discovery: the same process can happen when we meditatively pray. That's too lengthy a topic to pursue here, so if you're interested, here's a document to peruse...and to chew on slowly. I'll love to hear from those of you who make your own discoveries!

Surgical writing...and living.

We should not write so that it is possible for the reader to understand us,
but so that it is impossible for him to misunderstand us.
      --Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus), rhetorician (c. 35-100)

Clarity and concision--always? Sometimes? Gosh, scanning some books, espec modern writers, clarity is certainly absent. Even in non-fiction!

Okay, I'll grant, there's room for writing that has a certain smoky haze about it, and a touch of floweriness. But, woe betide the writer who falls in love with verbiage at the expense of pace. Sez me...and Stephen King, and Leonard Elmore...and anyone else who thinks Faulkner and Thos. Wolfe would have been better off if they'd encountered strong-willed editors. I recently tried to go back and read some Faulkner...it felt like trying to swim in molasses. (But, it was not sweet!)

Writing--like cleaning out your closets and dressers--you'll rarely suffer if you ruthlessly root out old, useless, over-adorned, or shopworn items. As we'd joke with the surgeons--"A chance to cut is a chance to cure!" and..."If in doubt, cut it out!" But, you may ask, "Since...to a boy with a hammer suddenly everything looks like a nail...what about a surgeon with a scalpel?" Probably best to trust that they've somewhat outgrown their boyish urges...altho a second opinion is often a good idea!

What if you weren't born with a ruthless gene? Employ someone who is so endowed...at home, facing bulging closets/bureaus/shelves/garage, that'd be a spouse or family member or friend. In writing, facing turgid prose, that'd be called a "first reader" or an editor...or both...and, as with surgery, second/third opinions may be just the right move!

Got an opinion to share? Want a second opinion yourself? ["Okay, and you're ugly, too!"]

Do me a favor...if you find this blog interesting, then kindly copy the address and forward it to somebody who shares your interest in reading, or humor, or blogging, or whatever. And/or, leave me a comment when/if I have hit a resonant chord with you. Thnx, David.

Books, horses, and dogs...and, writing?

A man's experiences of life are a book. There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and tragedy.
 --Mark Twain.

The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.
--Sir Winston Churchill.

Outside of a dog, a book may be man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read.
--Mark Twain.

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Well, outside of a book--I want to get into it! I've read about 25 or 26 books thus far in 2013, a tad slower pace than usual, due to a coupla huge ones, a coupla weeks of company, and currently laboring through a full length novel in Spanish. Most good writers say, "Read a lot, it'll help your writing." Most aspiring writers agree. Most lazy writers assert, "I don't have time to read." Well, then, obviously, it's not that important to you, is it, as my fellow Mainah, the acerbic Stevie, asserts.

Inside of a book--I often am more motivated to write than when I'm actually sitting here, in front of the keyboard. How odd. That said, off to do some writing...oh, but one last thought:

Inside of a dog--it's STILL too dark to read!