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Susan Homola


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Book Reports

 

 

"The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner

 

1. I was surprised at how relevant this book was considering how long ago it was written, which is a testament to the truths of effective writing. Particularly, the science of sentence structure and rhythm was very interesting. I constantly say sentences out loud to see how they sound and look for rhyming distractions, but haven’t examined it as objectively before.

 

2. Three major lessons:

 

a. “In serious fiction, the highest kind of suspense involves the Sartrian anguish of choice; that is, our suspenseful concern is not just what will happen but with the moral implications of action.”

 

For me the best drama is always internal, because it is universal to us all. We are always asking ourselves “What would I do?” in a particular situation, because we continually mine our own depths for clues as to who we really are.

 

b. “…never use an important detail once.”

 

The parts of a book that always stick with me are the resonating details/feelings that resurface and continue to impact the characters. I enjoy that repetition and think it is realistic to human nature. It gives an extra bit of satisfaction to the reader, and provides a way to come full circle on an important issue/feeling/event.

 

c. “…writers should write moralistically…..It means only that they should think, always, of what harm they might inadvertently do or not do it.”

 

Above all else, this statement rang very true for me. The written word can be very powerful; people read books for a variety of reasons but many want to see justice served, good triumph over evil, and we want to understand our place in the world. I think writers are culpability, to some degree, of the effect their words have on others. Sadly, this is something that doesn’t seem to be as relevant in today’s writing (screenplays, novels, television, etc), where gritty realism and the ability to shock rule the day. I do think novels that feed the soul (as opposed entertaining us like candy) are written by this principle.

 

3. I did not find any conflicts with the material in this book vs. the writing program. The one thing I did discover was how much the reading list order made sense. I saw the importance of reading this book first, then moving on in the order requested. The information spiraled down accordingly and built a good foundation in which to receive the next book’s material.

 

"Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass

 

1. Loved this book. I liked it best for its easy approachability and straightforwardness. I found it particularly reassuring as well, and a “back to basics” reminder of what makes a great story. I also particularly liked his words about why careers stall, reminding us all that reputations are built one book at a time.

 

2. Three major lessons:

 

a. It’s all about writing a great story, and building a lasting career depends on this. As a total newbie to publishing, making sense of the publishing process is daunting and discouraging. I can’t understand how hard it is to get published when there is so much $#%@ on bookshelves. Having Mr. Maass reiterate that regardless of gimmicks and marketing, a really well written story with resonance is a gem any editor would love to have. This really took away the “it’s impossible” feeling I’ve been having and replaced it with, “It’s possible, and it’s up to me.”

 

b. “Great characters are the key to great fiction.”

 

This hit home because it was something I hadn’t focused on as much as I should have. I have a tendency toward realism and that has applied to characters as well. This book reminded me what I really do want to read about (and I should write about) is the quirky side of people. I want to listen when someone says the one thing they shouldn’t, or watch them do something totally unexpected, or discover the personality quirks we all have hidden.

 

c. “Even an unlikely starting point can be built into a breakout premise.”

 

This gives me motivation to take that seed of inspiration and turn it into a layered, multifaceted story. Plenty of “gems” die on the vine, and this section provides a loose blueprint for cultivating that initial thought into a complete story premise. It also encourages me to break away from linear thought and experiment with plot a bit more.

 

3. Again, nothing in this book conflicted with writing workshop. It did dovetail nicely with part 1 story structure modules (hero’s journey, plot, etc) and also acted as a good prequel to part 2 narrative character development.

 

"Write Away" by Elizabeth George

 

1. Another book I greatly enjoyed because I thought it offered a very practical blueprint for creating a novel. I tend to take an overly organized approached to writing as well, and it was nice to see there is still a place for inspiration in this method. Following her steps for preparation do seem to make good sense in avoiding writer block issues. If anything, I think it removes the white noise of idea chaos and enables the writer to be even more creative in each chapter.

 

2. Three major lessons:

 

a. It’s important to write what you want, not what you think is going to sell. I think anything written for purely commercial purposes won’t resonate. It might sell, but it will just add to the growing pile of “candy” in our entertainment world. I’d much rather be persuaded to care about something that someone else cares about. If this is done in accordance with the elements of solid story structure, then it works.

 

b. Drawing a good setting requires planning and a little legwork. Understand the soul of a place really does require research, and nothing beats observation. When writing my story I did a lot of internet research on Poland. I’ve also visited Krakow, but well before I ever intended to use it in a story. That made it difficult to write about.

 

c. Bum glue works. This cracked me up, but it is also very true. While I don’t think there is a lot of value in staring at a computer with no words in your head, I do think there are plenty of times when we have words in our head but we fail give ourselves the time to put them down. Regularly showing up to write is key to finishing a book. Sometimes I don’t want to write, just like there is sometimes I don’t want to go for a jog or do the laundry, but I know everything will be better if I do it with regularity.

 

3. This book did not contradict anything, but it did add that layer of practicality to the writing process. I especially liked her diary excerpts in the beginning of each chapter and found them oddly reassuring. The one thing I found a little tiresome was the volume of writing examples from her work. I think it was totally appropriate to include them, but they were quoted at length and dragged on a bit.

 

"The Writing Life" by Annie Dillard

 

1. This book starts out like a suicide note and ends like a psalm. When I first started reading I found myself asking this about my own writing life, “Why am I doing this?” It is a process filled with self-doubt, extreme perseverance, and can be isolating. As I read her book I began to appreciate the dream-like state it was written in. She did a great job harnessing all those quiet inner thoughts and cataloguing them for the rest of us.

 

2. Three major lessons:

 

a. Writing a good book will take longer than you think. I continually lament internally on how long it has taken me to hone my story, and I reassure myself with “It will take as long as it will take to get it right.” This is hard to believe when you compare yourself to the book-a-year novelists, other than knowing you would rather not write than to produce something very perishable.

 

b. Reaching deep for resonating things to write about requires a bit of quiet and introspection, which is also a byproduct of isolating yourself in some way. This was not spelled out in her book, but it was how I interpreted everything. I don’t think you need to live on an island, but I think mining ideas and truths requires a lot of introspection. This requires you to remove yourself somehow from the noise of everyday living.

 

c. Crafting sentences is an art. How we string together words is comparable to how a painter changes a canvas. I think this is the highest level of writing, and the people who succeed in making an entire book this way have made something amazing.

 

3. This book seemed completely outside of the scope of this class, but relevant to me in the underlying writing process. Going through all the modules and really trying to take away as much as I could did make me wonder if I was up to the task. It is nice to know someone else feels that way as well.

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