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Jane Igharo


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The Art of Fiction by John Gardner

 

1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?

 

By mentioning writing errors and discussing solutions to them, Gardner’s book was extremely educational. Through the examples and exercises in Gardner’s book, I learned appropriate sentence structure and vocabulary building. I also found Gardner’s examples to be very helpful. At the beginning of his book, Gardner promotes reading well-written novels. He explains that this will improve a writer’s craft. This definitely provoked me to read classics I’ve never read. Reading those novels definitely improved my writing skills.

 

2. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing and/or your novel?

 

I learned how to structure sentences better. The use of passive words is something I’m still trying to improve on. According to Gardner: when the writer makes use of the passive, he knows he’s doing it and has good reason for what he does. I also learned about the use of infinite-verbs at the beginning of a sentence. The most important lesson I learned was building characters.

 

According to Gardner: so long as fiction contains characters at all, the writer must enable us to see and feel vividly what his characters see and feel; that is, enable us to experience as directly and intensely as possible, though vicariously, what his characters experience. This is done with a poetic style in which nothing is explained, everything is evoked. Thus to make us see and feel vividly what his characters see and feel––to draw us into the character’s world as if we were born to it––the writer must do more than simply make up characters and then somehow explain and authenticate then (giving them the right kind of motorcycles and beards, exactly the right memories and jargon). He must shape simultaneously (in an expanding creative moment) his characters, plot, and setting, each inextricably connected to the others; he must make his whole world in a single, coherent gesture, as a potter make a pot…

 

I have always aimed to make my characters more than just fiction. The passage above really stuck with me. After reading it, it occurred to me that simply describing the physical features of my characters wasn’t enough. I had to make them come alive in every possible way. I did this by following Gardner’s advice. I gave my characters habits, gestures, memories, a past, ambition, hopes, fears and every factor that make up a functional and dysfunctional human being. One of my characters is an alcoholic with a taste of expensive wines; in every scene this character appears, he is drinking a different beverage. Another character is pompous and has a habit of always straightening his suits when he stands. Another character is obsessed with tea, and another has a habit of biting her lip. These factors make my characters real. Also, by following Gardner’s advice, I was able to expose my characters emotions in a deep and descriptive manner that offered poetic style.

 

3. Was there anything in the books that obviously conflicted with lessons and readings in our novel writing program. If so, what were they?

 

While reading this book, I didn’t find anything that conflicted to the lessons and readings of the program.

 

 

 

 

Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

 

1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?

 

This book spoke a lot about the publishing industry. It cleared up a lot of my misconceptions and gave me a huge reality check. I’m more aware of how the publishing industry has evolved. Also, Maass helped me understand the importance of my premise in the market. As he explained, following your guts when it comes to the premise is not always the best choice. I must also consider the market and the impact the premise will have. I also learned a lot from the key ingredients Maass looks for in a fully formed breakout premise––plausibility, inherent conflict, originality and gut emotional appeal. In the book, Maass focus on the impact of characters and events in a novel. His discussion of these two factors helped me as a writer because someday, I hope to create characters as memorable as Sherlock Holmes and Scarlett O’Hara.

 

2. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing and/or your novel?

 

Maass’s discussion on how to make characters sympathetic was very beneficial to my novel. When I started writing my novel, I was set on creating a strong female protagonist. By doing this, I noticed that my protagonist seemed cold. With this as a trait for my protagonist, the reader would not get a chance to sympathize and connect with her. Maass helped me make the necessary changes.

 

 

3. Was there anything in the books that obviously conflicted with lessons and readings in our novel writing program. If so, what were they?

 

I didn’t find any factors in this book that conflicted with AS program.

 

 

 

 

Write Away by Elizabeth George

 

1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?

 

I really enjoyed this book. Elizabeth George went into great depths with her teachings, and it was very easy to understand. She covers a wide aspect of fiction writing––plotting, developing real characters, finding an idea, drafting and revising. This book really helped me as a writer. The author gave me a lot of tools that will enable me to be a better storyteller. The book is very detailed and full of rules that can guide many writers in making the right choices.

 

 

2. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing and/or your novel?

 

According to George: Real people have flaws. We’re all works in progress on planet Earth, and not one of us possess physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological perfection. This should be true of our characters as well. No one wants to read about perfect characters. I must admit that I am guilty of making my characters physically flawless. I can easily make my characters emotionally and psychologically flawed, but physically, my characters are perfect––perfect skin, perfect hair, and perfect body. Perhaps it’s because I flip through too much fashion magazines. Nonetheless, I’m learning. Elizabeth George has taught me that the perfect cover girl doesn't make the perfect character.

 

Again, learning about the design of characters, George has taught me to secure my characters in who they are and what they stand for. By doing this, my readers can learn about characters through dialogue. As stated by George: Character is story. Dialogue is character. I just love that quote!

 

 

3. Was there anything in the books that obviously conflicted with lessons and readings in our novel writing program. If so, what were they?

 

I didn’t find any factors in this book that conflicted with the AS program.

 

 

 

"
The Writing Life
" by Annie Dillard

 

1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?

 

Like the other books I read during the AS program, I expected this book to offer some great writing advice––it didn’t. Instead, I got a brutally honest description of the author’s struggles with writing. I felt like the book was a beautiful, poetic rant about one writer’s perspective on the practice of being a writer. I must admit, at times, I was discouraged, unmotivated, and a tad depressed. Personally, I would have preferred advice. Dillard explains that writing a book is difficult and complex. This, I already knew. She also discusses the isolated lives of writers. In her opinion, to focus on the fictional world they are creating, writers must isolate themselves from the outside world. As I have spent the duration of June through August within the confines of my room, working on my novel and the AS program, I am well aware of a writer’s isolation. That aspect of Dillard’s book wasn’t news to me. Despite my displeasure with this book, I admit that Dillard mentioned a few realities to a writer’s life that I hadn’t considered before.

 

Here are a few examples:

 

A work in progress quickly becomes feral. It reverts to a wild state overnight... You must visit it every day and reassert your mastery over it.

 

I do not so much write a book as sit up with it, as with a dying friend. During visiting hours, I enter its room with dread and sympathy for its many disorders. I hold its hand and hope it will get better.

 

As a writer, this book helped me explore a different aspect of writing––a darker aspect. Nonetheless, the knowledge obtained from this book does not deter my love and passion for writing. Despite the struggles that I often face, I can’t stop writing. I simply don’t know how to.

 

 

2. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing and/or your novel

 

To say, I learned lessons from Dillard’s book would be a lie. I don’t particularly feel like lying, so here’s the truth: I learned nothing that could apply to my work. I enjoyed Dillard’s writing, but nothing she discussed resonated with me and transformed me into a better writer. Like I said before, I would have preferred a book cramped with advice.

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