Somehow I missed the Wall Street Journal article by Lev Grossman, book critic at Time Magazine, until it was posted this week on a discussion list email. But it's worth reading if you can.
Bring back the elusive plot! Readers are turning to Young Adult books because literary fiction has failed them. Lots of points worth pondering, including this (and not just because he cites my new fav writer Kate Atkinson, among others. And The Hunger Games. All good...):
Why do so many adults read Suzanne Collins's young-adult novel "The Hunger Games" instead of contemporary literary fiction? Because "The Hunger Games" doesn't bore them. All of this is changing. The revolution is under way. The novel is getting entertaining again. Writers like Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, Donna Tartt, Kelly Link, Audrey Niffenegger, Richard Price, Kate Atkinson, Neil Gaiman, and Susanna Clarke, to name just a few, are busily grafting the sophisticated, intensely aware literary language of Modernism onto the sturdy narrative roots of genre fiction: fantasy, science fiction, detective fiction, romance.
Also take a quick look at some of the many comments. Interesting discussion, no?
Hmmm. Wait! Donna Tartt? The Secret History? Better check to see if she's got a new book coming out.
Related post: Plot
Showing posts with label Plot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plot. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Challenge of Plotting
Last week on the Southern Writers' Blog, my day was up. I was at a loss for words (truly). So I wrote about something I'd like to know more about: I wrote a few words about Plotting.
It's best to learn from the experts, right? So I'm rereading a Writer Magazine article about plot, featuring Dennis Lehane, Gayle Lynds and Stuart Woods, three who know of which they speak. Dennis is in charge of the Eckerd College Writers in Paradise conference- a fantastic week in St. Petersburg, Florida, in January just when the weather should be at its best. He spoke to us last year throughout the week, and let me just say I was hanging on most of his words. So when I found the Writer Magazine interview I'd saved, I reread it. And it is full of gems.
Lehane on plotting:
I put a character on the page and I have him want something-it could be as simple as a cup of coffee-and he goes out to get that thing. And hopefully, he bumps into another character and then another and conflict will gradually develop. I'm not a good plotter in the early stage of a novel. The trick is to remind yourself that no one's ever going to see those early stages of a book, so let yourself loose and let your characters loose and see what happens. Then go back and rewrite it all to make it look fluid.
Whew. Great advice. Now I can begin something new, messy and disorganized, without fear of anyone peeping...
Related posts: Writers in Paradise, 2009
The Dreaded Plot
It's best to learn from the experts, right? So I'm rereading a Writer Magazine article about plot, featuring Dennis Lehane, Gayle Lynds and Stuart Woods, three who know of which they speak. Dennis is in charge of the Eckerd College Writers in Paradise conference- a fantastic week in St. Petersburg, Florida, in January just when the weather should be at its best. He spoke to us last year throughout the week, and let me just say I was hanging on most of his words. So when I found the Writer Magazine interview I'd saved, I reread it. And it is full of gems.
Lehane on plotting:
I put a character on the page and I have him want something-it could be as simple as a cup of coffee-and he goes out to get that thing. And hopefully, he bumps into another character and then another and conflict will gradually develop. I'm not a good plotter in the early stage of a novel. The trick is to remind yourself that no one's ever going to see those early stages of a book, so let yourself loose and let your characters loose and see what happens. Then go back and rewrite it all to make it look fluid.
Whew. Great advice. Now I can begin something new, messy and disorganized, without fear of anyone peeping...
Related posts: Writers in Paradise, 2009
The Dreaded Plot
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)