Spinning
Sunday, March 2, 2008
This morning, I (caught inside a decision I didn't imagine myself having to make about a book I thought I'd finished writing) study these words from Larry Woiwode's new memoir, A STEP FROM DEATH:
"So I learned you had to trust in the organic nature and structure of the story or novel, as all good editors do, or you shear away its potential to be original."
And this:
"There is a barbarity in the compression a word can assume, holding a soul of multiple meanings, as with a person, in its inner space. The meanings meld into the meanings of the surrounding words, suggesting meanings I didn't mean to suggest, and a typeset page stares back with such clarity, once a book is out, I recoil at passages as I would a toad."
2 comments:
You know, that first quote hits home. I feel like I've spent so much time being told that structure is the key, and now you're the second person to say that, well, structure is important, but you should really just go with the story. The structure can be applied later. I'm not sure I can be that brave, though. I like my structure.
Caryn,
I highly recommend Woiwode's new book, which is in many embedded with instructions on how to read it, even judge it, and is full of interesting thoughts about the writing life.
I've just visited your own exquiste blog and thoughts on the writing life. Beautifully done. Thanks for stopping by here,
Beth
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