Reading the selections that we have read and taking the time to reflect and write about those readings has shown me that I need to be more disciplined. I am a big picture kind of girl, so zeroing in on details is something that I have to work on and be attentive to. I need to focus on the details of setting, description, characterization, and purpose. In A Moveable Feast, Hemingway demonstrates time and time again that a writer must be disciplined and consistent to write daily.
Once upon a time, I was very good about journal keeping. But my entries were dry and not very descriptive. The reason for this is because I would hurry through my entries or write in such a way that was strictly to record information. This semester, I have realized my need to become a sagacious observer of people and places. If Renee and Paloma are riddled with insight, it is because Muriel Barbery is a keen individual who has worked on understanding the twists and turns of the motives behind people’s behavior. If Tom is a true Southerner, it is because Conroy has absorbed the sights, the scents, and the colors of the south. If Olive is both caustic and caring it is because Strout has shown her through the eyes of multiple perspectives.
So, what am I doing with what I learned? I am looking at everything with an eye for the details. I am purposing to write daily or as close to daily as I possibly can. I am also looking for books that have been as good as the ones I have read this summer—any suggestions?
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Here are some books I think are great, besides "A Walk in the Woods," which I know you read last semester: Atonement by Ian McEwan, Traveling Mercies by Ann Lamott, Paris Trout by Pete Dexter, American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, anything by Jumpha Lahiri, and anything by Laurie Colwin. And then there's Faulkner. I'd love to hear recommendations from others.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, I ADORE Irving. If you haven't read Owen Meany yet, you must drop everything and do it NOW.
ReplyDeleteHave you read _On Chesil Beach_ by McEwan? Equally wonderful!
A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of my all time favorites as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kathleen. Definitely Faulkner, esp. Abasalom! Abasalom!. The Remains of the Day is another good one to learn from, esp. how Ishiguro uses an unreliable narrator.
ReplyDeleteMichael, you're right about The Remains of the Day. Now that's writing! Also, I should have added Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver--one of the all-time favorite books of my life. And for many years, A Place to Come To by Robert Penn Warren was my favorite book.
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