What was Sioux busy with, as she trotted around in her Crocs and neglected to post?
- gluing 1,476 little jokes and snide remarks into each of 4 date books
- creating 158 pieces of hand-crafted stationary that will get used up in--at the most--4 days because the recipient sends out dozens of hand-written letters every day
- sleeping around with a couple of hairy, hunky blondes (okay, they are indeed hairy and there were probably hunks of leaves and... well, other things--hanging from their legs and tails. And they most definitely are blonde. My husband was out of town, so I had a few nights of golden retrievers gone wild.)
- making fudge for a gift (okay, that only takes 5 minutes, but when I scrape the bowl clean--straight from the spatula and into my mouth, the calories last a lifetime)
More importantly than what I missed out on delivering was what I missed out on receiving. So yesterday afternoon I busily read up on my favorite blogs...right after I saw an episode of "Well Read" on PBS, and got all jazzed up.
Anthony Doerr, with his book All the Light We Cannot See, was on. It sounds like an interesting novel. However, it was how he came up with the title and something in particular he said that got me hyped.
He said he was in a train, and when it went through a long tunnel, one of the passengers got quite incensed because they no longer had use of their phone. (Duh!) This guy cursed and kept hitting his phone, to no avail. Doerr thought to himself what a miracle it was to be able to communicate, via a system of towers, and what an incredible (unseen) power it was. (He said it much more lyrically and intelligently.) He came up with the title from that encounter. So, what can we learn from that? Be open. You never know when you'll get a title or a first line or some dialogue or a bit of inspiration from what's going on around you.
Then he slung off a line that hit when it ricocheted back at me, so I've (again) screwed up the wording. Doerr said something like, "White space is a gift to readers." I like the white space. I like super short paragraphs (a super short sentence that stands by itself.) I like mixing it up with a few dense paragraphs and then some dialogue, and then back to the dense paragraphs. In my WIP, I've broken up the writing into little chapters/scenes, with accompanying snarky or pointed or poignant titles (but not like formal chapters... if this piece-that-is-one-of-Dante's-circles-of-hell ever sees the light of day, there for sure won't be a table of contents. White space is ultra-important to poets, but storytellers and novelists should be mindful of it as well.
Because it's all about the space, 'bout the space, 'bout the space, no lyin'...(Sorry--I couldn't resist. Now is that song in your head for a while?)
I like your description: dense then dialogue. That is exactly how you write, and write well!
ReplyDeleteLinda--Thank you.
DeleteI have read this book and it is extraordinary. His writing in this book at least was wonderful, vivid and engaging. Put it on your Christmas Wish List!
ReplyDeleteClaudia--That's great to know. I guess I will have to put it on my "must read" list.
DeleteYet another aspect of things I never thought much about. Amazing that I am still capable of learning. In photography it is about the light which is often space, but it never occurred to me that it could be more universal. It just shows how much I don't know.
ReplyDeleteJono--Even old dogs can learn new tricks, contrary to popular belief. ;)
DeleteThink of it musically as well, since you're a musician. Sometimes when there is a pause or a brief instrumental break, it can really engage the listener.
Thanks for stopping by.
I don't recognize the song, so it isn't in my head!
ReplyDeleteShay--You are lucky. Refrain from listening to the pop radio stations, and you'll be able to avoid Meghan Trainor's song...
DeleteWe hear that song every other morning on the way to school. I thought it was an oldie on my 60s SiriusXM. Nope. My son shook his head like that sad little glowing bluebird in Journey to the Center of the Earth, when Josh Hutcherson knocks away his path of magnetic rocks over the bottomless chasm at 2:10 into this clip:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0TMDpf6Vx8
Space? What a novel concept. I thought every centimeter should be filled, much like the walls of that shed Russell Crowe as John Nash worked in during that movie, A Beautiful Mind.
http://amystories.net/TTHosting/Beautiful-Mind-Shed-500x266.jpg
Val--Yeah, the first time I heard it, I though it was an oldie as well, but at least one of the terms is NOT old, so I figured it just sounded retro.
DeleteI agree with your use of white space! I tend to read more things if there are shorter paragraphs. For some reason, it keeps me interested. If the are many long paragraphs, I tend to avoid reading them. I never realized this until you pointed it out. It reminds me of a collage full of pictures overlapping and the business overwhelms me. But if I see a scrapbook page with just a few pictures and white space, I'm drawn to check it out. Thanks for making me aware of this!
ReplyDeletePat--I'm right with you. Do you think it's it an age thing? ;)
DeleteBlogger is messing with me again. I hope you don't end up seeing this three times. I was smart this time and copied my original note so I wouldn't have to rewrite it if Blogger threw me out, which it did. Anyway, here it is again.
ReplyDeleteFirst, thanks for the link-back. I think. lol You kinda make me feel like the blog police, and I swear I'm not! I only judge myself. The only thing that happens when you miss one of your regularly scheduled posts is that I worry about you, as in, "Omigosh, no Sioux today. I hope she doesn't have the flu! What if she had to have an emergency appendectomy?! What if--!!!" I fret. But I don't judge. Honest.
But here you are, with another relevant blog post, so I don't have to worry that your Crocs ate you in your sleep.
White space. I've never thought of it that way before, but I'm taking that to be the read-between-the-lines stuff. It's one of the reasons I love micro-fiction so much, and even short stories. You have to pack a punch into so few words that it helps when it comes together in such a way that your reader can read what you didn't write. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're talking about, but that's the way I'm interpreting it.
Glad you got your crafts done. Christmas will always trump blogging!
Lisa--This would be more probable: Sioux fell into a vat of melted ice cream when she fell asleep in front of the TV.
DeleteReally, I don't keep looking back, thinking you're racing after me with an electric cattle prod. But if you ever DO want to become a member of the blog police, I'll be glad to write a letter of recommendation for you. ;)