Digging In

 

Copyright Glo Lewis 7/10/2023

 

Dear Readers of My Blog, 💝

Toward One’s Best Oeuvre:

I am quite sure that I am not alone in observing that in old age we encounter many profound moments of loneliness. We can be lonely if we are married to someone to whom we can no longer relate for a myriad of reasons. And we can feel desolate if we are single. Feelings of isolation or the apprehension that we have been forsaken or abandoned come to most of us in our darkest moments—a dark underbelly of this difficult presence we call life, even as the dirt is beneath the flowers. Naturally, I can’t presume to speak for others, only for myself. And so, I will share that the things that have always sustained me are my faith in God, my desire to do some kind of angel work for God now and later, my dearest family and friends, including my animals over the years, for they too are one’s family, and finally, matters that interest me creatively also propel me into a pleasurable mindset. Writing has been a great love of my life, albeit just as often a poor lover, tormenting me both when I write and when I don’t, but mostly when I don’t. Gardening too has become a love. So, let me say, as pertains to writing, if it calls to you—even in a whisper, try your best to honor that gift. We don’t have to win awards or prizes, although that would be wonderful. But just respect your talent (that’s right—YOUR TALENT!) by engaging in it. It won’t begin as fabulously as your voice will eventually emerge, because as someone once wisely noted, writing is demanding work. Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” It takes time to identify your style and to hone your communication. But practice at it, and let it blossom into something you can be proud of, even if you read it only for yourself. Even then, press on, and create your best oeuvre.

Leave the Reader Wanting More:

Moving on to today’s writing discussion, I want to stress that it’s always important to leave the reader wanting more. Therefore, when you close off a chapter, work toward some kind of intrigue via cliffhanger or a dramatic touch, such as perhaps having a deranged criminal enjoy the terror of their imminent capture. And remember, show, don’t tell. Example: She thought, ah, fear as succulent as grapes! And cooly lowered her eyes at the officer, while blushing color flooded her face. Now, you may ask what a cliffhanger is; this means simply to close with suspense by having something of significant import be said or done. This kind of closing will keep readers more interested in your story. Another benefit of ending a chapter or a section in this manner is that you, as the author, will be more energized to return to your work each time, and that episodic excitement will continue to propel you through the project.

In my prior post, we were working on third person limited point of view with the following paragraph that I crafted by way of illustration:

Only moments before, she had still been under the blankets, drinking her morning coffee, Starbucks's Christmas blend that her husband had brought up from the kitchen below, and laughing on her cell phone in an animated conversation with her younger sister, when suddenly, she had exclaimed, “Is that smoke? Oh, Rue, I smell smoke. I’d better go investigate!” She had flung her covers over to the other side of the bed and lurched across the enormous room, when suddenly there was a terrifying crack of wood in the hall, and a support beam split in half, releasing a beast of raging heat and orange fire that lunged for her, hissing, snapping, and popping. The carpet, covered in wood debris, felt hot and ragged to her bare feet. She grabbed the banister, which gave way, and she fell, helplessly, crying out in her panic and dread, “Oh, dear God!”

Details, Details:

Let’s begin today’s lesson by taking apart the paragraph above. We begin innocuously enough by showing the protagonist recollecting drinking her morning coffee while speaking on the phone with her sister. We added that the coffee was a Starbucks’s Christmas blend to add interest that the reader is more likely to remember than plain old coffee, and this interest will further draw the reader into the story. For the same reason of interest layering, we added the mention of the woman’s husband, who had served her the coffee, and noted the placement of the kitchen on the floor below her bedroom. Details, details, my dear readers! Weave your particulars into the tapestry of your story. Then, to jump into the scene that we have already set, we insert conversation. And again, remember, it’s always best to begin with the action. You can explain later. This process is called scene and sequel. So, now, in the scene, we have the elderly woman’s exclamation to her sister that she smells smoke, etc.

Active Verbs Vs Passive Verbs:

Here, I want to touch on the use of active verbs, which are those actions performed by the subject as opposed to having something done to the subject. Example of active verb from the old woman paragraph above: (she) lurched across the enormous room, as opposed to saying that in her panic, the room appeared to come toward her, which is a passive verb expression. We could write that she—the old woman—hurried across the room, but as instructed previously, consult your thesaurus, preferably easily on Google or Thesaurus.com, and look for a word that will convey someone unsteady on their feet in the morning and in an alarmed state, yet one that will also suggest a rapid pace. Hence, in my view, “lurched” is perfectly expressive. Likewise, “She had flung her covers over to the other side of the bed….” “Flung” also conveys speed and force. Therefore, to reiterate, we are painting a picture with words, so use your words and be a seeker of words. In studying the synonyms for a term, choose the one most worthy of inclusion in your piece by its appropriate and even exciting fineness of definition. And as you reach greatness, stretch yourself to imagine even more refined uses of words. However, don’t get ahead of yourself. My high school English teacher once taught the class that in writing, we must first know the rules before we can be confident of which ones we can break. And if you break a rule, err on the side of right, because you will likely be challenged.

Be Bold:

Back to our discussion of the old woman in the fire paragraph: In this partial sentence: “releasing a beast of raging heat and orange fire that lunged for her, hissing, snapping, and popping,” we see the creation of a metaphor, i.e., the fire is a beast. And the descriptors of “hissing, snapping, and popping” follow. Note that when we add such identifying terms, the rule is not to exceed three of them. Now that you know that rule, if you are in love with a fourth one, and you must put it in your story, take that artistic license. You are the artist! When I was drafting my novel, Avezzano and New York, I had read that in one’s debut novel they shouldn’t include too much subplot or make the work too long. Consequently, I omitted a chapter about Topaz’s brother, who had gone off to the last year of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 in Spain, and I’ve always regretted that decision. So, if you feel very strongly about the inclusion of even a word in your undertaking, and you have checked your dictionary and Thesaurus, be the one to make your own bold decision!

At the end of the old woman paragraph, she cries out, while falling, “Oh, dear God!” It seems obvious that her falling and her exclamatory words create a cliffhanger, which will hopefully, leave the reader wanting more.

I think next time, we will create a second paragraph to this lady in a fire story, for those writers who have trouble getting started. We will perhaps propose a couple of following paragraphs and take them apart. We can think on it, friends from afar.

God bless, and more to come soon…Glo