the craft. read like a writer vol. 75
Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Unsplash
So, I feel like this should just be a series because reading books brings so much to mind when it comes to craft. It’s a skillset to read for enjoyment, yes, but also to be able to dissect the craft of it in the process and bring it back to your own pages to implement. I realize not everyone who reads can assess exactly what the takeaways should be for their own work and so, when the inspiration strikes, I’ll share it.
I recently had the opportunity to connect with an awesome group of writers here in LA and I bought all of their books expeditiously because, well, selling books is hard and so I like to support where I can. The first one I decided to pick up was The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes. It’s a thriller/suspense novel and much different than anything I write, so I felt it was a safe bet.
First off, it’s a wonderfully creepy little book. Lol. But I also enjoy Ana’s voice as a writer. Sometimes stories just click, you know? And so I’ve enjoyed diving into this story. Even though it’s certainly a different genre for me, there are some cool things I noticed about Ana’s approach.
One, I love how much her characters are moving. There is action. There are always things happening. It’s like yes, there should be action in a book, but I also feel like it tells me something about this character who is battling multiple addictions and pretty much suffering from insomnia. To me, she’s always moving even when she’s supposed to be asleep.
As I’m working on my own work in progress, I thought, how can I make sure that I have enough action in the scenes with my characters? We all have things we’re good at and for me, I’m a lot more developed, I would say, in being able to convey the emotions of characters and dialogue. But it takes a bit more work for me to dig into the visual of it all. What are my characters doing while they’re pouring their hearts out on the page?
So in this revision process, it’s been great to have that in the back of my mind. When I’m going a bit too long with exposition, I’m finding these moments where I can add in that the main character crossed their legs or someone else’s eyes darted around the room. We want to bring our readers into the physical world of our characters as much as their internal world.
Also, there are great passages of description throughout the book. Nice and creepy ones that will have you yelling aloud, “Don’t do that!” Look, at the end of the day, we all have our gifts and I have to work a bit harder at beautiful ways to describe mundane things. My nature is just to say they walked into the room, turned to face her and then this happened. I have this plain, for lack of a better way of putting it, way of describing things in those early versions of my stories. So, a big part of my revision process is bulking up the description. Okay, what curtains were on the walls? Were the leaves of the plants lush or brown like they would be if I was taking care of them? Was the floorboards in a herringbone pattern? Did they recognize the squeak of that third floorboard that always gave them away?
I love adding these small details because in the long run, they give your work so much life. You help your reader see the thing. I’ve mentioned that I like to look at pictures to stimulate visuals for me. I also read a lot of poetry when I’m working on descriptions. I mean poets have amazing word choice. Poems stir a different part of my brain up that makes me want to say “her heart frayed at the ends” vs. her heart was broken. You know? And please note it’s not about copying but stimulation. When I read beautifully written poetry, it unlocks a necessary part of my brain to begin describing things in my own way. Just want to make sure we’re clear on that. 😀
Lastly, it reminded me that whether your genre is suspense or not, every book needs some suspense. I mean why else are we going to keep reading it? In my first novel, I remember a few notes where my editor was like, “we can say this a bit later in the story.” It’s such a balance to know what you have to say about your characters and their situation to create the buy-in for the protagonist and what can be cool reveals much later in the story, creating that sense of suspense no matter what type of story you’re writing.
I know everyone has their own approach to whether they can read or not while they’re actively drafting. It ain’t for everyone. But the only way I’m going to get through this ridiculous TBR pile I’ve amassed is if I do so. For my schedule, I pretty much write and revise my own stories in the morning and then I read other people’s stories at night before bed instead of endlessly scrolling Twitter. Much more productive honestly, because I wake up in the morning full of energy towards my own work. It’s a great motivator to bring my A-game when I read something the night before and I’m like, “dang, that was good.” lol.
Happy writing!
Writing/Job Opportunities
Alyse Kalish is accepting pitches for unique personal essays relevant to business readers. akalish@insider.com. A thread of examples.
Cosmopolitan is accepting pitches for its upcoming PRIDE issue, deadline 2/6. Profiles about complex figures who reflect something bigger in our culture; plot-driven narratives; thoughtful criticism. Very open interpretations of "pride" encouraged. elizabeth.keifer@hearst.com.
Hannah Orenstein is looking for pitches: reported features or first-person narratives about eating disorders, endometriosis, bipolar disorder, joyful pieces about trans life, stories about observing Ramadan. hannah.orenstein@bustle.com.
The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow is pleased to announce the 2023 My Time Fellowship funded by the Sustainable Arts Foundation. Writers who are also parents of dependent children under the age of 18 are invited to apply. Work may be any literary genre: poetry, fiction, plays, memoir, screenplays, or nonfiction. The successful application will demonstrate literary merit and the likelihood of publication. Prior publication is not a requirement.
Axios is hiring an Associate Editorial Director.
Theatre Communications Group is hiring an Assistant Editor for their book program. (48-50k).
Roots. Wounds. Words is hiring an interim Executive Director for a four-month contact. (4k)
The Daily Dot is hiring an Executive Editor.