“Visions come to prepared spirits”
(Attributed to the German organic chemist Friedrich August Kekule who, after twenty years, had figured out the structure of the benzene ring and came up with this insight in later discussions with his students.)
A review of a webinar presented by Charlotte Wood.
On 31 March 2020, in the midst of our viral pandemic, the author, podcaster and current Writer in Residence at University of Notre Dame, Charlotte Wood, took time out to have an online discussion. I joined a group of 100 writers and lovers of the craft of fiction writing. Charlotte structured the presentation around 10 questions which had been submitted by the audience. Despite several interruptions in the transmission, Charlotte managed to tackle all the questions posed and whetted our appetite for more.
The summary which follows reflects Charlotte’s thoughts combined with my own observations.
- How does one deepen the world of the narrative?
By world, Charlotte means the setting, place and environment. This is achieved by both a combination of research in the beginning and later revision. But just as important is the need for the writer to undertake close observations. One must fasten one’s gaze. Be the author who subscribes to the pleasures of living a deep life; one who takes note (and takes down notes) of everything he or she sees, hears, smells, tastes and touches.
Tip: The ubiquitous smart phone camera is a handy tool for capturing your observations. While the eye is biased and selective in what it considers worthy of recall, your photos don’t edit what’s in the frame and are a store of detail that would otherwise escape notice.
Once you have gathered up the details THEN choose what you are going to use.
- What is a darling and when should you kill it?
A darling is a piece of writing that has no functional reason.
If the piece of writing is not in service to the idea then it is a darling. For example, does it move the plot? If you don’t give the piece you are writing a job, then it is a darling. It is your job to intuit and be ruthless with what is not working.
Perhaps you will tell yourself if I take all this great writing out – writing I have invested so much time on – then it will create more work. This is not a good enough excuse.
And if you still insist on keeping your darling, after your friends and editor have said it needs to be cut, ask yourself if you have earned the indulgence of leaving it in.
- What do I need to consider when basing my fiction on real (living) people?
For art to exist people are going to get hurt. Nevertheless, the writer needs to be ethical and aware of the consequences of the decision to use (and potentially hurt) people who may not appreciate being written about. Ask myself why I want / have to use a living person without their permission? Am I being lazy?
Fiction is not reportage. It is inventing and reinventing. What changes can be employed to minimize identity theft? Move my writing focus from the person to a character.
- Do readers need a happy ending? – Answer: No.
The ending just needs to have a resolution and be satisfying.
TIP: Try writing the ending first.
- Why is it easier to write the dark stuff rather than the light stuff?
Writing relentlessly bleak stuff – no matter how beautifully written – is hard on the reader. Good writing requires light and shade. This can be achieved by being courageous and writing truthful observations. Beautiful writing also helps.
Don’t rely on gratuitous gravitas / darkness for its own sake.
See Charlotte’s Guardian article on laughter.
- How do I find my own unique voice?
Writing in your own voice in both necessary and impossible to describe.
It is not about trying to impress, sell or market.
Voice comes when the writer tries to tell the truth.
The American writer George Saunders’ noted his own early struggles with writing fiction that came across as false. As the story goes, that changed when he found himself “in a conference-call meeting, and began doodling, “writing these stupid Doctor Seussian poems, drawing the picture, writing the poem, drawing the picture, putting them on a pile. And I brought those home that night and I somehow couldn’t throw them away, they were kind of fun to have done. And I left them, went to do something, and I heard Paula laughing from the other room, with real sincerity, and something just popped in my head. And I realised all those years I’d left out anything fun.”
For an Australian perspective, another great source of inspiration on writers finding their unique voice can be found in the Sue Woolfe and Kate Grenville book Making Stories: How Ten Australian Novels Were Written , where the idea of the writer as someone to whom the Muse has simply dictated a masterpiece is displaced with evidence of writing as a working process.
- What’s the difference between narrative flow and narrative tension?
Creative narrative tension is writing that shows action moving in the scene. Watch enough television programs to learn how it’s well executed. Charlotte noted “The West Wing” often showed characters doing a lot of talking while walking. Narrative tension falls into several categories.
- Action of forward movement.
- Action of disruption.
- (no doubt there will be several stories of people trapped on cruise ships landing on our shores)
- Forecasting and promises
- Gaps and puzzles creating a sense of unease in the reader. For an example read Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian science fiction “Never Let Me Go”
… in contrast to narrative tension…
- Beware of the Flashback!
There is an implied stasis in stories with flashbacks and backstories. To be used sparingly and not at the expense of forward momentum.
- What are your suggestions on revision of one’s fiction?
By this stage of the webinar, Charlotte was running out of her allotted time and suggested that the topic of revision was too broad to adequately cover in the time left. With that said, she hoped to offer a separate webinar devoted to revision in the near future.
- How do you shut out the madness of the world in order to create?
- “Visions come to Prepared Spirits”
- Resent interruptions
- Adopt the attitude that no-one cares about your novel. (As recommended by Jerry Saltz in ‘How To Be An Artist’
- Consider getting back into, or starting to journal for routine and habit
- Practice resilience against distraction, agitation, anxiety and fear. Control what you can. Now is the time write what is important. Even before the arrival of the Corona virus, the world was contending with the effects of climate change, catastrophic bushfires and the sidelining of the arts by successive governments both in Australia and elsewhere. Creating art is act of flexing your imaginative muscles and introducing something new into the world.
- Get off Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, news sites and all social media that is taking you away from your writing time.
- Aim to place yourself in a creative mood state, including the following three elements:
1. Positive affect
2. Slightly elevated “activation” or energy level. Think of this as getting excited to write.
3. A “promotion focus” in which the writer, or any artist for that matter, has the mindset of seeking pleasure rather than avoiding pain.
- Accept there will be days of doubt and days when you will need to recommit yourself to your writing.
- With the above remedies the virus should become more benign. You can also check out Charlotte’s podcast.
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