Walking the High Wire and Other Novel Techniques

I really enjoyed Debbie's post on Monday about artistic license in story structure, and I enjoyed the several comments to the post. Katy said, "I love it when authors walk the high wire." I love the image that conjures, because, really, don't we all feel like we're working without a net from the first sentence we write to the last, every time we write a novel?

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Nicole said, "Rules were made to be broken in my world." We've all heard that saying, of course, along with the caveat that you must know the rules in order to break them. And I completely agree on both counts. But Nicole goes on to say, "If (emphasis mine) the story works, bravo to the one who told it in a different way."

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Ah, therein lies the rub.

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Because in taking artistic license, we take the chance that it won't work. And not simply that it won't work, but that it could fail miserably, and do so even before it gets past the pub committee.

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And then there are the copycats who think "because a long, rambling letter worked for Marilyn Robinson, it'll work for me." Well, probably not. Because the whole idea is to be unique in our breaking of the rules. And once it's done, it's old news. That's not to say another novel written in the form of a letter can't work, and work well; it just means it must break the new rules established by the former rule breaker. See how complicated this becomes? Yet, what's the alternative? Tried and true, safe, ho-hum fiction, of which there's already for more than enough in the world.

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Humorist Chris Dunmire writes, "A rule is 1) A guide or principle for governing action; 2) The usual way of doing something ... While guides and principles are in place for good reason, 'the usual way of doing something' as a rule in your creative work is flexible and open to change." http://www.coachingyourcreativity.com/

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We must know the difference. A novel written entirely without punctuation breaks point #1 above, to no end. But a novel written as notes between a mother and daughter, left on a refrigerator door, that doesn't just skirt the 'usual way of doing something,' it annihilates it in a most remarkable -- and useful -- way.

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Bonnie makes a good point that a "nontraditional structured novel ... needs to adhere to the other aspects of traditional novels -- story arc, character development, and a rich, well-drawn ending." Sort of a breaking-the-rules-while-staying-within-the-rules idea. But none of those elements need to be sacrificed for the sake of creative license. In fact, they must not be.

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Had I known all this, I'd have become a novel writer with fear and trembling. Strike that; I would not have become a novel writer at all. I'd have, I don't know, gone into something simpler instead, like black widow spider poison extraction. But you know what they say, ignorance is bliss.

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The bottom line is this: successfully breaking the rules in fiction quite often leads to the success of the novel. Or at the very least, it makes the piece memorable. If that's what we're after -- creating successful and memorable books -- we need to do all we can to avoid the usual way of going about it. As we listen to that still small voice, coming from the One who had the power to speak His creative thoughts into existence, we just may find the creative license to take us successfully way, way outside the lines.

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Would you take a moment to respond to this impromptu, non-scientific poll? All you need do is post the letter A or B under "Comments." (But feel free to share your thoughts if you have time.)

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A. I prefer a novel that follows a more traditional format as opposed to one that experiments with the rules.

B. I prefer a novel that breaks the rules. Even if it misses the mark, I'm willing to stick with it to the end.

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"Therein lies the rub." A misquote from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

"Devoutly to be wish'd

To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream

ay, there's the rub (defined snag or obstacle)

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause; there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life;"

Tell me more

I loved Latayne's post on Monday, love talking about writers and the craft of writing. Similes and metaphors, if fresh and unique, can enhance fiction like nothing else. Sol Stein, in Stein on Writing--a book every writer should read and reread--calls them "the wonders of writing...when carried off, especially when a simile is original and a metaphor sings, there is no greater glory in the practice of words." Wow. Quite a boast. And I tend to agree. I know good writing shouldn't draw attention to itself, but I can't help stopping at every great simile I come across, taking a moment to savor it, to praise the author for digging deep.

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Whether we're writers, readers or both, we want the words on the page to sparkle, to sing, to draw us in like a temptress and have their way with us. According to Stein, detail is another way to achieve that. But it's not just "detail that distinguishes good writing, it is detail that individualizes." It's detail that tells us more without employing tired adjectives to get the job done. Stein calls this particularity. Here are some examples from the skilled women I share this blog with. I've italicized key phrases that smack oh-so-nicely of particularity.

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"...Kirsten Young lay on her back, a serene Ophelia in her dusky pond of blood" (Latter-Day Cipher, by Latayne C. Scott). Pool of blood would have gotten the point across in a tired way most readers would have skimmed right over. But dusky pond of blood, well, that sings. You don't skim over a phrase like that. You read it again, and maybe again.

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"Five women as gnarled as driftwood shuffled into the chapel...they smelled of mentholated lozenges and joint ointment" (The Queen of Sleepy Eye, by Patti Hill). What a visual we're given by Patti's particularity to detail. She accomplished more in that first lovely phrase than ten tired adjectives could have.

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Here's a description of one of Katy Popa's memorable characters from To Dance in the Desert: "'...there she was with her long gray hair fanned out on the pillow like the Lady of Shalott. And her hands folded on her chest--with a lily! And her face all sunk down like a badly made bed...' Dara cupped a hand over her mouth to contain the revulsion. She saw too clearly the flesh-draped skull sunk into the pillow, the jaw hung open...Dara peeked over her shoulder and there at the door was the bombshell (the very woman we've been reading about), in--for heaven's sake!--white stiletto heels." Masterful particularity!

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"I grin back and tug on a piece of tape, careful not to tear the brilliant red paper...I laugh and pull off the wrapper. A white box, the kind you use to wrap the sweater you bought Grandma for Christmas. I throw him a toothy grin that I hope covers my disappointment. I don't want a grandma sweater" (Talking to the Dead, by Bonnie Grove). The use of grandma as an adjective to define the sweater tells us so much more about Kate's disappointing expectation than the word sweater alone ever could. Of course, it wasn't a grandma sweater in the box--not even close! But you'll have to read the book to find out what he gave her.

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And this from a courtroom scene in Debbie Fuller Thomas's Christy-nominated Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon. "Dad sat beside me doodling a perfect likeness of Andie on the manila folder stuffed with evidence that argued our right to disrupt her life." That one phrase tells us more dynamically what a whole page of text couldn't, and in a way that packs an emotional punch. But notice the contrast of doodling (a light and whimsical activity) on such a document. That too is a great example of particularity.

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Share some of your favorite passages of particularity for a chance to win this month's giveaway novels: Blue Hole Back Home, by Joy Jordan Lake, and Safe at Home, by Richard Doster. And, if you haven't yet read the novels available from the authors here at Novel Matters, I hope this whets your appetite. Watch throughout the summer for opportunities to win our books.

Round Table Monday: If I Were a Christy Award Judge. . .

If I were a Christy Award judge? Well, let's just say I'm glad I'm not. It has to be a difficult job. Too many great choices and too many great books. But - to dream a little dream. . .

Christy Awards go out to books that are written from a Christian worldview, so that "shelves" a whole range of books I've read this year. Oh, and that's another caveat. Christys go out to books that were published in the last year. I'm woefully behind in my reading, so I can only comment on books I've actually read. And so I will, books I've read that are on the list, and a few I loved that didn't make the list for whatever reason. Joy Jordan Lake rocks the house with her book Blue Hole Back Home. Believe me, to get a Canadian to love a book about racism in the American South (that isn't To Kill A Mockingbird) is no small feat.

I second Bonnie for the nomination of Blue Hole Back Home for debut novel. It's an amazing story and one of the best constructed novels I've ever read. In fact, I just read it again and am studying its construction to guide me in the book I'm working on now.

Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon by our own Debbie Thomas is another excellent novel. It's a well-told, touching story, and though it too is a debut novel, it has been nominated for Contemporary Standalone fiction. I'm pulling for both Joy and Debbie, big time! Those are the only two nominated books I've read, but I've just moved some of the others to the top of my to-be-read pile.

I'm going to cheat a little, because otherwise, I will only tell you that I third Bonnie and Sharon's votes for Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon and Blue Hole Back Home. (I am so amazed to be associated with Debbie Fuller Thomas, and I am in awe of Joy Jordan-Lake.)

But this Sunday night as I write this, I've been reading an Advance Reader Copy of Patti Hill's novel, Seeing Things, and I have to say, I am completely charmed by the character Patti has created in this story, a hallucinating grandmother named Birdie. Can I make a nomination? I'm completely enthralled with the story, and the dialogue is just amazing, both for Birdie and for Huckleberry Finn, the storybook character come to life, that only she can see.

I know you all think I'm promoting this book because our own Patti wrote it, but nope. It's that good. Look forward to Seeing Things.


Katy! How can I scold you? You're so sweet and generous. Thanks, darlin'.

The only nominated book I've read this year is, you guessed it, Debbie's smart and daring--she speaks from the point of view of an adult and a child!--Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon. But I do have favorites from previous years, like River Rising by Athol Dickson and Levi's Will by Dale Cramer. These men can't be rushed. They write until every word is inspired. I hope this is true of my writing someday. And can I make a nomination? For next year, The Passion of Mary-Margaret better be up there among the nominees. I'm reading this book now, and I'm completely envious of Lisa Samson's command of story.

Intrepid reader Latayne here. I, too, absolutely loved Debbie's Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon. It starts out with a punch -- an incredible situation that goes far beyond "switched at birth" and keeps you deeply involved.

I bought Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White by Claudia Mair Burney (and paid full price for it, something I never do! Hope she appreciates that!) because I read an excerpt from it online and thought, "This is a terrific writer!"

And I'm in the middle of Bonnie's Talking to the Dead. It should be on next year's list. It is wonderful!

The most wonderful part of being associated with the Novel Matters gang (apart from enjoying their sparkling personalities) is to be able to read their books before they hit the shelves. What wonderful new fiction we have to look forward to! My reading list is in constant flux and growing. I appreciate the kind words from my fellow bloggers here. I stand scratching my head at finding myself included with awesome novelists as a Christy finalist, and I'll bet Patti Hill felt the same way when her book Like a Watered Garden was a Christy finalist in 2006. I predict that next year we'll be celebrating with more Novel Matters authors.

Your turn, dear readers. We'd love for you to share your reviews on the nominated novels.