The Stuff of It All by Kathryn Magendie
“I often think that the best writing is done after you’ve forgotten what you wanted to say, but end up putting something down anyway just as though it were the actual evidence of your original intention.”—Clarence Major
This just happened to me. I had in mind to write a certain idea for a column but when at last I sat down to write it, the idea would not come. My words were stuck, and the original thought would not work. But…I kept writing, kept putting down the words that did come until entirely something else emerged, another idea that worked better. Sometimes this happens. Our direction is changed mid-stream and we must follow where we are lead. What a journey! This is living, folks. This is writing. This is manipulating the language without constraint—ah.
"The use of point of view is to bring the reader into immediate and continuous contact with the heart of the story and sustain him there.”—Tom Jenks
Your reader will see, feel, and "be" through the eyes of the character(s) who is(are) speaking. For me, the characters are not just the heart of the story—they are the story.
"The poor novelist constructs his characters, he controls them and makes them speak. The true novelist listens to them and watches them function; he eavesdrops on them even before he knows them. It is only according to what he hears them say that he begins to understand who they are.”— André Gide
Those who know me have heard me say, and I will say it over and again—listen to your characters. Let them show you where they want to go. Yes, sometimes we must manipulate as the author. But only when you allow your characters to be who they are, and not who you wish them to be, will everything begin to make sense and pull together. This goes for non-fiction, as well. Don’t try to tell us who you are writing about. Show us through their actions and play with the language. Fudge a bit if you have to. Just because you are writing non-fiction doesn’t mean you can’t embellish a bit. For isn’t life one big story told a different way with each telling? (And don’t be afraid to use dialogue in your essay.)
"Surely the test of a novel’s characters is that you feel a strong interest in them and their affairs—the good to be successful, the bad to suffer failure.”—Mark Twain
If you are not interested in your characters, why should anyone else be? Alternatively, if you do not believe in your work, why should anyone else? Believe me, it will show. The reader always knows. Give them your best. Give them the truths of your characters and their actions...and this word “truth” means more than what first appears to you.
"I was never too interested in starting with “ideas” and applying images. I wanted the stuff of it all, the pillow, the mint leaf, the crust of paint. Let the little things lead.”—Naomi Shihab Nye
Don't be afraid to add the "little things" in your writing, those images, those sensory details that make your story or essay come alive. Something as small as a curled leaf, a spot on the bedroom wall, tracks of freckles across a nose, a single red bird in a field of white snow (as long as you watch for cliché!) can become incredibly significant symbols. Images and sensory details such as a woman chopping onions and then sautéing them in melted butter; a boy watching his father shave/work/laugh/cry/spit/scratch/leave; a girl placing a bare foot in the water and shivering—the foot being only the beginning of the entire body’s immersion in what will become a moment of discovery—all of this helps add dimension to your writing. A glance, a sigh, a well-placed touch with just the tip of the second finger from the left hand. Play with your images. Think of the big things, yes, but the little things, the little images, will make your work much more vibrant.
“….You start out putting words down and there are three things—you, the pen, and the page. Then gradually the three things merge until they are one and you feel about the page as you do about your arm. Only you love it more than you love your arm.”—John Steinbeck
There are those times when the world as we know it falls away and our own inner world takes over. Soon the words are flowing, the characters are speaking, the story or essay is forming, and there is nothing else but this created reality. Hours have passed and we lift our heads...wait! It can’t be three o’clock?! It was only eleven o’clock just a while ago! We have been existing in "other-worlds", alternate universes, and the return from them is often wonderfully surreal.
Not every writer loves his craft unconditionally. Nor do they always enjoy the struggle of manipulating language. And I suspect, they aren't always deliriously happy every time they sit down to work, especially when it comes to revisions. Yet, something deep in us compels us to do it. If you don't always love writing, so what? Frustration is natural, even healthy sometimes, especially if it helps to kick-start a dull character or navigate our thoughts away from a dead-end idea. But despite the frustration, I know I’d wither and wilt and die a bit if I could not write, create, express...do what I do. As clichéd as that sounds, it is what it is.
By the way, if you worry about what the editor or publisher wants, you will drive yourself crazy. Instead, why not write for an audience of one: you. The rest will work itself out, one way or the other.
Kathryn Magendie is co-Editor/Publisher of Rose & Thorn Journal. She is the author of Tender Graces and its sequel, Secret Graces, as well as the forthcoming Sweetie.Visit her author website at KathrynMagendie.
Kathryn, thank you. This is beautiful and inspiringly instructive. You make a great writing midwife.
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Kat, these are wonderful! I especially love that very first quote. My favorite part about writing is its organic nature.
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These are great tips on characterization. I need to keep them in mind as I start a rewrite of my novel!
Found you from Kittie's blog, The Block.
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I would also suggest "To the Actor", by Michael Chehov. It is written to actors, but his method of getting in touch with your intuitive creative process has revolutionized my writing, as well.
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