Reading Like a Writer

I just finished reading The Summons, a novel by John Grisham. He has zillions of books in print, most of them about the legal profession, since he used to be a lawyer. I'm sure that however much he was making practicing law, it is nothing compared to what he's making as a very successful writer. I chose this book because my sister is reading it and we thought that when we had both finished it, we might discuss it, like in a book club. Last week, I read his novel, The Associate, and I'm working my way through Ford County, a book of short stories also by Grisham.

Here's a six-minute video of Grisham talking about the creative process:




Normally, I might not choose this writer, but I'm trying to put it all together. The question is, What makes this writer so successful? How does he put his stories together? What drives the story? What can I, as a neophyte, learn from the expert?

Here's the scoop: I'd say that the novels are plot-driven. That means something happens, something outside of the characters' heads. Someone is after someone else or something. They want to get something and someone or something is in the way. This makes the conflict. The plot consists of conflict, resolution, another conflict, resolution, more conflict . . . and finally, the final resolution. In literary terms--the denouement, the untying of the mystery.

Hmm. I think it's harder than it sounds. First, you have to plot the plot. Now some writers say they have NO IDEA where the story is going to end up or where it's going after the first page. It has a life of its own, they say.

If your name is Margaret Atwood, Yann Martel, or John Grisham, this may be true. For most of us, though, we probably need to have something a little more solid than this.

I wouldn't say Grisham's characters are all that memorable in the sense that we love them and care deeply about them. His books are not really about the characters; his novels are about the plot.

So that's one kind of novel. What are you reading?

What are you reading like a writer?

Who Do You Write Like?

Try this for fun (our class had to do it for an assignment): copy a few paragraphs from your blog or some other writing that you've done--fiction is best--into the dialog box at the following web site:

www.iwl.me

Click on the ANALYZE button, and presto! the program will analyze your writing and tell you who you write like.

As you can see, I've been analyzed.

I write like
Kurt Vonnegut

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

I write like Kurt Vonnegut, famous and influential 20th century American writer. This didn't sound too bad, though I admit I had never read anything by him. So a few clicks on the keyboard and I brought up a few excerpts.

Hmm. What if I don't want to write like Kurt Vonnegut? I read some weird futuristic stuff, some stuff that was obviously influenced by his World War Two military service, and some stuff I just didn't get.

Maybe another piece of my writing would bring up another name. I found a story I had written back in my feminist awakening days and plugged it into the Analyzer at iwl.me. This time a new name that I had never heard before: Chuck Palahniuk. Okay, check him out. Wow, hmm, ooh, lots of police stories, prostitutes, drugs, awful things happening, blood, violence, etc., etc. Certainly not my first pick for curling up on the couch on a winter's eve for an engrossing read.

Anyway, today I went to the public library and took out three of Palahniuk's novels. The dust jacket of one of his books tells me that his books are "generation-defining" (another Douglas Coupland?) and that he's sold more than three million copies of his novels. Okay, maybe I should reconsider. Who wouldn't like that to be said about his or her writing?

I also took out Vonnegut's Bagombo Snuff Box. It's a collection of his uncollected short fiction (that means previously unpublished in book form). I've sat here for the last hour reading four short stories, totally engrossed in the author's craft. Now I see why he's counted as one of the recent American greats.

I've changed my mind. I'll wear the Kurt Vonnegut badge.

Maybe I should give Palahniuk another chance. I think I'll check out his non-fiction.

Oh, and if you want to do the rest of the assignment from our class: write a 750 word essay comparing and contrasting your writing with that of your doppelganger,* using the four elements of the craft (point of view, characterization, setting, and imagery) as a starting point.

*doppelganger: (from German, literally, double-walker) a ghostly counterpart of a living person. Similar to an alter-ego.