First, the Novel ReportI don't think I mentioned that I headed out to the library and bookstores to get research material for my novel. I have several books on order at the library and have sussed out a line of research that will pave the way to keep me from venturing too far out of sight of the possible in my story line. While I wait for these books to arrive, I am doing some thinking. I believe that some authors let their characters tell the story and lead them through the plot. I on the other hand, at least for this particular novel, believe that the plot (and subplots) must be carefully conceived and thought through so that I can figure out which characters I need to progress my plot. Having said that, a good story must necessarily involve people who propel you through the story and who keep you interested because you care about what happens to them. So carefully constructed characters are essential.
Mavis GallantI listened to an interview with Mavis Gallant on CBC Radio 1 on Wednesday as I drove up to Collingwood. Mavis Gallant has been the preeminent international author of short stories since the 1950s. She is 82 and just recently published her latest book of short stories. From the interview it became clear that she still very mentally agile and writes daily.
Interestingly, if one asks about a notable Canadian author of short stories it may be that Alice Munro's name comes to mind. Actually, Gallant is the more Internationally renowned author. She has in the last 50 odd years rarely given interviews - she has made it known that she likes her privacy, which may explain why Munro is better known. Gallant was born in 1922 in Montreal, Quebec. She moved to Paris in 1950 to pursue her writing career.
You can hear the interview here on the Wed July 1st CBC Radio 2 Program called Q:In any case, listening to Gallant talk about her characters and her immersion into the settings of her stories was very compelling. In the interview she recounts on one occasion in the 1990s, when she was writing a story set in the 1950s she went outside and was momentarily confused to see modern cars and clothes on the people in the street. Now that is focus.
I need to figure out who is in my novel and then get to know them as well as I know myself. I need to put myself into the setting sufficiently that I can experience it myself in my minds eye. This will take some imagining and doing. I have given myself to the end of August for this and then September through October to do the chapter summaries before November 1st, which is the day I start my draft. My journey there is just beginning.
Levi BluesI am a sucker for feel good songs. There are a lot of them out there. I woke the other morning to the sounds of Dala and their new song "Levi Blues". I jumped out of bed and wrote down the song and the artist. As I was clearing up my scraps of notes from my dining room table today I came across it and it led me on a wild chase.
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It was interesting to read your words about your careful planning for the birth of a novel, Peggy. My own writing habits are more spontaneous, whether fiction or non, which probably is why you never have seen a book written by Fram. When I think of a character, I always have someone I know in mind, at minimum in the sense to serve as a model for physical description.
ReplyDeleteShort stories and Mavis Gallant: She is ancient, yet I do not recall hearing of her. Have I missed any good stories?
None of your singers are familiar to me. See, we tread different ground entirely in that area, it seems. Thinking more about this topic, I realized that, until recently, probably 80 percent of the music I know comes from listening to (preferably news and commercial free) rock stations on the radio while driving, 10 percent from bar bands, 5 percent from concerts and the remaining 5 from introduction via family or friends. Just another reason I consider myself provincial.
This is a neat post.
Fram, we seem to be two sides of a coin.
ReplyDeleteActually, as I trotted home from work tonight, I was thinking about your comment that Scorpions were a "commercially successful group" and I concluded it was because I have not much listened to any rock radio stations, where commercially successful groups might be encountered. I have not had a great deal of exposure to rock bands, except for a few brief years where a significant other was into rock music. So commercially successful or not, I had not heard of Scorpions.
I have however had a long and loving relationship with Jazz, blues and folk and even country and classical... but in recent years I seem to be quite into what is classified here as "world music". In addition, I am exposed to new music of all genres (but seemingly less rock music) on my beloved CBC radio 2. It was on CBC Radio 2 that I found the one which I chose for today's blog and (as a preview) the one which will be featured on my next blog.
Going back to your comment regarding the birth of my novel - I think my approach may be quite influenced by my profession. I make my living by planning and executing projects with the careful approach that a surgeon might take into an operating theatre, except my projects are completed in a year or more and of course do not have that life or death consequence of a job well done.
The contrasting approaches to planning a novel might be analogous with method acting vs classical acting - each has its following and both have great success with individual practitioners. I tend to think this approach, which imo is more appropriate to the type of novel I am writing, is less artistic in the "touchy feely" sense and more a discipline in a planned approach to building a product.
Glad you are enjoying watching this unfold.
Lastly, Mavis Gallant.- Yes, 82 is ancient, but obviously not past it. I have a couple of her collections of short stories. I have just now started reading the 2nd one – a rather long (862 pages) volume of her best work – I doubt whether I will pick it up again until after my NaNoWriMo novel is written, simply no time. Both it and the other in my library – Home Truths - are supposed to be her best work. I quite enjoy her short stories. Not sure if I prefer them to Alice Munro, but she does paint great characters.