Literary Thoughts – Page 3 – Ann S. Epstein Writer

Whimsy and Wonderment Not Optional

“There’s nothing wrong with treating children or yourself to a bit of whimsy and wonderment and unimportant foolishness in a world that’s all too full of tears” (“Eric Carle’s Tiny Seeds” by Jonathan Kozol, The New York Times Book Review, August 1, 2021). In his tribute to children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle, educator Jonathan Kozol captures why Carle, who died in May at age 91, delights us. Generations of readers will forever savor each page of The Very Hungry Caterpillar as they grow from being “hangry” to sympathizing over a tummy ache from overindulgence to being awed by the sight of a resplendent creature. Carle continued making collages until his death, leaving what he called an unfinished “nonsense book.” It’s up to us to carry on his playful spirit by reading his work and inventing new foolishness. I’m doing my part. Although I primarily write “serious” fiction, I always include humor and now and then I simply have to create off-the-wall pieces: “The Epigenetics of Barbie,” “Exploding Pyrex,” and “www.metroperpetual.com” (see SHORT STORIES). “It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Children’s author & illustrator Eric Carle reads “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

Why writers read: “Don’t sleep with people who don’t read!” – John Waters

Real People, Not Cardboard Characters

“Writing human beings as ‘characters’ is chief among all sins of the memoir writer. Unfortunately, it’s painfully easy to turn people into flat characters in a format so focused around recoloring the past” (Meagan Shelley, “In Search of a Third Dimension: On Characterization in Memoir,” The Writer, August 2021). Fiction writers can fall into the same trap, creating cardboard villains or cloying saints who lack complexity. My favorite challenge as a fiction writer is to make an unsympathetic character interesting — not necessarily likable, but humanized with a range of emotions and behaviors. To do that, I must first empathize with them. Finding that empathy can be harder for the memoir writer whose opinions of a person or event are fixed. Waiting before writing offers a solution. Time and distance allow the memoirist’s perspective to widen and become more flexible. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS .

Cardboard characters flatten a manuscript

Why writers write: “Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.” – Sylvia Plath

Cowardly and Courageous Revisions

Doing a cowardly or hesitant revision is like swiping a rug with a rag. It merely stirs up the dust, which then settles back down, slightly rearranged. A courageous or bold revision is taking the rug outside and beating it until the dirt falls away and the yarn, repaired and rewoven, shines. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.

A good revision is like a series of solid whacks with a rug beater

“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” – William Faulkner

Bad Idea or Bad Execution?

“I don’t believe in bad ideas, just bad execution” (actor and writer Issa Rae). When it comes to my own writing, I believe in both. No idea is inherently bad, but it may be bad for me. How do I know? My interest soon fizzles; the well of characters and scenes dries up well short of a quarter-cupful. Or I park the thought in my idea folder, but months or years pass without it beckoning. I don’t delete it; it may eventually call. It is likely a good idea for someone else. But I accept that it’s a bad idea for me, for now, maybe forever. Bad execution, on the other hand, IS inherent to the creative process. Which is why we revise, seek feedback, and continue to polish the work until we do justice to an idea that takes hold of us and won’t quit. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.

Creativity demands we sift out the bad ideas and execute the good ones well

Why writers write: “Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. – Orson Scott

The Ratio of Bad to Good

“I have to have a thousand bad ideas before I can get to a good one” (writer and director Aaron Sorkin). Every creative person can attest to the truth of Sorkin’s pronouncement, although we hope for fewer missteps before we find our footing. The notion of wading through the bad to arrive at the good is one impetus behind the advice to write every day. If you write infrequently, it can take a long time for a good idea to emerge. Odds are, you’ll have given up before then. Worse, if you wait for inspiration to strike, you may never begin. But if you trust that a gem is buried in the mud, you’ll slog through until it shines. Save and polish it. Then slog on, bypassing more bad ideas and collecting good ones until the piece is complete. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.

Why writers write: “The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” – Louis L’Amour

Same Script, Different Productions

Two sets of directors, casts, and crews, working from identical scripts, create different productions. Two authors, given the same set of words or writing prompts, create different stories. What distinguishes them? Setting (stage set or story location); lighting (illumination and shadow on the stage or on paper); costume and makeup (how actors or characters appear); props (stage items, story details), voice (POV, how actors or character speak); body and facial language (posture, gestures, movements, and expressions acted or described); and chemistry (between actors or characters). Connections change too. In live theater, the connection between actors and audience alters the production from one performance to the next. Likewise, how readers connect with what’s on the page gives rise to different books. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.

Directors, cast, and crew — like authors — interpret the same script differently, creating alternate experiences for audiences and readers

Why writers write: “Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences.” – Sylvia Plath

The Marriage of Knowledge and Wonder

“Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of sin” (Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism). Heschel define wonder as “radical amazement.” Amazement leads us to ask “How can this be?” which in turn spurs us to seek knowledge, an explanation. This seeking is the practice of science. Contrary to the belief that science and religion are incompatible, however, is the observation that scientific discoveries do not end our sense of wonder, but instead increase our radical amazement that such phenomena exist. The best scientific writing conveys and inspires this sense of wonder. I write fiction, which is spurred by our sense of wonder about human nature. Fiction writers turn to imagination, not science, for explanations, but the motivation is the same. And whatever the answer — a story’s end — radical amazement remains. Nothing is fully explained, which is why the tales I like best, whether I’m writing or reading, are those with open endings. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, leading 20th century theologian and philosopher

Why writers write: “Writing is the answer to everything. It’s the streaming reason for living … to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.” – Enid Bagnold

Pandemic Thoughts: Harmony and Unity Before Reentry

“Before things return to normal (after the pandemic), I just want to live each day more harmoniously” (classical singer Julia Bullock). After a prolonged lockdown, the return to normal produces a disorienting mix of anticipation and anxiety. If singers hope to capture and carry forward a state of vocal harmony, perhaps the verbal equivalent for writers is the resonant unity of our words. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.

Seeking harmony and unity in notes and words

Why writers write: “Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.” – Virginia Woolf

Pandemic Thoughts: Slow Down

“I wish I’d given myself the comfort of knowing how long (the pandemic) was going to be. Here’s you in a year, relax. Stop refreshing The New York Times” (musician Phoebe Bridgers). Many years ago, when my house had no heat during a six-month remodeling project that dragged on for two years, I subconsciously drove my car faster on the instinct that a revved-up engine would get me warmer too. All I got was a speeding ticket. At the beginning of the pandemic, I felt that same urge to hurry up, as if my working faster would hasten the end of the lockdown. Eventually I accepted that the end was nowhere in sight. Now, as I reenter the world, I’m content to advance at a snail’s pace. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.

Pace yourself when the road ahead is of undetermined length

Why writers write: “A word is never the destination, merely a signpost in its general direction, and that destination owes quite as much to the reader as to the writer.” – John Fowles

Pandemic Thoughts: Who Needs This?

“I decided I was going to learn to draw (during the pandemic). I really sucked at it. It was hard on my self-esteem. I had to let the drawing go” (novelist Tayari Jones). Why, in times of stress, do creative people pile more on ourselves by undertaking new challenges? I admire Jones, who was able to drop the drawing. Many, myself included, find it hard to let go. What started as an adventure becomes self-inflicted punishment. Instead of either bidding adieu or simply finding pleasure in something regardless of our ability, we build a wall and persist in slamming our heads against it. Occasionally we break through, so we risk our self-esteem again. And again. More thoughts about writing at REFLECTIONS.