This was really helpful, the chat. I'm now off to milk some dread out of a scene I rushed over earlier today. I keep being told I do this but this chat really made me think about why. Maybe it is embarrassment or a kind of imposter syndrome... I mean, who am I to be writing stories when there are so many good stories already written... I massively agree with your point about rushing the juicy bits though. How can I write gothic as if I'm Raymond Chandler with a gag order? I've tried for so long to rid myself of unnecessary waffle that I barely leave anything in the sentences any more. Thank you for the way back in to enjoying the process of making stuff up. Less isn't always more, is it? X
Who is any one of us to be writing stories? But we can't help it. It's just something we do like sleep or go for walks. Hemingway, who was great, came as an antidote to all the prolix Victorians and the early 20th Century pulp authors like Lovecraft and Robert E Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. Even people like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett (too many double letters in that name to get them right every time). Then his style became the favoured style. I mean, people laud James Joyce but he wasn't short on his words. So, this idea that you have to strip everything out until it sounds like you're writing telegrams, is just fashion. It came and it will go, probably already is going, but still creative writing books still tell you to strip every word out. Words are also there for rhythm and beauty. The big lesson I learned was reading stories live. You can see the audience hanging on the pauses. Draw it out, pause, pause, a bit more, pause, rush rush, pause pause, END (with). Thats what I think anyhow.
Definitely chimed with criticism I've had, when you said about milking the dread. I never think of pacing in terms of reading h aloud but it makes sense. When I edit other people's stuff I read it aloud for rythym. Xx
This was really helpful, the chat. I'm now off to milk some dread out of a scene I rushed over earlier today. I keep being told I do this but this chat really made me think about why. Maybe it is embarrassment or a kind of imposter syndrome... I mean, who am I to be writing stories when there are so many good stories already written... I massively agree with your point about rushing the juicy bits though. How can I write gothic as if I'm Raymond Chandler with a gag order? I've tried for so long to rid myself of unnecessary waffle that I barely leave anything in the sentences any more. Thank you for the way back in to enjoying the process of making stuff up. Less isn't always more, is it? X
Who is any one of us to be writing stories? But we can't help it. It's just something we do like sleep or go for walks. Hemingway, who was great, came as an antidote to all the prolix Victorians and the early 20th Century pulp authors like Lovecraft and Robert E Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. Even people like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett (too many double letters in that name to get them right every time). Then his style became the favoured style. I mean, people laud James Joyce but he wasn't short on his words. So, this idea that you have to strip everything out until it sounds like you're writing telegrams, is just fashion. It came and it will go, probably already is going, but still creative writing books still tell you to strip every word out. Words are also there for rhythm and beauty. The big lesson I learned was reading stories live. You can see the audience hanging on the pauses. Draw it out, pause, pause, a bit more, pause, rush rush, pause pause, END (with). Thats what I think anyhow.
Definitely chimed with criticism I've had, when you said about milking the dread. I never think of pacing in terms of reading h aloud but it makes sense. When I edit other people's stuff I read it aloud for rythym. Xx