The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 2 Feb 2010

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:

"You have to be very clear and straightforward so an editor knows exactly what you're proposing, how well you're equipped, what material might be there, etc. But at the same time, they're listening to your voice. I think it's the voice as much as anything that really sells the story." Caroline Alexander

Now that's an interesting observation -- voice, not story, is what sells? I suppose if we consider music, many of the classical operas and other pieces are well-known, so it is the voice, the performance, that really sells. But normally we consider that writing is somewhat different. Still, the basic plots, many of the characters, settings... so much of it is tried and true. That's when the writer's voice becomes important. I see arguments that many of Shakespeare's plays are based on older material, and yet... it's Shakespeare's plays that we all remember.

Craft and art? There's a tension between the craft side of writing, where we want to make the words and the structure almost transparent to the reader, so that they submerge themselves in the story, and the art side, where the words and sentences and the arrangement sings to the reader, calls them into enjoyment, seduces them. Not too much, or someone will notice the powder on your characters' cheeks, the paper moon, and the other bits and pieces of the setting. But not too little, either, because it is your story, after all.

Write?