The ART of FICTION Notes on Craft for Young Writers PeSanlghrDine John GardnerCommon Errors “The most important single notion inthe theory of fesonT Have carined—esenaly the tradiona theory of our ivan Frertare—is tha ofthe vivid and continuous Binal dea, [According to this nocion, the writer ses up a draatined action inate ae given the signals har make us "se the sexing, Character and event; that, he dows aot ell ws abot them i tacace eos ke am ey, but gives us images that appeal to our senses preferably al ofthe, oe just he visual sense— te hae we sean to move among the characte, len with them Spaeth femal walt he Betioalgepicho, sel the Feichat yack. In bad or wsaiying fon, this fexonal rem ieerruped from time tone by some mistake oF con- ‘Sooos ploy om the part ofthe are. We are abroply smapped “vot the dream, freed co think of the writer or the wen. I. Safa playwright were co run out on sage, intrroping his horace to reminds tat he has writen all thi, Tam noc SSjing that + novel cannot nocceably tet his characters a Poppes ina sageset worl, since poppet and «stage st ae eens we ean see and to worn exten empathize with Even the mene “bjceive”fiton, st Robert Loui Stevenson called it isa exon, ill dramatization ”8 NOTES OW HE FICTIONAL PnoCESS tthe principle of vividness ud conti i lee, we can tum ome rechnical implications “Ascene will et be vivid ifthe writer give too few dea to strand guide the eadr' imagination, nether wile be vei if the linguage the wer use is abstract instead of concrete If the writer sys “creture” insted of “sakes,” if in an aempt to impress with fancy elk he uss Latnate vrs ike “hostile ‘maneuver instead of sharp Angl-Saton words like "era “oll” "spi" his" and "With" if instead ofthe deserts sand and tocks he speaks of the stale? “inhorptable abode” the ‘reader will hardly know what pietre co conjure upon his men tal sereen. These wo fal, taunt deal and abstraction ‘where what is needed is conerete deal, are common—in ct all ba sniveral—in amateur waiting. Another isthe fale to run sraght at the image; hat the acedlessSkerig of the mage though some observing conscoumes. The amateut ‘write: "Turing, she noticed to makes fighting in smong the rocks” Compare: “She trned. In arong the rocks, wo stakes ‘were fighting.” (The improvement can of couse be farther in proved: The phraze“rwo sakes were ighing” 8 more abtact than, sy, “two anakes whipped and lhe, seriking 2t ech ad vert with aris ("were fighting] ae ever sharp in focus ar verbe without suailare, nce the fomer indict indefiie time, wheres the later (eg. ought") so {Rot + given instant.) Generlyspeaking—though no ls ae ola in Bcion--vvidnss urges that almoet every ooeat rence of ruch phrases ar “she noticed” and “she saw” be supe presen favor of dizer preemation of the hing seen “The tecnica implication ofthe continuity piniple—ehe ides that the reader should never be distracted from the image ‘or yeene—cinnot be tested brie. Inthe work of begining Crit expecially chwe wel in che basic sil of English om Postion, the ual mistake isthe the writer drat the reader by clammy or incorrect writing. Characters of couse, can speak a chumaly a5 they like; the writer’ job is simply to iniate Common Errors ” them accurntly. But the sandacd this-perion narrator can ‘never mise Ifthe nestor lp eto Fal syne, the reader's tind tacks avay from the Sighting soaker tothe problem of Siusing ovr what the sentence means. The distraction is almost certn to be emotional 8 well title since the reader as every sight ro fel that he wie’ busines sto sy wha he smeae clearly In good Scion, the reader never hus wo go back ‘vera sentence just find out what i anys. He may reed # sentence ewe Deas he Likes t,o because, chrough no fale ofthe suchor, hb mind briely wandered, musing, perhaps, on the rger implications ofthe scene, bo if i's the author's eae- lees thet males him ced eric, he hae a eight to fee hat the author has violated the fundamental contrat inal evo: thae the writer will del honexly and responsly with the reader, (This t should be mentioned, dos not rule out we of the socalled unreliable narrator, sine the unreliable narrator s «character insde the ition.) Clumsy weting is an even more common mistake in the ‘work of amateurs though i shows up even in the work of ¥ery food writer. Some af the more feeqeent forms of clumsy writ fg should peshape be menconed here, sac fal ofthis Lind ft + good deal more serous than the amateur may imagine. “They alienate the experienced reader, ora wery Teast make i hard for him ro concentrate on the ftonal dream, and they undercut the writer's authority. Where lumps and infelcies ‘cou in ftion, the Sestive reader shrinks away a ite, as we Ao when an intereing conversational picks his nove. "The most obvious for of elusnes, realy failures in the tase sill inclode such mistakes 38 inappropeate or excesive we of the pasive voice, inppropriate ase of inroductory hres containing infinite verb, shift in dition level or the Teper use of diracting dieton, lack of sentence varity, lack af seaeence fous fauly shyehm, accidental rhyme, eee ex plzoaton, and carla shies in paychic dance. Let us fun ‘heaugh these one by one.xcepe in ck losing, ach a “You were pail yor days" "The Geran wee defend othe projet wa sa dred the pusve sole vialy wen tn fon exp ‘when wed for come eect ts when the weter ec ve Touts tlghly poopon wey of speaking o ucts meter tial dncive Tee sve oe svat trary toe ‘ext and vivid Your patra it mopped to (pe) " ‘wu bine by your part” (The cece nthe oy ped Um characte’ A timid ol feral of Eng oflese mit wel che the pave contacton) In ny preted oy {he convention! omncen raratr—an objective ad rgey inpenoal formal ara voce He, , Tlaoy the ar se voice anos cen to and and Src, Neste fo fay the wer mt je every ee indy and thee fy god wir nay get sway wih ue sour toting. Bat ice be cer ax when the ree nies re of the pve kor e's ding and has ood reson for what he one Sentences beginning with inie-erb prs ae socom tno in bd woking that one wit et es ply vel Proven inocen sentence, that, that begin wih Sch Phase a “Looking up slowly Somber sewing, Marth id" fr “Carrying the fk in hs lee hands Hety «tn ly ta weg ch nour phe rg ed to sisi tempor font o ops Hoge The tad writer tle wy fr Insance: "Firing the hired man and burning down fs sack, hoe dove ine cown (The senene inp hat teste fog the bed anand bering down hs shack aod he Seton of ding nto tvm ae necoas) Ore bed wie {els wx “Quicky tuming from the bulkhead. Copia Figg spake slowly and earful” (loge that pombe) Bat reno llgi or confit of temporal focus svoleh he tte eget or inpropite we of aoe ph aes ts weting. Gener come about bees he ie choot thik ofa ray to vay the kngth of ence The writer Tos ac the tle thing Ret wen: "She sipped of the Common Errors 101 ance She turned to Jon. She smiled a¢ his exatrassment” fd in a deperate atempe to get id of the duly thadding Ibjecs tnd verbs he revser 19 "She sipped off the gett “Torning to John, she eed this embaressment.” The goal sentence variety, may be adorable, bot there ae better ways (ne can get rl of the thodding subjects and verbs by using mpound predicates: "She sipped off the garter and turned t0 Sem by ereducing qualifiers and appostioal phrases: "She pped—or cater, yaked—off the geet, fayed, mourfol pink one long past ts prime, gray eaie pecking ovt pac the len indiferenlyatecene” (ee), oF by Binding ome 2ppro- pint sdbordinte clue, perhaps, “When she bad slipped off the gre, she caroed to John" sluion tat gets of the thoding by lowering (hasening) theses of the fist “she.” (Compare the two shythme “She slipped of the garter. She turned to John" and "When se hed sipped off che garter, she fumed to John”) AU this 8 aoc to deny, of cous, thatthe Jntrodutoy infnie-verb phrase en bean excellent thing in ts lice Properly sed, it momentaly slows down the ation, Fires it a coidered, weighted qoaty that can heighten the fEnion of a important scene. It works wel for instance, in Stators like these: “Slowly easing che rifle bare «” ot Gazing off ac the woods giving her no answer." Used indi ceminately, the inzoducrry infinte-verb phase chop the a= Son into fas and stars and loner what effectiveness it might have had, propely se Diction problems are usally symptomatic of defects inthe characer of education of the writer, Both icon shifts andthe Ineady ure of inappropriate diction suggest ether deep-down tid ste or the awlowardnes that comes of inexperience and ‘init. There ees litle o 0 hope forthe adult writes who Products sentences ike thee: “Her cheeks were thick and inoth and held a healthy natural red color, The heavy Bes der them, her jowls, extended go the intersection of her Bp nd ge her tickppe frown mast of the cine.” The phrase“Hier checks wore thick and saath ie normal Engl, but “[Hler checks) held healthy maura red coloe” i elevated, seudo-patic. The word “held” fain hier a prsnieation ‘of cheeks." and "healthy natural red color” clunky, sled, Slightly bookish. The second seaence contain sinilr mistakes. ‘The dc level of "extended tothe intersection of her ips” high and formal, in ferocious contice withthe end ofthe sen tence, which plnges tothe colloquial mos ofthe ime” There nay be slightly more hope forthe writer who wes sadly ee vated ditonsentences that pomp along like these: “The tig sll of urine and salwtergrected him as he stepped through the hatchuay. He surveyed the ate for an shower sal but, nding none, had ta wat inline vic in ine” is Ofcourse sudden dition drop.) The writing here has most ofthe usta qualities offlely elevated dition abstract language ("unique smell”), cliché personification (the smell) greeted hie"), Latinate language’ where simple Anglo-Saxon would be preferible (surveyed the at” for “ookedsround”), and vo forth I writer with dicate ike these sticks to the relatively easy Kinds of tithe cealsie story and the yen 8 opposed tothe tale—he can gc sid of is problems simply. He can ler by diligence to eradicate al trace of fancy talk from ht voctbulary, sung diet, olloguial syech in reaiti stories and in yarn imitating the conven ional backwater narrative voice (the rural Southerner, the crafty old farmer of New England, or whatever, Serio tle, which by convention require eleveed, alos statly tone, ae likely to prove forever beyond this writer's mean, since no one ‘an write inthe high eye if he eannoe tll eal high syle frm fake. 1s limiaion no wir shuld happily acept, 3 few phrases fm Melville should remind ws: “The morning war one peculiar to that coat. Bvery- thing was mute and ealn, everything grey. The se, though undated ito log rods of swell seemed fixed, Common Errors 195 acd was sched tthe surface like waved lead that has Cooled and sti the srele's monld. The sky seemed a sey mantle, Fights of troubled grey fowl, ith and kin {rth fights of troubled grey vapours among which they were mined, skimmed law and lly over the wates, 1S slows over meadows before storms. Shadows pre- sent foreshadowing deper shadows to come Cr ack aan example of Tk Dine eof thee ai ol igh ae “The tig hose tod fly roe in he sl of Den sank he pert hay sd wa fal aed vo {er foe wine and be changing sexs 0 er siz Tees and Bower Only sere ay n= ger fi Win doin of he ie ef a Enger cown gst ad pion which the minds ad the ‘aban ut bones nd doge Te wi ana the ame fhe nd tha the peas shook He st at when he {Eon young grec eo ini pening whe ed tote redo the coy bone were te ain pu Stan thoy of exience “The weg inthe sy wll procimed cont carn 2 worl inmoray. The gree county hoses Tar hl ne rund throgh ony geeatons The fami who edn them reerel the pst they ‘owredthescve for the sory of Denmark wat ther own ory rte face hat The high syle, ke Bach, ao fr everyone; but he ances 2 Feolry fal inc grotesque saitaton of i sugges that mes some responsive chord in os. By reading ecefully snd extmively by wing contanty and getting the bes xt ‘Sim aval toi, the writer who begin with no fecing for dicion can eventually overcome his problems ‘Sentence variety i disused in mot freshman composition104 NOTES oN THE FICTIONAL, PROCESS books and need not be treated a lngth here wil be enough to mention one or two ofthe problems that mow frequently plague creative writers What the young writer neds to do, of course, is stady sentenes, eocouly experiment with them, since he can see for hime what the dificult is, and can see foe himself when he has beaten it; Where variety i lacking, sentences al run tothe seme length, cary over and over the same old shythns, and have the same boing soci. Subject eb, subjecr- verb, subjer-verb objet, subjecrnerb. What the ler writer leans athe begine to experiment i that the cu ‘an be worse than the dives. ve mentioned already the si Ally iLfted itrodveion of an opening infne-vrb phrse. ‘Another bad core ithe sentence awkwardly stctched out by + “hat o which clase For example, “Leaping frm he couch, he seized the eevolter fom the bookshelf that ond behind the srmehain" or, “She ume, shrieking, thtowing up her arms in terror atthe sight ofthe gorla chat had arsved that moming from Aftica, which hed formerly ben ts home.” What happens in such sentences, obvioily, is that they tend ttl off, lve ‘energy. Tt may help to look athe mater this way: Sentences in English tend to fll to meaning nits or syntactic sote—for nance, such pattern st subject, verb, object subject, verbose In hes called periodic sentence, highly recommended by high school Engh teachers, the sow intersting or ip in the semence is pushed into the final slot, a in ‘ive, eoling and bellowing, ctme Mabel cow.” The nara superiority ofthe period eatnce can be exaggerated, bri 2 fact hat an anlinacic ending can run an otberite pet- fecdly good sentence, and alm invatiably—exoept in comic Common Errors 05 wrting—the “eat” or “which” claw lene cw aici. (la New Vorker “serra tin, thi yi anes may be avinwe) ‘Often the search for variety leads to another problem, che coveleading of remences and the ler of focss. Look at these sentences: “The datk waters of the Pesan Gulf were very pesceful a the pinkish glow of pre-dawn light sumed che orzo's gray clude to shades of orchid and lavender, The cleat, cool sr breeed arom the decks of the mammath white ‘hip ase moved sox slenty through the water In a some ‘wha franc atempr co ge uso, che writer packs his setence like + Japancie commuter tain. Pecape » grest writer might get sway wih this (a prose Scion Dylan ‘Thorns and Law: fence Dorel have tried i), but seert not too ely. As fal, if sentence has hte sya sls, 2 “Theman walked down the oad aries may ltd one or two ofthe slot with modes, bu if the sentence iro have focus—tht i ifthe readers co be able to make out some clear image, oot just 2 jumble—the writer fannot crn all chaeeayntactc slots with deal So, for in- stance, the writer may load down slot 1 and leave the others ‘more orl lone, ths “The old man, stoped, ben almost double unde his load cof tm pang yer smiling with sre of maniacal good chee {nd chutering to himself in what eemed tobe Siavoian, walked dowly dowa te rud (Oche may load vp sot» ‘The old man walked slowiy, ling hi fet carefully, sometimes Licking one shoe forward in what looked lke4 dance, then damning down the foot Before the sale ould lp loose again, pining when i worked, moter ing to himself, making no rel progres down the road ‘Or the wees may sk ling high pretrious loads on both slots 1 and for inatance “The ld man, stooped, ben almost double under his loud oftin prs yer smiling with asort of meisal good cheer Sd catering to ime in what seemed tobe Savenian, walled sow, ling his ee exreflly, sometimes Kek- ing one shoe farward in what looked like a dance, then slang down the fot before the Sle could flop lore tain, ring when it worked, plesed with himsel, but making a el progres down the road 1 what chiefly incre iis erry stuns (and such things ae not ll bad, though they can derae from fins sion ‘pes the writer can conch Hot just ile, changing it nthe fentence above to something like "the bampy, cooked roa.” “This sort of plying around with sentences & one ofthe chit ‘hing hat make wring « plese; neverthles, no writer can help bu eecogize ha eventually enough enough "Readers sestve tothe virtues of good fcon can be dix traced from the fetonal dream by subtler kinds of makes ‘One of tho it fairy thytim. Many writers, including some famous ones, write with no consiouses of the poetic eexs avaiable through pore rhythm. They pt the wine on the rable, put the cigarette in the abtray, paint in the lovers, stare the lock ticking, all with no thought of wheter the sentences Should be fast or slow, lighc-heared or solema with wedgedin jtmtapoced ste, Tam nor speaking now ofthe inceninaly hythmic writer, the kind who never allows himself» pasage Common Errors that and ut a rhythmically beautifl bur onthe ate never makes is stumble or dance for ou footing ikea calf on fice Im realitic tion, such writer argue an important part of the writers busines ito imitate the say real people speak; and since in fe perple do not generally speak in fine pocic ‘hythms the controling naretor, who must tread the hyehms ‘of his speech in withthe shythms ofthe characters, i Wise to leep hi shythme unnoticeable, wite, that t ster as far as pte from the rhythms of Bardi or incanatory writes Bee James Joyce, Thomas Wolfe, or Wiliam, Faulkner. To choose the bade voice ir utomaccally eo take 2 sgh ep Back from rel, to move from the cnuly spoken tte ntoaed, from the reise sory toward the tale. Both the dntendonally trrhythie writer—John Updike isan exmple—and the write, Tike myself, who would stcrifce + characte’ eas for melodic effec, can be counted on not to direct the reer ftom his ‘ream by clunky hythra. The writer who simply never thinks bout rythm i almost cerain to do so. The reader may sud- ‘ely be stopped cold by 4 line in acidenal doggerl Neo oe wis lohiig wien Titingions gin wen 5 hing ose Hi neni we “Te wits tha rinenonly produces form of sprang vse fat i jane srener one fer anotherovken what he neds to reflect the moment's rsh, iligher rhythms, anpess tr dactys For example, he may write seipiet” Bobs De “Sip Gl se got sal sop lee” [Needles to sy, the writer who does pay attention to stythm can abo find ways of trating the Feder from the fcional108 [NOYES ON THE FICTIONAL Process ream, mialy by overdoing thigy—eha i by lating hie ego {etn he wy of his mteriaie—bur chi we need noe spe of row, since we will ned to look later a Longin principe of fig "Another ietane i accidental thyme, at inthe sentence “When the rg blew, everything wee yng sky-hgh—me to. [Notice here that che thyme if offensive because both thyme ‘words, “lew” and “to,” ae steed peony that the wee comes down hard on them. The chyme isnot offensive, to mat ‘as ifthe weiter can gee one ofthe thymes oot of ered postion: "The rig Blew sky-high and evrything ent Aying— ‘he ton" In this version the word “blew” giver sway str 10 “sky-high” andthe ‘blew-ta" hye drops tward background effec. Now, however, we have 3 new stested thyme "ky high” and fying” (wel close enough for hye in prose)—and ‘wenotce an odd thing: Tesounds OK. If we analyze the sounds, Laying to understand the reason, we perbap come up with tit Fine, the two-element thyme “sly gh” with hovering ses (Ger analysis blow) is resolved by a feminine rhyme (8 word ending wih an untessed sylabe) followed by 4 phrae, “me oo," that fancsins a pull away; the rev i thatthe rhyme ‘word “Rying” hte lighly in comparien withthe thyme ase "Sy-high the vole hurrying onto che pila. "The rig blew sky-high, and everything went Sying—me too." Second the phrte “me too” fil real the sere bute “blew” and 4 the stme time ehythiclly real, “sky: igh” with the cesle thatthe “sy-high—Aying™ thyme is slighly muted. Let ws turn the sentence around one ls tine, this time suppresing “blew”: “The rig weat Aying, and everything she sky-high—me too." IF we mentally subsite “lew” for “sho.” we see—or, rather, hear—at once that ie won't do—an exremely heavy, stwhvaed rhyme af the kind certain to dinact the reader that Inake him sop ehinking ofthe image for + moment ro wonder ‘what’ gone wrong with the write’ brain. On the other hand Common Errors 109 swith “shou the “ying sky-high” sym seme aeeepable “The sentence’ dante opening (lotly iambic) accelerates to isalegro midsection (“Rying, nd everything”): and then 08 ely the sentence opens out lke 2 huge, slow Brewor, wich repeated jammed sures to balznce the quicknes cater and the "sky-high ehyme rising Uke a crown. This kind of poctie ‘fect in eson datas only in an aeeprable way. The fader ‘nay pause and red the sentence twie, savoring the way sound ‘echoes seve, but if he has turned for 2 moment from the Fe- ‘ional dream eis only inthe way we pause sometimes to adie the technique of an aia trainer—the flourish with which be lowers his hea ito the je of the crocdile—after which we tdvow ourselves back nr watching the set, Writer very sure of thei technical maxeryeourdeforce writrs—may make a ‘ind of game of eeng how far they can go, winking and leering st che reader, before breaking the fone ilson. On that ror ter, ‘Needles explanaon and explanation where drama alone woul be suficient are other iran In amateue fein these problems may sbow up in erde forms, but experienced writers fan make mistakes of the same basic Lids ‘The amateur writer telus fr instance, chat Mrz. Wa 3 ersb5y old woman and. ‘plans that one ceton is Mrs. Wits trouble with aan. All ‘of thir information ‘could and should fave been conveyed through dialogue and action, We should have een her kicking the ea ot ofthe way, rubbing he ip yeling out the window Me. Cheng, who parked hi truck on her curb. We should hear her onthe telephone, comping ther son in San Diego Experience wrizer ean make the same male oly, i not invariably, ou of 3 too great fondness on the weiter’ par for themelifaou tones his own vice, Hemay wre Detective Gerald B. Civ was very drank, Siting ‘that morning in the parked race, he coud’ ell reality or, any at, what you and Tell realty oom theshadows and phenome produce by hit liom tremens His sense of responsbry, his courage, his aoilty of teat, his ative chivalry, al these were a ken a ever, ‘burs ye for mundane trach was ot wha it mig have been. And 20, bebring he sw something, and thinking imeif ead upon for hero action, he threw down the tote, satced oa hs revolver, rn ino the house where the gil had just gone, and once agin proved himelf 3 fool Voice, once a writer mares it cn be dlghful hing, But 20 sae writer depends on voice alone to si im pst all evils ‘Compare another version ofthe scene with the drunken detee- tiv, this inedramatiged, no explsizel: ‘Where the snake came from be didnot se. roa fled hie mind, the sy fathed white and a5 ifthe doorway t0 the underworld ad opened there ly the snake, 3 fot sos, maybe city fet long, geensh-goden. Ie moved ‘picky, graceflly acrm the stzet in Hoar of him and ‘ver che curb toward the porch where a moment go Elaine Glas ad stood. Ie had large blck eyes in scales, lit of vilet and vermin. Hatchet head raised, tongue Ficking, it moved withthe azance of + friae visitor op thesdewal toward cheep ‘With’ yelp, withou hiking Craine threw down the bot, posed open the door of ssid half-jumped,hlf- fal from the tock, ad ran around the fron. He drew his pstol ae an. The aredents on the porch sotched their things from the steps and porchloor and jomped back. Theta of the enormous sake was dssppearing through dhe dor. Now twat gone He ran afer i = ing the piso, unig So fs he coud hardly beep from falling. “Though we run actos exceptions, pilorphicl novels where ‘explanation holds interes, the cempracon eo explin one that Common Errors a should alos always be rested. A good weiter can ge ay: thing all xeroes through action and dilogue and if he cin think of no powerfal reason eo do otherwise, he should probably leave explanation to ht reviewer and ris. The write should specially avoid comment on what hs characer ate fing, oF very least shouldbe sure he undereands the common objec tion summed p inthe old aw "Show, don tel.” The eee, of ours, that set buide the compler thought achieved by ‘rams, explanation i thin grt, ence boring. A woman 5), ‘desies co leave home. Ar readers, we watch her all moening, su and thik about her gees, her marerings, he felings tout the neighbors and the wenter, After oor experince, ‘which can be iteee ithe write it good one, we ow why the character leaves when finaly she walks out the door. We ow in away alas too sbele for word, wich is the reason thatthe writer's attempt to expla if he's so foolish sto make the atempr, maker yawn and st the book down Careless she in prychie dance can ako be dsracing. By pete ditance we mean the datance the reader els between ‘Himelf and the evens in the story. Compare the following ex- ample, the fr meant to eablsh geet psychic dance he ‘ete meat o establish sighly les and 2 on unt inthe lst ‘example poychie diane, theoretical aes, iil 1. Iwas winter of the year +655. A large man stepped ‘out doorway. 2. Henry J. Warbusron had never much eared fr snow 4: Henry bated snowsoeme 4 God how heared these darn snowsrorms. $. Snow Under your collar, down inside your shoes, freeing and plogging up your miserable so ‘When paychic dance i get, we look atthe scene a if from far avey_-our usual posion in the tadional tle, remove in time end spec, formal in presentation (example 1 above wooldshadows and phantoms produced by his liom tremens His sense of responsibly, his courage, his nobly of teat, his naive chive, al these were a ken a ver, ‘buts ye for mundane trch was ot wha ie mighe have been. And 20, bebeving he sw something, and thinking imeif eal upon for heroic action, he threw down he tote, satced oa hs revolver, rn ino the house where the gil had jst gone, and once agin proved himelf 3 fool Voice, once writer mares it cn be dlghfl thing, But 20 sare weiter depende on voice alone to si im past all evils ‘Compare another version ofthe scene with the drunken detee- tiv, this imedramatiged, no explsnel: ‘Where the snake came from he didnot se. roar fled ie mind, the sy Hathed white and 23 f the doorway t0 the underworld ad opened, there ly the emake, 3 foot srs, maybe city fet long, geensh-golen. Ie moved ‘icky, graceflly across he stzet in Hoar of hi and ‘over the curb toward the porch where a moment 0 Elaine Glas ad stood. Ie had large blck eyes in 5 scales, lit of ile and vermin. Hatchet head rsd, tongue Bicking, ie moved withthe asatanc of 2 frist visitor op thesdewalk toward che eps ‘With yelp, withou thinking, Crsine threw down the bot, pashed open the door of ssid hall jumped,hlf- fal from the tock, and ran around the froa. He deew fis pistol a he ran. The aredents on the porch sotched their thing fom the tee and porchlor and jumped back. Theta of the enormous soake was dssppearing through che door. Now wat gone He ran after ay ing thepistol, unning so fare he could hardly keep from falling. “Though we run actos exception, pilorphicl novels where ‘explanation holds interes, the empaion to exphin i one that Common Errors aa should alos always be rested. A good writer can ge any: thing 2¢ all scronsthrough action and dislogue and if he can think of no powerfol reason eo do otherwise he Should probably leave explanation toh reviewers and ers. The writer should specially avoid comment on what ht characer ate fein, of very est shouldbe sure he undereands th corion objec tion summed p inthe old aw "Show, don tel.” The eee, of rte, that st bade the compler thought achieved by ‘rams, explanation i thin grol, enee boring. A woman 5), ‘decides co leave home. Ar readers, we watch her all mocning. uy and thik about her gestures, her marterings, hr felings tout the neighbors and the wenter, After oor expeince, ‘which canbe ites ithe write i a good one, we ow why the character leaves when finaly she walks out the door. We now in away alls toosbelefor word, which is the reason thatthe writer's atempt to expla, if he's so fool sto make the atempr, makes yawn and st the book down ‘Crees shen prychie dance can ako be dseacing. By pryetic ditance we mean the datance the reader feels between ‘fimelf and the events in the story. Compare the folowing ex ample, the fr meant to eablsh geet psychic stance he ‘ext meat o establish sighly les and 0 on unt inthe lst ‘example poychic dance, theoretaly aes iil 1. ie was winter of the year +655. A large man stepped ‘out doorway. 2. Henry J. Warbuzron had never much eared fr snow 4: Henry bated snowsoeme 4 God how heared there darn snowsrorms. 5. Soow Under your collar, down inside your shoes freeing and plogging up your miserable so ‘When paychic dance is gret, we look atthe scene a if from far avey-our usual psion in the tadional el, remoee in time and space, formalin presreation (example 1 above wouldappear only in tae) dance grows shorter—as the camera dbl in, if you wile approsch the normal ground of the yam (sand 3) and shore sory of rede novel (through 3) In good feton, shite in paychic dance are carefully con wll, Ac the beginning ofthe Rory inthe ual ese, we find the writer sing ether long or medium shore He moves in 8 Tie for senes of high intensity, draws back for ansions, moves in ill leer forthe story's climar. (Variaons of all Finds ae posible of cour, and the sobtie write likely to ‘ee peychic stance, a he might any other sional device, © et odd new effects. He may, for instance, kep a whole ory 3 tne paychic-ditance seing. giving an ere, ther icy elect if the seting Hike that in example 2, an overheated effect that only greet sill can keep from math or sentimenaty if the ‘etn ike tac in example. The pot i that poyhie dir tance, whether or not ie saed conventionally, mist be co troled) piece of fiction contining sudden and inexplicable Shifts in peyhie distance looks amateur and tends to drive the reader sway. For inaance: "Mary Borden hated woodpecker. Lord, she thouge, they'll dive me eazy! The young woman had never known’ any personally, but Mary knew what she Bed.” ‘Clumey wining ofthe kinds I've been dicusing cannot belp Aiscactng the render from the dreum ad tht siting oF serouly impirng the fosion. I've Limited myself tothe mor ‘commen Kinds, of those that have proved most common in my ‘experience as 2 writing teacher and sometime edzor of books sand leary magurines. Among very bad writes even worse faults appear—two or thee spring immediately to mind and ‘may well be mentioned: geting the events in an action ou of der, cloddishly awkward insertion of det and cen per- sistent odds of imitation o speling dificult account fot ‘excep by 4 theary of accity by the Devi. The fir ofthese Should need no explanation. fer simply co the presentation of 1 sess f setions where by some meant the weites~perhapt Common Errors 13 because his mind i focused on something else—gets evens out of sequence, forcing the reader to go back and straighten them out ro put ie another way, where the writer momentarily ‘spends meaning in his sentence (alors always «bad idea), forcing the reader can on faith for several word, hoping that cout of seeming chaos some sense will emerge. Two examples. Fist: "Tarning, dribbling low ashe wen infor hit sot he was suddenly knocked fa by one of the cheerleader, who had rushed omo the cour in Ber excitement and so had gotten in bis sway" A sentence like this one canbe fobbed off onthe reader ocesionally—thoogh the sharp reader il notice and cbjest— ‘bur if such ehings happen often the authority of the weiter sesouly undermined tnd, more to the point, the dream loses power and coherence. If we ae to see perfectly focused dream image, we mut be given the signals one by one, inorder, so cat verything happen with amooth logiality, pesfert inevailiy. ‘The only exception (and even here the writer shouldbe sure bis ‘exception is jusied) the sene in sehich the characte’ di ‘orientation and the reader's meant o bean inportant pare of the effect. Bad writers tne this exception at an excuse to intoduce voices out of nowhere, when se havea young man walking doe the road, whiting happily. noone in sgh, and then we encounter the words (new paragraph) "Watch your self, Boon!" Followed by (oew pargraph): “Doon ured in lem looking all around in pani” This kind of thing i com ‘nonin ftion of cou, and my disapproval will not do mich to discourage writers from continuing to wei Neverthe, if the theory of Fon asa eam inthe rade’ ind is correct, the surprise break ico the elm of things (Watch youl”) is 4 mistake, of anyway a lapse from abolute, perfectly focused laity. Compare: "Suddenly, from somewhere, a voice shouted, "Watch yourelf, Boa!" Bur thse ate delete mater, and very writer wll ave his own opinion on jes how athe ought to go in puri of the del of lary. Afar as Pn concerned i the wie hat at leet seriously thought about the problem andm4 NOTES ON THE FICTIONAL PROCESS {ally underands the advencages of keeping event #in front of cerene band all che eve chats at semble and claro fling dominoes, he cand shoald~do whatever fel bax eo hime ‘Who knows wha ging on in the early novels of John Erle? And yet few writes have ever created mare powerful and o- herent deans, Practically nothing need be mi, ether, abou the cody sswkoard insertion of det, One thinks ofthese moment 0 ‘common n even profesional Scio, when the writer fds kine self srgglng (38 forthe frst tine) wit the age-old problem of smoothly invoducing te loos of his central character. (She happens past a mistor, ses hr face ina clocktace, happens on fend who gushes about how she wd to look a oppored to how he looks now or the wie, throwing inthe towel att. cells, and the hell wich i) Any experienced wring teacher can give tps now to tip things in with the dexterity of a magician forcing cars inc the and of is asistne from the sudience, but rely all har needs to be sid—or ought to be sid—is this What she honest writer docs, when he' ished 2 rough daft, go ovr i and over i time after ime, fusing toler anything nay if ook awkward, phony rfoeed. Cham sly nsereed dere must either be revised into net inserted deals or they mast be revised out ofthe fetion ‘As forthe third ofthe amatcur sins T mentioned, odes of iitaon or pling, the ler ad the beter. Tmeaa thing ke, in logue, “um, uh, sometimes wed by good writer in ways thar don't stand ue and dace fom the fetonal dream, bot asually sed by amateur in ways that make the reader tear his ir. As Tong 25 one has a narrator avalble, one can avoid fanny Joking dialogue by simpy saying, for example, “Cirloe ssid, ammerngsghly, don’ know” (No ned then for an “umn ora "d-id-don't.") And then there are od plings lice “Yea” for “Yeah” or "Ye," spelings whereby football players cor drug pushersstare sounding like Jesus ("Yea very") ‘Allo chee clumsy kinds of wing belong under the head Common Errors us ing "Learning the Basic Skil" ad are matters oobvios othe txperienced reader or writer that they seem at fist glance to ave no place in book for serious write. The rewons they do ‘long ae, fst, that the bert wrt do noe always (or even ‘often come from the welleducsted upper mile lsaev's ‘ulin i only on tare ocesione gold tr slver—and, second, that clumsy eerors of the kind Tve been treating help show ‘erly what we mean when we speak of “thing that diract the reader's min fom the tinal dream” and nothing in what Tm eying i more fundamental Han the concep of the nin- ‘erupted fetional dream Lexus rrn now to vce fauls fargraver thin mee cu sno fault of technique bat faulsof soul, semtimenaity, feigiiny, and manneram Fats of sul, Ve sed, but T don't mean thie wordr a4 Calvinist would, Faults of soul lke faults of technique, can be corrected Infact the main work 2 wing teacher dos, andthe main wrk the writer must do for ims, s bring aboue change ia the writer's bai charter, Ihping to make him that "ve Poet,” a Mion sid, without ‘whom there can be no tre Poe. Senimencalty, inal its forms, is the stempt to get some effect without providing due cxse. (ake i for granted that ‘the reader understands the diference between setinen in fe tion, thai motion or feeling, and rentinenalcy, emotion or Fecling that ring fae, ueually beens achieved by some fort of cheating orexggertion. Wither sentimen, tion is worth es, Senimenairy, on the other hind, can make mash of the fies characters, sions, nd est) The theory of fon 253 vivid, winterropeed dream inthe readers mind logically te quires an asercion that leptinate casein tion canbe of only ‘one kind: drama; that, character inaction. Once its dramat- cally exablished tha a characteris worthy of our sympathy and love, he sarytle hs every sight (even the obligato, some ‘woul ay) wo give sharp focus o oar gre tthe mifrnunes of thar character by means of powerfl, appropriate chetri. (UFthe emovional moment has been well abled, plain state. sents may be jut effective. Think of Chethor ) The rele & strong Seninent, ot sentimentality. Bue ifthe seory-ller tes to make us bars ing ears a the misfortnes of some character swe tary know; ifthe storyteller appeals to sock response {ur love of God or country, our pity for the downtrodden, the presumed warm feelings ll decent people ave for children ad!smal animals) i he tiesto make us ery by cheap melo Arama, teling othe visi that we hardly know i all nno- ‘cence and goodness and the oppresor all ie Blackhead, orf he ries to win ut over not by the detiled and authen Coted virtues of the unfortunate but By shetorialelihés by Ieatles sentences, or by superdeamatc one sentence pat graphs ("Thea she saw the gun”)—semences of che hind favored by porn and tiller wes, and increasingly of lt by supposedly Serious writers—then the effect is sentimentality, sd no reader who's experienced the power of real fton wil be pleased by it In gree fon we are moved by what happens, nt bythe whimpering or baling of the write’ preenration of what Iappens. Tht i jn rest fio, we are moved by characters sd events, not by che emotion ofthe person who happens o be teling the story. Sometimes, 25 jn the Beton of Testy ot CChehoy—and one igh mention many others—the narrative oie is deliberately kept calm and. Gpasionae, eo that the ‘enotion arng from the icional evens comes through almost ‘wholly uncinged by presentation; but restraint of that Kind is not anaesthetic necsty.A Banboyare ile ike tht of Falke ‘er a his best canbe equally succes The ricki simply hat the style mast work nthe service ofthe materia, nin aver- taement of che write, When the ideas, characters and actions se femly grounded, Thomas Wolfes or Wiliam Fuller's syle can give fing exprenon to 4 sorysembtionl content. [ike the formal laments of 2 Greek chorus, gree rling waves, of rhetoric can ase our joy oF grief to 2 Keen itensty eat Common Errors a7 transcend the mundane and takes on the richness and univer: Say of rial, What bein inthe rel other words, can be ‘plied by syle to something we recognize, even as we ready 1S t once the real and che rel transmted. So the pasage on the dexth of Joe Chriss, in Light ie August, sks the reader 5a once reaty and nice, face and hy. The prose poetry, inal majei welf-consciousnes, is unabashed leap hove the language ordinary people rly speak, cases ws (0 feel the resonance of the death an all means. Bu i's Beene the ncesary dtm as been resnted—the lec euses lid tut in the aory-tha the shetoric works, When Welle ot Fler orks le ately 8 both sometimes do ying to nak incantation sbi for character vac, the reader Sapirms. We may squirm in the same way, i bas often been remarked, when we encounter theater exteme of mannertic Sentimenaty, the whine we sometines catch in Hemingway, teherin understatement becomes 2 kind of sly “The fault Longino ienifed as “rigdny” oecurs ia fon whenever the author reveals by some sip of self-regaring i ‘rason that he leas concered aboot his characters than he tight to betes concerned, tat i, than aay decent human tng observing the sontion would marly be. Suppose the swirling of «Bloody Bight berween a old man aed his ton, and suppose that eave inthe try he has shown tha the fokd'man detly loves his son, though he can never find an deqnte way to show iso tht the son, now middle-aged, til tufers from his bebe thar is father dikes hin, and wishes be ‘ould somehow turn the old man's dle co love. Suppor, Forte, thatthe writer hat eablished this sory of minder standings with suliient power that when the Aight begins— the old mans Blow eo the ie of his son's hea, the son's aston- Ihe easing of hit arms for proectio, the old mans second blow this time othe non, so tha he so in pin aad fry is the aid yan on the exr—our sexton a we Fed i hocror and [ge We bead ward the book in ftcinnton and alr, andthe18 NOTES OW THE FICTIONAL PmocHss writer continues: “The old man wat crying lik baby now and singing wildly -harmlsy, now eat he'd been har—swvig. ing and crying, red-faced, like baby with his diapers fll” "Yuk" oe say, and throw he book iar the See. What has Iappened, of cou, is that che writer ha forgoten that bi cfaractes? stuation i serious, e's responded to hi own imagined scene with invaficient warmth, has alowed hin to get eased away by the baby image, and, momencaiy for- ting or fling vo notice te cen’ real neres—the fac that {pathetic misunderstanding exo bave led to tithe water fostches a (or settes for) deal of, at bo, trivial inter, diy diapers The writer acs th kind of pasion al tue are pcs Heals the nobility of epi chat cables el writer to ater deeply ito the felngs of imapiary characters (es he centers deeply into the felings af rel people). In a word che wie i frigid ‘Stiely spetking, figidy characterizes the writer who presente serious materia then fils to carry throughs to {rea it with the sention and seriourne i deserves. 1 would fexend dhe term to mean 3 farther cold-heartedns at wel, che tiren writer’ iabily to recognize the sringsnes of things in the in place, the woe who tums away from rel feling, or cs only the superficie in a confit of wil or knows 90 ‘ore abou lov, beaty,o sorrow than one might lara fom alimark cad. With the meaning thus exende,figiity ems fone ofthe aint ful in contemporary Terai and at Ie it somveties frgity thet eae wets tinker, more and more obseively, with form; fgity hat leads ccs to schools of cic thar ake les and les inerse in character, action, and the explicit ideas of the story. Tt may even be figiiy ‘that ee the writer toward sentient, the faking of emo- tions the weer does no hones feel. rigiiy i, a Short, one (of the wore faus posible in erature, nd often he bass of ‘other fu, When the amar writer lea bad sentence and in his ial deaf, cough he knows i bad the sn i rig: Common Errors 19 eas aa yet learned he importance of hi atthe ony ac of ‘ence in the world that deals in precize detail wih the cuss tara, and eects of ordinary and extaoednary human fesing ‘When sskilfl writer writer» shallow, cynical merely amin book sbose excumarta afi, he hae wandered with far ‘more harmful effect—ito the sae unsavory bog. Mannered writing scons at times 4 specs of frigity (Henngway a his worst), a other times species ofsentien: talgy (Brule a his wor), but is best tested ta separate fai since the mannered writer may be neither frghd not sentimental but simply mannered. Manered writing wring tha continually dacs u fom the Gtional dream by syle fics dat we cannot help asocning, at we read, sith che au thor wich to introd bimself prove hinsel€ diferee from all er autre, The eof mannered writing are no to be con foxed wit mylic devices hat can be explained as cll in the service of subject mater (character end action) or designed to expres some new way of seeing (the special effects of some ‘lial be clearly jaiiabl style we ana ean tore in on, a we do tothe syles of Gerrade Stein, Vuginia Wool, of more recently, Peer Machisen in Fer Tortge). Nether thould the ic of mannered writing be confred wth thor oddies ve aocate with inherent siffaes or nervous, Comparable ro tat of an amateur speaker who forms hie sn ‘ences caeflly and somewhat clumsy inthe painaking, sometimes clunky syle of Sherwood Anderson. Lok, for e {ample at the Sirs two paragraph of his “Death in the Woods” ‘She was an old woman and lived ona fam nett the town in which Iivd. All country and small-town people have seen sch old women, but no one knows mach aboot them, Such an old woman comes into con devng an old worn-out oreo she comes afoot carrying a basket. She tray own afew head have ge to sll She bring them Ina basket and eas them to grocer. There she wads,‘hem in. She gets some sale pork and some beans, Then she 54 pound or two of spat and ame four ‘Aterard she gocs coche butcher and aks for some dog mest. She may spend ten of Gteen cents, but when she doc shea for something. In my day the butchers {pve liver to anyone who wanted to cary i away. In ‘ur family we were away having Once one of my brothers got + whole cow's liver 3 the saugherhouse reat the faigroonds. We had ic until we were sick off Tenever cot cent. {have hated the though of ever ‘shard live dae Anderson thnks country people ak this sway, andthe ides that hei iain an ilierate man's way of Weing is too dcouraging to purse. Yet, reading Anderson's caeflly self work, we never get the sene that he wre 8 he docs fo ell atenton to himilf Either he cannot wriee more smouhly (but some of hi fron bel his) o ele he wets in this farmerich way because the style expres hie Bcton'spar- pos: Te discourages us fom looking for sper bear, the polih of entesinment, and encorages oto read him ober ‘indedy, with the ore of country eamerines that suit the Phi, coughcful mcrator and hs story. The style shows us not the write’ clevernes, much le hi oy but the tone and i tention of ht wring. The ties of mannered writing. onthe other hand are those from which we gather, by the Peli of our thumb, some terior purpose o the writer's par, purpose perhaps not fly coraiou bot nevertcles spec, potting ue on our gud ‘Think of Johe Dos Paso rhs mas sl-imporan, or George Berard Shaw when he pontificate. Wheres the frigid writer lacks song feting, and the sentimental writer apples feeling ‘ndacriminaly, che mannered writer fee move songly about is own personality and idear—his ogo, which he therefore Conmon Errors ae eps before us by means of sylo—than he fees about any of Ischarcters—in fet llche os of humanity. Manered wing, entice senimentalcy and frigid asses out of awed character Inertial ices eis conidered tid form to make connections between erry fuls and bad cfaracer, but for she writing teacher such connections at i= pre to mis, hence impossible to ignore. If male stent ‘wer stack all womashond, producing a piece of ftion that ‘embarrass the cla, he teacher docs le than his job eequtes ithe limite his etcsm ro comments on the writers excsive eof "othe deri,” the sensinentalcing tendency of i en tence shythns, or ce drain effect of his herily catalog fl diction, The best such tinorous eri can achiere is reve pce of fsan thai free ofall techni faut but a0 Jes emarraing. Te help the site, since that hijo, che teacher mus ena the writer ta see—paniy by showing im how the feson betrays hit dort wson (28 Betion, closely serie aways wl) —that his personal character i wanting Some writing teachers fs reuctant to do thi ind of thing, and peopl who ate not artis people with no burning convie- tint about writing or the valve of geting down eo bedrock tmuth—are inclined to be sympathei. Nobodys perfect, they eerouly observe. Bur the tus ait impaient with sack fll, Circus hfe thrower now tha ic ined posible tobe perfec, and one had Brter be Perfection evans hing exactly Svat you ar ining a and no touching bya ai what you ae ‘ot I serves no wet purpose for the writer to remind binsell that "even Homer somes nods" Homer does, excep in the mont trivial ways; for inancs, in his many Tong bac scent, creel king of the sme soldier twice. Chavet in AIL hi nee poems, achieves something very nee perfection Racine in Phuedre. Shakepeare in Macbeth Serius critics somcimes argue chat the standards in are are always elativ, but all arte maserpeces give them the le Inthe greatestworks of at—ehink ofthe last works of Cézanne of Beethoven there are no eel mistakes. Fortis very reson (nt soobbery et malice) itis impartan o Keep track of the fal of writers net quite ofthe Bt rank, expecilly those writers cle to our own tine, whose gens hallcpernades us chat their faults must somehow be vite ‘When welook writers of the st generation-—to sy noth: ing ofthe bexcnown writers now among no ful tande ‘out more visbly than mannered style Wiliam Faulins, though one ofthe be of men and often a biliane write, ws Iighly mannered. One more "aporheor” the reader Fre and hell be driven to blow vp rome church In the hee works, he reader fee again and again that Faller i tying co recapre les success by cranking wp the shetorc, orginally invented convey ideas and emotions already present, but now mere steam, and roar and sale, 2 Freight train empty ofits freight. Hen ingway was a bad hough hs mannered prose i antitheial 0 Faulkner’ (Stould anyone doube tha che Hemingway syle is cexcesively mannered, not just beautifully chiseled, ai sin The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and all is est shore store, lt hi try reading through ten, fifteen sore in row.) James Joyee sas another outrageous offender, he knew hinselt. is yee repaitions of hey symbolic phnes, especially in Ulyse, can sever be explained fully by aechetie fonecon, they always ‘ary with them a hint of Joyce’ dandyiem, hie mide period ‘nwlingnes ro stand back frm the work of arta he mel told che world it should do-his unilingness az an ari to imitate God, sting “outside, indifferent, patng his nails” Late in life, Joyce was enormously pained and frusrated by the ‘wrong urn he believed his carer had taken after Dubliners and Porat. The finest short story ever writen, he cane, wat ‘Toltoy' Ite, simple lie fable, “How Much Land Docs a Man [Neei?" That opition, ike other of Joyce’ ls opinions, s gen erally when not ao seriously. Joyee wail sleoholi alo SF Insc he had recently eested and was sill working ove Common Errore ay ec of he toweing Wonks ofthe hua ind nd pt, Fine fan Wate Bu whe wre obvious ig keep Joye dat sion wih Fnneans Wat in perspective we ac nie hat Infact he sail what he ment He was ping ot, qi Sry. someting tr hed dco be ging wong Wh the agence ony sown work bitin erepbay work “Tong bck with prae,ohis ciy, mttwnranered wi ings teeing for pecion 0» Urry wucione 38 tore single, ogee we sein pips Be had ‘eogued frm the binning tough ed sipped fos them Sten prac ied a log 2g ht eto sol Sag "Once upon ase." and by 20 ingen ck bad Begin his ora of be di on th fora He'd long sice oft’ his mcmoae metapor on he anobesive a in ting God. He wa poitg ov. nary an ingot ath, trait hs dil Bh exy and Ie from Fle and Ds Paws forard ave eos ften fed ae Nos l rial o singly indi! weing is mae Noss eae to ecg tan Oe’, brs cl 1 think of ser le tunered. esol be et, 00, that though wrser my be panflyumnared fone pace, be sry nt ben ey. Neher Jer fine work—*The Den for imtancedo eS th spony eg ial leeding en the sory. Nowhere in Met's gree pope, cenaily not in sBeako Care” or “Barty the ex does Miles vie tet as Lawrence sl) inchs work and ethers ike them, pow fer re eptiabteand uote, Neon ca it ice te pote beauty of Joyecs cling ie in "The Dex,” br the poeey one fro te eythm athe serene hyn ssa only roe can rehire #. from the precy foewsed imagery (Be Arar of filing sow wich cles orwell the tiene) and ela ne esos erat whape—of ps Sage envonteed ale, Yeti need ot be obvios pod fetthat makes tory sem mannered. As Wills Gate shows ia best ion ~"In the Hear of the Heart of the County,” for inanee—even quite specaclar ance can st firmly inde the tion, nox suggesting inrsion By the writer. ‘What doe the beginning writer look for then, a signe that hie writing i slipping toward the mannered? He shoud think tad stout any inovation fe’ introdueed into bis work, mal ing sre thatthe work would no be, for al practical purpose, the same if he had done whit he's done in more conventional ‘ways Sos for intance if he ha ubtcted commas for periods in much of the soy, trying for some suble new yt ‘bet that seems to him appropiate to thi particular marae, he mighe ery rerypng key pasages in conventional puncrution, then reading both venion over and over, making sue that che new way realy does add more than it detract. (Deeracsin the ferme tha ie distracts the readers mind wnt he adjust tt jm a we doo the best innovative writings) I the writer bas incoduced flamboyant poetic eflec notceble rhyme, for exrple—the writer mighe rad andre ead what hes writen, then put i away awhile, allowing eto ool, then aps read snd reread, earellly analyzing his eno Son as he cea, trying to make oot whether the new device works because i gives new inerst and life ro the materia or Whether, onthe ater band, ie bepas to wea thi, fe sighaly creepy. Needles to 4, no fal decion, in mater lke thi, Shoal be based on covtrdice. Any fol can reise until nothing seands ous ky, everything fers stfe—and dead. One way moter, all grea writing achieves some kind of gusto. The ick Tis in waking so tha the gst en the work tela what ve fre the presentation may have come fom the harmony oF Indiv of presentation andthe thing presented Vane Bs in, prin Oh bythe Eth Ger lee ine, ec Orginal pdby Ned i am oi 79 Dn ann oe fe oot ge he arn foe AeA, yo Doo aly. Toon 19) by xD Belvo: Reyineby Sinan Schott ae rh Gnome aby rn Bian by Op Share pri 196) ty wig Sure Rep y prio aero Congres Caing in Pie Da iter o) PRIS Gig tots tO8y | amsstat