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opera142Just finished Thin Dark Line by Joe R Lansdale. As with all his books, it was AWESOME.
And of course, thinking about other people's writing gets me thinking about my own writing because I am obsession complusive dedicated to my craft.
Lansdale is a huge influence on me/my writing. Obviously some of it is mimicking, but I wonder how much of it is natural. In order to be such a fan of his, I had to come into his work already appreciating the kind stories he tells and the way he chooses to tell them. Right? If he wrote romances or spy thrillers or any other genre that doesn't really thrill me, and even if he wrote those as stunningly awesome as he writes horror/mystery, I probably wouldn't be so in complete fricking awe of him. So... I'm thinking that part of my appreciation for him is that he's doing an awesome job writing things I would read by a lesser talented author... and that he's writing ideas and situations that I tend be inspired by/write.
But, here's the angsty issue. Alot of his writing has the same distant tone as mine. But his stories clearly need that distance. He writes about gruesome subjects: gory deaths, injuires and fight scenes & very ugly sides of human nature such as rascism, homophobia, pedophillia & and plain old wearying to read emotions like despondency, greed and evilness. His stories need distant tones in order to palatable. Some of things he tells need to be held at arm's length. His writing style serves a purpose to the stories he's telling.
I don't think my writing style-- also distant, understated and sometimes barren-- serves my stories quite as well. I don't write gory. I rarely touch on controversial or horrific subjects. Rather than needing arm's length, most of my stories need to cuddle closer and whisper intimately into the reader's ear.
Yet, I'm attracted to the barren. I think in the understated. I adore writing that explains years of hate or resentment or love or loyalty or grief or resolve in a few seemingly innocent sentences.
It's frustrating me because style is something that needs to be worked on constantly, yet results are usually seen in retrospect. It comes naturally, but it also needs to be pruned. Right now, I'm holding shears but I'm not sure what needs to go and what should be planted in replacement.
And of course, thinking about other people's writing gets me thinking about my own writing because I am
Lansdale is a huge influence on me/my writing. Obviously some of it is mimicking, but I wonder how much of it is natural. In order to be such a fan of his, I had to come into his work already appreciating the kind stories he tells and the way he chooses to tell them. Right? If he wrote romances or spy thrillers or any other genre that doesn't really thrill me, and even if he wrote those as stunningly awesome as he writes horror/mystery, I probably wouldn't be so in complete fricking awe of him. So... I'm thinking that part of my appreciation for him is that he's doing an awesome job writing things I would read by a lesser talented author... and that he's writing ideas and situations that I tend be inspired by/write.
But, here's the angsty issue. Alot of his writing has the same distant tone as mine. But his stories clearly need that distance. He writes about gruesome subjects: gory deaths, injuires and fight scenes & very ugly sides of human nature such as rascism, homophobia, pedophillia & and plain old wearying to read emotions like despondency, greed and evilness. His stories need distant tones in order to palatable. Some of things he tells need to be held at arm's length. His writing style serves a purpose to the stories he's telling.
I don't think my writing style-- also distant, understated and sometimes barren-- serves my stories quite as well. I don't write gory. I rarely touch on controversial or horrific subjects. Rather than needing arm's length, most of my stories need to cuddle closer and whisper intimately into the reader's ear.
Yet, I'm attracted to the barren. I think in the understated. I adore writing that explains years of hate or resentment or love or loyalty or grief or resolve in a few seemingly innocent sentences.
It's frustrating me because style is something that needs to be worked on constantly, yet results are usually seen in retrospect. It comes naturally, but it also needs to be pruned. Right now, I'm holding shears but I'm not sure what needs to go and what should be planted in replacement.
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no subject
Date: 2004-06-27 07:21 pm (UTC)Why?
I don't know this author, have never read him. But why should his subject matter be kept at a distance, however "dark" it is?
no subject
Date: 2004-06-29 02:16 pm (UTC)The other issue is palatibility. Not only does he do extreme gore but he also writes gross out humor/situations. One example: The main characters get turned around in the backwoods while looking for a contact. They meet up with a guy who's wife flushed his dentures down the toilet. This guy is digging around with both arms in sewage, trying to find his dentures. Its comical and disturbing and gross. If the story was told in intimate, emotional detail, I don't think a reader could stomach that much feces.