iguanamountain blog

SIMPLE, THE DISTANT GOAL

John Barth said, in a Paris Review Interview, “I start every new project saying, “This one’s going to be simple, this one’s going to be simple.” It never turns out to be.” Do you find it to be true for you as well? Use it in regard to writing or any other thing that you wish.

It seems like if I'm trying to write a flash fiction piece, it has to be simple, few characters, only one or two locations and a direct situation that can be resolved.  I find that very difficult.

My books (I'm into my third novel) always have large casts, many locations and epic sized stories. They average around forty chapters and some are quite long. I don't even think about keeping it simple. I love the complexity and overlapping story lines.

The challenge is keeping it all straight, logical and easy to follow. It becomes a giant puzzle that all the pieces must fit and flow forward to support the main story line. There's a hard exercise called 'delete', which comes during the reviewing and editing phase.

The most fun is the outline and drafting time when there are few rules and creativity charges ahead. But to finish a book one has to try to read it out loud and face reality. Is it a good story, does it hold together. That part, I believe, is a learned skill. I've certainly struggled with it. It does get better.

Now I fear I shall have to go back and do a new edition of my first book (Tears of the Willow) because I have learned so much.

The learning part never stops!

Write on...>>>iggy

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