Tuesday, January 08, 2019

The sign of good writing

I've just read Anne Tyler's A Patchwork Planet for the third time in twenty years. I wanted to remind myself how a beautifully crafted novel works, in terms of structure, character and plot. Plot and structure are things I struggle with in every novel I write, and the current one (now entitled Even When They Know You) has been even more difficult to whip into line than my earlier ones. 

I know why. It's because it's the only one I started writing with no clear plan. I wanted to simply start writing and see where it took me. I dread writing the first few chapters of a new book, and I thought this method would circumvent the horror. It did, but it transferred the awfulness to later on - having characters and themes and scenes and no clear structure. Structure may sound dull and irrelevant to you, but sound structure and plot provide the narrative drive - the thing that keeps us turning the pages to see what's going to happen next. 



Anyway....the trouble with reading this particular Anne Tyler novel as an example is that whereas I started reading and making mental notes - ah yes, there's the inciting incident; ah yes, there's the plot point at the end of act one - it is so brilliantly written that I was soon so engrossed in the world of the story and wanting to know what happened next, that I lost all sight of the mechanics. 

Isn't that remarkable? This is a book I have already read twice. Age-related memory loss can be such a blessing. 

7 comments:

Sally said...

You've sold this book to me, I'm going to read it!
Good luck with your own novel. I like the way you give an insight into writing a novel. Wondering where the pleasure is? Is it something you feel compelled to do? Are those daft questions?? Sally 🤔

Sue Hepworth said...

Yes, the amount of time I spend moaning about the writing of this novel! The last one - But I Told You Last Year That I Loved You was so much more pleasurable to write. I loved it when I got past the first quarter and the story romped away with me. It was so wonderful to wake up every morning and to dive into the world of the story. It's so much gun when things are going well. There have definitely been sections of this one that have been huge fun to write. I think the problem lies in not having planned it out first, and then belatedly figuring out how to structure it.

Sue Hepworth said...

That should have read 'so much fun' in my comment. Not 'gun.'
Oh, and Sally, let me know what you think of the Anne Tyler.

Sally said...

Have you enjoyed many of A Tyler's novels? I've read 'Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant' previously. But must admit I was somewhat underwhelmed by it. I'm interested to try others as some people I know are big fans of hers.

Sally said...

'But I told you...' was a fab read, entertaining & subtlety informative - a hard act to follow I guess.

Sue Hepworth said...

That's such a lovely thing to say, Sally. Thank you. You're so encouraging!

I am a big Anne Tyler fan but I like some a lot better than others. Her books are quiet, so they may not be to your taste. I think A Patchwork Planet is my favourite, but I also like Breathing Lessons (which won the Pulitzer prize) and The Accidental Tourist, and I love a really quiet one called Noah's Compass.

Sally said...

Thank you, I like reading recommendations.😊📚