I've been busy slashing away at my first collection of short stories. I say slashing because I'm mostly cutting away at needless lines and phrases I should really have edited before (a lot of the stories have already been published). There's still a lot to do, and it feels a bit like making a patchwork quilt, in that the stories have to suit being beside other stories. One of the things that I kept to the fore of my mind in my most recent edit is something echoed in a recent article by Ian Jack in the Guardian about Diane Athill. Speaking about her accuracy and attention to detail, Jack states:
Part of this comes from her considerable gift as a maker of sentences, which are so lucid and direct; some of it is owed to the breaking of taboos that then surrounded female sexual behaviour; most of it, though, stems from her triumphant struggle to "get it right", a lesson she learned from two of the writers she edited. [Jean] Rhys told her that the trick of good writing was "to get it as it was, as it really was". Naipaul said that "provided you really get it right, the reader will understand".
Sometimes it is very hard in fiction to 'get it right'. You are making the story up, after all. But all your choices must be legitimate and plausible nonetheless - even if, as in one of my longer stories, The Tribe, your character has gone back in time 10,000 years.
The title of this new opus? Well, I'm thinking of The Devastated World. Cheery title, I know. But there are a few ecological themes running through it. We'll see. I might just go for The Congo and other stories. I'm sure the right title will come eventually.
Part of this comes from her considerable gift as a maker of sentences, which are so lucid and direct; some of it is owed to the breaking of taboos that then surrounded female sexual behaviour; most of it, though, stems from her triumphant struggle to "get it right", a lesson she learned from two of the writers she edited. [Jean] Rhys told her that the trick of good writing was "to get it as it was, as it really was". Naipaul said that "provided you really get it right, the reader will understand".
Sometimes it is very hard in fiction to 'get it right'. You are making the story up, after all. But all your choices must be legitimate and plausible nonetheless - even if, as in one of my longer stories, The Tribe, your character has gone back in time 10,000 years.
The title of this new opus? Well, I'm thinking of The Devastated World. Cheery title, I know. But there are a few ecological themes running through it. We'll see. I might just go for The Congo and other stories. I'm sure the right title will come eventually.
Sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI read that article, too. It's good to be reminded of ways to keep the writing relevant and tight - make every word count and discard the fluff.
I like "The Tribe" as a title, less negative than "The Devastated World", and intriguing...like you needed my opinion on that one! I'll shut up now....can't wait to read your collection when it's collected :)
Thanks Rachel. And then there's also JG Ballard's The Drowned World. I love his writing and thought he was a fascinating man - but the title is too close. I may well go with a story title. The Tribe is really a novella at 11,000 words - and is the longest story in the bunch - so this may well be the one to go for. Thanks a lot Rachel!! Still thinking of your bugs.
ReplyDeleteI like both The Tribe, and The Devasted World as titles. Hope you're still cracking away at it. It's a good time of year for trimming away at things, given the evenings closing in ...
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara. Have new title ideas now...good to have a few on the go.
ReplyDelete