Provisions

So I finished all six of the how-to-write books I purchased. I'd say all of them are good resources, but The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman was especially helpful. Concise and succinct, a lot of really helpful hands-on solutions to tightening up a manuscript and crafting excellent tension and a killer hook. I've dog-eared so many pages in that little book, and I plan on re-reading, this time with a highlighter and a notebook.

The Breakout Novelist by Donald Maass was really helpful too. There's practically a whole workbook of exercises; another good book to work through with a notebook and a highlighter. It also offers some pretty amazing and enlightening insights on the publishing industry as a whole, and at this point, any info is good info. I feel like I have a much more solid grasp on what's to come.

Anyway, one of the exercises (I forget from which book) suggests you make a list of your favorite books, and then explain why you like them. Re-read them and study the prose, the structure, the rhythm. Analyze WHY you like it. For a re-reading addict like myself, this is something I can latch onto.

So here's my list:
1) The Book of Flying by Keith Miller. This is one of those books where you feel like you can just sense the words. You're not just reading them, you're inhaling them, bathing in them. The prose is so beautiful and lyrical at times it sounds like a song. I would describe the writing ultimately as lush, and I want to be able to create that when I feel it serves the narrative.

2) The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. I loved this book. I wanted to live in between the words. The prose manages to both be minimalist and evocative; there is not one word out of place. I think being able to emply the sparse aesthetic that Blake does is a worthy technique, because in passages of tension and drama, using prose that almost manages to disconnect, to focus on various sense brings it even closer. It's more deeply felt.

3) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This is one of my favorite fantasies. Rothfuss is another fantastic sensory writer, but his prose is more luxuriant. At times, I become aware that he thinks his words are amazing, and that's distracting. So I put this book on my list both because I like it, and because I want to avoid what Rothfuss did. I don't ever want the reader to be so aware of the craft of the prose so as to be lifted from the story.

4) The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Packhurst. I adore this book. For one thing, the story is beautiful and beautifully written. It's a poignant portrayal of love and grief, and the space between the two. However, I really admire Packhurst's use of imagry and theme in her writing. There are various subjects, motifs, and places that all tie in together to create a really powerful emotional landscape.

5) Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. You have to bow to the master, and Tolkien is the master of fantasy. LOTR is one of my all time favorite books. The scope of the plot, the story, the themes, multiple point of views. For crying out loud, Tolkien created a UNIVERSE - before writing my own book, I tried to do the same thing (pages and pages of notes, some that haven't seen the light of day). Some people criticize his scholarly and formal prose, but I think it's SO appropriate for High Fantasy (which Tolkien basically created). My point is, if you're going to write a fantasy, even one so far removed from the genre as what I'm writing, you need to study up on the master.

Phew. I'm usually a fast reader, but I'm reading to study this time around. Taking notes, taking apart what I like, figuring out structure, etc etc.

In other news, I totally finished chapter two today. My classes tomorrow are cancelled, so I'm going to retreat into the writing cave and try and finish ACT I.

I wonder...at the rate I've been going (decent), I wonder if I can finish my first draft by the end of Christmas vacation. I mean, during the vacation I have 6 weeks of free time. I could get so much done then!