David Anthony Durham's Blog, page 44
October 7, 2010
Nobel For Mario
Hey, so Mario Vargas Llosa won the Nobel Prize for Literature today. Don't know if you've read him, but I was a big fan of his as an undergraduate. I loved his early stories and novels. He was a big influence on my early writing efforts. I haven't been as much of fan recently, but I'm still happy to hear of his Nobel win.
I wrote about him not too long ago, a short piece in The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books, edited by J. Peder Zane. Here's what I wrote:
Appreciation of The Green House, by Mario Vargas Llosa
I remember wandering through the world literature section of my university library, feeling a bit lost, recognizing few names. On the recommendation of my writing instructor I was searching for a Peruvian novelist named Mario Vargas Llosa. I found a coverless edition of The Green House, one with no blurbs, no review quotes, no author photo or biography. The surprises found inside, then, were complete and unforgettable.
With The Green House Vargas Llosa began to explore the ongoing battle that started the moment European culture collided with that of the Americas. The novel is populated by all segments of Peruvian society: people of Latin origins, Indians indigenous to the country, immigrants cast ashore on Peru for myriad reasons, from nuns and Fathers to prostitutes and pimps. There's even a Brazilian rubber-baron-warlord-leper of Japanese ancestry. It ranges from the depths of the rain forest to windblown desert outposts. It's a novel in which crimes are committed without remorse, conveyed with the brutal honesty of an author confronting the duplicitous exploitation tainting his nation.
This is rendered in prose as varied as its cast: inner monologue, assimilated dialogue, objective third person or an omniscient point of view, with multiple time lines, concurrent plots and scenes repeated in layering montage. Honestly, it's rarely an easy read. One can see the influence of Faulkner, of Sartre and Flaubert, but the manner in which Vargas Llosa transmuted Western influences to enrich his tale remains remarkable.
And – I wondered – if this Peruvian writer could do this what else might be happening out there? By inspiring that question The Green House drew me into a much more complete world of literature. I've been grateful to Vargas Llosa ever since.
Here's a brief Reuters article, if you want some biographical info. (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTR...)
And here's a longer Huffington Post piece. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10...)
I wrote about him not too long ago, a short piece in The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books, edited by J. Peder Zane. Here's what I wrote:Appreciation of The Green House, by Mario Vargas Llosa
I remember wandering through the world literature section of my university library, feeling a bit lost, recognizing few names. On the recommendation of my writing instructor I was searching for a Peruvian novelist named Mario Vargas Llosa. I found a coverless edition of The Green House, one with no blurbs, no review quotes, no author photo or biography. The surprises found inside, then, were complete and unforgettable.
With The Green House Vargas Llosa began to explore the ongoing battle that started the moment European culture collided with that of the Americas. The novel is populated by all segments of Peruvian society: people of Latin origins, Indians indigenous to the country, immigrants cast ashore on Peru for myriad reasons, from nuns and Fathers to prostitutes and pimps. There's even a Brazilian rubber-baron-warlord-leper of Japanese ancestry. It ranges from the depths of the rain forest to windblown desert outposts. It's a novel in which crimes are committed without remorse, conveyed with the brutal honesty of an author confronting the duplicitous exploitation tainting his nation.
This is rendered in prose as varied as its cast: inner monologue, assimilated dialogue, objective third person or an omniscient point of view, with multiple time lines, concurrent plots and scenes repeated in layering montage. Honestly, it's rarely an easy read. One can see the influence of Faulkner, of Sartre and Flaubert, but the manner in which Vargas Llosa transmuted Western influences to enrich his tale remains remarkable.
And – I wondered – if this Peruvian writer could do this what else might be happening out there? By inspiring that question The Green House drew me into a much more complete world of literature. I've been grateful to Vargas Llosa ever since.
Here's a brief Reuters article, if you want some biographical info. (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTR...)
And here's a longer Huffington Post piece. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10...)
October 1, 2010
Questions for Writers #2
Second crack at briefly answering some questions a student sent to me a while ago. He wanted to know:
How do you vary your style when the occasion calls for it? And how do you know when?
And I said:
You've answered your second question with the first. You know when when the occasion calls for it. How do you know that you know? Well… because something doesn't sit right. Because you're feeling a phantom pain. Because the "notes" of the story don't ring as clearly as they should…
I tend to believe that one of the things that separate "real" writers from wannabe writers is that the real ones don't ignore their own instincts - including responding to feedback from others. Responding to your own instincts can be hard, and scary, and be a lot of work.
But there's absolutely no reason you have to get everything right the first time. Just the opposite. It makes much more sense that you won't get everything right and that the rough diamond of a story you dug out of the ground will only really sparkle when its cut, polished, weighed and shaped and turned under a microscope. Too often, though, writers are so happy that they've found the diamond at all that they don't do the necessary hard work thereafter.
As for how to vary your style… well that's going to vary with each instance. Trial and error. That's the only real way. Try it. Write it. Read it. Sometimes it'll work; many times it won't. It's all part of the process, though, and only you can find the way that will work for you.
Added thoughts?
Well, just to stress that part of what it means to really become a writer is that you develop the capacity to honestly follow your instincts. So often, I see aspiring writers listen to feedback, maybe even agree that this or that thing really needs to happen... They might even admit that they knew that character or scene or point of view choice was a problem to begin with, and then... they don't do anything about it. Or they nibble around the edges, changing a few things, but not addressing the heart of the thing that might make their story really awesome. Why? Because writing is a bitch. It's hard getting the words on the page in the first place. Who wants to mess with them once they're there?
Writers do. Not because they want to, but because sometimes they have to. And, bottom line, it's up to you as the writer to come to terms with it.
How do you vary your style when the occasion calls for it? And how do you know when?
And I said:
You've answered your second question with the first. You know when when the occasion calls for it. How do you know that you know? Well… because something doesn't sit right. Because you're feeling a phantom pain. Because the "notes" of the story don't ring as clearly as they should…
I tend to believe that one of the things that separate "real" writers from wannabe writers is that the real ones don't ignore their own instincts - including responding to feedback from others. Responding to your own instincts can be hard, and scary, and be a lot of work.
But there's absolutely no reason you have to get everything right the first time. Just the opposite. It makes much more sense that you won't get everything right and that the rough diamond of a story you dug out of the ground will only really sparkle when its cut, polished, weighed and shaped and turned under a microscope. Too often, though, writers are so happy that they've found the diamond at all that they don't do the necessary hard work thereafter.
As for how to vary your style… well that's going to vary with each instance. Trial and error. That's the only real way. Try it. Write it. Read it. Sometimes it'll work; many times it won't. It's all part of the process, though, and only you can find the way that will work for you.
Added thoughts?
Well, just to stress that part of what it means to really become a writer is that you develop the capacity to honestly follow your instincts. So often, I see aspiring writers listen to feedback, maybe even agree that this or that thing really needs to happen... They might even admit that they knew that character or scene or point of view choice was a problem to begin with, and then... they don't do anything about it. Or they nibble around the edges, changing a few things, but not addressing the heart of the thing that might make their story really awesome. Why? Because writing is a bitch. It's hard getting the words on the page in the first place. Who wants to mess with them once they're there?
Writers do. Not because they want to, but because sometimes they have to. And, bottom line, it's up to you as the writer to come to terms with it.
September 29, 2010
I'm Up On The Clarion Website
It's official. They've got my smiling mug there on their website. I'm a Clarion Instructor!
(http://clarion.ucsd.edu/)
(http://clarion.ucsd.edu/)
September 26, 2010
Anybody Going To Brazil Sometime Soon?
If so, could you do me a favor? I'd love to get a copy of the Portuguese version of Walk Through Darkness (Jornada na Escuridão). I never got sent my author copy, and now I'm not confident I'll ever get one. It's been quite a few years, you see. It is out there, but not in my collection!It's right here at the Brazilian Walmart, but I can't seem to actually order the dang thing.
If you happen to be in Brazil, or going on holiday, drop me a line. Let's talk.
September 23, 2010
Questions For Writers #1
A while back a student emailed me a bunch of questions about writing. I answered them. My answers aren't great or anything, but I did take a bit of time to put my thoughts into words. I emailed back... and that was that. I didn't hear back from this student.
Perhaps my answers weren't what he was looking for. (I have to admit, a lot of them do have an "I dunno, you just figure it out" sort of vibe.) Having put time into them, though, I'd like to think someone has read them. In that effort, I o...
Perhaps my answers weren't what he was looking for. (I have to admit, a lot of them do have an "I dunno, you just figure it out" sort of vibe.) Having put time into them, though, I'd like to think someone has read them. In that effort, I o...
September 20, 2010
Mary Robinette Kowal on Omnivoracious
Mary answers...
If your novel were a meal, what would it be?
...and a couple of other pressing questions at Omnivoracious.
(http://www.omnivoracious.com/2010/09/...)
If your novel were a meal, what would it be?
...and a couple of other pressing questions at Omnivoracious.
(http://www.omnivoracious.com/2010/09/...)
Above and Below
I'm thrilled to be able to announce a very cool project I'm going to be a part of.
You know Ann and Jeff VanderMeer? Supercool, award-winning editors of many marvelous books (like The New Weird, Steampunk, Fast Ships Black Sails, and The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases)? Well, you should know them!
They're putting together a new anthology of short fiction called Above and Below, and they've asked me to be part of it. Very kind of them. Here's the descripti...
You know Ann and Jeff VanderMeer? Supercool, award-winning editors of many marvelous books (like The New Weird, Steampunk, Fast Ships Black Sails, and The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases)? Well, you should know them!They're putting together a new anthology of short fiction called Above and Below, and they've asked me to be part of it. Very kind of them. Here's the descripti...
September 17, 2010
HG Wells Contest - No Sci-Fi Allowed
This isn't new or anything. It's a story from this summer that I just recently noticed. It's pretty funny, in a sad sort of way.
Check it out HERE: HG Wells Contest.
(http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs...)
Check it out HERE: HG Wells Contest.
(http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs...)
September 15, 2010
Mind Meld
Over at SF Signal, I've melded my mind with a gaggle of other authors on the topic of the "best" female characters in sf/f. I didn't actually go for choosing a best, but went for more of a personal approach.
Check it out: HERE.
(http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010...)
Check it out: HERE.
(http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010...)
September 14, 2010
Who Knew Acorn Squash Could Be So Lovely?
That's what I was left wondering last night.
Okay, so, background first… My family belongs to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) called Natural Roots. Basically, it's a big farm in rural MA that we all pay into in the spring. Then as of the summer we can stop in once a week to pick up our share of vegetables, all grown right there on the farm, all organic, all produced using human and horse power. (No tractors.) It's good fun. Bit of a hippy vibe, as you can imagine.
One of the treats of ...
Okay, so, background first… My family belongs to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) called Natural Roots. Basically, it's a big farm in rural MA that we all pay into in the spring. Then as of the summer we can stop in once a week to pick up our share of vegetables, all grown right there on the farm, all organic, all produced using human and horse power. (No tractors.) It's good fun. Bit of a hippy vibe, as you can imagine.One of the treats of ...
