Jimmy Pappas's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
Haruki Murakami and the Quirky Detail
Haruki Murakami and the Quirky Detail
I love Haruki Murakami's fiction because he is so good at adding quirky details that always manage to keep me interested. It may be one of those tips any good writer or artist needs to think about.
In Murakami's story "Scheherazade" a woman asks a man, "Have you ever broken into an empty home?" Now, I don't know about you, but I have never broken into anyone's empty home. Nor do I intend to. So reading a question like that in a story should make me think, "That's ridiculous. Of course not. Why would I want to break into someone's empty home? I am not a criminal."
Now it is up to the author Murakami to change my attitude a bit. Or at least cast some doubt on it so that I am wrapped up in this woman's thought process. The character makes it seem like breaking into someone's empty home is something we all should have done at some time in our lives. How does she do that?
The male character, like me, is at a loss for words. He explains in shock that it is illegal. But the woman explains how she broke into a home once and became addicted to it. Think about it. When you do something like that, you have to be totally silent. No noise at all. No false movements. In other words, that peace and quiet you have been searching for? There it is.
She goes into the empty home and finds peace sitting alone on the floor. Who knew it could be so simple? I guess I have been looking in the wrong places. And it is done so matter-of-factly that I believe her.
There is something else there in that empty home. A life. You can look around. Check out the details. Look through the drawers. Skim the titles on the spines of books. Try to imagine the kind of person who lives there.
She always removes one tiny item and adds one item. Her first break-in she took a pencil and added a tampon. It was for a boy she had a crush on. She still imagines what must have happened when the mother found the tampon in the boy's room.
Now doesn't that sound fascinating? But a word of warning. Don't try this at home. It's only a story. Instead, try adding a quirky detail to your own writing. If you come up with one, let me know about it.
I love Haruki Murakami's fiction because he is so good at adding quirky details that always manage to keep me interested. It may be one of those tips any good writer or artist needs to think about.
In Murakami's story "Scheherazade" a woman asks a man, "Have you ever broken into an empty home?" Now, I don't know about you, but I have never broken into anyone's empty home. Nor do I intend to. So reading a question like that in a story should make me think, "That's ridiculous. Of course not. Why would I want to break into someone's empty home? I am not a criminal."
Now it is up to the author Murakami to change my attitude a bit. Or at least cast some doubt on it so that I am wrapped up in this woman's thought process. The character makes it seem like breaking into someone's empty home is something we all should have done at some time in our lives. How does she do that?
The male character, like me, is at a loss for words. He explains in shock that it is illegal. But the woman explains how she broke into a home once and became addicted to it. Think about it. When you do something like that, you have to be totally silent. No noise at all. No false movements. In other words, that peace and quiet you have been searching for? There it is.
She goes into the empty home and finds peace sitting alone on the floor. Who knew it could be so simple? I guess I have been looking in the wrong places. And it is done so matter-of-factly that I believe her.
There is something else there in that empty home. A life. You can look around. Check out the details. Look through the drawers. Skim the titles on the spines of books. Try to imagine the kind of person who lives there.
She always removes one tiny item and adds one item. Her first break-in she took a pencil and added a tampon. It was for a boy she had a crush on. She still imagines what must have happened when the mother found the tampon in the boy's room.
Now doesn't that sound fascinating? But a word of warning. Don't try this at home. It's only a story. Instead, try adding a quirky detail to your own writing. If you come up with one, let me know about it.
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ezra Pound, Part 1
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ezra Pound, Part 1
New Hampshire poet Donald Hall edited this book, published in 1968. It is a collection of essays and quotes about writing from writers of the first half of the twentieth century. I think it is interesting to see if their comments still hold up today. I am going to select my favorite quotes and comment whenever possible.
Let's start with this quote by Ezra Pound: "More writers fail from lack of character than from lack of intelligence. Technical solidity is not attained without at least some persistence."
I found it interesting that Pound used the word "intelligence" instead of something like "ability" or "skill." If you are smart enough, you too can be a good writer. But only if you "persist." He seems to be talking about hard work, the solution to just about any problem.
And what made him use the word "character"? Does hard work take character? Whenever I hear the phrase "hard work" I think of my parents. They worked hard. I would never compare myself to them when it comes to hard work. I think it would be better to say, as Pound did, that I had "some persistence."
I was a great teacher because I followed three rules: "Prepare. Prepare. Prepare." I guess that could also be stated by the famous trio: "Practice. Practice. Practice." Preparation and practice are also absolutely necessary to becoming a good writer. Preparation includes tons of reading. And practice includes tons of writing. Pretty simple formula. Try it. It works.
New Hampshire poet Donald Hall edited this book, published in 1968. It is a collection of essays and quotes about writing from writers of the first half of the twentieth century. I think it is interesting to see if their comments still hold up today. I am going to select my favorite quotes and comment whenever possible.
Let's start with this quote by Ezra Pound: "More writers fail from lack of character than from lack of intelligence. Technical solidity is not attained without at least some persistence."
I found it interesting that Pound used the word "intelligence" instead of something like "ability" or "skill." If you are smart enough, you too can be a good writer. But only if you "persist." He seems to be talking about hard work, the solution to just about any problem.
And what made him use the word "character"? Does hard work take character? Whenever I hear the phrase "hard work" I think of my parents. They worked hard. I would never compare myself to them when it comes to hard work. I think it would be better to say, as Pound did, that I had "some persistence."
I was a great teacher because I followed three rules: "Prepare. Prepare. Prepare." I guess that could also be stated by the famous trio: "Practice. Practice. Practice." Preparation and practice are also absolutely necessary to becoming a good writer. Preparation includes tons of reading. And practice includes tons of writing. Pretty simple formula. Try it. It works.
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall, quotes by George Orwell
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall, quotes by George Orwell
There were several sections from the writing of George Orwell. Here are two of my favorites:
George Orwell: "Each of these passages has faults of its own, but, quite apart from avoidable ugliness, two qualities are common to all of them. The first is staleness of imagery; the other is lack of precision. The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose . . . the concrete melts into the abstract . . . prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a pre-fabricated hen-house."
George Orwell: "1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than saying anything outright barbarous."
In the first long quote, here are the key phrases: staleness of imagery, lack of precision, vagueness, sheer incompetence, concrete melts into the abstract, and phrases tacked together. Orwell has identified the main problem with bad writing in those phrases. If I had to summarize his point in one word, I would select "abstraction." Quite often bad writing is abstract, vague, stale. It lacks specifics.
In his numbered section, I might only push back on #5. I think a foreign phrase can have power if used correctly. Same with a scientific word.
I love #6 because it gives the writer an excuse for breaking these rules. There are always good ways to break a rule in writing.
There were several sections from the writing of George Orwell. Here are two of my favorites:
George Orwell: "Each of these passages has faults of its own, but, quite apart from avoidable ugliness, two qualities are common to all of them. The first is staleness of imagery; the other is lack of precision. The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose . . . the concrete melts into the abstract . . . prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a pre-fabricated hen-house."
George Orwell: "1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than saying anything outright barbarous."
In the first long quote, here are the key phrases: staleness of imagery, lack of precision, vagueness, sheer incompetence, concrete melts into the abstract, and phrases tacked together. Orwell has identified the main problem with bad writing in those phrases. If I had to summarize his point in one word, I would select "abstraction." Quite often bad writing is abstract, vague, stale. It lacks specifics.
In his numbered section, I might only push back on #5. I think a foreign phrase can have power if used correctly. Same with a scientific word.
I love #6 because it gives the writer an excuse for breaking these rules. There are always good ways to break a rule in writing.
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ezra Pound, Part 2
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ezra Pound, Part 2
Here are some more quotes from Ezra Pound. By far, his quotes were my favorites in this book:
Ezra Pound: "Roughly then, Good writing is writing that is perfectly controlled, the writer says just what he means. He says it with complete clarity and simplicity. He uses the smallest possible number of words. I do not mean that he skimps paper, or that he screws about like Tacitus to get his thought crowded into the least possible space. But, granting that two sentences are at times easier to understand than one sentence containing the double meaning, the author tries to communicate with the reader with the greatest possible despatch, save where for any one of forty reasons he does not wish to do so."
Ezra Pound: "Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the ultmost possible degree."
I underlined the words "despatch" and "ultmost" because that is the way they were spelled. They are not typos. The only place I found the use of the word "ultmost" was in discussions about the Bible.
These are terrific quotes. And I love that Pound gives the author a way out when he says "save where for any one of forty reasons he does not wish to do so." No rules are absolute in writing.
Here are some more quotes from Ezra Pound. By far, his quotes were my favorites in this book:
Ezra Pound: "Roughly then, Good writing is writing that is perfectly controlled, the writer says just what he means. He says it with complete clarity and simplicity. He uses the smallest possible number of words. I do not mean that he skimps paper, or that he screws about like Tacitus to get his thought crowded into the least possible space. But, granting that two sentences are at times easier to understand than one sentence containing the double meaning, the author tries to communicate with the reader with the greatest possible despatch, save where for any one of forty reasons he does not wish to do so."
Ezra Pound: "Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the ultmost possible degree."
I underlined the words "despatch" and "ultmost" because that is the way they were spelled. They are not typos. The only place I found the use of the word "ultmost" was in discussions about the Bible.
These are terrific quotes. And I love that Pound gives the author a way out when he says "save where for any one of forty reasons he does not wish to do so." No rules are absolute in writing.
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), H. W. Fowler and Will Strunk
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), H. W. Fowler and Will Strunk
H. W. Fowler: "'An adjective,'" says the OED, 'is a word standing for the name of an attribute which being added to the name of a thing describes the thing more fully and definitely, as a black coat.' Adjectives, then, ought to be good friends of the noun. In fact, as has well been said, they have become its enemies. They are often used not to 'describe the thing more fully and definitely' but rather to give it some vague and needless intensification and limitation; as if their users thought that the noun by itself was either not impressive enough or too stark, or perhaps even that it was a pity to be content with one word where they might have two. . . .
"The habit of propping up all nouns with adjectives is seen at its worst in those pairs where the adjective is tautological, adding nothing to the meaning of the noun; . . . Constant association with an intensifying adjective deprives a noun of the power of standing on its own legs."
Will Strunk: "Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
"OMIT needless words!"
Fowler's critique of adjectives still holds up today. Virtually every writer who makes a list nowadays includes something about avoiding adjectives. But I would disagree about his mention of "black coat." I like colors. They add to the visual quality of writing. In a local critique group I am in, we are taking "black coat" as a prompt.
No arguments with Strunk. Let "every word tell." Words to write by.
H. W. Fowler: "'An adjective,'" says the OED, 'is a word standing for the name of an attribute which being added to the name of a thing describes the thing more fully and definitely, as a black coat.' Adjectives, then, ought to be good friends of the noun. In fact, as has well been said, they have become its enemies. They are often used not to 'describe the thing more fully and definitely' but rather to give it some vague and needless intensification and limitation; as if their users thought that the noun by itself was either not impressive enough or too stark, or perhaps even that it was a pity to be content with one word where they might have two. . . .
"The habit of propping up all nouns with adjectives is seen at its worst in those pairs where the adjective is tautological, adding nothing to the meaning of the noun; . . . Constant association with an intensifying adjective deprives a noun of the power of standing on its own legs."
Will Strunk: "Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.
"OMIT needless words!"
Fowler's critique of adjectives still holds up today. Virtually every writer who makes a list nowadays includes something about avoiding adjectives. But I would disagree about his mention of "black coat." I like colors. They add to the visual quality of writing. In a local critique group I am in, we are taking "black coat" as a prompt.
No arguments with Strunk. Let "every word tell." Words to write by.
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Frost, Moore, Simenon, and Colette
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Frost, Moore, Simenon, and Colette
When someone asked Robert Frost if he was selective, he said, "Call it passionate preference." (This story came from the American poet Marianne Moore.)
Georges Simenon: "Just one piece of general advice from a writer has been useful to me. It was from Colette. . . . I gave her two short stories and she returned them and I tried again and tried again. Finally, she said, 'Look, it is too literary, always too literary.' So I followed her advice. It is what I do when I write, the main job when I rewrite.
"Adjectives, adverbs, and every word which is there just to make an effect. Every sentence which is there just for the sentence. You know, you have a beautiful sentence--cut it. Every time I find such a thing in one of my novels it is to be cut."
I love the Frost quote about "passionate preference." The only problem I can see with that is sometimes a writer can be stubborn about a piece that just isn't working except for him. I am pretty sure I have been there and stubbornly persisted. Sometimes for the win.
And what does Colette mean about a piece being too literary? With poetry, I might say "too poetic." Poets can try so hard to be "poetic" that they become too abstract and fancy.
When someone asked Robert Frost if he was selective, he said, "Call it passionate preference." (This story came from the American poet Marianne Moore.)
Georges Simenon: "Just one piece of general advice from a writer has been useful to me. It was from Colette. . . . I gave her two short stories and she returned them and I tried again and tried again. Finally, she said, 'Look, it is too literary, always too literary.' So I followed her advice. It is what I do when I write, the main job when I rewrite.
"Adjectives, adverbs, and every word which is there just to make an effect. Every sentence which is there just for the sentence. You know, you have a beautiful sentence--cut it. Every time I find such a thing in one of my novels it is to be cut."
I love the Frost quote about "passionate preference." The only problem I can see with that is sometimes a writer can be stubborn about a piece that just isn't working except for him. I am pretty sure I have been there and stubbornly persisted. Sometimes for the win.
And what does Colette mean about a piece being too literary? With poetry, I might say "too poetic." Poets can try so hard to be "poetic" that they become too abstract and fancy.
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Gertrude Stein
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein: "When you are at school and learn grammar grammar is very exciting. I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences. I suppose other things may be more exciting to others when they are at school but to me undoubtedly when I was at school the really completely exciting thing was diagramming sentences and that has been to me ever since the one thing that has been completely exiting and completely completing. I like the feeling the everlasting feeling of sentences as they diagram themselves. . . . . . . anybody knows the first thing anybody takes out of anybody's writing are the adjectives."
Gertrude Stein: "Verbs and adverbs are more interesting [than nouns]. In the first place they have one very nice quality and that is that they can be so mistaken. It is wonderful the number of mistakes a verb can make and that is equally true of its adverb. Nouns and adjectives never can make mistakes can never be mistaken but verbs can be so endlessly, both as to what they do and how they agree or disagree with whatever they do. The same is true of adverbs.
"In that way one can see that verbs and adverbs are more interesting than nouns and adjectives."
Note: She also likes prepositions, articles, and conjunctions.
Of all the writers that Hall quoted in this book, I found that Stein's comments held up the least. The most glaring example is her praise of adverbs. Virtually every writer places adverbs on the same level as adjectives; in other words, use them sparingly, if at all. A single better verb is almost always better than a verb and an adverb together.
I had to laugh at her joy about diagramming sentences. Reminds me of practice teaching on Edwards Air Force Base in California. I worked with a teacher who loved diagramming sentences. We had such great fun with the students challenging them to try and diagram a difficult sentence. There was one boy who stood at the board while students went up to write a sentence for diagramming to see who could stump him. No one ever did.
Notice also that she left out commas. Those are not misprints. For example: "When you are at school and learn grammar grammar is very exciting."
Gertrude Stein: "When you are at school and learn grammar grammar is very exciting. I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences. I suppose other things may be more exciting to others when they are at school but to me undoubtedly when I was at school the really completely exciting thing was diagramming sentences and that has been to me ever since the one thing that has been completely exiting and completely completing. I like the feeling the everlasting feeling of sentences as they diagram themselves. . . . . . . anybody knows the first thing anybody takes out of anybody's writing are the adjectives."
Gertrude Stein: "Verbs and adverbs are more interesting [than nouns]. In the first place they have one very nice quality and that is that they can be so mistaken. It is wonderful the number of mistakes a verb can make and that is equally true of its adverb. Nouns and adjectives never can make mistakes can never be mistaken but verbs can be so endlessly, both as to what they do and how they agree or disagree with whatever they do. The same is true of adverbs.
"In that way one can see that verbs and adverbs are more interesting than nouns and adjectives."
Note: She also likes prepositions, articles, and conjunctions.
Of all the writers that Hall quoted in this book, I found that Stein's comments held up the least. The most glaring example is her praise of adverbs. Virtually every writer places adverbs on the same level as adjectives; in other words, use them sparingly, if at all. A single better verb is almost always better than a verb and an adverb together.
I had to laugh at her joy about diagramming sentences. Reminds me of practice teaching on Edwards Air Force Base in California. I worked with a teacher who loved diagramming sentences. We had such great fun with the students challenging them to try and diagram a difficult sentence. There was one boy who stood at the board while students went up to write a sentence for diagramming to see who could stump him. No one ever did.
Notice also that she left out commas. Those are not misprints. For example: "When you are at school and learn grammar grammar is very exciting."
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ernest Fenollosa
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ernest Fenollosa
Ernest Fenollosa: "The great strength of the English language lies in the splendid array of transitive verbs, drawn from both Anglo-Saxon and from Latin sources. . . . Their power lies in their recognition of nature as a vast storehouse of forces. . . . I had to discover for myself why Shakespeare's English was so immeasurably superior to all others. I found that it was his persistent, natural, and magnificent use of hundreds of transitive verbs. Rarely will you find an 'is' in his sentences. . . . A study of Shakespeare's verbs should underline all exercises in style."
Fenollosa's comment about transitive verbs in Shakespeare is one worth studying in greater detail. I remember a teacher mentioning this in a college class I took. Whenever you read Shakespeare as a writer, I think watching for transitive verbs would be helpful. Avoid intransitive and linking verbs in your own writing.
Ernest Fenollosa (1853-1908) was an American art historian of Japanese art. He did much to preserve traditional Japanese art. His art collection was eventually given to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. You can still see it there. Please do. He organized Boston's first exhibition of Chinese painting in 1894. He was a friend of Lafcadio Hearn, author of Japanese legends and ghost stories. His widow gave his unpublished notes on Chinese poetry and Japanese Noh drama to Ezra Pound, who together with William Butler Yeats used them to promote a growing interest in Far Eastern literature among modern writers. His ashes were buried at a Buddhist temple high above Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. You can visit there and see his grave. Please do.
Ernest Fenollosa: "The great strength of the English language lies in the splendid array of transitive verbs, drawn from both Anglo-Saxon and from Latin sources. . . . Their power lies in their recognition of nature as a vast storehouse of forces. . . . I had to discover for myself why Shakespeare's English was so immeasurably superior to all others. I found that it was his persistent, natural, and magnificent use of hundreds of transitive verbs. Rarely will you find an 'is' in his sentences. . . . A study of Shakespeare's verbs should underline all exercises in style."
Fenollosa's comment about transitive verbs in Shakespeare is one worth studying in greater detail. I remember a teacher mentioning this in a college class I took. Whenever you read Shakespeare as a writer, I think watching for transitive verbs would be helpful. Avoid intransitive and linking verbs in your own writing.
Ernest Fenollosa (1853-1908) was an American art historian of Japanese art. He did much to preserve traditional Japanese art. His art collection was eventually given to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. You can still see it there. Please do. He organized Boston's first exhibition of Chinese painting in 1894. He was a friend of Lafcadio Hearn, author of Japanese legends and ghost stories. His widow gave his unpublished notes on Chinese poetry and Japanese Noh drama to Ezra Pound, who together with William Butler Yeats used them to promote a growing interest in Far Eastern literature among modern writers. His ashes were buried at a Buddhist temple high above Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. You can visit there and see his grave. Please do.
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ezra Pound, Part 3
The Modern Stylists, edited by Donald Hall (1968), Ezra Pound, Part 3
Ezra Pound: "1. Let the pupils exchange composition papers and see how many and what useless words have been used--how many words that convey nothing new.
2. How many words that obscure the meaning.
3. How many words out of their usual place, and whether this alteration makes the statement in any way more interesting or more energetic.
4. Whether a sentence is ambiguous; whether it really means more than one thing or more than the writer intended; whether it can be so read as to mean something different.
5. Whether there is something always clear on paper, but ambiguous if spoken aloud.
. . .
"Use no superfluous word, no adjective which does not reveal something.
"Don't mix an abstraction with the concrete.
"Go in fear of abstractions.
"Incompetence will show in the use of too many words.
"The reader's first and simplest test of an author will be to look for words that do not function; that contribute nothing to the meaning OR that distract from the MOST important factor of the meaning to factors of minor importance.
"It has been said that Swinburne used the same adjectives to describe a woman and a sunset."
This is my final post of quotes. I like ending with Ezra Pound because his comments were easily the best in the book. No wonder he influenced so many great writers.
His key points on this list: Avoid abstractions. Make your writing concrete with specific details.
And what a great prompt that final comment about a woman and a sunset might make.
Ezra Pound: "1. Let the pupils exchange composition papers and see how many and what useless words have been used--how many words that convey nothing new.
2. How many words that obscure the meaning.
3. How many words out of their usual place, and whether this alteration makes the statement in any way more interesting or more energetic.
4. Whether a sentence is ambiguous; whether it really means more than one thing or more than the writer intended; whether it can be so read as to mean something different.
5. Whether there is something always clear on paper, but ambiguous if spoken aloud.
. . .
"Use no superfluous word, no adjective which does not reveal something.
"Don't mix an abstraction with the concrete.
"Go in fear of abstractions.
"Incompetence will show in the use of too many words.
"The reader's first and simplest test of an author will be to look for words that do not function; that contribute nothing to the meaning OR that distract from the MOST important factor of the meaning to factors of minor importance.
"It has been said that Swinburne used the same adjectives to describe a woman and a sunset."
This is my final post of quotes. I like ending with Ezra Pound because his comments were easily the best in the book. No wonder he influenced so many great writers.
His key points on this list: Avoid abstractions. Make your writing concrete with specific details.
And what a great prompt that final comment about a woman and a sunset might make.
