Congratulations on #50!! I've heard you articulate this in Bookclub discussions and it does open up so many paths for thinking about our reading. In the books I've been reading lately, I'm considering how these "choices" are impacted by 1) the time the book was written; not sure the author had as much freedom 100, or even 50, 30, 20? years ago as they do now? (and as I type this I'm thinking about the books we're seeing being smuggled out of Afghanistan, for example); 2) language is a HUGE part of this, and (you know I'm a translation nerd) how do the limitations of language in either the source or the translated language impact "choice"; and 3) what role does the editor/publisher play? it seems like that varies a lot.
"I assume everyone already knows this" - the number of times I've thought that and then somebody else writes about the topic to great success!! We get in our own ways sometimes don't we. This is great insight and I love how you articulate big ideas into practical experience
Congratulations and I tend to treat a work as aspiring to values and I try to figure out the values. See where it is consistent and what techniques they use to get us this timeless value.
I love this, and I'm going to have to consciously think about this more often while reading.
I was just reading an interview with Ron Rash about The Caretaker (possible a rec from you?) and how, as he first conceptualized the story, Blackburn Gant was a secondary character, but the more he wrote, the more prominence this character took until he became the center of the story. In thinking about that, I decided that that choice made the novel much more interesting than it would have been had it centered solely on Naomi and Jacob's POVs.
I've started reading author interviews this year before writing and posting bookstagram reviews, and it's enriched my reading so much! I love hearing them talk about some of the choices they've made.
Yes, well-articulated. I would argue that a 1,000-word story is even many times more than 1,000 choices the author-writer makes during the writing of it. Then there are the choices we make as readers to make the whole writing-reading experience a magically creative one. Thanks for making me think more about reading today.
Love a focus on "how I read". There are more books than I have time but ... exploring others thoughts (thank you), adds pearls of enrichment to my experience/involvement with the books I do read.
Congratulations on #50!! I've heard you articulate this in Bookclub discussions and it does open up so many paths for thinking about our reading. In the books I've been reading lately, I'm considering how these "choices" are impacted by 1) the time the book was written; not sure the author had as much freedom 100, or even 50, 30, 20? years ago as they do now? (and as I type this I'm thinking about the books we're seeing being smuggled out of Afghanistan, for example); 2) language is a HUGE part of this, and (you know I'm a translation nerd) how do the limitations of language in either the source or the translated language impact "choice"; and 3) what role does the editor/publisher play? it seems like that varies a lot.
"I assume everyone already knows this" - the number of times I've thought that and then somebody else writes about the topic to great success!! We get in our own ways sometimes don't we. This is great insight and I love how you articulate big ideas into practical experience
Congratulations and I tend to treat a work as aspiring to values and I try to figure out the values. See where it is consistent and what techniques they use to get us this timeless value.
I love this, and I'm going to have to consciously think about this more often while reading.
I was just reading an interview with Ron Rash about The Caretaker (possible a rec from you?) and how, as he first conceptualized the story, Blackburn Gant was a secondary character, but the more he wrote, the more prominence this character took until he became the center of the story. In thinking about that, I decided that that choice made the novel much more interesting than it would have been had it centered solely on Naomi and Jacob's POVs.
I've started reading author interviews this year before writing and posting bookstagram reviews, and it's enriched my reading so much! I love hearing them talk about some of the choices they've made.
Yes, well-articulated. I would argue that a 1,000-word story is even many times more than 1,000 choices the author-writer makes during the writing of it. Then there are the choices we make as readers to make the whole writing-reading experience a magically creative one. Thanks for making me think more about reading today.
Love a focus on "how I read". There are more books than I have time but ... exploring others thoughts (thank you), adds pearls of enrichment to my experience/involvement with the books I do read.