Always Learning

Did you ever read a story and want to sit down with the author and ask her why she did certain things in the story? I know that with the Internet, authors are more accessible but how would you approach an author you admire to ask such questions? Would she think you actually wanted to learn her process or would she think that you were just trying to tear her work apart? After all, she's been published at a level you might never reach.

I just finished a short story by an author who I really admire. I've read all her books and always look forward to the next one. So I was thrilled when I came across a short story written by her. As I read the story I wondered why she chose to write using another author's VERY famous character.

While the use of this character was a bit jarring, the story was engrossing and well plotted. Right up until the end when I felt like she was rushing so she could get the story out the door. I wondered why she told instead of showing us what could have been an action packed ending. Was she limited by a word count or did she just get tired of writing the short story, maybe afraid of taking it over the top? I so wanted to start pounding the keyboard and filling in the the parts she'd just skimmed over.

Even though I'll never ask her these questions, she did teach me an important writing lesson. She showed me how important it is to fill in the blanks so the reader can actually see what's going on instead of just reading about it after the fact. This is something that I do in my own writing, telling instead of showing.

Reading this story also brought home the lesson that you can learn just as much from poor writing as from great writing. The trick is making sure you incorporate the lessons learned into your own writing. I don't think a writer is ever done learning and if you run across one who believes they know everything about writing, it might be better to take their advice with a grain of salt.

And a quote today from Truman Capote:
"Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shadows, just as painting does, or music."