Random thoughts on books
28/8/06 23:37![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
owlectomyDid I remember to diss Bill Bryson when I got maybe 25 pages into his book on the English language, muttering under my breath, "Wrong, wrong, wrong, over-generalization, where did you pick THAT up, wrong wrong..." before I gave up in disgust?
(F'rex: his claim that no other language but English had thesauri.
A cursory search of my LJ would indicate that I haven't. It just... I've seen him effusively praised so often, and it sets my teeth on edge.
--
And then there's John Gardner. I read both his books on writing fiction as a youngling of fourteen or so, and came away very dismissive of him because his attention to detail is so far above what I was capable of understanding at that age! I'm now much closer to agreeing with him (though he still grates, in spots) but honestly, if I paid very much attention to what he said, I don't think I could ever write a word of fiction again.
I think it's okay to be a not-very-good writer.
I think it's okay to not work every sentence over for ages until it's polished to a pure, fine level.
Mostly... yes. I think it's okay to muddle around by feel and intuition, and not try to achieve by artificial technique what you can only get through experience and practice, and fail knowing that your failures are the best you can do right now. I don't think Gardner would argue against any of that, exactly, but the way that he argues for perfection or nothing makes me feel just a little inadequate.
It's strange to realize all of what Gardner's saying that, ten years ago, I couldn't understand.
But, as with everything, the more you learn, the more you realize how far you still have to go. This is hitting me hard this week, maybe because of the intensity with which I've been using my free time to do the things I've been slacking off on. So many books left to read! So much Japanese left to learn!
(F'rex: his claim that no other language but English had thesauri.
A cursory search of my LJ would indicate that I haven't. It just... I've seen him effusively praised so often, and it sets my teeth on edge.
--
And then there's John Gardner. I read both his books on writing fiction as a youngling of fourteen or so, and came away very dismissive of him because his attention to detail is so far above what I was capable of understanding at that age! I'm now much closer to agreeing with him (though he still grates, in spots) but honestly, if I paid very much attention to what he said, I don't think I could ever write a word of fiction again.
I think it's okay to be a not-very-good writer.
I think it's okay to not work every sentence over for ages until it's polished to a pure, fine level.
Mostly... yes. I think it's okay to muddle around by feel and intuition, and not try to achieve by artificial technique what you can only get through experience and practice, and fail knowing that your failures are the best you can do right now. I don't think Gardner would argue against any of that, exactly, but the way that he argues for perfection or nothing makes me feel just a little inadequate.
It's strange to realize all of what Gardner's saying that, ten years ago, I couldn't understand.
But, as with everything, the more you learn, the more you realize how far you still have to go. This is hitting me hard this week, maybe because of the intensity with which I've been using my free time to do the things I've been slacking off on. So many books left to read! So much Japanese left to learn!