Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Writer’s Corner: John Gardner, The Art of Fiction, First Chapter


Chapter One: Aesthetic Law and Artistic Mystery

In this first chapter Gardner begins be declaring the beginning the writer wants rules on how to write, but there are none. There are principles that the beginning writer needs to know and a few warnings. But no hard and fast rules. He says once you begin to believe there are certain things you cannot and should not do in fiction, your intuition becomes paralyzed. He says art needs to be judged on its own merits, by its own laws, and if a work violates its own laws or if they are weak, the work will fail.

As an example, he says a general principle is that all the questions raised by a work must answered for it to be satisfactory and if it doesn’t, that’s a loose end. Like all principles, this is generally true, but may be broken on occasion. Such as when we never really know if Achilles really loves Briseus or just thinks of her as his rightful prize. Or how Hamlet becomes decisive with his enemies and less decisive with everything else.

After all that he says that the first and last writer is that there are no real rules for fiction. There might be formulas for easily published fiction. There are common mistakes (such as following formulas?) and things writers need to think about, but no rules.

He says the beginning writer needs mastery, not rules. In particular, mastery of breaking rules (that don’t exist!). He says that the value of any work has to do with the writer’s character and personality. I find that odd, because I am not reading the writer when I read something but the work itself. Personally, when I read something, I would rather know nothing about the writer until after I finish and sometimes even then I don’t care to know anything about the writer. Then he implies personality and character are the writer’s instincts, knowledge of art and the world. It isn’t. One is craft, the other is how the writer is and the two are only tenuously connected. A writer can be greedy, generous, kind, ruthless and it doesn’t affect the writer’s craft. The writer’s attitudes and experiences will undoubtedly slant the work toward one thing or another, but that’s not the same thing as craft either.

He also says one needs a certain mastery in order to read well, to know if something is boring, juvenile and simple minded. I find this mildly offensive. If something is boring, it is boring and no matter how much you read, a boring book is going to stay boring (unless your tastes change, but if they do, than other previously interesting books can become boring). It’s a matter of taste. As for the rest – there are stories that were positively fascinating when I was younger and that I can hardly read now. But that’s because it is easier to see the flaws now and also because I am not the same person I was when 14. I don’t call that mastery.


Heart Change by Robin D. Owens

Book Description: Signet D'Marigold's lonely life is shaken when a prophet reveals she is a catalyst for change. But to accept her new life-and the charge of the noble child Avellana-means embracing a danger that may be fatal for them both. Especially when Signet's attraction to her new bodyguard signals a secret enemy sworn to destroy them.


Warning: Spoilers

Heart Change begins with Signet depressed enough to consider suicide. She’s depressed because all her friends have left her, she has no purpose in life and she doesn’t know what her flair is. Flair, in these books, is her magical specialization. All that changes in the first few pages. Her flair is lets her adjust other peoples’ flair. It is an odd one and a type of flair no one has ever heard of before.


The hero and love interest in this story is, Cratag, the bodyguard. A bodyguard as the love interest isn’t odd. But Heart Change is the first book in this series to have a commoner main character. More, he has a strong body, strong weapons skills, but weak flair and in this world flair is the ultimate arbiter of strength. So he is not the hero I expected but excellent all the same. He is described quite often as a “rock.” If Signet is going to make a habit of getting caught up in other’s passages and flair, a rock to hold on to would be a good thing. As a side note, neither one of them made a heart gift for each other. The hero didn’t because he doesn’t have enough flair to go through even one passage; she didn’t because she barely sensed him in her own passages, probably because he has so little flair.

The most interesting scene had nothing to do with the main romance. Maybe that’s sad. Cratag’s student and a brother of sorts married and the wedding was just chock full of drama. Only her side of the family was there and she had terrible, ugly things to say to him afterward (things that rang in his head and made him decide he was wasn’t good for Signet). It was a really bad (or a really good one in that a good story is bound to come out of it) beginning for a marriage and I hope this will be the next story.

Grade: B-



Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb


Book Description: For fifteen years FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him. But that is about to change when destiny seeks him once again. Prince Dutiful, the young heir to the Farseer throne, has vanished and FitzChivalry, possessed of magical skills both royal and profane, is the only one who can retrieve him in time for his betrothal ceremony--thus sparing the Six Duchies profound political embarrassment...or worse. But even Fitz does not suspect the web of treachery that awaits him or how his loyalties to his Queen, his partner, and those who share his magic will be tested to the breaking point.
Warning: Spoilers

Fool’s Errand is the first of The Tawny Man Trilogy. It takes place after the Farseer trilogy and the Liveship books. The events of both are referred to in the book, but it should be possible to read it without having read those first.

Fool’s Errand begins with Fitz and Nighteyes settled in a cottage and raising his foster son. Starling visits often; they are lovers. The Fool and Chade both try to convince him to come back, but he refuses. When Fitz does go back, it is because Prince Dutiful has disappeared before his engagement and Chade needs him to go find the prince. He does, but not before the prince is thoroughly disillusioned about the nature of his new Witted companion and friends both.

The saddest part was when Nighteyes died. I never really thought he would. I kept thinking, somehow he will be saved. Someone will come along who can save him. No one did. I can’t really question the writer’s decision to kill Nighteyes because it makes sense in the story. But it was very hard to read and I needed a break after.

The best part was the reunion with the Fool. The Fool’s skin turned golden where it was white before and that’s damn odd. He changed, become someone else, changed his name, his clothes, everything. But he was still the Fool.

The ending was good, too. Despite being the first in a trilogy, it was a satisfying ending in and of itself. There was no cliffhanger. Not that it matters. All three books are out so even if there was a cliffhanger, it is easy enough to get a hold of the second and third book.

Grade: B


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