The novel that I’m writing features a discovery ship on Earth that the government is trying to requisition for use as a warship against Mars. I’m almost done; I expect it to be fully published and available by the end of November. This is what I’ve learned. (I’ll put a teaser description of the story at the bottom along with a contact form which I’ll use to email you when it comes out)
Orwell Writing
Writing is about precision and exactness. Not exactness in conveying an event or being grammatically correct, although those seems to be useful instruments; but exactness in conveying a particular emotion. It’s about crafting words into phrases that land correctly. It’s all about delivery. One phrase can convey the exact same situation as well as another, but if it fails to deliver a strong emotion correctly, it fails as a piece of writing.
If a story is being told, the event is mostly inconsequential of the idea being conveyed. Again, it’s all about the idea and the emotion. We can say that there are only true events (even if the event is fictional). That is, things only happen in one way regardless of viewpoint. However, once the event becomes a story, it can transform in an infinite number of ways. So, the writer’s job (more in fiction) is to find a story that has situations that resonate with the ideas and emotions that are trying to be delivered. That is, which basic skeleton will allow for the most opportunities to show revenge, or hopelessness, or guilt?
On a smaller scale, there’s phrasing and word choice. Do you want to say:
“As the droplets fell, they shimmered like rubies in the setting sun.”
or
“The droplets caught the light from the setting sun, and shimmered like rubies as they fell.”
or
“The droplets shimmered like rubies as they fell, catching the light from the setting sun.”
Which has more impact? And what about word choice? Instead of ‘shimmer’ you could have used:
glimmer
glint
twinkle
shine
glow
flash
glisten
Again, which has the most impact? The most directing effect to the emotion you’re trying to deliver?
Although, as an author you’re trying to deliver something, you also have to trust your reader which is surprisingly hard to do. The thought process I’ve gone through hundreds of times is: “If I don’t tell the reader that this is what they’re supposed to feel, how are they going to feel it?” You must remember that there is an aspect of creation in the process of reading as well, which is what makes it such a rewarding experience. As a writer, you’re just a guide. If you lock the reader out by being too explicit or by telling instead of showing, you’re robbing them of a proper reading experience.
Meaning does not precede the work. You may think that because you are the author, you prescribe meaning onto the work you produce. You do not. The work has a mind of its own; to be more exact, people have minds of their own. As much as I would like to think that you will feel the same way I did when I read a particularly beautiful passage I wrote (yes, sometimes I get chills reading my own writing); you may not think it’s beautiful, and I have to deal with that. I think it will be rewarding, though, to know that there are some copies out there that are garbage, some that are as I intended, and some that make people cry.
Teaser description:
Human civilization is in strife.
Environmental control has been achieved on Earth in the form of protective gas domes that keep the pollutants out and the good air in. The domes are limited in size and number, there are only three on Earth. Many people are still forced to live in the toxic wastelands outside the domes.
In the midst of the passing of a great leader, military factions settling on Mars, barrages of missiles, and desperate attempts to protect the people of earth; an interstellar message is received, and a ship called Atlas is poised to find its source. Val is about to board this ship, and he can only guess to what end this journey will lead him.
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-AW
The Continental Super 