How Much Does Prose Matter?

Hemingway in 1939

How much does prose matter?

It's a question I've been thinking about lately. How important is the actual writing of your story - not simply the plot, characters, et cetera... but the words?

I was thinking about this largely because of Hemingway and what I've been reading of him. He hated Jews, gays, probably women... - and it did tend to seep into his writing. But he's nearly always ranked as one of the greatest American writers out there!

Why? Well, he could definitely tell a story! But he became great because of his clean, understated prose - a style he developed as a journalist during WW1. You may have heard of his "iceberg principle" - writing a piece but taking out all unnecessary detail. The effect is an iceberg - only a little is visible (read), but a whole lot hangs under the water (is implied and understood.)

I was thinking of this, additionally, because of Milan Kundera's novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." I've been reading it quickly and quite a bit. Kundera's complex characters have won my heart, as well as the work's style. It's a "novel of ideas", presenting existential notions to explain its characters pasts and how their histories affect their actions.

So how much does prose matter? I've been learning that a strong voice and style can definitely influence the power of a work. It can make a serious subject seem silly, or the reverse. It can make an irritatingly quirky character curious. It can make a scene heartbreaking beautiful or sickeningly melodramatic.

What are your thoughts on the power of prose?

What Are You Shooting For? Lessons from "The Avengers"

Yesterday evening, I went to see "The Avengers."

Unless you live on Mars, you've probably heard of it. If you're not clear on the plot, here it is:

Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow answer the call to action when Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a daring, globe-spanning recruitment effort to assemble The Avengers team to defeat an unexpected enemy threatening global safety and security. Despite pulling together the ultimate dream team, Nick Fury and longtime confidant Agent Coulson must find a way to convince the superheroes to work together when the powerful and dangerous Loki gains access to the Cosmic Cube and its unlimited power.

You might be confused. Bored. That's kinda how I generally am regarding this sort of movie. It also brings up an important point for writers: What are you shooting for?

Obviously, the creators of "The Avengers" were shooting to entertain a younger, more male, audience. (Though as the box office has proven, nearly everyone's seen it.)

(FUTURE UPDATE: I’m lol’ing at myself. Superhero flicks generally do appeal more to guys than girls, but the biggest “Avengers” fans usually seem to be girls. Of course, who doesn’t lust after Tom Hiddleston?)

However, the movie's goal was typical for an action movie. Lotsa fighting, romantic elements present but receiving little attention. Some humor and wit, too, especially from Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)

And cliche moments. One example is when Evil-God-Dude Loki visits Germany and suppresses a crowd outside a theater. As an Evil-God-Dude, he has a staff/sword item to magically force his minions to kneel.

Once everyone's kneeling, Loki lifts the spell and begins to give a grand speech about taking over the world. Naturally, one old man stands up, to give a short line about freedom. Then, just before Loki can evilly extinguish the man's life, Captain America swoops in.

At other times, "The Avengers" just has some faulty psychology. The worst of it arrives as the Avengers battle Loki's forces to protect Manhattan.

At a point in the sequence, Captain America swoops onto a car beside two police officers. He pauses for a moment to deliver evacuation instructions, to which one of the policemen replies: "Why the hell should we follow you?" When C.A. swiftly spins and delivers blows to two of Loki's alien fighters, the policeman also turns and begins to bark C.A.'s directions to bystanding officers.

I cringed a little at that moment. Once again, cliche resistance. But there was something else: the policeman's reaction didn't strike me as natural. Humans are sheep!: if we see a hero/leader giving orders in a terrifying situation, we're going to follow them.

Now, I don't totally want to disparage the movie. (And with Joss Whedon as screenwriter, I'm not sure it was possible for this flick to be truly bad.)

My point is the question I presented at the beginning of the post: What are you shooting for? Because, truthfully, "The Avengers" was quite a good movie. Sure, the who's-more-macho fights got tiring after a while, but there were some pretty funny moments (such as the Hulk pounding Loki against the ground, before he can give another I-am-a-god! speech.) The Black Widow was very cool, and I was interested by her relationship with Hawkeye, though it didn't receive much attention. Plus, the performances weren't terrible: I enjoyed Mark Ruffalo's (as Hulk) in particular.

So what kind of humor do you want to employ in your writing? How much action, romance? Who's your audience?

Just something to consider.

Other weekend news:

1. Loving Marina Diamandis's new album, Electra Heart.
2. Loving "Bridget Jones's Diary." Can't believe I didn't see it before! (It also inspired lots of Colin Firth love.)
3. Also: began to watch the 1995 "Pride & Prejudice" miniseries (feat. Colin Firth)

Who's your audience? Did you see anything over the weekend? 

Put Twitter Down! & Tidbits

If you follow my personal Twitter, you'll know that I went to Point Defiance Zoo over the weekend.

You'll also know that I was taking a lot of pictures and tweeting them.

Now I'm not usually the type to be glued to my phone, but yesterday was an exception. I love going to the zoo - I haven't gone since November last year - and I thought it would be nice to have those tweets up. For that purpose, I don't regret it.

However, I actually took more pictures than I put up, because my phone ran out of battery. I had to switch to my mom's camera - which I really love, I've got to say. But I'm glad my phone died on me for more reason than that.

Technology is a distraction.

It's the truth, plain and simple. It's part of the reason why I've been giving - or not giving - some extreme neglect to my GoodReads and Tumblr.

For that matter, I'm glad for two books I ordered the other day - "The Inside Story" and "The Council of Mirrors" by Michael Buckley. They're books 8 and 9 of his Sisters Grimm series, about two kids who learn that fairytales are real and their characters are living in the girls' home of Ferryport Landing.

I read books 1 through 7 of the series years ago, but I finally picked up 8 and 9 after a conversation with a friend. I enjoyed these last two, but I got more from them than a few hours of entertainment: I got a break from technology. A break from Netflix, a break from TV, a break from the Internet...

Yesterday, after my phone died, I still wanted to post some more tweets. So I took pictures on my mom's camera and began to write down on the back of a receipt what I wanted to say.

Except what began to form wasn't tweets. It was story ideas. And last night, it evolved into the first few paragraphs of a short story.

Guys, this is big business. I've barely been writing this year, and all of a sudden I get a short story idea - but not just an idea. An idea I love.

And here's the thing: showering today, I thought of two more ideas. After taking notes on them for several minutes, I realized I'd enjoy writing them too.

A trip to the zoo, a dead phone, and ideas for three short stories? What's up?!

...

In other news:

1. I loved the "Once Upon a Time" finale (can't wait for season 2!.) But I wanted to marry, intensely, the end of "The Vampire Diaries" season 3. Sure, this year has had its ups and downs... but I frickin' loved that finale!!!

2. I really want to go to Yale. Yeah, crazy, I know... but dreamy. (I love the Harvard campus... but I'm thinking Yale for early decision.)

3. Over the weekend, I was ranting to my mother about America's public education system. Specifically, my Chemistry class, and the age-old question: "The chicken or the egg - did the teachers or students go rotten first?" It's sad, and ironic, since my school's supposed to be among the top in the state - but I really only enjoy one of my classes, Algebra II. And I don't like algebra.

Do you feel more inspired when you're around less tech? Any amazing TV you've been watching? Any general excitements or irritations?

Weekend Lessons; Or, What I Learned from My SAT Prep Course

It's an established fact that my mom borrows techniques from the Tiger Mother. So it's obvious that I'd be forced into taking a Princeton Review SAT prep course.

The class began yesterday, with a diagnostic test. I'll be taking several over the course of the class, all gradually increasing in difficulty. I'm already nervous, and here's why. (You might already have an idea.)

THE ESSAY.

**sinister dum-dum-dum**

If you read proficiently, have a pretty nice vocabulary, and know proper grammar, the writing section of the test can actually be fairly enjoyable (am I a nerd to admit it was fun?) Not including the essay, of course.

The essay. For which you're asked to analyze quotes rooted in analogy and political principles and... The essay for which you're reccommended to use "examples from literature, the arts, science and technology, history, current events, or your own experience or observation."

The essay for which you're given 25 minutes.

So basically I saw the prompt, then the suggestions for examples, and I had a 15-minute blank. No kidding. Peripherally, I watched each of the students surrounding write their essays - I think all of them had finished a page by the time I began. I actually wrote my introduction and first body paragraph, then skipped to the conclusion. I was having a near heart attack.

So I definitely can't speedwrite. In other news...

Once the miniature torture session had ended, we moved onto some math, grammar, and vocabulary. And, as usual, I found something I read from the "analyze this section" quite interesting.

Basically, the passage was about scientifically using linguistic information to determine the identity of a writer, lifted from a book published in 2000. It didn't give the name, but I wanted to share this:

But none of us can easily change our basic vocabulary, our personal store of available words. Human beings, in that respect, are the prisoners of their own language. We write from within a repertoire in which certain thoughts and words and spellings are available to us while others are not.

 The idea isn't especially new. My English class actually discussed this a bit at the beginning of the year, as we covered 1984, with the government attempting to crush the language and leave citizens with extremely limited vocabularies - without the words to express their doubts, eventually unable to even conceive of rebellion.

When I read this, my thoughts actually went into a different direction. It gave me a hopeful thought, in the midst of my rattledness: that no matter the lack of progress I make, I'm still able to say things no one is able to, because of the way in which I express them. The details I choose to add. Even if I'm not certain of my point (and I'm certainly not an articulate speaker) - I can write it out, give it time, and eventually the right words will come. I don't care if this is actually how it works, it's something I choose to believe in.

So that's that. Phew! And I haven't even mentioned *grinning like an idiot* that I wrote 655 words last night, and I think I could make it a daily routine, and after 100 days I'd...

Time to end the post? I agree. I'll just leave you by saying I'm pretty excited about the copy of Dante's Inferno I just picked up. Cool illustrations, from Hieronymus Bosch to Last Judgement depictions from the Renaissance  to some Gustave Doré engravings.

Have you also been rattled by the SAT essay? Any thoughts on the quote? Cool literary editions you've picked up?