I finished “Perfect Day” this weekend. Less than eight
thousand words and it took about a year to do, so it’s not exactly heralding
the end of my burn-out (nor my sabbatical), but it is reassuring to know that I
can still produce if and when I need to.
More reassuring was my enjoyment in the writing process. I
worked on it when I felt like it -- mostly this month -- and when I didn’t feel
like writing, I didn’t. I realized again how much I love the work. It’s almost
like a drug…that feeling of sinking into an imaginary world, losing yourself
for a time as the concerns and cares of these made-up characters supersede your
own.
But it’s such a simple story. Really…not much happens in it
at all. I like it, but is it going to be enough for readers? Because, yes, I do
write for myself -- I think all writers write for themselves to some extent --
but I publish for others. The act of publishing equals the desire to share.
In this case, the narrative takes place over a matter of
hours. It’s mostly reflection and dialog. It’s just a story about two guys who
seem to have reached the end of their relationship. I enjoy exploring
characters and relationship dynamics, and believe it or not, I don’t always
need a gun battle or a high body count to do it. There is a plot and there is
conflict and there is resolution. So, yes, technically this is a complete
story.
But it started me thinking about what a story is. What do we expect from stories? What
do we want from them?
I know it varies from genre to genre and individual to
individual. I’m mostly thinking aloud here, not really expecting a definitive
answer. But really why do we read?
What do we look for when we turn to fiction? When does it most satisfy us?
Why do we read? So many reasons. To learn about things we may not ever have a chance to try on our own, to explore different ideas, lives, people, places, to open us up to different experiences. I read to escape, not that my life is horrible or anything - but sometimes it seems, a bit, well, boring. Reading lets me forget what's going on (and the things I really SHOULD be doing) and lets me live in another world for a little while. A world where I don't have to solve the problems or deal with issues - and if I get tired of it - I can just close the book. (Can't do that with the boss or the family! *g*) I read to relax and because I enjoy it. Sounds almost like a drug, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteSinking into a good story really is like entering a dream state, isn't it? I've been known to commit to dinner plans and forgetting to turn sprinklers off while deep in a story.
DeleteI wonder what it was like back when there was only an oral tradition of storytelling?
I don't watch TV, so books are my main outlet to relax.
ReplyDeleteI think story telling is engrained in us, it's the way we describe the world around us and how we fit into it. In the past a story was the only way for many people to explore the unknown, when they had no chance of doing that exploring for themselves. And of course there are the possibilities in stories of the unreal and fantastical being possible.
Personally I love to explore other peoples imaginations through their work, you never quite know where you will be lead.
My first, Josh Lanyon story, was a Christmas freebee, something different from my usual reading habits, that I thought I would give a try. And from that time on I was hooked to your characters and style of writing. And I for one, thank you for sharing.
I think with any creative proses we have the desire to share it with others, to be accepted and understood.
Well that is my opinion anyway.
I think you're right about what fuels the desire to share. Well, obviously there is a wish in many cases to be paid, to earn a living doing something so enjoyable, but beyond that...beyond wanting attention for our efforts, there is a need to simply make contact.
DeleteI, too, read to get away from everyday life. Reading and listening to audio books give me a peace that I rarely find with work and the stress of being an adult. I love to escape into a world that the author has painstakingly created for me. I get to know the characters and care deeply about whether they will find their happily ever after. When I find myself stressed or am dealing with anxiety just turning on a book is usually enough to calm me down. I just think it's so amazing to read these wonderfully woven tales that you create for us. So, thank you for sharing so much with us.
ReplyDeleteIt's my pleasure to share my stories.
DeleteIt's interesting what you say about how concerned we become for these characters. That's absolutely true. We become invested in them, and a book that ends badly for characters we grow to love haunts us. I find that fascinating.
I started reading anything I could get my hands on while living in Saudi Arabia. Not much to do as it was so hot. TV was a joke, so reading was the thing to carry you away from the heat for a few hours. I still read at least 2 books a week the habit stuck I guess.
ReplyDeleteSimple escapism.
DeleteAnd yet escapism isn't so simple, is it?
It's a mechanism for keeping us sane.
The anticipation of the story is almost as good as reading the story itself. Then just the thought of opening a book gets me excited like opening a present on a birthday or holiday. It's the beginning of a great adventure that i can remove myself from this life for just a little while and live in the moment of the characters i read about. Not saying that my life is bad, horrible or dull. Just that i have an expectation with certain authors who i know will be able to take me places i never thought i'd go. I read because i cant wait to find out what's next. The thrill of expectation. That alone keeps me reading. So thank you so much for the honor of letting us into your world and for the adventures it hands us.
ReplyDeleteTammy Roos
Oh Tammy, what a great point. About the anticipation of the story being almost as intense as the experience of the story itself.
DeleteI think that's why we are so disappointed when a story doesn't live up to what we hoped. Because we do form expectations as we read -- even before we read. Just from the blurb, just from the cover!
So true.
I can't remember a time when I didn't read. My parents used to read to me, and to this day, I still love being read to. I read to escape, I read to relax, I read to laugh, I read to learn. I have as many reasons that I read as I have emotions inside me. I am in total awe of anyone who can write. LOL Helpful eh? A nonresponsive answer! ;-)
ReplyDeleteNo! I think you're right. I think many of us read for a variety of reasons. And I don't think any of them can be dismissed. I mean, what can be more important than helping tired, stressed minds and bodies rest and relax?
DeleteI'm certainly proud of my ability to offer that respite to readers.
Why do we read? I have always read, I could read well beofre I started school and I have always used it as an escape from 'my' life. Life isn't always easy, or interesting, so from Famous five who had virtually no parental interference in their lives to m/m via school stories and mysteries it is my way of taking time out of my everyday life. Being someone else, in another situation or another time and place.
ReplyDeleteIt is most satisfying when I can read and use my brain rather than just using words as wall paper for my eyes. So a well written piece, the length is irrelevant, in almost any genre, that makes me think, or see things from a different perspectives is what makes the escape satisfying.
Asking why I read feels like asking why I breathe - but of course it isn't. I could quit any time. Really. Just not today.
ReplyDeleteLife is essentially lonely. We're by ourselves here in our heads and can only speculate about what anyone else is feeling. For me, reading helps alleviate that loneliness since I can spend a few hours inside someone else. A well written character doesn't feel fictional. So whether I'm reading romance or mystery or literary fiction, I'm only happy if at least one of the characters is someone I want to become or better yet, to fall in love with.
Connection. Yes. We connect to characters. But in that connection we're connecting to humankind in general.
DeleteWhich really is astounding given that we are connecting to fictional constructs. But these symbols to represent something greater.
I think humans are hard-wired to need stories. They are a way we try to make sense of things - explain the mysterious. Think of all the creation stories - one for each culture. One is described in Dangerous Ground (Coyote-Man), for example. And don't forget the Greek myths. Those stories answered a very basic emotional need: a sense that there's an order to things that allays the fear of the chaotic and inexplicable.
ReplyDeleteEven modern science can be considered a story in that sense, with the proviso of course that scientific explanations are based observation and experiment. Since we may not need a god of thunder anymore, we make up our own mysteries and solve them. The solution to the detective puzzle or resolution of any other kind of story satisfies that ancient need for a pattern, the sense of "oh, ok, THAT"s what it is."
The solution to the detective puzzle or resolution of any other kind of story satisfies that ancient need for a pattern, the sense of "oh, ok, THAT"s what it is."
DeleteYes. I think we are always trying to reach that understanding that lies beyond us. Beyond our unit of one -- as I get older I find myself wondering more and more what the point is? I'm willing to accept that I can't know it, but I think we're not unique in wanting to believe there is a point, that there is meaning.
That the dots do connect. ;-)
Of course there is meaning. It's in the wonder and beauty of the search. Every time we learn something new by connecting some more dots, whether it's in quantum physics, cosmology, neurobiology, psychology, or some realization about ourselves, we discover that there's always something more. But meanwhile, we've gained a new awareness, and, as Einstein says (paraphrasing inexactly), we remain in awe of the mystery.
DeleteIt's true. And it's only by exploring, wondering, poking that mystery we can even come close to recognizing it, I reckon. ;-)
DeleteOOPS - Meant to refer to "A Dangerous Thing," above, not "Dangerous Ground."
ReplyDeleteI figured. ;-)
DeleteI don't know if this qualifies as an 'oral tradition or not' but my dad has a 'set' of stories he routinely relates, needing little encouragement, about his time in air force. He's been telling them since I was old enough to understand. He tells them exactly the same way, the same wording, the same gestures, the same inflection. Not so much telling a story as performance art.
ReplyDeleteI have heard these stories literally thousands of times. I could almost do them off by heart myself. But I love to hear him tell them. I love the 'performance'. Every year when I go Ontario I get him to give me his repertoire. And I sit silent and listen raptly like this is the first time I've every heard them. I realize I might not get many more opportunities to hear them. However many more times he tells them to me, it will never be enough.
That's lovely. Thanks for sharing it.
DeleteFamilies do often have their own oral traditions, don't they? Or maybe it's a Celtic descent thing? Probably not. My French grandmother was the same.
I loved to hear these family stories when I was a kid. When I was in my teens I became impatient with them. But now I'm back to enjoying them -- not for the stories themselves (they many of them are great) but for the, as you say, performance. For the continuity -- I've heard some of these stories so often they feel like my own. And in a sense they have become my own.
Congratulations on finishing Perfect Day :) I love (inner) dialogue so please publish this one.
ReplyDeleteFor me reading is an escape from everyday life and responsibilities. I can crawl into a characters skin and have all kind of new experiences and adventures.
Thanks, Sylvia. I've got a cover so that probably means I HAVE to publish. ;-)
DeleteSeriously, it's just a little bit of a story, but people who enjoy little bits of stories ought to enjoy this.
I pick up a fiction book normally to relax, but other times to quiet my mind enough to express something in my real life I've had trouble putting into words. I love books where I can't stop thinking about the characters when the book is over; books that make me eagerly start the series over after reading the newest installment to soak up what I missed the prior times through; books with well-turned phrases (like AE "opening a can of dinner") that stick with me for months later, giving me a random laugh in the middle of the day. Usually I gravitate toward books that leave me with a warm glow afterwards; occasionally I find myself finishing a book that rattles me for days over a character's jarring final action. Very rarely, no matter how annoyed I am with the characters, will I stop reading a book before its end. If I do stop midway, it's usually exasperation with writing quality, not character action. (For the record, I have always finished a Lanyon work. The only indignant shrieks at the finish are when I have to remind myself that novellas are supposed to be short and that it's possible I won't see those characters again.)
ReplyDeleteYour reading experience is much like my own, Jason. I like a book that lingers.
DeleteSometimes I'm too tired for fiction -- doesn't that sound odd? That's when I turn to television or magazines or movies. But nothing feels me with anticipation the way opening a new book does. Especially if it's a book I've been waiting for.
There's something about setting sail on that particular adventure that is like no other.
Reading:
ReplyDeleteCheaper than travel,
More fun than cleaning,
More entertaining than
watching paint dry,
or grass grow.
Expands the Brain, Feeds the Soul,
Tickles the senses, and can be done
almost any where at anytime. Silently.
Have you ever read "Ireland" by Frank Delaney?
It is about a traveling storyteller in the 1950's. Think you might enjoy it.
I haven't read Ireland, Lin. But it sounds right up my alley. I'll check it out.
DeleteDo you think you can really get addicted to reading? I often find myself reading obsessively when I'm stressed, nervous, procrastinating etc. It completely takes over my life when I'm depressed.
ReplyDeleteIf so, I think it must be one of the healthier addictions. That retreat into fiction does no harm to others and often results in reaffirming something within us.
DeleteIt's hard to explain the power of storytelling -- it's something I continue to puzzle over as a storyteller. What I do know is that the need for stories is bone deep and universal.
I know of almost no one who enjoys no fiction of any kind -- even if it's simply going to the movies or watching something on TV. Maybe it's simply our need to be diverted from the tasks at hand, but why storytelling? What need does it fill that non-fiction or a long walk or an evening spent looking through a telescope cannot?
I'd rather read than sleep, to quote the wonderful Warren Zevon, 'I'll sleep when I'm dead!' I've read a lot even for me the last few months when the drugs have eaten my creativity and left me feeling sick all the time, so my kindle is getting quite full. A lot of it has been chewing gum for the mind, words on the page that entertained me but didn't attempt to engage me on a deep level as that was about all I could cope with. When I felt better I tended to read non fiction, all sorts of things and re read your whole oeuvre! A new story would be lovely, if you feel like letting us share this one.
ReplyDeleteIf I get the edits back soon, there's a chance I might get it up this week. Fingers crossed!
DeleteI am weeping tears of blood, kindle it oou instruct, so I did, only to be sent to Amazon.com and be told that I had to go to Amazon.co.uk. Persevering, I did so and it's not there! Sob! I thought this might brighten up my day or even my month! I fell over the edge of one of those horrible slabs of pink bobbly stuff they put on the edges of the platforms of British stations to help people with visual impairments to know where the edge is. I nearly fell under the train and have done my knee and ankle a frightful nasty. I face the prospect of spending the jubilee weekend with my foot up. That is bad enough, but to know that you have a new story out and I can't get my hands on it? If I could climb up I might just throw myself out of the window!
DeleteOH MY GOD. What are you doing to yourself?
DeleteDid you find the story? It's up on Amazon UK because I'm seeing sales. Let me know if you're still having issues.
I mean issues with the story. It is painfully obvious you are having other issues. ;-P
Sheesh!
Phew! Found it and it is a great story, cute but with that underlying vein of seriousness that you do so well and I love the economy of it being a short story. There are what purport to be full length novels out there with less storyline than you have here. As for what I was trying to do? I just wanted to get on a train and go to work, I really wasn't trying to be one of London's unsuccessful suicides, honest! I have threatened to set the ambulance chasers on Southern Railways though! I am tired of having bruises, and my foot looking as though some one had taken a bicycle pump to it and inflated it!
DeleteAw. Thank you.
DeleteHey, I have every confidence that if you seriously wanted to commit suicide, you would manage beautifully.
Er...as compliments go...
:-D
Congrats on finishing this -- just want to let you know, the link for "Perfect Day" on your website goes to "Icecapade" at Amazon.com. I know, because I just tried to click it few minutes ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ami. It's fixed now.
DeleteIt was a pretty haphazard launch -- I'm out of practice! ;-)
Thank you for the new story — an unexpected treat this week when I'm going slightly (!) mad trying to pack up my classroom, while having to postpone prepping and packing for a 3-week trip.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I read? For so many of the reasons beautifully stated by others: to connect, to learn, often to escape/procrastinate, to vicariously live in someone else's skin, to find out what happens next, to see how others try to make some sense of the world. And because the seed was planted by my parents, particularly by my father, a miner's son who read Greek myths and classic poetry (especially the ballads) to his very young daughters.
I continued that tradition with my daughters, first reading to them, then reading aloud to each other, then reading separately and silently together while occasionally sharing interesting bits. We still do this when we're together. And I try to instill the same need/joy/hunger/thirst in my students.
I think there are few things as mutually satisfying as reading aloud to a child.
DeleteBut then I guess the popularity of audio books means many of us continue to love to be read aloud to even as adults.
Anyway, thanks for your answer, Karen!