As a reviewer for Fantasy Book Review, I have the great privilege of having a great “in” to some of my favorite authors. I have email relationships with James Barclay, David Webb, Steven Erikson and, most recently (thanks to Goodreads), Janny Wurts.
In the near future there will be an interview appearing on FBR between us, and I can’t wait to see what comes of that. Janny is a truly wonderful person, a real gem, and I am really glad she has taken the time to write me. I’ll be peppering her with questions about writing every now and again, and she has gladly agreed to reply when she can.
However first off, I asked her a question that was specifically tailored to her. Why does she write the way she does. I have commented on it in a previous post, and she took the time to reply. The answer is amazing, one truly worth reading, and it is below (with permission).
So check out why one of the greatest living fantasy authors writes the way she does.
Why do I write the way I do?
The short, flippant answer: I grew up reading the library, and didn’t bother with television much, if at all. This was because the trite themes, short format, and predictable plots became too unbearably boring. I’ve read so many books that words and vocabulary became absorbed, as it were, through the skin.
The deeper answer: I am not a minimalist. Contrary to belief by conformists, any one word is not the same as another. Each has a precise and different shade of meaning, and to me, that makes a difference. I prefer choosing the exact one for the occasion.
Further, I traveled Russia while the iron curtain was still up. That left me with a searing impression of what happens when human individuality is not valued. We are given different voices, different experiences, different interests to make our world more richly creative. To adhere to one standard is to lose something vital – having one common denominator determine what is art and what is not gives rise to a sameness that is utterly numbing. I felt suffocated, literally. Flatlined. The lack of extremes made everything gray. One may deplore or dislike the chaotic insanity of a free-wheeling western culture. But the alternative is to lose the awesome variety of choices available. I have committed to independence, therefore, to culture my own, individual voice. This may alienate some. The result might well not appeal to the masses. But the brand is my own, vibrantly distinct, and not dumbed down for the nonvirtue of middling conformity. The result will spark passion, for or against. It won’t be bland, or tame, or attempt to please everyone.
Let the work be fierce and unusual. That way, it won’t be forgotten.
There are other reasons. I am not just writing to entertain, but to provoke creative thought. I strive to stretch the envelope between what is known, and reach into the imagination – to bring the reader an experience more vivid than simply words on the page. It is fact, that if the thought process is slowed down, the impact is heightened. When all of the senses are engaged, imaginatively, both hemispheres of the brain come into synchronization. The result lends the story a sharper edge, and fine-tunes the emotional response. The result, I can hope, is a story that is made richer and more provocative.
I am both a painter and a musician. I perceive, naturally, with layer upon layer of perception, and quite deliberately, I’ve woven that wealth of mood and awareness into what goes on the page. This is not done as window dressing, one bit. It’s composed as a symphony to heighten the story, to raise the tension, and to spur immersive involvement. To read my style is to experience something of what an artist encounters. To feel life as more alive. To read the words aloud is to hear the rhythm and syntax that underlies the beat in a musical composition. All of these strands are carefully worked into the story, with each word selected for more than one purpose alone.
I do not believe in the notion, so often touted by workshop-taught writers today, that “transparent style” – or wording that is “invisible” can be used to enhance a story line. The words chosen do affect the story. They are part and parcel of the end product, and become the frame for the canvas. What I strive to create is an experience far deeper than what happens to the characters. What they do is just as important as why they do it. The events are colored by their emotions. They will not be a comfortable extension of you. They will be themselves, and strongly color the readers’ innate expression.
It’s not just about plot. It has everything to do with experiencing something beyond the world we’re at home with.
People often observe they adjust to my style, given about five chapters to settle in. The effect isn’t just becoming accustomed. It’s about shifting the way the synapses fire, about altering how the brain thinks. Fight it, or hate it – the books were not written for the timid of heart, or anyone afraid to step beyond the boundaries of the familiar.
Lastly – I don’t use a thesaurus to write. I have all the words I need, in my head. Real life experience has taught me the specialized ones, for the nautical scenes, or the horses, or the terms for historical weaponry. The structure of the sentences is not incorrect. I have blushed from the comments returned by my copy-editors, who are gifted people, wise with years at their craft, who know and appreciate the absolute care and effort I’ve taken to polish my prose.
The result? I have never yet met one of my dedicated readers who was not curious, intelligent, discerning, and more, willing to explore life in provocative directions, and not follow the dust of the crowd on the trampled path. My hat’s off to them, every one, for the open eyes to risk sharing something unique.
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It’s nice to see a response with some passion in it. As a child I read more books then many adults do in their life, yet with age slowed down in my reading due to the dullness of the Fantasy and Science Fiction stories that have no flavor. I’ve heard it said by Orson Scott Card in his advice to writers, “that the longer the book – the less importance of style.” I envy the non-fiction, such carefully chosen words ascending into a kind of modern poetry. War and Politics sums up the vast majority of human history which makes it the easiest to write about, and thus – the most frequent. To deter from that path would be like trying to experience a life on a planet that we never lived.
A Science Fiction Fantasy novel with the personality of a non-fiction? I may be waiting awhile.
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