Weight: The Death of a Novel
Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 12:29PM "Not the fastest horse can catch a word said in anger."
~ Old Chinese Proverb
I used to keep this proverb taped to my computer, back in the day. That day being one in which newspapers still mattered and when I, as the managing editor of one, unsuspectingly took on the Herculean task of public trust.
You see, regardless of what the movies (or TV newscasts) lead you to believe, conscientious journalists take the weight of public responsibility very seriously. What you say, once said, can never be unsaid. The best you can hope for in the event of an epic fail (or even a slight transgression) is to be forgotten or forgiven.
To me, it was always better to avoid doing things I felt I would have to later apologize for. And so to remind myself of exactly what my responsibility to the public trust was, I tacked this note to my computer. Right next to the one that held a quote from Justice Potter Stewart to journalist Fred Friendly during the Watergate era: "The trouble with your profession, journalism, is that it is often confused between what it has the right to do Constitutionally and the right thing to do."
I had no idea that my writing and editing life outside journalism would be so affected by this set of quotes. When we write our fictional stories, craft our make-believe worlds, and devise our sinister villains, how often do we wonder what our work will contribute to the world? What, in other words, does it mean to be a responsible writer of make-believe?
I have this question on my had because I have decided to kill my novel. Though I'm quite sure its presence in the world would not spark the downfall of western civilization as we know it, my novel (a crime story with a particularly anarchic villain), doesn't sit well with me. I just don't think it would contribute anything positive to the world.
That sounds really weenie when I say it like that, but it's true. The shame is, it's a good story. But it's ugly. And I'm tired of ugly. I don't feel the urge to add yet another loquacious psychopath to the pantheon of English literature. So my shrewdly plotted crime novel will never see the light of day.
None of this is to suggest that crime novels and loquacious psychopaths are a problem in literature. If that's your bag, then by all means, have at it. It just seems that I've found out, after many years and truckloads of effort, that such fiction is not for me as a writer anymore. If the world is to read what I have to say, I would rather the world find something helpful and positive and fun in my work. And I'd rather smile at my own stories than feel a sense of relief that some crazy asshole got his.
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Reader Comments (9)
So smart to know when it's best to walk, Scott. I've been working on a sequel to one of my books for a while and it's still sitting there. Could be a very good reason nothing is coming to me. There are genres for every reader out there (and writer) - but you have to do what is best for you and in the end; satisfies you too. Best of luck with what comes next...and I know something will.
Scott...you may have killed off a novel...but you won a blog award! check it out here: http://gregory-g-allen.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-blog-award-time.html
What disturbs me is the analysts disguised as journalists, worst yet are those that believe that if they said something out loud it immidiatly becomes a fact.
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
Wow, food for thought here. I appreciate the honesty it took for you to reach your decision, and the guts to say, "No, thanks, I'd like something else instead." Frankly, I think there's so much dark writing out there in film and books that it's almost the easy route these days. Work that makes you smile (and your readers smile) is a very good thing. Enjoy it! :)
What an interesting post! It was probably a good decision though, because they say you should write the book you want to read, and if you don't feel like reading about anarchist lunatics, then it was time to move on.
It's still kind of sad though. Maybe someday there will be an emerging trend of cheerful, happy stories, you will rediscover the darkness in your heart and you will decide to put this book out!
Hey just saw this. First off, grats on your blog award!! That's very cool.
As for the novel, it sounds to me like this is another dark thing that you really don't need to add to your life right now.But here's a real challenge. Take this thing you find to be ugly and make it positive. Unlike certain situations out of our control in the real world, this is YOUR story. Make the story about the champion. Turn the message around. Try to shine a beacon of light in the darkness.
It doesn't only have to be about the loquacious psychopath. Holmes has Moriarty. Superman has Lex Luthor. Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader. WNS has RKR. You get the idea.
And maybe in the process of transforming your story, you'll transform yourself too...
Thank you to everyone who has responded with such thoughtful feedback. You've all given me a lot to think about. :)
A number of popular authors seem to have made the opposite decision in a bid to retain their readership. No names, no pack drill, but characters they created who once held a strange repulsive fascination now just repulse. (Talking of pulses, lima beans anyone?)
Your decision was right for you, at this time. I agree with other comments, everyone loves a good villain, with the emphasis on good. Maybe one day you'll dust him down and polish him off.
Julia
Hang on to what you've drafted. There may still be some tasty bits you can cannibalize later. I've often found that characters, settings, or even traits of settings and characters can be recycled to great effect.