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On writing and fantasy (a paen to L.M. Boston, inspired by R. J. Anderson's recent post)
I guess that title's pretty clear! I've put the entry behind a cut, because it's pretty long - about 1,700 words. My ramblings follow:
Thoughts on Writing (which, in the end, are not really about me):
I was inspired by R.J. Anderson's recent meme - a really fascinating and thorough self-analysis of her style and themes. Unlike Rebecca, I have not yet written a novel - I've only started one - and I'm honestly a little afraid of stymying myself by over-analysis while I'm still in the process - but I couldn't resist.
1. Stylistically, like Rebecca, I like semicolons, and you will find several of these little beasts in practically everything I write. However, as the first paragraph amply demonstrates, I also like dashes. These are not so useful as semicolons, and may be a habit I should break myself of. Which leads to-
2. Like C.S. Lewis, I think the stricture against ending sentences with prepositions is a bit of antiquated Germanic rigidity. It leads to convoluted constructions. I would rather end a clause or sentence with a preposition than tie myself in knots in obedience to some silly rule.
3. I enjoy description, and tend to have a very clear idea in my own head of what my characters look like. Then why don't I describe them more? I don't seem to waste many words describing my original characters; I'm more concerned with what they do and say than how another person might see them. Insofar as I do describe people, I seem to elaborate on these features: eyes, hands, voices, and the way they move. These things, to me, all demonstrate character, and that's why it's important to be able to see and hear them as you read. But do I describe too little? I wonder. More on this later.
4. As to themes, something struck me as I was reading R.J. Anderson's post. In at least three of my stories, I have a young person being guided/mentored/given a gift by an older person *of the opposite sex*. Rather Jungian - but it makes perfect sense to me. I also seem to have an inclination to write heroic grandmothers! (Note: I don't intend, as I go on, to follow that pattern slavishly. In fact, I hadn't realized before now that it was a pattern! And it's not something I do all the time. But I have done it - and more than once.)
5. And you'll always find a young person in my stories. I haven't written enough to know if this is a constant theme with me, but I'm fascinated by a particular type of journey. The young person, through the challenges he/she encounters, becomes more deeply him or herself. Whatever else they have to cope with (their own timidity, an outside adversary, their beliefs about who they *should* be), their greatest struggle is self-recognition and self-acceptance.
That applies to older people, too, for this deepening of character should never end while we are alive on this earth. That's why I was so pleased when Swythyv noted that "Far From Home" was about the awakening of the *grandmother*, Rose, to her own hero's journey.
6. And a few small things - I like weather, animals, the outdoors. There usually seem to be animals in my stories, and there is always a description of weather. I also love music, and that seems to find its way into my writing, as well.
As I said above, I'm still quite a 'young' writer, so I wouldn't claim my style is unique or recognizable. But I'd like to note something about the themes and stylistic quirks I have noticed.
My sister and I are taking singing lessons right now, and, at Christmas time, I loaned our teacher "The Children of Green Knowe", by L.M. Boston. She loved it - as do we - and wanted to borrow the sequel. Being unable to find it in the library, I went onto amazon, where I browsed the reviews. Somehow, while reading a review of the book I was looking to buy, I realized something I hadn't noticed before. There are books that are touchstones; they open our eyes to new ways of looking at the world. Such books can have enormous impact on children. I was always consciously aware of some of my influences: Tolkien, L'Engle, LeGuin, Ann Holm, Alexander Key, Padraic Colum and Kate Seredy - yes, and Lewis, too. What I had not realized before was what an enormous influence Ms. Boston had on me.
Her books are extraordinarily beautiful: lucid, intelligent, and humane. They are full of light, music, and a sense of living history and the bonds in a single family that endure, not only across generations, but across centuries. And her descriptions are so sharp and clear! I can only aspire to write as well as this one day. In her review of "The Children of Green Knowe" for amazon, Claire Dederer says,
With this meshing of the magical and the real, Boston evokes a childlike world of wonder. She compounds the effect by combining gorgeous images and eerily evocative writing. Toseland (the young boy who is the protagonist) goes out on a snowy morning: "In front of him, the world was an unbroken dazzling cloud of crystal stars, except for the moat, which looked like a strip of night that had somehow sinned and had no stars in it." The loosely plotted story is given more resonance still through liberal use of biblical imagery and Anglo-Saxon mythology. For those willing to suspend their disbelief and read carefully, the world of Green Knowe offers a wondrous escape. --Claire Dederer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title..
And then there is the lovely description of the snowstorm as it begins, and of Tolly's first meeting with his great-grandmother, and of his room at the top of the castle, and, most of all, his interactions with the children who lived there three hundred years earlier. This story is quite literally that of a lonely, isolated young boy discovering his own family and its history. Having been, in a sense, homeless, Tolly now has a home. The friendship between the child of nine and the old woman is beautiful; even as a little girl, I wanted to be like that grandmother when I got old! Further, the grandmother, through the stories she tells, serves as Tolly's guide to the past. She opens the door to friendships that will be as deep and meaningful as any in this young boy's life.
From this description, I think it's quite clear that all the themes I've noticed in my own writing are fully present in this short book. The search for self and for knowledge; the connection between a younger and an older person; a child or adolescent as the protagonist (and yes, that's common in children's and YA fiction, but not all aspiring authors are drawn to juvenile literature, and still fewer to fantasty); a grandmother who is intelligent, open, and capable of accepting the remarkable and participating in the child's quest; nature, especially flowers and birds; and finally a focus on people's eyes and voices. Tolly was immediately a vivid character to me, but the only description he gets in the first book is that he has dark eyes and a thin face, and that he looks "quiet and rather sad". His voice, thoughts, emotions and actions are so clear that this is enough.
It's not that I apire to be L.M. Boston! I couldn't be, in any case, even if I tried. It's just that, in thinking out my responses to this meme, I became fully aware, for the first time, of just how much her books influenced me - and inspired me. She, just as much as Tolkien, Lewis, and L'Engle, is why I love fantasy (some sorts of fantasy, anyway) and why I want to write it. For her books do what fantasy can do better than any other form of literature.
And what is that? Tolkien had three words for it: "recovery, escape, consolation". (From, "On Fairy stories", reprinted in "Tree and Leaf; Smith of Wootton Major; The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth", page 48). He was at some pains to explain what he meant by "escape", for fairy tales and fantasy are often considered childish escapism. Escape doesn't mean avoidance of reality; it means a shedding (if only while one is reading) of the worries, values and false perceptions that may blind us to reality. It's this escape from falsity that make recovery and consolation possible, and that is what Boston, like Tolkien, does so wonderfully well. After reading one of her books, you see the world made new. You may long to visit Green Knowe (that's still one of my dreams), but you also look at the trees, flowers, and birds of your own neighborhood with fresh eyes. Without preaching, she shows her readers what an extraordinary adventure it can be simply to live in this world with full awareness. Our lives have validity and meaning; there is beauty everywhere - if we have eyes to see it or (in blind Susan's case*) ears to hear. Like Tolkien, she achieves this by writing about nature, and (in her case) children, and old people, with what Brenda Ueland calls "exacting honesty". She is a writer who opens her readers' eyes - and their minds and hearts - not only to what is possible, but to what is truly real. And that realism is what brings consolation and recovery.
In my opinion, that is what a truly good fantasy should do. It should open its readers' eyes, literally and metaphorically. It should encourage their awareness and growth. L.M. Boston does this with gentleness and precision and truth. I haven't yet finished a novel, but, when (if) I do, I hope I will give my readers some, at least, of the same gifts Boston has given me, and so many others.
I loved her books when I was nine years old. I still love them. If, by my rambling now, I've encouraged anyone to read them, that will be a good thing.
Mary Johnson, January, 2008
*Susan is a young protagonist of the second novel in the series, "The Treasure of Green Knowe".
Thoughts on Writing (which, in the end, are not really about me):
I was inspired by R.J. Anderson's recent meme - a really fascinating and thorough self-analysis of her style and themes. Unlike Rebecca, I have not yet written a novel - I've only started one - and I'm honestly a little afraid of stymying myself by over-analysis while I'm still in the process - but I couldn't resist.
1. Stylistically, like Rebecca, I like semicolons, and you will find several of these little beasts in practically everything I write. However, as the first paragraph amply demonstrates, I also like dashes. These are not so useful as semicolons, and may be a habit I should break myself of. Which leads to-
2. Like C.S. Lewis, I think the stricture against ending sentences with prepositions is a bit of antiquated Germanic rigidity. It leads to convoluted constructions. I would rather end a clause or sentence with a preposition than tie myself in knots in obedience to some silly rule.
3. I enjoy description, and tend to have a very clear idea in my own head of what my characters look like. Then why don't I describe them more? I don't seem to waste many words describing my original characters; I'm more concerned with what they do and say than how another person might see them. Insofar as I do describe people, I seem to elaborate on these features: eyes, hands, voices, and the way they move. These things, to me, all demonstrate character, and that's why it's important to be able to see and hear them as you read. But do I describe too little? I wonder. More on this later.
4. As to themes, something struck me as I was reading R.J. Anderson's post. In at least three of my stories, I have a young person being guided/mentored/given a gift by an older person *of the opposite sex*. Rather Jungian - but it makes perfect sense to me. I also seem to have an inclination to write heroic grandmothers! (Note: I don't intend, as I go on, to follow that pattern slavishly. In fact, I hadn't realized before now that it was a pattern! And it's not something I do all the time. But I have done it - and more than once.)
5. And you'll always find a young person in my stories. I haven't written enough to know if this is a constant theme with me, but I'm fascinated by a particular type of journey. The young person, through the challenges he/she encounters, becomes more deeply him or herself. Whatever else they have to cope with (their own timidity, an outside adversary, their beliefs about who they *should* be), their greatest struggle is self-recognition and self-acceptance.
That applies to older people, too, for this deepening of character should never end while we are alive on this earth. That's why I was so pleased when Swythyv noted that "Far From Home" was about the awakening of the *grandmother*, Rose, to her own hero's journey.
6. And a few small things - I like weather, animals, the outdoors. There usually seem to be animals in my stories, and there is always a description of weather. I also love music, and that seems to find its way into my writing, as well.
As I said above, I'm still quite a 'young' writer, so I wouldn't claim my style is unique or recognizable. But I'd like to note something about the themes and stylistic quirks I have noticed.
My sister and I are taking singing lessons right now, and, at Christmas time, I loaned our teacher "The Children of Green Knowe", by L.M. Boston. She loved it - as do we - and wanted to borrow the sequel. Being unable to find it in the library, I went onto amazon, where I browsed the reviews. Somehow, while reading a review of the book I was looking to buy, I realized something I hadn't noticed before. There are books that are touchstones; they open our eyes to new ways of looking at the world. Such books can have enormous impact on children. I was always consciously aware of some of my influences: Tolkien, L'Engle, LeGuin, Ann Holm, Alexander Key, Padraic Colum and Kate Seredy - yes, and Lewis, too. What I had not realized before was what an enormous influence Ms. Boston had on me.
Her books are extraordinarily beautiful: lucid, intelligent, and humane. They are full of light, music, and a sense of living history and the bonds in a single family that endure, not only across generations, but across centuries. And her descriptions are so sharp and clear! I can only aspire to write as well as this one day. In her review of "The Children of Green Knowe" for amazon, Claire Dederer says,
With this meshing of the magical and the real, Boston evokes a childlike world of wonder. She compounds the effect by combining gorgeous images and eerily evocative writing. Toseland (the young boy who is the protagonist) goes out on a snowy morning: "In front of him, the world was an unbroken dazzling cloud of crystal stars, except for the moat, which looked like a strip of night that had somehow sinned and had no stars in it." The loosely plotted story is given more resonance still through liberal use of biblical imagery and Anglo-Saxon mythology. For those willing to suspend their disbelief and read carefully, the world of Green Knowe offers a wondrous escape. --Claire Dederer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title..
And then there is the lovely description of the snowstorm as it begins, and of Tolly's first meeting with his great-grandmother, and of his room at the top of the castle, and, most of all, his interactions with the children who lived there three hundred years earlier. This story is quite literally that of a lonely, isolated young boy discovering his own family and its history. Having been, in a sense, homeless, Tolly now has a home. The friendship between the child of nine and the old woman is beautiful; even as a little girl, I wanted to be like that grandmother when I got old! Further, the grandmother, through the stories she tells, serves as Tolly's guide to the past. She opens the door to friendships that will be as deep and meaningful as any in this young boy's life.
From this description, I think it's quite clear that all the themes I've noticed in my own writing are fully present in this short book. The search for self and for knowledge; the connection between a younger and an older person; a child or adolescent as the protagonist (and yes, that's common in children's and YA fiction, but not all aspiring authors are drawn to juvenile literature, and still fewer to fantasty); a grandmother who is intelligent, open, and capable of accepting the remarkable and participating in the child's quest; nature, especially flowers and birds; and finally a focus on people's eyes and voices. Tolly was immediately a vivid character to me, but the only description he gets in the first book is that he has dark eyes and a thin face, and that he looks "quiet and rather sad". His voice, thoughts, emotions and actions are so clear that this is enough.
It's not that I apire to be L.M. Boston! I couldn't be, in any case, even if I tried. It's just that, in thinking out my responses to this meme, I became fully aware, for the first time, of just how much her books influenced me - and inspired me. She, just as much as Tolkien, Lewis, and L'Engle, is why I love fantasy (some sorts of fantasy, anyway) and why I want to write it. For her books do what fantasy can do better than any other form of literature.
And what is that? Tolkien had three words for it: "recovery, escape, consolation". (From, "On Fairy stories", reprinted in "Tree and Leaf; Smith of Wootton Major; The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth", page 48). He was at some pains to explain what he meant by "escape", for fairy tales and fantasy are often considered childish escapism. Escape doesn't mean avoidance of reality; it means a shedding (if only while one is reading) of the worries, values and false perceptions that may blind us to reality. It's this escape from falsity that make recovery and consolation possible, and that is what Boston, like Tolkien, does so wonderfully well. After reading one of her books, you see the world made new. You may long to visit Green Knowe (that's still one of my dreams), but you also look at the trees, flowers, and birds of your own neighborhood with fresh eyes. Without preaching, she shows her readers what an extraordinary adventure it can be simply to live in this world with full awareness. Our lives have validity and meaning; there is beauty everywhere - if we have eyes to see it or (in blind Susan's case*) ears to hear. Like Tolkien, she achieves this by writing about nature, and (in her case) children, and old people, with what Brenda Ueland calls "exacting honesty". She is a writer who opens her readers' eyes - and their minds and hearts - not only to what is possible, but to what is truly real. And that realism is what brings consolation and recovery.
In my opinion, that is what a truly good fantasy should do. It should open its readers' eyes, literally and metaphorically. It should encourage their awareness and growth. L.M. Boston does this with gentleness and precision and truth. I haven't yet finished a novel, but, when (if) I do, I hope I will give my readers some, at least, of the same gifts Boston has given me, and so many others.
I loved her books when I was nine years old. I still love them. If, by my rambling now, I've encouraged anyone to read them, that will be a good thing.
Mary Johnson, January, 2008
*Susan is a young protagonist of the second novel in the series, "The Treasure of Green Knowe".
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Actually, the one about the gorilla was my least favorite when I was young, though it's certainly powerful. I might feel differently now. I love "River" more now than I did as a child; the other three ("Children", "Treasure" and "An Enemy at Green Knowe")are simply superb books.
But historical documents - you remember my essay about Meriol Trevor's book, "Sun Slower, Sun Faster"? Here is a quote!
(Cecil, a thirteen year old girl, is speaking to her tutor):
"Do historians get history out of documents?" said Cecil
Dominic laughed. "Where else, do you suppose?"
"Well," said Cecil, "all I can say is, people would get a very funny idea of my life just from documents." (Sun Slower, Sun Faster Bethlehem books, page 255)
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By the bye, I keep thinking about that devil, Severus Snape! I've always assumed he felt guilty about Lily's death, but yesterday the thought occurred that he didn't at all but blamed James and Harry and believed himself a victim alongside her. I've been trying to write a Snape essay for hp essays (although it's a community that seems to have stopped just now) but every time I think I know what I want to say, something new and usually contradictory comes up. I've just been reading The Chymical Wedding which shares some themes with HP. (Weirdly and disconcertingly, it has some similarities to The Children of Green Knowe.) Unlike HP it pretty much spells out what its characters are thinking and experiencing. With HP so much is up to the reader to work out - if they want to - but understanding what is there to be worked out and what is not there at all is the tricky bit.
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The story also deals with some of her earlier life as well. She was a very young adult during WWI, and I think served in Europe as a volunteer nurse.
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In talking about this conversation with my sister, I mentioned that I thought I'd come across the biography in library school - in my university library. But, I believe, it was only the second half. It would be wonderful if I could find the two-books-in one version.