Words of Wisdom on Writing

If we were asked what our biggest surprise has been in the used book business, it would have to be the number of published local writers there are. Poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction. The arrival of self-publishing has made much possible.

The great short-story writer, Mavis Gallant, said, "I still do not know what impels anyone sound of mind to leave dry land and spend a lifetime describing people who do not exist. If it is child's play, an extension of make believe -- something one is frequently assured by people who write about writing -- how to account for the overriding wish to do that, just that, only that, and consider it as rational an occupation as riding a bicycle over the Alps?"*
Gallant was once asked, "Yes, but what do you really do?" ~ A question which she concludes expresses an adult opinion. She then surmises, "Perhaps a writer is, in fact, a child in disguise, with a child's lucid view of grown-ups, accurate as to atmosphere, improvising when it tries to make sense of adult behavior."

Whatever the aspiration to be an author, we encourage and love our local writers.

*Mavis Gallant, Preface, Selected Stories, McClelland & Stewart, 1996

Photos: by Lorna

"Seeing or Hearing Clearly and Then Transcribing"

Best-selling author, Stephen King, refers to these core ideas on good storytelling: "...that practice is invaluable (and should feel good, really not like practice at all) and that honesty is indispensable. Skills in description, dialogue, and character development all boil down to seeing or hearing clearly and then transcribing what you see or hear with equal clarity (and without using a lot of tiresome, unnecessary adverbs)." p. 195* One might add "or unnecessary adjectives."

He states that, "...good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style)" and with "hard work, dedication, and timely help," a good writer can be made out of a merely competent one. "

Stephen King also wrote, "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."

* Stephen King, On Writing ~ A Memoir of the Craft, Scribner, 2000.

"Twist Them Up in Hard Punishment"

Seventy-eight year old, Alice Munro, has withdrawn her latest book, Too Much Happiness from running for the Giller prize this fall. Arguably, "Canada's greatest living writer" (Toronto Star, Sept. 1, Front pg.), Munro has won the prestigious Scotiabank prize twice in the past. In 1998 for The Love of a Good Woman and in 2004 for Runaway. Whatever her reasons for withdrawing, the fact remains that she has arrived at a resoundingly successful stage in her professional life.

This is a woman who wrote, "...it seemed that I had to be a writer as well as a reader. I bought a school notebook and tried to write -- did write, pages that started off authoritatively and then went dry, so that I had to tear them out and twist them up in hard punishment and put them in the garbage can. I did this over and over again until I had only the notebook cover left. Then I bought another notebook and started the whole process once more. The same cycle -- excitement and despair, excitement and despair." *

*Alice Munro, "Cortes Island" (1998) The Love of a Good Woman, p. 143.

Photos: by Lorna

The Blank Page

Prolific romance/suspense writer, Nora Roberts, said, "The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can't fix a blank one."
In a bookstore, one hears many personal theories on writing and the intimidation of the blank page.
Margaret Laurence left a husband and a home in the U.S. to live in a remote part of southern England in order to focus on her writing. The view from Robert's desk is the hills of rural Maryland. As important as the writing environment is the chosen genre. We hear, "Write what one knows."
"It is a mistake, a really big mistake," according to Roberts, "to believe that you can write what you wouldn't read for pleasure,"
And on making time, "A writer never finds the time to write. A writer makes it. If you don't have the drive, the discipline, and the desire, then you can have all the talent in the world, and you aren't going to finish a book. All the talent in the world isn't going to do you any good."
Tomorrow: More words of wisdom from writers.

Photos: by Lorna. My backyard.

More Vintage Autographs

The history of autograph books would be worth researching. One wonders if it was it a backlash to Victorian prudishness?

"When you are old and in the tub,/Remember me with every rub/And if the water's not too hot/Lather away and Forget-Me-Not. ~
~ Now any old fish/Can drift along and dream/But it takes a regular live-one/To swim against the stream. ~
~ Apple pie without cheese/Is like a kiss without a squeeze. ~
~ When you get married and have nine/Bundle them up and come see mine. ~
~ I thought and thought/And thought in vain/And now I think I'll sign my name! ~
~ Many a man with many a mind/ Many a bird of every kind. ~
~ I wish you health/I wish you wealth/I wish you gold in store/I wish you Heaven after death/What could I wish you more?" ~
~ Then there is this one: "Grandpa's getting old and grey/Whiskers always get in his way/Grandma eats them in her sleep/Thinks she's eating Shredded Wheat."

Vintage Autograph Books

A yellowed autograph book recently sold for $17 Canadian at an estate sale. Apparently, no family member wanted it. It contained candid inscriptions of close family and friends. Each hand-written, dated and signed for the moment and posterity.
Remember the penned tokens of affection from the 40's and 50's? Poetic, romantic, philosophical, inspirational, often humourous or wry.
"Your future lies ahead of you/Like a path of driven snow/Be careful how you tread it/For every mark will show." ~~ "The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity/The optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty." ~~
"May your life be like a piano, Grand, upright and square. ~~
I wish you luck/I wish you joy/I wish you first a baby boy/And when his hair begins to curl/I wish you then a baby girl. ~~ True friends are like diamonds precious but rare/False ones like autumn leaves/Found everywhere. ~~ When you are tired of the world/And all its pretty scenes/Just go down into my garden/And hide behind the beans."

Future of Books

Bill Casselman, author and former CBC journalist, recently proclaimed books to be on their way out. A dismal proclamation from a successful writer.
There is a different feeling in a used bookstore. People like ourselves look for a bookstore everywhere they travel. We meet these book lovers everyday. They prefer the tactile aspect of paper and the camaraderie of other readers. Box bookstores have added easy chairs, tea and coffee and magazine racks in an effort to link books with leisure time and socializing.
Speculation about Google's goal of scanning forty million books (they have scanned over 10 million to date) has sent shock waves around bookstores and library tables.
The improved quality of scanning and delivering books to the masses via electronic gadgets is certain to play a significant role in the future of books. However, whatever the format, our need to share ideas and thoughts and the pure pleasure of reading guarantees the survival of the book.