justfabrications (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
justfabrications) wrote2009-09-12 11:40 pm
justfabrications) wrote2009-09-12 11:40 pm
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i hope this doesn't become a daily habit, because that'll be really annoying. although, i'm most definitely sure i think too much.
well anyway, before i forget,
i was writing today (well actually, i was editing something i started many months ago), and discovered, to my utmost displeasure, that i had apparently been on some kind of prose power trip when i first started writing it. there were a lot of phrases that were pretty and sophisticated, and were likely to inspire any aspiring writer, and they were so, so meaningless. it was quite horrifying to read through. after fixing these bits and pieces, it got me thinking about the extent of prose in normal, fictional (story) writing. i actually wasn't sure what the opposite of prose was, so i googled it and a lot of sources said it was poetry. kind of confusing, because i've always thought it possible to integrate prose-like writing into poetry, especially modern poetry (those beautiful, abstract ones!). maybe i've been wrong? not sure, but i should take a class on this sort of thing! regardless, i realized that sometimes, when writing, we get so caught up by the whirlwind of style sophistication and those elegant prose-like touches here and there, that the main focus of the plot is lost. or at least, that's what happened to me. can you really have prose in a real, plot-based story? i think not (well maybe you can, but i'm not sure how to go about doing that). it's one thing to have drawn out descriptions that contribute to tone and mood, but another thing to start spewing prose amongst good, solid fiction.
so now, i'm thinking that the emotional aspect of such sentimental writing (prose, that is) overwhelms the plot-based content that a story is about. you can't have prose and a story that is solidly based on plot, can you? that would be so long and dense and dreadful to read through, and through it all, you'd have to keep in mind the plot of the story. if that doesn't cause brain aneurysms, i don't know what would. or maybe i just don't know how that works yet.
back to what i was working on. i was editing my way through it until i stopped somewhere in the middle and realized that the occasional bit of prose-like writing could, when used well, act as a buffer between hard words and soft sentiments. however, when used excessively, those bits could be really distracting to the overall tone of the piece. that's where i completely fucked up. it was so uneven and broken at times that i had to rewrite a whole part just to acquiesce to the kind of style in previous pages. just to keep the flow smooth. but at the same time, i felt like i was losing out on so much detail and softness. it's hard to describe in words, but some people write hard dialogue and little details, and some people write the details and make a story so dense. what i do is stay right in between, on the fine line that separates the two styles, but sometimes i lean to one side and it becomes so overwhelming that i have to draw back and take a break, and come back to look at it again days or maybe even weeks later. right now, i'm caught between whether i want to lean slightly towards one side, because staying on that line and staying balanced throughout is out of the question. i don't think i've quite gotten ahold of that yet.
mimei-- she can do this. she can make something so strong plot-wise, and at the same time maintain the same tone throughout. she's beyond this, with the way she manipulates literary techniques more subtly than i've seen any unpublished writer do. it's the subtle-but-obvious kind of way she does it that amazes me. although, i admit that the novel reader won't be able to catch those hints of hers. :P
regardless! it's once again about balance, it has to be just right. wow, i should really keep this as a motto or something. i also just realized this post is quite contradictory. maybe prose and plot-based fiction can be integrated. now, that's something interesting to explore.
let's see if i can pull a mimei.
well anyway, before i forget,
i was writing today (well actually, i was editing something i started many months ago), and discovered, to my utmost displeasure, that i had apparently been on some kind of prose power trip when i first started writing it. there were a lot of phrases that were pretty and sophisticated, and were likely to inspire any aspiring writer, and they were so, so meaningless. it was quite horrifying to read through. after fixing these bits and pieces, it got me thinking about the extent of prose in normal, fictional (story) writing. i actually wasn't sure what the opposite of prose was, so i googled it and a lot of sources said it was poetry. kind of confusing, because i've always thought it possible to integrate prose-like writing into poetry, especially modern poetry (those beautiful, abstract ones!). maybe i've been wrong? not sure, but i should take a class on this sort of thing! regardless, i realized that sometimes, when writing, we get so caught up by the whirlwind of style sophistication and those elegant prose-like touches here and there, that the main focus of the plot is lost. or at least, that's what happened to me. can you really have prose in a real, plot-based story? i think not (well maybe you can, but i'm not sure how to go about doing that). it's one thing to have drawn out descriptions that contribute to tone and mood, but another thing to start spewing prose amongst good, solid fiction.
so now, i'm thinking that the emotional aspect of such sentimental writing (prose, that is) overwhelms the plot-based content that a story is about. you can't have prose and a story that is solidly based on plot, can you? that would be so long and dense and dreadful to read through, and through it all, you'd have to keep in mind the plot of the story. if that doesn't cause brain aneurysms, i don't know what would. or maybe i just don't know how that works yet.
back to what i was working on. i was editing my way through it until i stopped somewhere in the middle and realized that the occasional bit of prose-like writing could, when used well, act as a buffer between hard words and soft sentiments. however, when used excessively, those bits could be really distracting to the overall tone of the piece. that's where i completely fucked up. it was so uneven and broken at times that i had to rewrite a whole part just to acquiesce to the kind of style in previous pages. just to keep the flow smooth. but at the same time, i felt like i was losing out on so much detail and softness. it's hard to describe in words, but some people write hard dialogue and little details, and some people write the details and make a story so dense. what i do is stay right in between, on the fine line that separates the two styles, but sometimes i lean to one side and it becomes so overwhelming that i have to draw back and take a break, and come back to look at it again days or maybe even weeks later. right now, i'm caught between whether i want to lean slightly towards one side, because staying on that line and staying balanced throughout is out of the question. i don't think i've quite gotten ahold of that yet.
mimei-- she can do this. she can make something so strong plot-wise, and at the same time maintain the same tone throughout. she's beyond this, with the way she manipulates literary techniques more subtly than i've seen any unpublished writer do. it's the subtle-but-obvious kind of way she does it that amazes me. although, i admit that the novel reader won't be able to catch those hints of hers. :P
regardless! it's once again about balance, it has to be just right. wow, i should really keep this as a motto or something. i also just realized this post is quite contradictory. maybe prose and plot-based fiction can be integrated. now, that's something interesting to explore.
let's see if i can pull a mimei.