Wow! I shut my computer completely off about a week ago, and haven't touched the thing since, and when I come back, what do I find? Someone I know and love (Hazel) has awarded me with the One Lovely Blog Award. My first award!
Plus, I have new followers! Yay! Welcome to my blog, oh lovely, new faces.
Maybe I should take a week off more often. All kinds of exciting stuff seems to happen when I'm gone.
Honestly, I needed a break from the computer. It's unhealthy, how much I use the thing. Plus, I visited the library. I always go missing for a while if I go there. I LOVE the library. They have books there, you know. Tons and tons of books.
I love books.
So, I've been reading a lot the last few days. Some of the books were re-reads, some were very new, others were instructional. And I had so much fun! But, alas, all such things must end. One book I checked out from the library I still feel iffy about, though, and I thought I'd share my feelings on the subject in this newest blog post.
As many of you might know, I'm a writer (how many times have I said that?). And, as I've been told many a time, writers should like the classics in literature. Not just The Aeneid and The Iliad (true classical literature), but books by Mark Twain, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens. Shouldn't I be in awe of such authors? After all, they were geniuses. There is no denying the sheer brilliance of their work.
But they're so...wordy. I just read a few chapters of Oliver Twist By: Charles Dickens for the first time, and, while there is simply no denying the fact that Dickens was an incredible wordsmith and wrote very tongue-in-cheek digs at the "respectable" community in a way that is quite cute, but IMHO the story suffers from Dickens sophisticated wording and sarcastic twists in thought. I'm so busy following the twists and turns in his language, the story falls flat for me. How do you get into something when all the author does is dance around the point?
Of course, this was written a long time ago, and supposedly people enjoyed that sort of storytelling then. But I'm a writer! I'm supposed to love the classics! Is it bad that most of them bore me to tears? Or that the few I can tolerate usually leave me depressed for days with their sad endings?
The only classic that I can remember adoring is Pride & Prejudice By: Jane Austen. I LOVE that book, and melt whenever I watch the movie. It's seriously one of my all-time favorite books. I'm so glad I took the time to read it.
Still, most of the books on being a writer say I should read and study the classics...which I can't stand. Does that make me a bad writer? Or just really uncultured?
Anyway, moving on. It's now time I come full circle and discuss the award thingy. Thank you so much, Hazel, for giving me this One Lovely Blog Award! I greatly appreciate it. If you'd like to check out Hazel's blog, the link is here.
Tomorrow's blog post will be all about the seven things you people don't know about me, and the seven people I will pass this award on to. Tune in next time, because who knows? Maybe your name will make the list.
Writing quote of the day:
"I will write what makes me smile, what makes my heart flutter, what keeps me up at night with ideas, characters, dialogue." — Natalie Whipple
From what I can tell, you're supposed to read and enjoy the classics for what they are, but understand that they are not the way we write today, just like we don't write like Shakespeare did.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've heard, you're supposed to read a LOT of the modern stuff so you can see what currently works in the market. That said, Neil Gaiman is one of the best there is right now in any genre. I highly recommend his _The Graveyard Book_. John Green is also incredible. If you haven't read it, I recommend either _An Abundance of Katherines_ or _Paper Towns_. If you needed some modern recommendations, anyway.
Welcome back!
Oh oh oh! You might find this interesting. My English teacher in 10th grade told us that Charles Dickens was paid by the word for each of his books. That's why he's so wordy! I feel like his style of writing kind of takes away from the brilliance of the actual plot and the subtle sarcasm that he includes.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I must have started rambling again. Whenever people get me talking on classic literature, I just can't seem to stop. I love classics. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book of all time! It's just the sweetest love story ever! I think the reason I love it so much is because of Lizzy Bennett. She is such an amazing character!
I don't think you necessarily have to study classics in depth to be a good writer. Writing has changed so much in the past few centuries; I highly doubt it's so important anymore. Then again, I'm no pro! :)
Yeah I agree with these two above. The classics are great stories but they were written in a time different from ours. Even now you'd find a difference between American modern literature and European for example. The Steig Larsson trilogy (Dragon Tattoo) had extra details and story plot that most American authors probably would have left out. It's partly where we are in the world and the time we live in.
ReplyDeletePeople's attention span is shorter these days than it was back then too.
Congrats on the award! Honestly, I think there are so many different kinds of writers, why shouldn't they all be able to have different taste in books? I mean, some of them I can "appreciate," as literature, but not necessarily enjoy reading them. Like whatever you want, and write whatever you feel, I think.
ReplyDeleteI would so love to read the classics but I haven't gotten round to it yet. Though I'm thinking that I might be like you and not be able to get into them! I would love to read Pride and Prejudice though, I adored that movie!
ReplyDeletefantastic !
ReplyDeletekisses,
Klaudia B.