I recently finished reading A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, and was struck by the variety of voices in the novel. Egan seems to be a sort of literary chameleon: she shifts between middle-aged adults and their younger selves, their children and even their childhood acquaintances seamlessly.
One of my favorite things about Egan's writing is her ability to use virtually any method to convey a beautiful narrative -- she even used PowerPoint slides for an entire chapter and it made perfect sense. Many of the techniques I admire in her writing are ones that I would like to try myself. I have always loved the idea of writing a cohesive work that examines events from multiple perspectives. I tried it sophomore year during NaNoWriMo for creative writing, but the result fell far short of my expectations -- I got angry with one of the characters in the middle of writing it, and it was extremely apparent (hilariously so, but that's another story entirely).
When I try to write a longer piece, I tend to move the plot so quickly that I've run out of things to talk about within the first 15-20 pages. I also picture individual scenes as I want to write them, but without any idea of how to piece them together. I'm much better with smaller, more contained pieces, so maybe that's why a more "episodic" narrative, where each section is self-contained, is more appealing to me. I really like vignettes, probably because they are more poetic than prose-like.
There is one thing I'm absolutely sure about when it comes to writing novels: it is difficult and time-consuming. I have yet to hear a writer say their novel basically wrote itself. Although it would be wonderful if that could happen, such an easy solution would take away much of the value the writing process provides.
The only thing I've read by Jennifer Egan is Black Box, but I do like her writing in that story. I totally understand what you mean about difficulties in moving the plot quickly. I've never actually been able to complete a story with a plot I've made up, and I'm not sure if I ever will. I think the difficulty in the writing process is what makes each finish project so special. Without difficulties, we don't really appreciate what we have. That, or just it's really satisfying to finish a really long and difficult piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteI love this book! I also recommend her novel The Keep, which also has some interesting genre twists and voice shifts, and is quite a page-turner.
ReplyDeleteI giggled when you wrote, " I tend to move the plot so quickly that I've run out of things to talk about within the first 15-20 pages." For someone who is not so gifted in the art of writing, that in itself seems like a feat, so give yourself some credit! I have the issue of not developing my thoughts. I'm a selfish writer I guess; don't want to explain anything to anyone:). I also have the issue to not keeping my focus. The longer I try to pull at a story the more it loses its form.
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