King of Shadows Reflection

I think that Shurin’s book is a good example of the fact that nonfiction writing can still be creative. A lot of people (myself included sometimes) tend to associate nonfiction with dull textbooks or tedious instructional manuals, but nonfiction doesn’t have to be full of vague, abstract words or scientific terms. Shurin’s work illustrates the fact that nonfiction writing can be just as imaginative and as beautiful as fiction or poetry.

One passage that I really enjoyed occurs at the beginning of the book on page 18 when Shurin describes the flower garden he rescues from the July sun. Besides using vivid imagery and concrete details such as the names and colors of individual flowers and the scent of chocolate from the cocoa mulch, Shurin also adds depth to the passage with his use of personification, making the plants seem to actually perform for him and to respond to his care of them. I really enjoyed the passages that show Shurin’s connection with nature and give the reader a glimpse into that experience.

Though some of Shurin’s descriptive passages border on being a bit too flowery and though some of the stream-of-consciousness passages seem a bit disjointed, I enjoyed the overall poetic quality of Shurin’s book. One thing that I would like to take away from my reading of this book is the importance of using literary techniques in nonfiction. Even if I’m not writing a story or a poem, my writing will be more effective if I include literary devices such as metaphor, simile, imagery etc. Though some devices apply more to certain types of writing, Shurin’s book showed me that good writing in every genre shares some of the same techniques, inspiring me to be more conscious of adding literary qualities to my own nonfiction.  

Response for The Writing Life

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Annie Dillard’s book about writing. She described her experience of the writing process with such a depth of detail and striking comparisons, and many of her passages, especially her description of the little sparrow mirroring the patterns of the stunt pilot, were constructed with rich imagery and beautiful diction that they seemed almost poetic.

There were so many insightful bits of wisdom about the writing process throughout the entire book, but the two passages that resonated with me the most were in the fifth chapter. On page 72, Dillard asks the question “Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so we may feel again their majesty and power?” I really enjoyed the way that this quotation addresses the motivations and goals of both the reader and the writer. It was a good reminder for me to think about some of the reasons why people read and to keep some of those reasons in mind when I write my own fiction.

Another passage that was really helpful to me was the quotation on page 78. Dillard says, “One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better.” That piece of advice is one I would really like to mirror in my own writing process. I often feel that impulse to save an idea, an image, a piece of dialogue etc. for later on in case I need it somewhere else or in case I can’t think of any better ideas later. I really like Dillard’s advice about using everything you have when you have it instead of saving it, trusting that something even better will come along later when you need it. It’s hard to do that, but I know that if I try to follow that pattern, it will help to make my writing stronger.

Writer's Series 2/24 Response

I really enjoyed hearing Matt Bell, Steve Himmer, and Robert Kloss read from their work last week at the writer’s series. All three readings were excellent examples of fiction that is rich with vivid, sensory details and concrete imagery. My favorite part of the night, though, was the question and answer period at the end of the reading. It was so helpful to hear the writers talk about their own experience with the writing process (which fit in really well with this week’s assigned reading) and to hear their suggestions and advice about drafting and revising.

I really enjoyed the writers’ comments about being aware of the sounds in writing. Sound always receives such a big emphasis in discussions about poetry, but it was nice to hear sound being applied to fiction as well since it seems to me like it should be equally important for the words to sound right in fiction as for poetry. It was interesting to hear that some of the writers will even add an extra word or syllable to a sentence just to make sure it sounds right. I’ve done that before myself almost unconsciously if there’s something about the sound of a sentence I’ve written that bothers me, and it was interesting to hear an author talk about the sounds of words as being as important of an element of fiction as character or plot.

Of all of the good suggestions the three writers offered, the one that I think will be the most helpful to me is the goal of finishing one project first before starting another. So often, I get so excited about a new idea that I’ll get side-traced and drop whatever project I’m currently working on. And then, of course, a little while later, a new, exciting idea will come along, and I’ll get side-tracked again. Even though it’s fun to explore new ideas, it also means that I rarely finish a complete draft of a story before starting a new one. Rather than switching projects every time I have a new idea, I should start a notebook to write down ideas to come back to later when I’m ready to write about them. I also like Robert Kloss’s suggestion (I think it was his) to just put any new ideas into the book you’re currently writing while they are still fresh in your mind and then go back later on during the revising stage and take out the ones that aren’t working well.

Overall, a very inspirational evening!