JCB's Ruminations on the Craft of Fiction #84
January 27, 2022
Authors are sometimes asked in interviews some version of the question, What were you trying to say with this story? This way of approaching fiction and storytelling, especially anything we might consider literary, even impacts aspiring authors, who may be tempted to think about what the message of their story might be instead of concentrating on making it a compelling story. This perspective seems to arise from the interpretive turn in literary criticism, where "important" literature is understood to be the kind of literature that has something to say, a message or commentary that a literary critic can suss out with careful and considered study.
Once upon a time, literary critics understood that important literature provides an experience for the reader: in it we meet other human beings and see them in action; we see the world from unfamiliar perspectives. There is an empathetic intimacy in a well-crafted story that we can barely mimic in life. We learn a character’s motivations and see the ruminations by which they come to a decision, the processes of cogitation that lead them to action; and, in some ways most importantly, we see the consequences of their decisions and the results of their actions. This, to me, is what literature is for: not to impart some kind of message on the reader, but to provide the experience of fully understanding another human being at their most exigent moment of crisis.
So, to aspiring authors, I would suggest we not concern ourselves overmuch with what we might want to say in the telling of a story. Let us instead concentrate on providing for our readers the most immersive experience we can.
Next: On Participial Adjuncts