Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier is one of my all-time favorite books. Whether as literature or history, this book is a wealth of writing inspiration for all levels of creative writing courses . Writing students can learn from Frazier’s varying degrees of deprivation, attention to detail, and characterizations. I would love to talk to Mr. Frazier about some of the passages in Cold Mountain. If you know him, please direct him to this blog. (Mr. Frazier, if you read this, please comment.)
It may be unfair to point out symbolism in Cold Mountain. Some authors, Hemingway for one, preferred his audience read for enjoyment rather than pick and digest his work like a roasted chicken (my words not Hemingway's).
Still, I’m compelled to share my thoughts about this vivid story. I’ll start with the some chapter titles.
Chapter 1 – the shadow of a crow. Things are not as they appear. Look at these examples.
Inman sails his hat out the schoolroom window, and it settles near the edge of a field "black as the shadow of a crow squatted on the ground."
Pages further, Inman's friends say their goodbyes, when the army sends Inman to a hospital in his home state to die from a neck wound. The neck does not bring death.
From Inman’s perspective, the war is not as it appears, neither is Balis (another wounded soldier), or freedom from the army hospital.
Chapter 2 – the ground beneath her hands. Life is at its lowest for Ada. She's not prepared to cope with mountain life. The daughter of a preacher, she has no domestic skills, no money to get to back to Charleston, SC, and no social life. She even believes the flogging rooster wants to kill her. Ada touches the dry ground, full of chicken feathers and chicken poop.
Chapter 3 – the color of despair. This phrase is from a curse, “To Destroy Life,” taught to Inman by his Cherokee friend, Swimmer. Inman repeats the curse "aiming it out at the world at large, his enemies." He speaks it out for several miles until he thought "the words were just flying back to strike him alone." In the despair of this chapter, Inman finds a glimmer of hope (when do you see it) but can't bring it to fruition in his mind. He sinks low again.
We'll look at other chapters in the future. In the meantime, I'm curious what inspires you as you read a book, any book?
If you haven't read Cold Mountain, consider reading it this year. Mark the passages that teach you creative writing. Learn to read like a writer. Any questions?
Showing posts with label writing characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing characters. Show all posts
John Steinbeck on Relationships
I got a little insight about relationships from John Steinbeck's writings published online at The Paris Review, in a compiled interview, compiled as opposed to live or face to face, Steinbeck wrote "The human mind, particularly in the present, is troubled and fogged and bee-stung with a thousand little details from taxes to war worry to the price of meat. All these usually get together and result in a man's fighting with his wife for that is the easiest channel of relief for inner unrest."
Guys seldom argue with other guys, especially guy friends. They pick fights with their wives or girlfriends out of frustrations, stresses, and pressures. These days women might do the same, considering the stresses of being a career mom. If married or committed couples are connected fibers, like a knitted sweater or a quilt, it makes sense that life's burdens would take toll on the 'garment or covering'.
Remember this when writing a character who is strained and stretched by circumstances. He/she must find a "channel of relief for inner unrest." There are other outlets, too. Dean Koontz's character, Junior Cain, in From the Corner of His Eye, chose murder to lessen the turmoil in his soul. Montresor, in Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, carried a grievance in his heart towards a friend / acquaintance named Fortunato. Montresor avenged his grievance by burying Fortunato alive.
Visit The Paris Review website and read a few or all of the interviews, or do as I did and buy the interviews published in book form (the set wasn't out when I bought mine). You're going to enjoy the reads.
As writer's we can learn so much from legendary authors, not by reading only their stories, books, or biographies, but by adding to these diaries, letters, and interviews. What is your "channel of relief?"
Consider using a journal, short story, or poem, rather than a close connection, as your venting mechanism. It's less wounding and healthier. Any questions?
Guys seldom argue with other guys, especially guy friends. They pick fights with their wives or girlfriends out of frustrations, stresses, and pressures. These days women might do the same, considering the stresses of being a career mom. If married or committed couples are connected fibers, like a knitted sweater or a quilt, it makes sense that life's burdens would take toll on the 'garment or covering'.
Remember this when writing a character who is strained and stretched by circumstances. He/she must find a "channel of relief for inner unrest." There are other outlets, too. Dean Koontz's character, Junior Cain, in From the Corner of His Eye, chose murder to lessen the turmoil in his soul. Montresor, in Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, carried a grievance in his heart towards a friend / acquaintance named Fortunato. Montresor avenged his grievance by burying Fortunato alive.
Visit The Paris Review website and read a few or all of the interviews, or do as I did and buy the interviews published in book form (the set wasn't out when I bought mine). You're going to enjoy the reads.
As writer's we can learn so much from legendary authors, not by reading only their stories, books, or biographies, but by adding to these diaries, letters, and interviews. What is your "channel of relief?"
Consider using a journal, short story, or poem, rather than a close connection, as your venting mechanism. It's less wounding and healthier. Any questions?
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