Arts & Crafts

All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.

-- Classic Quotes by Oscar Wilde, Irish writer and wit (1854-1900)

We say it all the time - writing is a solitary business. Critique groups aside, of course - I couldn't live without mine - short of collaboration, which some authors I know (yes, some personally) do quite effectively, we're writing these novels, short stories, plays, poems ... whatever ... alone. Like painters. Have you ever seen a work of art that was signed by two people? (Okay, if you have, great - but you're missing the point.) Painters use their craft to paint pictures with color, we writers use our craft to paint pictures with words, but at the end of the day it's our name and (with a few notable exceptions) only our name on the signature line.

It's what Stephen King calls 'the craft' [from his brilliant book, On Writing]. I call it arts and crafts, because what we do is as much art as it is craft. I sort of superimpose my philosophy on his - King says write the first draft with the door closed (the craft - your solitary time, when it's just you and the words), then rewrite with the door open (that's where the art comes in - you're sharing your ideas and getting input, perfecting the craft with the extra stuff that makes it art).

I haven't quite perfected the art of the whole door-closed/door-open thing yet. I'm far from being a beginner, but I'm constantly striving to make myself a better writer, and I'm one of those people who needs affirmation - and lots of it. But I know that when it comes down to it, I'm on my own, taking the images from my head and putting them down on virtual paper. I get input from everywhere, but no one else can express my thoughts quite like I can (except perhaps JT, but we'll set aside the whole Wonder Twin thing for the moment).

Or maybe not. How's that for a segue? Unless you've never been here, you know that JT and I are critique partners. The Wonder Twins - we call each other that because we're very in tune with each other. Sometimes we'll email each other with exactly the same thought at the same time. We're so much alike it's almost scary.

But not so much when it comes to our writing. Each of us has her own unique voice. JT writes forceful, vibrant thrillers; I write softer romantic suspense. Not quite polar opposites, but still very different.

When we're critiquing, though, we're familiar enough with each other's style that we can edit and make suggestions without imposing our own on the other - enough to imitate (but never duplicate) the other's voice. We know each other's characters well enough to say, "So-and-So would never say/do something like that, what were you thinking?" And we know when the words aren't quite what they should be, if something doesn't sound like it fits our style. JT has an incredible vocabulary, one to envy. She employs it effectively in her writing. Her prose is eloquent but direct, almost terse - she gets her point across without mincing words. Mine's a little more sinuous. Flowery, even (no, really?). I do go overboard sometimes, and that's when she steps in and says, ahem, that's just a bit stiff and awkward, sister. (The WMVR does that, too, when she goes through the manuscript as my "first reader" - she calls me "Madam Author" when I get too formal.)

At the moment I'm sort of stuck with the door half open, half closed. The first draft didn't fly far enough with either my Wonder Twin or my independent readers, so I'm changing the story, and it's turning out quite a bit different from what it was. It's a new draft, then, but I'm still getting feedback on what I'm writing. My push now is to get it done and ready to submit by the end of the year - the next round starts in January.

The industry is starting to cycle back into its tighter, more restrictive standards again, and it's all the more important to make this effort the best it can be. We're starting over here, in a sense. Those of you who know me and have been with me from the beginning are in for a bit of a surprise in the coming months, but I promise it will be a good one.

In the meantime, I'm getting back into the swing of things, plugging away at perfecting my craft. All hail the artist, but quietly, because she's working ...

Read a book. Admire the art and appreciate the craft. If you get something good out of it, then the artist has done her job.

=) JB