Narrative vs. World Building

I just finished 'Ender in Exile' the new book from Orson Scott Card (that Mia got for Christmas). If you haven't read the book yet but plan to (Mia) you might want to skip reading the rest of this post.  Also, if you are a huge fan of OSC and cannot bear to hear any criticism of him, you might want to skip reading this post.

But for the rest of you that know one of my erstwhile hobbies is literary criticism, I invite you to join with me in examining the text, meta-text, and author.

First, the text itself is worth reading. OSC is an excellent writer and his ability to develop dynamic characters -- even in supporting roles. I use the word dynamic in the deliberate literary sense. His characters show growth through the course of the narrative.  And his main characters are well rounded (again in the literary sense).

The main thrust of my critique is that this book is not a narrative but rather an exercise in world-building exposition.

(SPOILER ALERT!!!) The main plot can be summed up thusly: Ender does stuff.  And if I wanted to be verbose about it, I would say: Ender does stuff really well.

My sense reading through this book is that OSC wanted to flesh out more of the universe now that he's had more years to explore it in his own mind. My first clue were the exaggerated chapter intros. Typically these were short emails or other documents that provided some context without being part of the main story. When I was reading 3-page chapter intros, I knew something had changed. He used them to expound on points that couldn't be worked into the main storyline. Then, the book is littered with internal monologues that details an arcane point that doesn't really fit into the main flow of the story. But fortunately, his characters are all so introspective that he's able to use them to voice the tidbits of knowledge he's had tucked away.  And, other scenes seem entirely constructed to give him a platform for retrofitting new information about the Formics that expand on their telepathic/hive structure. I won't even comment on his moralizing.

This is coming out much harsher than I mean it to. It's not that I think OSC is a poor writer, he's proven many times over that he is not. (And who would I be to judge him as one anyway?) But he does seem to have fallen into a style that I've seen many times in my work as an editor for a magazine that published world settings for role-players. He's put so much time into the details of the world that he needs to push them all out to the audience, fill in all the cracks, show us just how intricate his vision of this alternate universe is.  

And when that happens, the narrative suffers.  It has to because it takes a back seat to the exposition. The clever insights and cool details that aren't really relevant to the storyline but can't be left out because... because... because!

I have a second criticism as well. Related to what I felt was a lack of plot, was a lack of action. Part of what made Ender's Game such a seminal piece of work was the action. Ender was constantly moving, one challenge to the next, one game to the next, one army to the next, one war to the end. And through it this incredible tension of whether or not he could handle it physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Was he going to win the war? Yes, of course, that's a given. But was he going to be emotionally and mentally broken after he did so? Quite possibly. The 'happy ending' of the book still held (still holds when I re-read it) the terrible thought that even in victory the hero might be defeated. It's a wonderfully delicate tension and would be nearly impossible to re-create.

In this book, the storylines are all about manipulation and who can do the best political maneuvering in order to achieve the outcome they want. And of course we already know that Ender's skill is in understanding people so thoroughly that he can crush them. We know what the outcomes will be but there is no tension about the consequences.  We are simply along for the ride as Ender continues to out-subtle his various (but rarely nefarious) antagonists.

And the minor antagonist characters (as they all must be minor in comparison with Ender) are what I would have to describe as 'collectively flat'. The definition that I would provide is that they all share the same characteristics of being both willing to overtly manipulate the people around them to reach their goals and they are cognizent and introspective about doing it. This turns everyone into a psuedo-narrator when we are shown their perspective because rather than seeing their actions, we are also privvy to their thoughts about why they are taking those actions, what outcomes they hope to achieve, and who they are either hurting or helping by doing so.

Again, my feeling is that OSC enjoys orchestrating these encounters because if he's describing the most brilliant children in the world and how they overcome the overwhelming odds against them ergo he must be a step above to conceive of the entire scenarios from start to finish. Again, I don't blame him, it's a wonderful position to be in and I should like to try it sometime. But, on the level of the meta-text, it feels as though he's using the auspices of narrative to show-off.

Now, since I've disparaged the book so thoroughly, let me also say the good things about it. First and foremost, it is an engaging read. I finished the book in 2 days.  Secondly, it does add depth of some of the loose ends surrounding the end of the war and questions raised about how would Ender really deal with the knowledge of what he'd done. And, as Mia likes to say, he writes great characters. The most compelling reason to keep reading is because you do care about Ender. Just like the people within the story that almost immediately find themselves caring about him, so too as a reader it's nearly impossible not to admire Ender. Even when you know he's going to come out on top, you want to be there with him, to have some of his glory shine out through the pages and illuminate your own life.

Ender is one of the most enduring characters in modern science-fiction because we both see ourselves in him and we admire the traits in him we cannot imitate.

Non-linear Narrative

I was listening to the radio and heard a new song the other day. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the band so I can't link to it.

But, the song was completely linear narrative. It was like someone wrote a short story (I would say Flash Fiction but that's typically got abstract elements to it) and then picked up a guitar. In other words, I was not impressed by it.

The music should be the driving force in a song. The lyrics do not need to take me from point A to point B, the music does that. Lyrics can supplement the story-telling but shouldn't beat you over the head with it. Non-linear lyrics, and even nonsequitur lyrics, make for a more interesting song in my opinion.

I have the same feelings about poetry. When you try to force a narrative story into a poetic form, you typically end up with a piece that sounds stilted. The lyricism of poetry (like music) means that your words aren't the focus. The words are secondary to the flow and emotions you are trying to draw out of your reader.
Caveat: Random snippets of pseudo-profundity about how dark your life is does not count. ;)

1 Year of Blogging

According to my dashboard, this is my 365th post to this blog. That's 1 full year of blog posts... of course, being spread over 4 years makes it a little less of an accomplishment but I still think it's pretty cool.

Protagonist

I've been getting through my summer reading list. So far I've gotten through Pebble in the Sky by Asimov, and part of book of short stories by Arthur C. Clarke.

Currently, I'm reading Conan by Robert Howard. Interestingly enough, it's a book of short stories as well. And even more interesting, the stories are pretty well written.

As I have discovered, Conan is not Schwarzenegger. He is intelligent but his barbaric nature limits his understanding of the machinations of civilized men. His adventures are not just page after page of blood and conquest. One of the stories I just read was more of a detective tale with only one scene of fighting towards the end.

And, as a writer on pre-emptive sabbatical, it's a very interesting character study. Conan is a protagonist. He is not a hero like we would think of hero's in books today. The most striking example is that he often starts his stories as a thief going after some prize. In pursuing these treasures, he shows no concern for the lives of his opponents. So often in modern tales the hero is the one that values all human life (usually in direct opposition to the villain) even those who are actively trying to kill him/her. In my opinion, this is an outgrowth of modern humanism (good) set in an Darwinian world (without a god or afterlife, bad) that values preservation of individual life over all other virtues.

But, I'm getting sidetracked. In the Conan stories, he's interested in his own preservation. When someone crosses him, he immediately fights to save himself. But, he's also willing to put himself in harms way when he gives his word or someone is depending on him. He's not cruel, just has a very clear sense of self-preservation.

If any of you are interested in the more technical parts of literature, I recommend reading Conan as an interesting way to study characters. And, if you aren't, Howard is a good storyteller.

Manual Labor

I've already mentioned that I finished writing a story by hand. I've decided not to be shy about my writing, and I also feel a connection with the handwriting on the page.

Since I'm going to be typing it all in and doing my revisions after that, I feel that something is being lost. To avoid that, I'm going to post some scans of the hand-written version on my Web site (yes, the rest of the site does still exist).

They aren't complete, the pages that I'm writing on are too big for my scanner. So it's not a way for you to read the story, but at least get a sense of what it was like before the computer standardized it and took away my personal touch.

Competent Writer

Life is what happens at the intersections.

That's my philosophical way of introducing my plan to write this summer. For the details keep reading.

First, with the season finales for most shows happening this week, I've decided to stop watching television. I've felt like I want more time to write, read, and play. And TV has just been keeping me from doing that.

Second, I picked up on a short story that I started writing a year ago, or maybe more. I've known how I wanted it to end, but there was a piece of the story between where I was and the ending that I wasn't sure how to handle. I finally just decided to write it out and finished that this week.
Building on that, the story is completely written by hand. It's been a very interesting experience doing it all by hand. I think that writing by hand will help me develop my own style. When writing on paper, everything that you write stays on the page. You can still revise, but you always know what your first thoughts were.

Third, I've been reading Stephen King's On Writing. Surprisingly, it's an interesting book if a bit sporadic. I'm still only half-way through but I can see that King really does have a passion for writing. And it's been a wake up call for me. Mostly because I've been using television and other things to give me an excuse for not doing the reading and writing I need to get better.
I also like his metaphor for the writing toolbox and very straight-forward definition of the pieces. I've never really been a horror fan but I might go back and read some of his books. In fact, The Shining has always interested me.

Finally, I know that writing is something that I want to do. It's been an uncomfortable dissonance in my life, feeling that I don't have enough time to myself (or rather time to do the things that I want) and so I've been funneling my free time into TV and gaming.

I guess this is like my blogging post. It's got to be an addiction if you really want to pursue it.

(This is the wife - Read the comments to see how much writing John already does. Although he doesn't realize it, he is one prolific guy.)

Blogs vs Bloggers

I was reading today at Marketing Profs. (sign-up req'd) about the dark side of blogging. The main theme was warning against the addiction of blogging.

This was in the context of using blogging as a platform for business, specifically trying to start or promote your own business through blogging. So, I'm going to take exception with some of the article.

Blogs and Bloggers are two different things. I have a blog, but I'm not a blogger. I update my blog for personal reasons, family reasons, friend reasons. I like doing it but as anyone who's followed my blog knows, I don't post every day.

I think, that this is also the reason that I don't twitter. I'm not trying to gather a following, I'm not trying to be a thought leader and give people frequent updates so they'll always know what's on my mind.

However, one thing that I did find true was the desire for feedback. Having a few friends and family that check my blog now, I'm always hoping some people will leave comments for me. I'll have to try and fish for them better.

I've toyed with the idea of becoming a blogger. But I keep resisting because I don't think that I want to get addicted.

Stress

This has been a very stressful week for me. At work I had to finish setting up 2 newsletters and mail them out. It takes a lot of work because I have to set up each of the segmented mailings by hand. We have 8 segments. This is my own fault, I pushed for doing this segmentation but it's still stressful.

I also came into work and discovered some problems. First, we changed some mail settings and had a large number of failures from the newsletter. Second, the scripts tracking our Web site weren't working so we have no data for the month of February.

At home, I also had to finish editing and setting up an issue of WFM, write my editorial, and release two previews for Avlis2.

Last night, I nearly fell asleep at 6:00 while sitting on the couch with Ethan. I'm glad that I made it through everything, hopefully the weekend will be more relaxing.

Catching up

I had something that I really wanted to blog about, but I can't remember what it is right now.

However, I've been doing more thinking lately, in fact, I was talking with Mia about it the other day.
I didn't do much reading last year. This would be easy to blame on a lack of time because of Ethan, work, or playing games. Except, that in a moment of self-awareness, I realized and accepted that I was really avoiding reading because I was avoiding writing. That may seem strange, it seemed strange to me when I was talking about it.

But, this did help me achieve another realization. That I am a professional writer. I get paid to write. It's what I do to make a living (though I do have some other duties as well).

The disconnect is that I'm neither a journalist, freelancer, or fiction writer. I don't get much personal recognition for what I'm writing currently. That's fine for me, for now.
From my career perspective, I don't mind continuing to write without attribution because that's just the way it works. However, the skills that I have as a business writer are important to companies. While Marketing is a department that suffers when cuts need to be made, writing is a skill that is always desirable to companies.

So, this year, I'm doing more reading. I'm still writing professionally, for Snowbound and WFM, and personally on my blog. But this year, I'm also going to try writing some more fiction, a genre that I want to polish my skills in as well.