Thaddeus, as usual I really enjoyed reading this article on Style. There is so much to be said for the life of a writer; how full it is, how varied, how rich and how educational. And there is so much to be said for legitimate 'voice.' Stephen King is not a great stylist, but he has legitimate voice and it has made him one of the top selling writers of all time. J.K. Rowling is also not a stylist, but she hs legitimate voice, plus an almost uncanny ability to create characters. I love Melville, most of Faulkner, Steinbeck, Bradbudy, Carroll, not much McCarty (esp. after reading "Blood Meridian," - something off with that man. They've all taught me things, but they haven't changed my voice.
The worst part about Blood Meridian is that it is very much my based in history, to the extent that many of the characters are derived from a man's journal on the Indian-hunting expeditions described in Blood Meridian. Chilling to think about. That said, I do love McCarthy's style (though I too suspect there was something off with him).
Faulkner loved to give advice after his Nobel Prize win that he himself didn’t follow in his early years. He cared quite a bit actually about developing his style, as evidenced by how poorly he imitated Joyce in his first novel. It was just already ingrained in by the time he did those interviews.
It wasn’t until his fourth novel “The Sound and The Fury” that he had become a master of prose. Sure he wrote pretty sentences in “Flags in the Dust” but he had to stop the whole narrative to do so.
Great ideas here. I will be thinking more on this.
Thank you!
Thank you. This series has grown into a great learning opportunity for me
Thaddeus, as usual I really enjoyed reading this article on Style. There is so much to be said for the life of a writer; how full it is, how varied, how rich and how educational. And there is so much to be said for legitimate 'voice.' Stephen King is not a great stylist, but he has legitimate voice and it has made him one of the top selling writers of all time. J.K. Rowling is also not a stylist, but she hs legitimate voice, plus an almost uncanny ability to create characters. I love Melville, most of Faulkner, Steinbeck, Bradbudy, Carroll, not much McCarty (esp. after reading "Blood Meridian," - something off with that man. They've all taught me things, but they haven't changed my voice.
The worst part about Blood Meridian is that it is very much my based in history, to the extent that many of the characters are derived from a man's journal on the Indian-hunting expeditions described in Blood Meridian. Chilling to think about. That said, I do love McCarthy's style (though I too suspect there was something off with him).
Faulkner loved to give advice after his Nobel Prize win that he himself didn’t follow in his early years. He cared quite a bit actually about developing his style, as evidenced by how poorly he imitated Joyce in his first novel. It was just already ingrained in by the time he did those interviews.
It wasn’t until his fourth novel “The Sound and The Fury” that he had become a master of prose. Sure he wrote pretty sentences in “Flags in the Dust” but he had to stop the whole narrative to do so.
Great insight! Thank you.