Yellow light means slow?

I’ve grown to love the writing of Michael Chabon. I’ve read his books before and enjoyed them, but it was only recently that I’ve appreciated the artistry of his words. Even the most deplorable situations are painted so clearly and with such grace that I can find myself squirming uncomfortably as the characters do and experience things that I could only imagine, yet enjoy every sentence.

A month or two back, I spoke admirably of his book, Gentlemen of the Road (or, using the working title, Jews with Swords, which, I think, is a lot better. Who wouldn’t read a book about Jews with swords?), and today I find myself devouring another one of his books, Wonder Boys. While I’m not quite done reading, I’ve read enough to know that it is one book that I will devour again and again, marvelling at the way he can give us characters that can do such horrible things to themselves and to those they love, yet do it all with a flourish of language that is unparalleled in my eyes.

Of course, reading this book has identified a weakness of my own writing, one which will be remedied in the second stage of editing, but also one which I am trying to keep in mind as I continue to write. Some people say the devil is in the details, but in my writing, the details seem to be somewhat lacking.

One of the things I realized reading Wonder Boys is that I’m not a very patient man. I love the imagery, the details and the evocative nature of literature when I’m reading, but when I’m writing, I’m very impatient. I don’t want to spend time talking about how the trees looked in the forest or describing the town that our heroes visit; I want to get to the next plot point, I want to be able to bring the characters from point 'A' to point 'B' to see what happens. Stop and smell the roses? No way! Rose smelling takes way too much time! Drop that flower and get yourself to your destination so questions can start being answered! I’m surprised that I haven’t given anyone a jetpack yet…

Stephen King, in On Writing, gives his opinion that when you finish a piece of writing, you should endeavour to slash 10% of it (I may be wrong about the number, but at this point in the day I don’t very much feel like going to verify it. Suffice is to say that 10% is a good number to start with). Cutting some of your scenes make sense, as writers often put in either too much detail or put in unnecessary detail that can be removed without harming the story itself. However, I may be one of those writers who, when looking back at a completed manuscript, may have to ADD 10%. Specifically, I will have to put in descriptions of what the characters see and experience, and I will do this knowing that I don’t have a need to see where the story will take itself.

In an effort to make myself a better writer, I am trying to slow down and, if not smell the roses, then at least acknowledge that there are roses in that bush over there. I don’t have a lot of experience in writing novel-length material, so I can only guess where my words will take me, but I know that to become a well-rounded writer, sometimes you have to stop, look around, and let your readers in on the world inside your head.