Balancing Acts
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 3:45 pm
I enjoy analyzing things. The process of writing enjoyable fiction is something I've come to analyze more recently, even though I've been an avid reader my entire life. In trying to re-create what I find enjoyable to read, I've found that it's more difficult than it looks. A lens I've been using recently is that of a balancing act, with three different gradients. Of course, take it with a grain of salt since I'm unpublished. Or add your own flavor if you find the advice close to your own understanding.
Balancing Clarity and Obliquity
Clarity
A certain amount of clarity is necessary for broader appeal. The more clarity in your writing, the larger the audience you can appeal to. If you lack clarity, your voice will be muddled and the story will be difficult to follow. A lack of clarity will lead to your writing having friction; the sentences are more difficult to digest, and your reading pace slows.
Obliquity
Obliquity is a component of interesting writing. It is the opposite of cliche; something that tickles the more remote associations in your brain. A good metaphor is one that pulls on fresh associations, you haven't seen it used before. It is oblique, not common.
Word selection can also be oblique. The average person knows 15,000 words well enough to use them. However, the average person is familiar with nearly double that number of words; he understands the words in context, yet not well enough to use the word. Those are oblique words, unused by most people, yet understood when read or heard. A good author should have as many of these oblique words in his vocabulary as possible. They can be accumulated over time by a healthy habit of using the thesaurus.
I've found that Clarity and Obliquity are often at odds. You want sentence structure that is easy to read, but also fun to read. You want to use words that are precise, yet not overused. You want to use words that are uncommon, but not unknown or difficult to verbalize(a hiccup during internal verbalization while reading). You want to use metaphors and similes that provide vivid and precise images, but aren't cliches.
The balancing act between clarity and obliquity applies to all parts of the novel. The beginning through the end.
Balancing Clarity and Obliquity
Clarity
A certain amount of clarity is necessary for broader appeal. The more clarity in your writing, the larger the audience you can appeal to. If you lack clarity, your voice will be muddled and the story will be difficult to follow. A lack of clarity will lead to your writing having friction; the sentences are more difficult to digest, and your reading pace slows.
Obliquity
Obliquity is a component of interesting writing. It is the opposite of cliche; something that tickles the more remote associations in your brain. A good metaphor is one that pulls on fresh associations, you haven't seen it used before. It is oblique, not common.
Word selection can also be oblique. The average person knows 15,000 words well enough to use them. However, the average person is familiar with nearly double that number of words; he understands the words in context, yet not well enough to use the word. Those are oblique words, unused by most people, yet understood when read or heard. A good author should have as many of these oblique words in his vocabulary as possible. They can be accumulated over time by a healthy habit of using the thesaurus.
I've found that Clarity and Obliquity are often at odds. You want sentence structure that is easy to read, but also fun to read. You want to use words that are precise, yet not overused. You want to use words that are uncommon, but not unknown or difficult to verbalize(a hiccup during internal verbalization while reading). You want to use metaphors and similes that provide vivid and precise images, but aren't cliches.
The balancing act between clarity and obliquity applies to all parts of the novel. The beginning through the end.