Then, finally:
"You may have come to this book with high literary aspirations and ambitions. You may have read Ellison and Bellow, Morrison and Melville. You may have wanted your novel to enter into a dialogue with these great literary lights. And so when you perused the previous pages, you may have been a little let down. Perhaps you were looking for an epiphany, and all you found was a joke."
By the way, it's a great joke. As a matter of fact, dissecting the structure of a joke is "the best way to understand the potential strength of surprise in plot." Mosley addresses showing and telling, metaphor and simile, sensations, emotions, plot, character development, first person narrative versus third person narrative - each with examples of his own making, and not once tainting the page with pedantry. For the uninitiated, he has great caveats: "In the novel there has to be movement in the personality structure of the main character or characters." Or: "The accomplished writer achieves a level of realism by using language that is active and metaphorical, economically emotional yet also pedestrian." Or: "Overuse of metaphorical language will test a novel's credibility." Or: "Plot is the structure of revelation." Oh, and, Or: "Without a deep understanding of poetry and its practices, any power the writer might have is greatly diminished." And, wait! Or: "The awareness of details comes into the novel via the experiences and emotional responses of your characters."
"You may have come to this book with high literary aspirations and ambitions. You may have read Ellison and Bellow, Morrison and Melville. You may have wanted your novel to enter into a dialogue with these great literary lights. And so when you perused the previous pages, you may have been a little let down. Perhaps you were looking for an epiphany, and all you found was a joke."
By the way, it's a great joke. As a matter of fact, dissecting the structure of a joke is "the best way to understand the potential strength of surprise in plot." Mosley addresses showing and telling, metaphor and simile, sensations, emotions, plot, character development, first person narrative versus third person narrative - each with examples of his own making, and not once tainting the page with pedantry. For the uninitiated, he has great caveats: "In the novel there has to be movement in the personality structure of the main character or characters." Or: "The accomplished writer achieves a level of realism by using language that is active and metaphorical, economically emotional yet also pedestrian." Or: "Overuse of metaphorical language will test a novel's credibility." Or: "Plot is the structure of revelation." Oh, and, Or: "Without a deep understanding of poetry and its practices, any power the writer might have is greatly diminished." And, wait! Or: "The awareness of details comes into the novel via the experiences and emotional responses of your characters."
And Mosley doesn't cower in the face of the first draft. According to plan, the first draft should be finished within three months. "Every day you have planted your backside in a chair for an hour and a half or more and written this novel of yours." Now comes the hard part. Revision. This is what separates the wheat from the chaff in the wind, and Mosley's years of writing and re-writing, pushing those novels out every year and then some through the meatgrinder, comes to bear. "The many drafts that follow" reads one subheading, and he cheerleads throughout the process. One tip I've never heard: "Buy a tape recorder, and when you've done all the rewriting you can stand, read your book out loud into the little microphone - yes, the whole book." Then listen to it. Like a book on tape. Your very own book on tape! Hooray! But: "When you play back the words you read, the sound of the characters and their world will come to you."
Most important, though, is Mosley's repeating mantra: "Don't stop writing for any reason. Don't stop writing. Don't… stop." The greatest part of the book is not its contents but its supervisory title and spine. Looking above you, to your side, under your brow, atop your shoulders left and right, is that wonderful pressure. This year you write your novel. This year you write your novel. This year you write… this year you write… this year… Finish what you sta -
Most important, though, is Mosley's repeating mantra: "Don't stop writing for any reason. Don't stop writing. Don't… stop." The greatest part of the book is not its contents but its supervisory title and spine. Looking above you, to your side, under your brow, atop your shoulders left and right, is that wonderful pressure. This year you write your novel. This year you write your novel. This year you write… this year you write… this year… Finish what you sta -
