READING & WRITING
I’m Communicating With You by Using Words Because I Can
The bond created between the reader and the writer is special
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“In the shop, we buy and sell them, but in truth, books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend.” — Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Novels are possibly the most intimate means we humans have conceived for understanding a stranger’s thinking.
Shaped by formal standards, experimentation, and cultural and social influence, Novels have a long, rich history. Authors use novels to tell detailed stories about the human condition, society, history, and morality through various genres and styles. Our brains seem uniquely adapted to making sense of experience through stories. And in Aristotle thinking, only a person with experience could practice practical wisdom. We tell stories and listen to them; even a sacred text such as the Bible pursues to make meaning of the world through stories.
The relationship between audience and author has been explored, from classical rhetoric to the twenty-first century. Much remains to learn about this relationship, as evidenced by the continued interest and diverse opinions about this subject. Yet, some things are as clear as the sun is bright.
The process
A character speaks — shouts, mumbles, whispers — breaking the stillness and, in so doing, calls the writer into existence. The writer responds by cocking her head and listening. Then writing.
Writing a book can take days, months, or even years, and a struggle with characters ensues. Writers place themselves in their books, take themselves out, and insert themselves back again in several different ways and guises.
We imagine ourselves as godlike beings who wield omniscient and absolute authority over our creations, manipulating characters like puppets and convincing them to enact our every urge. But that’s not entirely true. Writers are at the beck and call of their craft, as I suspect all gods must be.
