crumbs of wisdom: May 2021

Monday, May 17, 2021

The heart of the story

So, one way to approach a story -- to evaluate how good it is, how graceful and efficient -- is to ask, "What is the heart of you, dear story?" (Or, channeling Dr. Seuss, "Why are you bothering telling me this?")

That is: "When all is said and done, what do you claim to live by, story? I need to know this so that I can see how well your non-normative aspects are serving the heart of you."

-- George Saunders, "The Heart of the Story," from A Swim in the Pond in the Rain

from "Crumbs of Wisdom" by Penelope Lively:

Elaine, a writing teacher, has taken her class on a field trip to the home of Ruth Harrap, an aging romance writer.

"What we’re all wondering," Elaine went on brightly, "is, what advice would you give to the aspiring writer?"

"The who?"

"Aspiring writer. The, you know, person who wants to write."

"You needn’t spell it out," said Ruth Harrap tartly, displaying her first sign of animation. "I couldn’t hear you, that’s all." She paused. "Don’t. That’s what I’d say."

Elaine laughed merrily. "Oh, I do understand. I mean, in my humble way I’ve toiled in the vineyard as well. I know. It’s grueling. Punishing. But the rewards, Miss Harrap! And I don’t of course mean financial rewards. The artistic satisfaction. All that."

There was a silence. The author stared at Elaine, her face knotted in disapproval. "That may be your experience, for what it’s worth. It’s not mine. I never wrote but for cash. I wanted to be a buyer in a department store. Never got promotion. Ten years in china and gifts, I was, and then all those books, and I don’t know which was worst." She heaved herself to her feet again. "You’d better have some tea before you go. How many with sugar?"