Sunday, July 5, 2009

More books please...

There is magic when a writer writes. An alchemy that turns the lead of everyday words into the gold of a story. I cannot, try as I might, explain every part of the process. Sure I make decisions about what words to use and where they should go; about the pattern, the structure, and the flow. It is not all magic but by the same token, it does not work without some magic involved. And that there is some mystery, I think, is a good thing. But there is not just magic in the writing, there is magic in the reading too. Because I know when I read something really good, those stories give me something way beyond the sum of their individual words. The satisfaction, the joy, the way my brain shivers with delight. The way my mind is stretched and grown by each tale. More good books please....

1 comment:

Tania Roxborogh said...

What did you just read that brought this on? I felt that when I read the 10pm Question (actually annoyed it's on national radio because that's not the voice I heard when I read it). Don't some characters just stay with you, too. That's how I felt after reading The Sound of Butterflies and just recently The Time Travellers Wife.

Then, there are 'our' characters who live in our minds and take us places we weren't expecting.

Don't you think we're kinda blessed in that way - we get double doing of magic.