The Fabric of Writing

(Should you have had the sad misfortune to have missed the last exciting meeting, here is an overview of what we experienced.)

The fabric of a book is what gives it its character, its texture, its unique approach to putting pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, voice to microphone in order to record words to be read. Whether the fabric is smooth as silk, rough as denim and equally dark, woven with delicious highlights of gold as in a fine brocade, or woolly and undulating in its thickness and depth, one is immediately aware of what that fabric may be the instant a book is begun.

The texture of a book’s fabric is about many things.

It is about the number of words it takes to get to the same point, to describe an action, a person, or thing. For some, more is best. The more completely they can describe the occurrence of a personage, an environment or whatever it might be, the better. For others, less is more in their search for a minimalist depiction of events and people that leads the author and the reader down a narrow, restricted path, often leading to greater elegance in the work’s execution.

The same holds true for the depth of character development employed by various authors. For some, a cardboard cutout of certain characters in their writing will suffice, as it is the action within the story that will carry the reader along. For others, the depth and three-dimensional portrayal of the characters within their writing is often more important than the storyline.

In a similar vein, the description of objects, foods, weapons, vehicles, venues, cities and the like will be equally robust or just as Spartan, given the predilection of the author. For some, the details of street names, weapon types, and various culinary delights are essential in order to transport the reader in his or her mind to the exact place the author is attempting to describe. For others, the mere mention of words like Paris, a Walther PPK, or roast beef with Yorkshire pudding is enough to trigger the reader’s own imagination and/or his or her memories, conjuring up the requisite images, sensations, tastes, and smells.

Then there are those who like to take the reader for a stroll through the mind of each and every character the author creates, to feel what they’re feeling, experience the pressures life brings to bear, and sense with great amplification the realization and/or dashing of their hopes and fears. Others simply describe outward actions of the protagonists involved, never penetrating beneath the surface in order to keep the action going at full throttle.

All these and more contribute to the fabric of the story and, by definition, identify and differentiate one author from another with great clarity and a certain comfortable predictability. There is a reason why people flock to bookstores following the announcement of their favorite author’s latest release!

You know when you are reading Ruth Rendell when the kettle dark English skies and the verdant gardens of London’s parks close in upon one, when frail English spinsters, deprived of love and afraid to seek it reveal their hearts to us.

In the stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle there is that constant and famous bantering back and forth between Watson and Holmes, going into the most minute detail in order to explain the stunningly acute deductive powers of the great detective.

The latest super sleuth on the international horizon, created by the Norwegian author Jo Nesbo, is a detective with the unlikely name of Harry Hole. He proves to be an incredibly observant and tenacious criminal investigator who suffers massive bouts of depression, fights with his alcoholic demons and other addictions, witnesses his family destroyed, his middle finger chopped off at the hand of a serial killer and still keeps going incredibly well.

Linda Fairstein’s audacious, sometimes naive and eminently pleasant character, Alexandra Cooper, investigates the crimes against and fights for the rights and safety of sexual crime victims. She comes replete with a cast of amicable colleagues who give a feeling of family and camaraderie like few others.

The characters created by Sydney author, Matthew Reilly, such as Scarecrow and Book, have a fierce loyalty one to another, but the emphasis is on non-stop action portrayed in intricate detail. It makes the books sing along!

Each of these authors and countless others have found their groove, their modus operandi, the way that writing works for them. And we are the glad recipients of that very fact every time we pick up one of their books.

Your Assignment today is to examine your own writing style and then identify it using the analogy of a piece of cloth. Knowing the fabric that gives substance to your writing will give you greater focus and new freedom to be who you already are, a great writer!