Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes on William Cane's "Write Like the Masters"

Chapter 4 - FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

Dostoevsky’s writing style:
• Penetrates the minds of his characters in the midst of turmoil and strong feelings
• Swift and innovative transitions
• Likeable voice – self-deprecating
• Memorable characters

- Immerses readers in a vividly imagined world in which Humiliation and Shame are sole proprietors, a world in which characters become disorganized because of their overwhelming emotions.

- Dostoevsky shifts from mind to mind in a carefully calculated manner.

• First, penetrate the mind of one of the characters in the midst of turmoil and strong feelings.

• Then switch focus to the next character when she is at the height of her passion, when she is beside herself with emotion, rather than when she is thinking ordinary placid thoughts. Dostoevsky alternates between her thoughts and feelings and her actions to keep readers interested.

Example from "Crime and Punishment": Raskolnikov has just confessed to his girlfriend that he is the one who killed Lizaveta. "As soon as he said it...he...remembered clearly Lizaveta's expression as he approached her with the ax and she backed away from him toward the wall with her arm raised in front of her and a completely childlike fear in her face." ... "Sonia looked at him quickly. After the first passionate and agonized feeling of sympathy for the unfortunate man, the terrifying idea of the murder once again stunned her. In the altered tone of his words she suddenly heard the murderer. She looked at him with astonishment. She did not know why or how or for what it had been done." (p. 38-39)

- When employing a first person narrator, Dostoevsky often has them admit their sicknesses, frailties and weaknesses to give readers the chance to put together all the pieces and find a method in the character’s madness.

- His voice is more like regular speech than edited prose.

- His characters make stunning (and usually poor) decisions. Exaggeration is key: Once you think of an action, stop and ponder whether you can up the ante by making it even more bizarre.

- The descriptive passages are loaded with emotional overtones and connotations. Dostoevsky describes Dmitry's physical appearance in "Notes From Underground" in a manner that hints there are layers that need peeling: “He was muscular, and by all appearances, physically very strong; nevertheless, there was something sickly about his face. For all the resolute intensity of his protruding, rather large dark eyes, there was a certain indecision in them.” (p. 44)

-When you write a violent scene, repeat it in the mind of your characters for the added effect.

Herman Melville - Notes on William Cane's "Write Like the Masters"

Chapter 3 - HERMAN MELVILLE

Melville’s writing style:
• Full of meaning, symbolism and emotion
• Rolling meter and alliteration
• Sometimes accused of overindulging in hyperboles and exaggerated characters

- Melville used four literary devices to characterize:
Complexity - Create characters with conflicting qualities (ie: refer to Alanis Morissette's song, "Hand in my Pocket")

Unreliability – Other characters speculate about the character

Selection – Melville only reveals a few main traits (ie: madness)

Mystery – Keep certain facts unknown about the character

- A conversation between two characters about the main character makes the main character more mysterious and unreliable.

- Don’t make your hero too perfect; allow him or her imperfections and foibles, so readers can see a reflection of themselves in him or her.

- Have characters wonder about the other characters, about their motives, their actions, their goals.

- Select two or three traits to focus on when creating main characters.

Charles Dickens - Notes on William Cane's "Write Like the Masters"

Chapter 2 - CHARLES DICKENS

Dickens’ writing characteristics:
• A cast of characters startling in their variety and engaging in their many permutations of human behavior
• Musical diction
• Dickens was first and foremost a caricaturist, always on the lookout for ways to embellish a portrait

“Make them laugh,
make them cry,
make them wait.”

-Charles Dickens

- His character descriptions are lengthy, so if imitating his intricate character description, abbreviate the length to keep the attention of today’s audience.

- Keep some conflict below the surface: Choose an aspect of the story that can be concealed from the reader, then play the part of the omniscient writer and reveal only as much as necessary.

- Dickens was a master of humor – satire, puns, wordplay and a curious method of characterizing that poked fun at his own creations. Exaggerate your characters a bit and use a satirical voice.

- To create emotion, you must feel emotion. Dig into your own experiences. (Easier said than done.)

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." -Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

Honoré de Balzac - Notes on William Cane's "Write Like the Masters"

I became an author at age three. Nearly every day I would sit at my plastic orange and yellow Fisher Price table with a box of broken crayons and computer paper, draw masterpiece after masterpiece, staple my stack, and then "read" my story to my parents. By age five I began incorporating words. My first titled book was, "This is the Story All About the Day the Bank Was Robbed."

When my mom realized I had a knack for writing but my reading skills lagged, she told me if I want to become a better writer, I must become a better reader. She used to reward me (bribe me?) with trips to the local dollar store when I would finish chapter books without help. My mom was the first of many teachers and mentors to encourage me to become a student of the art of writing so I can understand and perfect my own storytelling abilities.

Today, besides reading for enlightenment, escape or enjoyment, I pour over literature to learn what and how things flow, excite, flabbergast, fizzle, rile and curdle blood. I picked up a couple books this fall when I became more serious about making writing part of my everyday routine, one of them being, "Write Like the Masters: Emulating the best of Hemingway, Faulkner, Salinger, and Others," by William Cane. I'm compiling a personalized summary of each chapter not only to help me remember the writing characteristics of the greats, but also as a reference of the styles and tips I may want to experiment with in the future.

In the following several posts I will share my notes on Cane's studies.

Chapter 1 - HONORÉ DE BALZAC

Balzac’s writing characteristics:
• Realistic people
• Intricate plots
• Romance galore
• Clumsy ornate prose (but, forgivable because of the previous three)

- Include emotional tags, little references to the feelings of his characters, to add power to your writing. Emotional tags are unnecessary during everyday occurrences in your story. However, emotional tags are when the pace accelerates, when characters react with pivotal emotions such as anger, pride, hubris, longing, love, envy or hatred.

Example from "Père Goriot": “His bitter thoughts were dispersed by the pleasure that he looked forward to in dining at the viscountess’s.” (p. 9)

- Create the potential for change in your protagonist, even if only a subtle change.