Balancing Concrete

[Anchoring the Metaphoric with the Physical: source]

 I've been blogging about how to make your writing more literary. Not all literature is more concrete more than it is otherwise. Often, the concrete, what's really happening in your story vs what may be happening in a character's head or in the metaphoric world, is secondary. It's frequently a very good thing for many concrete things to symbolize something in the metaphoric or internal world. But when it's all internal with nothing concrete to anchor it, your reader can get lost, bored, or frustrated. Most things internal should be tied to something concrete and vice versa. 

[The Mind Alone: source]

I recently started reading two books back to back. One just stayed in a character's head with nothing to tie it to the real world around him. It was just his thoughts, and he was not interesting or unique. Why would I care? Answer: I didn't. I've read books like this, and it feels more like data dumping than a story with meaning and symbolism. We're just floating in a world with few or no ties to the world around that character. I couldn't get past about page four of this book that was just about a boring character's endless ruminations that failed to make me care. 

[Triggering the Imagination: source]

The other book had plenty of metaphoric language and mental meandering. But it all first started with something in the world around the main characters or something the character was doing. We got setting and characters actually doing something, making choices and engaging with the environment. The figurative language included concrete images and metaphors that enlightened what was going on. And those metaphors were so fresh and witty that I have since read several of the same author's books. By starting with the concrete realities of the character, the author triggered my imagination. I wish I could bottle those concrete and clever turns of phrase that kept me in the moment. 

[Hamlet: source]

It's important to balance the concrete and the metaphoric in order to engage the reader. Both are needed. Imagine Hamlet's speech on words if it stood alone without the events around it. His speech becomes more meaningful because of the events of the story. Without his speeches, the actions could easily become meaningless. If the real and concrete world is just what we're reading, only events and actions without any deeper level, that can get dull. 

[Finding Balance: source]

One needs to balance the concrete with the metaphoric, mental, and emotional. Create the anchor in the concrete world, so the non-concrete can have something real to make it meaningful. But also, give the concrete meaning beyond just events, location, and characters. It's not enough for stuff to happen. That stuff should give a meaning on which to reflect. Look through the events of your story. Is there a way to make concrete events in the story more meaningful and symbolic? Is there a way to anchor speeches, thoughts, and ideas with something in the physical world? 

Poetic Word Choice

[source]

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion.  The difference between a good piece of writing  and a truly polished piece of writing is careful attention to the individual words.  This is not something to worry about the first draft or even the second.  This is what you worry about when you're on your final or almost final draft, when you've done everything else you can think to do.  Consider each word, each connotation, the rhythm and rhyme of each poem and polish it some more. 

  [source]    

One thing to consider is sounds.  Consider whether assonance (similar vowel sounds often at the beginning of a word) or alliteration (same thing but with consonants) can help.  In other words, are there places where the same consonant or vowel slipped into multiple places in a sentence helps its unity of sound?  Take note of the alliteration in the last sentence.  A lot of poets use this technique, especially with children's poetry.  Children often like rhythm and rhyme in their stories, and similar sounds like this are a sort of rhyme.  I'd caution that too much of this can make a line seem cheesy, especially in adult pieces.  But a little can create unity and poetic beauty without the overuse of obvious rhyme, adverbs, or adjectives. 

[source]

Another thing to consider is poetic use of imagery.  Prose will often speak in a straightforward fashion, sometimes using adverbs or adjectives.  To turn the language into something more poetic is to use metaphors, similes, and word plays.  We can say, "She went into the room," and it gets the job done.  We can even say, "She swept into the large chamber," and we get a better visual with a stronger verb and an occasional adjective (as long as we don't get overly purple or ornate to the point that no action happens).  But if "She twirled like a dancer in her first ballet into her new bedchamber," the simile achieves several things at once, including showing insights into her character, giving the reader a powerful visual, and setting the stage just a little better.  If your first draft looks like the first example, your second looks like the second example, and your third looks like the third example, you're moving in the right direction. If possible, consider using rhythm, emphasizing certain syllables as in a song or Shakespeare. 

[source]

Another thing to consider is tight language.  Every word should have power and do several things at once when possible.  Every verb should be potent, the adverbs minimal, and the adjectives creative and fresh.  Beware of overwriting such as "She rode her old horse into the middle part of the central region of her favorite town in the world and searched the surrounding roads for the man she was targeting."  This is bland and wordy.  You can say the very same thing with "She clopped Rosie, her second-hand nag, through her favorite town to Main to hunt her target."  Seek and destroy words that aren't necessary and search for more powerful/descriptive versions of what remains. Any repetition that remains should be intentional language play that adds to the meaning rather than increasing verbal clutter. 

There is much more to poetry.  Turning prose more poetic can enhance the beauty of your writing and make it more literary in so many meaningful ways.