Quantum Storytelling

No, not writer’s block… Lawrence Block — and his pal Donald Westlake. Digging into some pulp that I’ve missed out on. Here’s the summary:

• 361 by Donald Westlake

  Ray Kelly gets out of the airforce and arrives back in NYC to meet his father, only to witness his father’s murder and consequently suffer a horrible car accident in which he loses an eye. It’s your basic revenge story, but a good one at that. 361 ended up being my ideal format example for fiction. At 207 pages, 361 made for a breezy read embellished by the fact that chapters were no more than a few pages each, and something happens on every page. The inciting incident the murder of the hero Ray Kelly’s father which happens by about page eight, and the story is in full gear by page twenty, with a major twist around page one hundred. 361 is a great example of getting to the heart of the story right away — something all writers could bear to study.

• Money for Nothing by Donald Westlake

  Josh Redmont starts receiving $1,000 a month from an unknown source. Seven years later, someone approaches him and tells him that he is now ‘active.’ Josh gets wrapped in a hairy conspiracy and has to find his way out. At 336 pages, Money for Nothing is a bit longer than 361. The extra page padding makes for more loose storytelling than 361, but the plot is still no laggard and if Westlake doesn’t manage to keep the philosophy of “Something happens on every page,” then at least it’s “Something happens in every chapter.”

• The Sins of the Fathers by Lawrence Block

  A prostitute is found dead and her stepfather hires Matthew Scudder to find out more about the estranged step-daughter. Things are complicated by the suicide of her supposed killer. As Scudder learns more about the estranged daughter-become-prostitute, he gets closer to solving the crime itself even though it’s not what he was paid to do. This is the first novel in Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder series. It was a very solid mystery. There seems to be a lot less action than in Westlake’s novels, but half the fun is following Scudder around in his quest to find things out for his clients. Another example of blissful brevity. At 180 pages (my version), you can read The Sins of the Father in a single night.

• In the Midst of Death by Lawrence Block
  
  A cop testifying on police corruption is framed for murder and Scudder must clear his name. Along the way he discovers leads which bring him to the real killer. Another short and delicious book. Not quite as good as The Sins of the Father, for the mystery is a bit more muddled and the ending lacks some resolution. But I guess this series is more about Matthew Scudder’s alchoholic journey through the seedy underbelly of New York City.

With exception of Money for Nothing, these represent both Westlake’s and Block’s earlier novels. Their later novels appear to be a lot longer. I wonder what happened? While longer might equal better from the perspective of the publisher, to me it represents bloat and excess.

Have you read any great short novels or novellas lately?

Define a viewpoint. Throughout the story I’m currently writing, my hero’s arc, transformation, or ‘inner journey’ is to realize that things are not always perfect, or easy, and they probably never will be. Life is the process of surviving adversity. Sure, life is ‘unfair’ and the world conspires against you, but in the end you either fight to survive, you fight for your rights, your sanity, your freedom–whichever battle you choose, but you must fight.

My hero encounters both a mentor and a mentee. The mentor is of course, older and wiser, and although my hero is slowly realizing that life is simply unfair and he must fight, the mentor is there to teach him that picking your battles is very important. In other words, where my hero realizes that he simply must fight, the mentor can teach a simple fact; How you fight your battles is often just as important as choosing to fight them in the first place.

At the same time, there is a very young and naive character to which my hero plays the mentor. This young character is stuck at a naive stage many of us have been through. It’s the stage where everything is somebody else’s fault, and the world should bend over backwards to satisfy a single individual. It is the naive bitter bus, maladaptive viewpoint. The self-defeating, helpless hand-wringing impatience of youth.

While other writers might define their characters by the character’s habits, quirks, and obsessive personality traits, I’m choosing to define my characters by the purpose their viewpoint brings to the story. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot of work to do in defining those odd quirks, and unique individualisms.

But so far the easiest way I’ve found to create a character who actually means something, is to give their perspective relevance and symbolism within the overall themes of the story. Perhaps this may seem a bit obvious, and so I must ask; What tricks do you use in developing characters?

Forgive me if this is a little late, as I wasn’t aware. The economist Milton Friedman died last Thursday November 16th at the ripe old age of 94. The bulk of his work in economics and political dialogue was cemented before I was even born. I came across his theories a few years back when I was studying economics as they pertain to logic, truth, and freedom.

Never was there a more rational voice for limiting the role of government, especially in what seems a neverending age where the American and worldwide public seem to crave more and more intrusion from government into their daily lives.

I fear what the world may become without the voices of men like Milton Friedman. I can only hope with his passing that he might grow in fame or even infamy. It is up to the rest of us to carry the torch.

Rest in peace, Milt.