Half the Battle: Part VIII (of 8)
[Note: The following series, Half The Battle, is culled from a long paper I had to write reflecting on my entire experience in Goddard College's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. It focuses on my creative thesis, a novel entitled, Gods of the Hills: An Act of Secession.]
I: Yo Joe!
II: Walking Away Into A Novel
III: Three Times Lost
IV: An Adirondack Chair, a Third Eye, and a Skrinkle Lee
V: A Future without Utopia
VI: Nos Deiciamus In Nihilum
VII: Lost in the Flood
VIII: Now I Know
I began the revision of my book with my eye on the clock. Two weeks had passed since I’d received Rebecca’s and John’s letters, and I still wasn’t sure how to go about making the changes they’d suggested. Despite all my original intentions to write a book devoid of structure, I found myself wanting to thread a central narrative through the disjointed sections of the book, a story that would take my reader through the various stages of Joseph Campbell’s heroic journey, which I had studied early in my first semester. I looked to Campbell because, if was to write a story, then I would first have to write the story.
Another week passed, and I vacillated between my original vision and the re-vision brought on by John’s response. To get my mind off the decision, I worked on the various items I needed to accomplish in the second and third packets of the final semester, but that only pushed the clock closer and closer to my deadline, until finally, the clock made my decision for me: even if I still wanted to thread a central narrative through the heart of my book, I now wouldn’t have the time to get it done.
After a long conversation with my wife about what I should do, I decided to make eight changes that would go a long way towards improving the book. They wouldn’t alter the basic non-structure of the book, but I hoped they would ease my readers’ frustrations, and in the process, help them appreciate the experience of being in the non-structurelessness of the book. In short, my strategy for the rewrite was to show the reader why the absence of a central story was a good thing.
The book that came out of these changes is the best this book could possibly be. It speaks to my artistic aims and contain only those compromises I am willing to make with this book.
But now Gods of the Hills: An Act of Secession going in a drawer. And for the next several months, I’m going to write a number of short stories intended to develop and hone my ability to write the kinds of stories that Aristotle would diagram with glee, classic stories with a central character, rising action, a climax, and a conclusion. Once I’ve developed that ability, I’m going to sit back down with Gods of the Hills and decide what (if anything) needs to be done.
If I still feel as if its needs a central narrative to carry the reader from the first page to the last, then I’ll let go of all my stubbornness and approach the revision with all the energy and verve that sparked my original vision. If I don’t, then it’ll be time to see what’s next.
Now you know.