Two books on my reading list have made me think about plotting to create action. Both books are very good, but only one of them roars like a racecar.
Daniel Silva’s The Heist is a recent contribution to his series about Gabriel Allon, a Mossad agent. The story is mostly action; every few pages there is a development that impacts the story line and makes you want to know more. Not a lot of shoot-‘em-up (although there is a little), and absolutely no sex. It still is a page turner.
As a fan of Victorian novels, I was looking forward to The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins. I had heard of him, of course, but never read any of his work. Although the book was written in 1860, I found his use of language to be more 18th century – more wordy, with frequent protestations of propriety; besides, an important plot factor is the illegitimacy of one of the characters. And befitting the stereotype of English fiction, the pace of the plot is very slow, while the character development is pronounced.
The first third of The Woman In White was slow. Collins laid the strands of a complicated plot – more complicated than I had expected. I’m within 50 pages of the end, and I’m hooked. I anticipated very little of the developments.
When I read Faulkner or James Joyce, I expect to be dazzled by writing far beyond my abilities. Reading Silva and Collins, I am forced to recognize how amateurish my novels are. Perhaps I will get better, if I go back to writing. Maybe I won’t. There are a lot of good writers. There are a lot more writers.
Daniel Silva’s The Heist is a recent contribution to his series about Gabriel Allon, a Mossad agent. The story is mostly action; every few pages there is a development that impacts the story line and makes you want to know more. Not a lot of shoot-‘em-up (although there is a little), and absolutely no sex. It still is a page turner.
As a fan of Victorian novels, I was looking forward to The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins. I had heard of him, of course, but never read any of his work. Although the book was written in 1860, I found his use of language to be more 18th century – more wordy, with frequent protestations of propriety; besides, an important plot factor is the illegitimacy of one of the characters. And befitting the stereotype of English fiction, the pace of the plot is very slow, while the character development is pronounced.
The first third of The Woman In White was slow. Collins laid the strands of a complicated plot – more complicated than I had expected. I’m within 50 pages of the end, and I’m hooked. I anticipated very little of the developments.
When I read Faulkner or James Joyce, I expect to be dazzled by writing far beyond my abilities. Reading Silva and Collins, I am forced to recognize how amateurish my novels are. Perhaps I will get better, if I go back to writing. Maybe I won’t. There are a lot of good writers. There are a lot more writers.