tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046067346902619614.post696449061160580988..comments2024-03-27T12:47:38.949+00:00Comments on Middle Grade Strikes Back: The Book Dissection - slicing it up so you don't have to.BookZonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03218467691812670770noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046067346902619614.post-83404606759560780712015-04-08T23:00:37.384+01:002015-04-08T23:00:37.384+01:00Fabulous. This happens in poetry, too - sometimes ...Fabulous. This happens in poetry, too - sometimes the mechanics and devices seem to spring unbidden, and the words, too - but often the subject has been thought about in the preceding days, the subconscious has been refining it, and the devices are on the shelves of the mind to be taken out and used automatically where appropriate. Liz Brownleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00391982640958944942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046067346902619614.post-12865321117155332282015-04-08T14:39:32.686+01:002015-04-08T14:39:32.686+01:00I am printing this out! Brilliant stuff, thank you...I am printing this out! Brilliant stuff, thank you.Kathryn Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16439670363289229014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046067346902619614.post-25923707300621626582015-04-08T10:01:24.489+01:002015-04-08T10:01:24.489+01:00Thanks, Tracy, it's a book I love beyond healt...Thanks, Tracy, it's a book I love beyond healthiness!<br /><br />Clare, you're right, of course. Eng Lit scholars can find so many meanings in text that would shock the writer! But I think that to a certain extent the mechanics of writing are deliberate. This passage would be very different if it were written in third person, or past tense, for example. For me, there's a blend of conscious and unconscious choice at play. A writer will often say 'it just felt right'. I just had a message on Twitter asking if I thought this meant writers are geniuses. I don't think I do. For me, the act of reading attentively, of noticing the manipulation of language will feed into ones own writing. I likened it to picking up a regional accent after spending time in a new city. Reading improves writing, in my opinion.Elen Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00445201005486291612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046067346902619614.post-36524574472415191692015-04-08T08:33:03.784+01:002015-04-08T08:33:03.784+01:00Excellent post, Elen. This is just the kind of ins...Excellent post, Elen. This is just the kind of inspiration I needed this morning. It is the perfect opening, isn't it? Thank you!Tracy Hagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13170684897491637945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1046067346902619614.post-17148210306269920792015-04-08T08:32:07.294+01:002015-04-08T08:32:07.294+01:00Great post. I love dissecting prose/poetry/literat...Great post. I love dissecting prose/poetry/literature, but also like that you qualified the post with a 'to those who have a work in progress'. I often find that writers are surprised by some of the analysis of their text - they say they just wrote what was in their head - so often the subconscious rules. See also the article in the Guardian today about Mark Haddon and writing from the subconscious. Didn't know you were a scholar too. How wonderful. Clare Zinkinhttp://minervareads.comnoreply@blogger.com