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“Writing is a difficult trade which must be learned slowly by reading great authors; by trying at the outset to imitate them; by daring then to be original; by destroying one's first productions.”
Andre Maurois
Never hesitate to imitate another writer. Imitation is part of the creative process for anyone learning an art or craft…. Find the best writers in the fields that interest you and read their work aloud.
William Zinsser, On Writing Well, p. 238.
“Be one of the people on whom nothing is lost.”
Henry James
Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.
Goethe
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. This issue is about the influence of the dramatic works of writers on other writers.
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Welcome to the Drama Newsletter
Have you ever read a book, watched a movie, or saw a stage play and then found yourself so mesmerized by it or by some part of it that when you sat down to write your own story that book, movie, or play overpowered your thinking?
This happens to a great number of writers because, to start with, good writers are also the most devout readers. The dramatic influence of others’ work on authors is so common in the written texts that adjectives like Kafkaesque, Joycean, or Borgesian have entered our lexicon.
Edgar Allen Poe’s influence is still apparent on our day after inspiring many noted authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, and Joseph Conrad. Shakespeare’s influence, too, on a large number of writers is especially noted, during the centuries following his time. Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, and Herman Melville were all influenced by Shakespeare, although their works did stand on their own.
Now, how is this possible?
It is possible because these writers did not imitate Shakespeare as if they were copying his work, word by word. They let themselves be taken into Shakespeare’s atmosphere but stayed true to their own internal make-up as writers.
If we look at Moby-Dick, we see that Captain Ahab is a man who is brought down by his faults, just like the great many Shakespearean characters. It is said, Melville was reading Shakespeare during the time he set out to write Moby Dick. He was so impressed by what he read that he could not help himself but write like Shakespeare, not word by word like him, but by imitating the mood of him. As such, critics find many parallels between King Lear and Captain Ahab even though the two characters move in totally different settings and circumstances.
As an aside, speaking of Moby Dick, In Melville’s lifetime, Moby Dick sold only twelve copies. If there are those among us with books that do not sell, take heart.
I read The Keys of the Kingdom by A. J. Cronin when I was in my teens. The story and especially the main character so impressed me that I looked for pieces of him in all the men of the cloth. Over the years, however, the influence and even the name of that book folded away inside some dark cavern of my mind. Then several years ago, I wrote a story with a priest and totally different secondary characters in a different setting with a different storyline. When I reread the story for editing, the priest seemed vaguely familiar. Suddenly, I caught on. My priest was the priest in The Keys of the Kingdom.
If you really love a character you read in a book who won’t let you go unless you write of him, don’t fight that urge in the name of originality because that character will show up somewhere, somehow, and without you noticing it. Better put in your writing what influences you, be it a character, setting, or some other element of fiction, but make it your own. Add to it from yourself. If it is a character, give him additional traits; if it is a setting, use a different setting with the mood of the setting that influenced you, or use the same setting but give it something of yourself.
If you resist the urge, what you resist will show up sometime without you detecting it. Better use it knowingly, making the object of your admiration your own, and get that urge thing out of your system.
Have a happy and productive 2010!
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Here are a few examples of author influence among WdC writers. Enjoy!
Influenced by Herman Hesse:
"His songs were bright, and had the ability to cheer up even the lowest of people."
Hesse again
"I watch you from below, scrubbing the decks, reading
the compass, measuring the strength of the wind."
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#777241 by Not Available. |
A poem inspired by a movie
"Back then I was a rugged and handsome man"
Shakespeare can't match this one.
"Tonight, Henry’s homely daughter, Henrietta, is playing the part of Juliet, and Bubba Johnson’s half-wit son, Roy, will play Romeo."
After the movie, Dracula
"Hidden in darkness, it stalks...
Depraved, starving in its eternity."
After Frank O'Hara
"On Newbury Street, during high tide/ of hipsters, 11:01am, when Urban Outfitters/ opens–the girl with olive tights..."
After Shakespeare
"I felt like a lost puppy, clinging on to the first kind person I laid eyes on. I called him my Romeo, and I was his Juliet."
| |  | My Romeo (13+)
Sometimes, you can't help falling in love with the wrong person. Shakespeare-inspired.
#1399205 by Graffiti  |
Influenced by Poe and Lovecraft
"My mind plays the most horrible tricks on me." she began in a low unsure voice."
| | | Spellbound (18+)
A woman with an accursed surname reveals a horrible truth. Lovecraft/Poe influenced
#1140844 by Savion |
Another piece after Poe
"I could see the dark scarlet lights that drew me toward my final destination."
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1167056 by Not Available. |
After Poe again
"My bare feet, reddened and numb, froze with every step on the stone floor. Cautiously, I made my way down barren halls and empty chambers, down through the kitchen doorway to the Cat-a-Combs."
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Your Drama Newsletter Editors: SantaBee  esprit Adriana Noir Joy
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
This Issue’s Tip:
 Gesturing (cracking knuckles, fiddling with knives, blinking when nervous etc.) is like dialogue; if specific and dramatic, it explains the character and the situation. It also connects the character to the other characters and to the reader. Look inside your text for gestures. If they are lacking, consider adding them. 
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esprit
Good job, Joy, of reminding that a story is filled with conflict, both minor and major. The ebb and flow of this tension is what keeps the readers from becoming bored too.
Thanks, Esprit. 
Yes, conflict of all sizes and colors is something we can't do without. We need to hold on to the readers' attention at all times.
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SantaBee
Joy, I love your ideas for revitalizing your middles. It's easy to lose the pace in the middle, and I loved your ideas on how to keep the story flowing during that time.
Thanks, Steph.
Especially in longer pieces, we stumble in the middle part. "And then what?" becomes the question. 
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sarahreed
Thanks for featuring my NaNo novel! My main goal this year is to revise it because I know it has a lot of weak points, like the middle. lol. That certainly is the toughest part. I felt good about how to start my novel and I knew how I wanted it to end, but getting from point A to C was a very rocky B.
Yes, I know what you mean, Silva Shado. Especially when we write in a time crunch, as in NaNo, we need to apply a few tricks to our writing.
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Drama: January 13, 2010 Issue [#3490]
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