Have You Experimented With This Superb Writing Exercise?

Advice About Writing

I admit it. 

I am a sucker for articles about writing  advice--from the pros, the experienced, the geniuses, the snake oil sales folk, and even the rookies. 

My former partner once announced regarding the myriad professional continuing education programs we regularly attended, both to enhance knowledge and maintain expertise and to fulfill mandatory licensure dictates: If I learn one thing, the seminar is worth it. 

That mimics my sentiment about "how-to" writing pieces. If I acquire a helpful tip, idea, or suggestion, the read is valuable. So, I keep opening…and hoping for illumination. 

Suggestion From a Professional Writer

Drum roll…enter Jay Vaananen. He's an amiable Finnish chap with a multiple-voweled, unpronounceable surname, who occasionally pens articles about writing on other platforms. 

Himself a professional writer for many moons, he knoweth about what he speaketh…and thank god, never sounds like that!  

In an entertaining piece, he ranted about how we're inundated with the same, same, blah, blah writing counsel ad nauseam. Perhaps far too often after a certain period (he was longer than I, based on his real-life scribe and writing coach career).

In a recent article, he proposed an idea I'd never heard of—an exercise using three fiction books collected from the same genre. 

Intrigued by welcome new, refreshing advice and forever the perpetual student interested in ratcheting up skills, I decided to give his 18-minute assignment a go. (As a side note, this dutiful student deserves an "A" for following the instructions to a tee).

The Gist of His Advice

1. Gather up three books, all from one genre of fiction. Place two on one side, one in front of you. Set a timer to three minutes and begin reading from the beginning of the first book. Once the timer rings, put the book aside, set the timer to three minutes again and start with the second book.

2. Return to the first book, open it anywhere, and read again for three minutes. This time, write down in a notebook anything that strikes you in the author's style: paragraph length, use of commas, dialogue, cadence of sentences, etc.

Anything that strikes you, write it down. Then repeat the same exercise for the remaining two books.

It's a good exercise to do from time to time. I recently did this with three book samples I downloaded onto my Kindle.

On the first run, you don’t stop to write anything, you concentrate on just the prose, on the second run you already have some feel for the writer’s style but you now start to think about it in more detail. By writing your observations down you’re likely to remember the main differences between the three authors.

Overall, this exercise makes you more aware of sentence and paragraph structure, use of language and cadence. It also helps you to discover what writing style appeals to you and, perhaps, even gives you new avenues to look at when it comes to your writing.

https://medium.com/@jay-vaananen/oh-no-not-another-bit-of-writing-about-writing-f52dd4fb8360

My Endeavor

An aficionado of actual books in hand over a screened device, I pawed through the remnants of left-behind novels discarded by prior visitors in the makeshift library at my abode. 

I haven't read fiction in twenty+ years; I know…how utterly boooring! However, I resolved in my final quarter of puttering about the planet since there remains far too much to learn, study, and contemplate, I'd stick to non-fiction. Also, I've plowed through gargantuan quantities of mindless, escapist literature (if much of it even falls within such an erudite classification) across prior decades. 

Nevertheless, this exercise sounded intriguing. My selected books were of the thriller/spy/suspense genre. 

As directed, I read in succession: 1) The beginning of each for three minutes, 2) Then returning to random pages for three minutes, and 3) Making written notes and observations.

Initial challenge

Because I was cognizant of the second assignment, reading the first for sheer enjoyment while trying to ignore structure, context, and dialogue set-up was a tad challenging. 

But I muddled through with a modicum of success.  

Disclosure

In days of yore, despite having devoured at least half of Ludlum's published books and a few of the two others' works, I had never read these. 

Novels chosen

Book # 1 by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown: Nighthawk: A Novel From the Numa® Files/A Kurt Austin Adventure. (Big-time authors register their series? New to me)

It appears the big boys, who have been churning out this genre for decades, now use co-authors, no doubt to maximize the number of annual publications.

My notes from the second part of the assignment/three minutes from a random selection:

✔ Readable, with tons of, dialogue. Nothing remarkable there; characters in well-written stories tend to converse. Duh! 

✔ Liberal comma usage. Somewhat similar to my writing style, so naturally, I took a shine to that. Lots of dashes as well-experts often advise against their use.

✔ Numerous lengthy sentences. Gurus frequently advise writing short, short sentences. Because I find terse prose sans sentence length deviation mind-numbing, this, too, was reassuring.

✔ A new paragraph for each quoted statement by a character. I know this is proper formatting, but I may have been guilty of not always doing it in the past. Note to self. 

✔ Less expansive, descriptive prose. A faster read but less captivating. 

Conclusions gleaned: Extensive use of commas, dashes, and longer sentences is acceptable. I was intrigued but less so than the subsequent two; I probably wouldn't read this book.

Book # 2 by Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds: The Altman Code. (Ludlum, too, uses co-authors for some books; back in the day, when I read him, he was a solo act).

The beginning three minutes: it's set in Shanghai, China, an enticing location to me.

Notes from the three-minute random reading:

✔ Each first paragraph of a new chapter was blocked at the left margin with subsequent paragraphs indented. I know from my published books this is a standard publishing format. Note to self to remember to do this on in-progress manuscripts. 

✔ Use of more complex descriptions and adjectives enveloped me a more substantial feel for the locations and environment, a positive note.

✔ Mentioned "Starbucks" in China - yes, the coffee shop, which was amusing. Also referenced an Edward Hopper painting on the wall. Hopper is a favorite artist of mine. I appreciated this detail and realized the impact of enriching the story. 

✔ Short chapters. Each chapter initially identified the location: Shanghai, The Indian Ocean, and The Arabian Sea, which was instructive to follow the plot around the globe.  

✔ Vibrant, concise writing. A masterful, classic example of the "brilliant selection of each word carefully." 

Conclusions: The painstaking description of local color was engaging. I would read this book. 

The chapters in my books are longer. I may rethink this. Does it matter to the reader? 

And the most invaluable takeaway: REMEMBER the critical import of each word, i.e., edit, reread, edit more, polish, shorten, tighten.

Book # 3 by Martin Cruz Smith: Wolves Eat Dogs: Renko Returns. 

Beginning three-minute read: set in Russia. A short sentence immediately hooked me: Moscow and Red Square. Having visited both, vivid memories of my trip flashed across my brain waves. 

Three-minute random reading notes:

✔ Terrific intro of Chapter 7: Chernobyl Ecological Station Three was a run-down garden nursery….Ukranian hip-hop. But over a microscope, Vanko shifted with the beat.

✔ The next paragraph shifted to technical jargon, including italicized scientific names relating to radioactive particles. An excellent segueway from the commonplace vernacular of the prior paragraph to an expert explanation.

✔ Delicious irreverent phrasing: Mother Theresa. Patron Saint of useless works.

✔ Within chapters, style whereby paragraphs that commenced at the margin with subsequent ones indented (similar to a new chapter).

✔ More factual, less descriptive than Ludlum.

Conclusion reached: In addition to finding his style appealing, I was a fan of Soviet Union spy, suspense stories ("The Charm School," and Cruz's own "Gorky Park," anyone?), I would read this also. 

Pondering

What did I learn? 

Hmmm, I may not have fully grasped the direct benefits yet. Indeed, the endeavor guided me to examine details of the writing craft, discerning differences among the authors' styles, preferring two over the third.

As I proceed with my writing, additional instructive nuances might surface. Overall, the exercise was exceedingly (he also recommends bagging excessive "ly" adverbs; sometimes I listen) more valuable than oft-repeated vanilla advice, such as "read, read, read" or "read both good and bad writing!"

Of the three, Ludlum was richer with textured descriptions, details, and expansive background information, and the most evocative. If you are unfamiliar with this genre or these authors, they all sell millions of books. Ergo, they are either, or both, masterful writers and marketers.

Primary Conclusion

The primary conclusion reached is that I am a reader first and foremost. Then, for amusement, I play around with writing.

Two sufficiently tantalized me that I commenced reading Ludlum, post haste, writing bupkis myself, aside from penning this draft before lagging gray matter forgot my observations. I will likely read the Cruz novel, too. So much for my fiction moratorium…but it's "research," right?

Takeaways

1. I'll never be a fabulous writer; that's perfectly fine. I've never aspired to be, but improving my scribbling would be personally rewarding. And, at the end of the day, that's all that matters to me.

2. It's validating to comprehend that each individual has a unique style and to write from it.

3. AI/artificial intelligence -- or the quality I've thus far stumbled across -- can't hold a candle to the real deal (a human being)…at least not of the caliber of Ludlum, Cruz, and Clussler, along with countless other "real writers" I might add.

Beyond the Scope

Invariably, as any seasoned teacher will attest, there is always one recalcitrant student who either ignores the directions or deviates off-topic. 

I did neither intentionally, but I couldn't help noticing this. Despite the initial publication dates of all three books being as far apart as twelve years and all by different publishers, I found the similar cover design and color palette, all in shades of dark blues and grays, fascinating.

Each and every single writing and publishing expert - no exceptions about this one - advises book publishing authors who desire sales that cover design as the most critical element. Use an artist and spend the money on a first-rate cover design if self-publishing. 

With four million books published annually (probably soon to quadruple, given the amount of AI-generated content), it doesn't take a market genius to decipher the monumental importance of an enticing book jacket. And the art departments clearly know the style and colors sold in this genre.

Do you notice anything else of significance? The largest font and focus of the book is the author’s name. When in the league of these chaps, their names sell the books; their devoted readers care little about the title.

Your time is valuable. I'm honored you chose to spend some of it here. Victoria🙏😎

© Victoria Kjos. All Rights Reserved. 2024.