Shalla Finishes 2ND Round of Editing--Yeay!!! SHALLA ON: John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Carver

CONGRATS SHALLA!!!

Now for the 3rd Round :)

It's interesting how in the 2nd, I ended up reading the whole manuscript, checking for inconsistensies and making sure the chronology works.

So, for this 3rd Round, time to rev up the emotion. Ie. make dramatic scenes and expositions resonate clearly, punch them up.

I'm consulting the greats: John Steinbeck and his short story, The Chrysanthemums.

In The Short Story and Its Writer, Ann Charters recommends to truly understand the story, read it at least twice. First time, for the enjoyment of it/”pleasure” and second time to understand how the author “invents and shapes the narrative by using the elements of fiction.” (eg. Plot, Character, Setting, Point of View, Style, Tone and Languate, Theme, Symbolism, Allegory and Image, etc.)

Okay, so, here’s my very short critical analysis of The Chrysanthemums as figured at 2 in the morning:

Reminds me of Bridges of Madison County and the housewife whose life revolves around the same old-same old. Then a stranger comes along, symbolizing something new and ignites her hope and dreams for a different life. She remembers who she is, her youth. “She tore off the battered hat and shook out her dark pretty hair.”

But, crisis! The man threw away her gift “the chrysanthemum” and she returns to her old life of same old-same old. “She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly –like an old woman.”

Next I’m working with Ernest Hemingway on A Clean, Well Lighted Place.

Dear Mr. Hemingway, please tell me how you balance exposition and scene. Why are your expositions so short? Sometimes only 5 lines. And your scenes, hardly any speaker attribution…

Then, Raymond Carver and his Cathedral.

Dear Mr. Carver, why so much exposition? Why are your scenes so much shorter in contrast?

How do you balance your story? Would the rhythm be okay? And so far (I’ve only read a quarter of the story) I’m wondering how you use symbolism. How often do you like them repeated? Is this purely for emphasis or something else?

Thanks, dear Great, Award Winning, Wonderful, Super Creative authors!

Lots of Love from me, Shalla de Guzman, and my works :)