HTRYN Week 9

The news is that our set reading between now and Lesson 12 is A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. A great choice, since Lesson 12 is about strengthening your characters, and Martin's characters are nothing if not strong.

The spooky part is, I bought this book back in October, though I didn't get around to reading it until recently because of Real Life getting in the way. However I'm now about a third of the way through - and loving it!

Lesson 9 was an introduction to Manuscript Surgery, and the assignment was to identify the vital elements of the story so that we don't inadvertently cut out the "healthy" bits. The only bit I had trouble with was the "What do you want your reader to take away from the book when he or she finishes it?" sheet. The demo example makes it clear that Holly approaches it in terms of specific issues and conclusions that she wants the reader to share in - and personally I'm a bit uncomfortable with that. I don't feel qualified to tell the reader what to think, only to describe the human condition as I see it and let them draw their own conclusions. For me, writing is about entertainment first and foremost - if the reader takes anything else away, that's a bonus.

Hence, when it comes to social and political issues I try to avoid anything that resembles a soapbox. It is inevitable, if I am writing from the heart, that my own attitudes and opinions will colour my work. The Raven in the Tower is largely about bigotry, and of course I hope that the reader will share my feelings that this is A Bad Thing, but I did not set out to write a book on that theme.

I appreciate that the writer needs to know what mood she wants the reader to take away - should he feel uplifted by the characters' triumph over adversity, or resigned to the arbitrary whims of fate, for example. That is something that the writer has to have control over, or the impact of the book will be diluted. But that is very different from what was presented in this lesson.