Like an old-time movie

A friend who recently read my novel, A FALSE DAWN, told me it reminded her of a “black and white movie, not in content but in feeling.” I thought that was a wonderful comment on my book because that’s the feeling I was trying to get across: a story that’s simple and obvious.

Sometimes, “simple and obvious” are not good qualities. I just read Geraldine Brooks’ MARCH, which is both complex and subtle. It’s the kind of book I will hold on my shelves and read again because I admire those qualities so much in a novel.

I too wanted to write a novel that readers would want to read more than once. That, to me, separates a mere story from real literature. But I have to accept the fact that A FALSE DAWN is not that kind of novel. I’m not ready to write a book like MARCH.

Perhaps someday I’ll want to write the way Brooks does; I would love to write a book that is subtle and complex, a book that readers would want to read a second time. But for now, I like my books just the way they are.

By saying I like my story telling to be simple and obvious, I don’t mean to talk down to my readers. But I like to present my ideas in simple wording and dramatic situations, much like what you see in old-time movies. I like that mock-solemn and direct style of telling a story.

In my sequel, SUNRISING, I’m trying to add more depth of character and a stronger tense of place and time into the story. Wherever I’m going with my storytelling, I’m going to take my time in getting there.