Simply the 'best'

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Opening lines of books often can make or break them, and one of the most famous of all times, despite its “run-on” nature, is the opening by Charles Dickens’ to A Tale of Two Cities.  It not only introduces what would become one of the 100 greatest books of all time but also the universal nature of the book, the French Revolution, and the drama depicted within its pages. 

 

Dickens, the most popular novelist of his time, remains one of the best known and most read. His works have never gone out of print and have been adapted continually for the screen since the invention of cinema, with at least 200 motion pictures and TV adaptations so far.  Many of his works also were adapted for the stage, the most famous being the beloved A Christmas Carol.

 

What made him (and still makes him) one of the best novelists was his creation of memorable characters, many of which took on lives of their own or became part of our vernacular outside of his books.  Think “Scrooge,” for example.  His biographer Claire Tomalin regards him as the greatest creator of character in English fiction after only William Shakespeare.  He captured the imagery of his era and gave the world a view of Victorian England that remains as vivid today as it was in its own time.

 

Charles Dickens – born Feb. 7, 1812

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Fuel for success

“I believed in the concept of ‘over-performing.’  I believe anyone can achieve their goals in life if they over-perform, and that means you have to work ten times harder than anybody you see.” 

– Stephen J. Cannell

Stephen Cannell was one of television’s most successful writers and producers who ultimately also became one of the country’s best mystery writers before his death in 2010.   Born in the shadow of the Hollywood hills, he grew up in Pasadena, struggled with his education because he was dyslexic, and ultimately learned to do “great dictation,” which led to his scripting more than 450 shows and producing the 1,500 separate episodes of some 40 television series – mostly crime dramas – that he created.  Among his biggest successes were The Rockford Files, 21 Jump Street and The Commish.

Tired of producing, he shifted over to writing mysteries in 1996 and released his first best-selling novel, The Plan, which was followed by four more stand-alone novels. In late 2000, Stephen introduced Shane Scully, a street-wise LAPD detective who followed his instincts and played by his own rules to catch criminals. The character was such a success that Stephen wrote nine more best-selling Shane Scully novels. 

Stephen J. Cannell

Also an occasional actor, Cannell participated in several wonderful “art imitating life” segments on the show Castle, appearing as himself in poker games with the fictional Richard Castle and other real life mystery writers James Patterson and Michael Connelly.  Once, Castle’s detective partner Kate Beckett joined them and “won” their poker showdown, much to the writers’ dismay.

Cannell spoke often about his writing successes being fueled by the support of others.  “Having a support system is huge for writers,” he said.  “My parents were always encouraging and told me they were behind me, whether or not I made it.  And my wife (his high school sweetheart Marcia) was always there for me –  through successeses and failures.”   They had been married 46 years at the time of his death.

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Story Everlasting

I remember when I first heard Tuck Everlasting, and it wasn’t as a kid (I’m too old).  It was, however, with my own children when they were kids.  We were on our way, driving, from Minnesota to New England and our oldest, Kari, was about 10 – the age of Winnie Foster, the protagonist in this marvelous book.  Daughter Becky was about 6.  But we all were mesmerized by the story, being read to us by my wife Susan to help wile away the long miles.

It turned into one of the fastest driving trips ever as we were all so caught up in the story and actually looked forward to the drive so we could continue to listen to the book – although I’m not remembering how well Susan’s voice held up (must’ve been okay).  Tuck is a fantasy children’s novel by Natalie Babbitt and this year marks 40 years since it was published. It explores the concept of immotality and the reasons why it might not be as desirable as it first appears to be. It has sold over two million copies and has been called a classic of modern children's literature.

Adapted as a Broadway musical, twice as a movie, and three times on audio books, it has earned a lasting reputation as one of the all-time best 100 books for children, and for its numerous awards.  One of the more interesting awards is for the chapter in the book where the Tuck father Angus explains to 10-year-old Winnie why eternal life is not all it’s cracked up to be and why she would be better off following the more traditional “cycles of life.”

 

Natalie Babbitt

NPR’s “All Things Considered” program recently featured Babbitt, now 82, talking about both the long-standing success of her book and that particular chapter.   She reads a portion of it and makes comments.  Here’s a link.  http://www.npr.org/2015/01/29/382383351/the-gift-of-eternal-shelf-life-tuck-everlasting-turns-40

While neither the author nor any of us will live forever, Babbitt’s writing most certainly will.  It’s the hope of all who take pen in hand and put down an idea for others to share.

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Harper and Truman

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

 – Harper Lee

Everybody’s writing or talking about Harper Lee today, so I might as well join the ranks.  If you ever want to talk about the epitome of one-time hit wonders – whether it be books or music – To Kill A Mockingbird certainly has to be near the top of the list.  And, of course to call it a “hit” would be the understatement of the century.  The book has sold nearly 40 million copies, been made into an Academy Award-winning movie, and been the focus of high school and college English courses for 50 years.

So, like everyone else I’m anxiously awaiting the publication of the book’s sequel, Go Set A Watchman, which interestingly was written first, but sat in a desk drawer for 60 years before seeing the light of day, and now publication.

I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that Lee and her childhood best pal Truman Capote both became huge figures in the literary world and both played significant roles in the success of the other.  For Lee, of course, it was putting Capote into Mockingbird as Scout’s friend Dill.  For Capote it was having Lee as the role model for a key character in his first novel Other Voices, Other Rooms, which earned him both the reputation as a gifted writer and also led to the book contract that resulted in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, another smash-hit book AND movie.

 

Harper Lee & Truman Capote around 1955

After completing To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee accompanied Capote to Holcomb, KS, to assist him in researching what they thought would be an article on a small town's response to the murder of a farmer and his family. The pair traveled there off-and-on for four years and Capote expanded the material into his best-selling book, In Cold Blood.  The interviewing and transcription techniques utilized by Capote and Lee after each of his conversations with the killers has been the subject of many journalistic studies on how to effectively conduct an interview without ever taking notes – a technique where the reporting is answers, "reported" from the reporter's memory,  and observations about how those answers were made. 

“Reporting” is brought to life from what happened in the moment.  A good style term for Lee’s amazing first book, and – I’m sure we all hope – for her upcoming second one as well.

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Thoughts into words

Discouragement can be the biggest enemy of any writer and often I am confronted by someone who says “I’d like to try writing a novel, but all I have is this idea, or a couple words or sentences, and I don’t think I can move forward from there.”

That happened again this past week when an earlier novel that I wrote, Killer Blizzard, was re-issued by Amazon’s Kindle Books.  People were congratulatory and then some of them somewhat remorseful as they shared that they too had ideas to write but didn’t think it could be taken beyond more than a statement or a short story at best.

But, of course, that’s how all books begin.  So, don’t be discouraged, but instead be heartened by the fact that you have the idea; the concept; the seed that has the opportunity to grow as you start to put the words into print.  Remember, every piece of writing didn’t begin until that process occurred.  I’ve always liked this statement by Mark Twain and had it on my desk when I first sat down at my old portable typewriter and began writing what turned into Killer Blizzard.

“A man who is not born with the novel-writing gift has a troublesome time of it when he tries to build a novel. I know this from experience. He has no clear idea of his story; in fact he has no story. He merely has some people in his mind, and an incident or two, also a locality, and he trusts he can plunge those people into those incidents with interesting results. So he goes to work. To write a novel?  No – that is a thought which comes later; in the beginning he is only proposing to tell a little tale, a very little tale, a six-page tale. But as it is a tale which he is not acquainted with, and can only find out what it is by listening as it goes along telling itself, it is more than apt to go on and on and on till it spreads itself into a book. I know about this, because it has happened to me so many times.”

Thoughts to words; words to sentences; sentences to paragraphs; to chapters; to books.  Happy writing.

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Frozen in time

“Strength,” says Judith Viorst,  “is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of the pieces.”

One of the more popular family movies in 2014 was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – a “live” version of the a best-selling book by the multi-talented Viorst, who often has written about herself and her family.  Her “Alexander” series is based on the escapades of her youngest son – frozen forever at age 5 in Viorst’s clever stories.   Alexander’s real life brothers Anthony and Nick also are captured in time as Alexander’s brothers in the books. 

Viorst has written many other books for and about children, including the terrific The Tenth Good Thing About Barney, which looks at the death of a beloved pet, and the often poignant Sad Underwear, a collection of poems that examines a wide variety of feelings and experiences from a child's point of view.

Judith Viorst

A journalist first, this 84-year-old Washington, D.C. writer (it’s her birthday today) still writes often for The New York Times and The Washington Post.  Her “adult” books (and she’s written many) often focus on her own life experiences, many with a humorous twist.  When Did I Stop Being 20 and Other Injustices and How Did I Get To Be 40 and Other Atrocities – are written in such wonderfully universal language that they remain relevant 60 and 40 years after publication, great examples of writers’ moments taken from the daily life that swirls around every author, and just waiting to be shared.

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Alert to your prime

“Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.  You must then live it to its fullest.” – Muriel Spark

Muriel Spark, born this day in 1918, applied that philosophy to an award-winning career as a novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist.   In 2008 she was named by The Times of London as the 8^th greatest British writer since World War II – a war in which she served as an Intelligence officer for the British army.   It was during her Army years that she realized she had a knack for the clever use of words, and once the war was over she began a serious writing career.   While serving as editor of Poetry Review magazine she authored several critically acclaimed poetry collections and books of criticism before turning to her true calling as a short story writer and novelist.

 

Best known for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which also was adapted as both a play and a movie, Spark lived in Britain and America before settling in Italy, where she continued writing until her death in 2006.  Shortly before her death, she was awarded the Golden PEN Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.

  

Muriel Spark

The author of 22 novels and 21 books of nonfiction and poetry,  this mother of three also wrote several best-selling children’s books.  “Parents,” she said, in explaining why, “learn a lot from their children about coping with life.”  Definitely providing them with many writers’ moments.

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