I just finished Richard Wright’s novel Adultery. It’s a fascinating plot-line (a married man in his mid-fifties has his first casual affair and the much younger lady is murdered, necessitating his having to face his indiscretion publicly as well as privately), begins well, but lost my enthusiasm soon into the book. I loved his earlier book, Clara Callan, cried through the whole book, even while sitting in the Motor Vehicle registration office. Expecting to feel the same way, in this one I just didn’t care so much about the characters.
Thinking about Sue Miller’s books and how I preferred her most recent novel, making it difficult to read an earlier book, I started thinking about my own work. Early vs. later. Is one better because it is more mature. Etc. When I am giving a slide presentation of my work, I can see the connections from the beginning to now, see how my ideas have come full circle. Some of my early work is very good. A lot was not (but I don’t have photos of those!). I went through many stages, many different ways of working, to come to what I am doing now. And it too is evolving, changing. I used to find myself changing approaches every three or four years. Now it is a more smooth evolution. The biggest change is that, even though some of my very early work is (in my opinion) as good as what I am doing now, there was not much of it; it didn’t happen often. Maybe two or three good pieces a year. Maybe. Now I have much more skill, control, and let’s face it, maturity. Maybe similar to the editing skill that is required of a more mature writer. And now I’m willing to spend more time on a piece, not letting it go until it feels just right.
Posted by leya at November 19, 2005 01:47 PM