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Monday, August 2, 2021

HOW TO WRITE LIKE RAYMOND CHANDLER_IWSG Post


 Ghost of Raymond Chandler here.
I've appeared in one of Roland's books





HOW WOULD I FIT INTO THIS 
#MeToo WORLD?

Why should I want to? 

Why should anyone expect a writer from the 1940's to do so?

My world-weary detective, Philip Marlowe, lived in a male-dominated world of corrupt politicians, 

insulated by their wealth businessmen, and burned-out cops.

Along with women, who through necessity or from the sheer pleasure of dominating rather than being dominated, 

learned to get what they wanted through the only coin appreciated by the world:

 their beauty



My modern critics seem to forget my girl Friday, Anne Riordan, in FAREWELL, MY LOVELY.

Prejudices are so much easier to carry when you ditch those awkward facts which question the veracity of them.

HOW TO WRITE LIKE ME?

The Truth? Don't.

BE YOU,
THE BEST VERSION OF YOU.

(Midnight is not fond of my pipe smoke)

But if you must, here are a few thoughts

FIRST -

I’m an intellectual snob who happens to have a fondness for the American vernacular, largely because I grew up on Latin and Greek. 

I had to learn American just like a foreign language. …

 If I hadn’t grown up with Latin and Greek, 

I doubt if I would know so well where to draw the very subtle line between 

what I call the vernacular style and what I should call an illiterate or faux naif style.”

My poetic, high-brow literary phrases are interlaced with low-brow slang, crime jargon, and Depression-era wisecracks 

to create a text in which sophisticated cultural references appear 

like bright flowers rising above broken bottles and cigarette butts in a dark alley.



EXTREME EYE FOR DETAIL

Readers did not want non-stop action. 

They wanted to feel something. 

The things they really cared about, and that I cared about, were the creation of emotion through dialogue and description.

It was through detailed description of the clothing, bodies, mannerisms, and voices of my characters as in:

I started up the steep steps. It was a nice walk if you liked grunting. 

There were two hundred and eighty steps up to Cabrillo Street. 

They were drifted over with windblown sand and the handrail was as cold and wet as a toad’s belly. 

When I reached the top the sparkle had gone from the water and a seagull with a broken trailing leg was twisting against the off-sea breeze.

WHAT DO I MEAN?

Write a basic text, then keep injecting more and more descriptive language 

until your reader can see, feel, smell, and taste everything your protagonist is experiencing.

STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE PLOT

Does Life have one coherent Plot?

Not that I have seen on either side of the grave.

It seems to me that the real mystery is not who killed Sir John in his study, 

but what the situation really was, what the people were after, what sort of people they were.

Once you have illuminated those facets, the whole gem of the mystery is revealed ... 

as is the murderer.


A good plot is one which makes good scenes. 

The ideal mystery is one you would read even if the end was missing.

HAVE SOMETHING WORTHWHILE TO SAY

A good mystery is an allegory of what makes life worth living 

and how easy it is for it all to go astray.

I talked about what I saw in my L.A. - 

the corruption, the crime, the hubris of the elite and their relationship to the human condition -

while telling a riveting, absorbing tale.

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR WORLD?

How could you relate your impressions of it in a ripping good yarn?

SPEAKING OF GOOD YARNS

My friend, Roland Yeomans,

has written another good one.

TRY IT OUT.

THE 1ST 3 CHAPTERS ARE FREE

18 comments:

  1. I love, love, love description and description that is so evocative is a true treasure!

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    1. Me, too. It is why I am drawn to certain authors over others -- and snappy, witty dialogue.

      I have both in my Kindle Vella. Have you tried it out? The first 3 chapters are free. I am the best kept secret in Vella it seems! :-)

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  2. Another great post! Loved the black and white aesthetic.

    Ronel visiting for IWSG day Being Busy vs Being Productive

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    1. I am so glad someone noticed I decided to go black and white to fit the film noir atmosphere of Raymond Chandler. Thanks so much for visiting and commenting, Ronel!

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  3. Looks like you have a clear vision on what writing is all about. :-)

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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    1. Clear but like with Emily Dickinson, my vision often does not jibe with what so many others desire to read! :-)

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  4. What a unique approach to this challenge! Love your analysis. We really should not hold authors (or anyone, really) of the past up to modern standards except to highlight how the world has changed so much just in my lifetime. Rather than banning books from our past, we should hold them up as evidence of mile stones towards progress.

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    1. Thanks, chickangell! I wish you better health and great success in getting your writing career back on track again!

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  5. Always be the best you when it comes to writing!

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    1. I think "Always be the best you" is great advise for everything! :-)

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  6. Hi Roland... Surprise! As always, I am completely in agreement with your post. I ADORE, NOIR and my writing is all about the senses, creating atmosphere, and as you call it, "snappy" dialogue, as is YOURS! That is what writing should be again, not always keeping a quick pace and RUSHING through a story. Story's must be built up, not revealed in the first page of a novel. Sadly, that is what agents want. ugh. Still, after eleven years of writing, no agent, no publication. Three novels, that I have worked YEARS on, are still being tweaked and queried. My latest, MOMMY KAY, is currently on the chopping block. Lol. I have only sent out about ten queries and so far five rejections. We shall see... Self publishing will be my next step it I continue to be rejected.

    As you have guessed, I have recloused for the last few years. Life is complicated, as YOU are well aware. I admire how you keep on going despite your hardships. I wish I was more like that. For me, I hide in my house and keep working away on it. I have a huge challenge with this restoration... The house is quite large and has been neglected for many years. I am hoping by the end of September the exterior will be complete and most of the interior. It's a lovely 1914 Craftsman with a HUGE front porch. I finally finished its restoration, and I am enjoying many happy hours on it. I am hoping to become one of those quiet, charming southern gentlemen, writing and rocking away on my front porch, creating the next greatest American Novel. Ha!

    I hope you are doing well and surviving the heat, storms, and Covid. Keep safe, my friend.

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    1. As I was delivering blood to a distant hospital a badly coughing reeled from her chair. The staff tried their best, but she died in front of me.

      I returned to a "town hall meeting" that had everyone squeezed next to one another despite the CDC GUIDELINES. I sat up front where no one wanted to sit and be called upon. I wanted to live so I sat with lots of space around me. :-)

      You and I are NOIR fans, are we not?

      It is not hiding if you are creating beauty, Michael.

      I am facing another Hurricane season, and after 7 months of homelessness, I am rather unsettled!

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    2. I am not surprised! How could you not be?!

      So sorry for your situation. Living in Louisiana is no picnic this time of year and adding COVID certainly doesn't help. You are doing so much good, Roland. Always remember that when times get tough. God sent you there and keeps you there for his purpose and you are rising up to it, meeting it head on!

      Thank you for your kind words. Yes, it is creating, but overwhelming, too. IT is a real challenge. The list keeps piling up for things to do, and even though I have accomplished quite a lot, it is not where I should be after two years of lots of physical labor and a ridiculous amount of money. I almost put in as much as the price of the house. Luckily, real estate is at a premium in my area right now. I am SOOOO tempted to sell and find a more modest home with much more property. I honestly wanted a house in the county...a quiet life to create, but this lovely old Craftsman in in the center of the Historic area Of Ulysses S. Grant's childhood home. Galena, is rich in history and hosts over a million tourists a year. With Covid, I honestly believe it is even more! People want to escape to a charming haven, so they come hear from Chicago, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Many more come from Michigan. Thankfully, the historic residential area is far away enough from the commerce area, about a five minute walk and over the Galena river via a foot bridge. One can also drive over the main bridge which is about five blocks from my house (foot bridge only two blocks).

      I decided to turn this house into a B&B. It is certainly large enough, and I will have my private quarters in the newly renovated LL (formerly the basement...lol)

      Stay safe, Roland.

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  7. Fun and interesting post, Roland! I hope things have improved a lot in you area!

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    1. I try to make my posts as fun as I can. But after a poor Covid afflicted coughing, then dying in front of me -- "fun" is hard to conjure up. :-(

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  8. You're writing strength is crafting stories with compelling atmosphere and making unbelievable characters and situations totally real!

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    1. Thank you so much for that, Lee! I really needed that tonight. :-)

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  9. Very well written.

    Did anyone from your area win at the Olympics this year?
    Joe Kovacs, from my neck of the woods, won silver for Shot Put Throw.

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