Subject: (urth) delany, etc.

From: maa32 <maa32 at dana.ucc.nau.edu>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 06:15:11 +0000

I had to comment on one statement that was made -
that Wolfe might think that Borges and Delany are better writers than him?  I 
have the suspicion that Wolfe doesn't like Delany's writing that much - he 
said he couldn't get through Dhalgren and much preferred Report on Probability 
A by Aldiss.  I'm sure he admires Borges, but I wonder how much of his 
humility is at times fake: "Everything I write is wonderful" - I know he said 
that at a convention.  If I had to go out on a limb and say that Wolfe felt 
like a lesser writer than anyone, it would probably be Dickens, Proust, 
Shakespeare, or Chesterton - who were kind of prolific.  And I don't think he 
really believes that.

Yes, it was absolutely awful how Mr. Wolfe was treated at Odyssey.  People 
take their manuscripts personally.  Having read just about everything Wofle 
has written except perhaps 10 stories, I have come to the conclusion that 
there is one reason that I might find Wolfe a difficult teacher: he really 
doesn't like to explain himself.  I was blessed some time ago: Mr. Wolfe 
perused one of my manuscripts.  He said, "You have a wonderful idea here.  
Many wonderful ideas.  But you will have to get much better at writing before 
you can do justice to them.  You explain yourself way too much."

I was infinitely grateful for his input - and I regard it as extremely 
positive - yet here is the rub: everyone who has ever read my work says I need 
to explain more, because it doesn't make sense - that I make too many quantum 
leaps that should be explained.

I'm sure Wolfe is a wonderful teacher. On the other hand, I knew many 
brilliant research scientists at my undergraduate college who weren't as good 
at teaching as some high school or community college teachers because they 
couldn't simplify in terms that a student could parse and digest.  I maintain 
that some people are too brilliant to be teachers, because those who can't do, 
teach.  Like me!:) Unfortunately, talent isn't a contagious disease.  I wish 
it were.

Marc Aramini

--

---

From: Lisa Schaffer-Doggett <harlekin at earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 07:04:38 +0000

On Monday, July 28, 2003, at 11:15 PM, maa32 wrote:
   "You have a wonderful idea here.
> leaps that should be explained.

Don butts in with two maybe three comments:

Having never read anything you've written I would instinctively say 
that Mr. Wolfe's advice will give you critical longevity and "everyone" 
else's advice will give you more marketability.  I'm a less is more 
writer myself (and chronically unpublished, critically unnoticed, etc - 
My only hope is that when the Apocalypse comes the airtight seal on the 
time capsule will hold and I'll win by attrition : )

By the by, there was no excuse for what those students did.  They 
didn't even have the guts to complain to Mr. Wolfe in person.  Besides, 
we are all rational (usually, sometimes, potentially) beings who have 
the ability to study criticism and accept or ignore it to whatever 
degree we wish.  How often do you think Mr. Wolfe lets someone talk him 
out of a "bad" story idea?  It's his confidence in HIS story that we 
love as much as his skill in presenting it. IMHO.

I think I'm over my limit.

--

---

From: Chris <rasputin_ at hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:55:12 +0000

>Having never read anything you've written I would instinctively say that 
>Mr. Wolfe's advice will give you critical longevity and "everyone" else's 
>advice will give you more marketability.  I'm a

Perhaps it's a certain confusion of terms. It sounds like your "everyone 
else's" advice is telling you that they don't understand what the story is 
getting at, and what they really want is more information to be able to work 
it out. But what Wolfe is telling you is that you should give them this 
information in more subtle ways than outright explaining it to the reader 
with the voice-of-god: give them circumstancial clues, pieces from which 
they can infer what you want them to know.

I haven't read your writing either so please don't take offense if I'm 
guessing wrong. But the reason I guess this is because Wolfe has, on other 
occasions, said that the tendency of a writer to try and "explain" things 
explicitly is one of the main things a potential writer has to overcome. So 
it sounds like just the kind of thing he would caution you against.

Civet

_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

--