Thursday, June 24: Femme Fatale
LEARNING FROM A MASTER
by Deborah Elliott-Upton
A person I learn from is someone I never forget. Today I am thinking of Tony Hillerman and how almost two years later, we still mourn his passing. There will be no new Joe Leaphorn tales to look forward to reading, no more seminars where Hillerman himself will pass along bits of expertise he’s learned along the way or opportunities to simply enjoy sharing space in a room while he talks about writing.
“I am still in the throes of trying to learn. I have just re-read some early Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, and Graham Greene. I’m also very fond of Stephen Ambrose.” – Tony Hillerman
He never acted like he was an award-winning American author or a soldier who earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart in WWII or that he was as accomplished in writing nonfiction as he was fiction. Instead, Hillerman came across as a next door neighbor with interesting stories he’d share over the backyard fence and maybe a few words of advice.
Hillerman’s laid back manner of teaching seemed more like a personal meeting where we discussed our love of mystery writing. Like his readers, Hillerman embraced his writing class attendees like old acquaintances that would soon be new friends. We were in Hillerman’s beloved Albuquerque. With the Sandia Mountains in the backdrop as a silent reminder of the sacredness of getting the setting and characterizations right, Hillerman taught us the magic of bringing the senses into our stories. A master at using setting as a character, he stressed the act of utilizing the senses enriched the reading experience.
“An author knows his landscape best; he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place.” – Tony Hillerman
His storytelling is less like reading a piece of fiction and more like someone retelling a story of people he knew and what happened to them. Hillerman offered a bit of comfort from the real world in escaping to another adventure and viewpoint. When a writer keeps learning, his readers benefit. I’m taking another clue from Hillerman and keep myself “in the throes of trying to learn.”
“You try to create characters who invite a strong reaction from readers, whether pity, contempt, empathy, whatever.” – Tony Hillerman
In a writer’s group, one woman despised my female character’s actions so much she scrawled across my page: HOW COULD ONE WOMAN WRITE SUCH AN AWFUL THING ABOUT ANOTHER WOMAN?
I could do it because it was what the character would do and it made the story more interesting than if she were a nice woman whose husband had decided to kill her for no reason. In this story, she was a bit of a shrew – only she didn’t realize how she was constantly grating on his nerves because he never spoke up for himself. The reaction of the other writer was stronger than I expected, but it showed I had definitely made her care about the people in the story as if they were real.
“You write for two people, yourself and your audience, who are usually better educated and at least as smart.” – Tony Hillerman
I’ve been told we should be writing for a readership with an eighth-grade vocabulary. I don’t believe that’s true. There’s nothing more annoying than having a writer “dumb down” his work – unless it is one who gallops in the reverse direction with vocabulary that requires a dictionary on hand before we can make sense of what’s being said.
A good writer writes for himself and his readers. That would make for an unforgettable story.
Oh, I can’t stand dumbing down. Originally, I heard we’re supposed to write for a 5th grade level, so things might have improved! Writers should strike a balance and not show off, but not dumb down.
Either extreme treats the reader with contempt.
Hillerman was, as far as I know the only erpson to be honored by both he Navaho Tibe and the Department of Interior.
My favorite line, which I am paraphrasing, came from (if I recall correctly) an uncle of Jim Chee: “Don’t think that because a man has a hundred sheep he would sell one to help a relative. He has a hundred sheep because he likes sheep better than relatives.”
You hit one of my pet peeves in this one. Being told to write for an 8th grade reading level (and I’ve even heard 6th!) grates one me. I refuse to assist in the Dumbing Down of America. Writers should set standards for readers to reach up for!! :]]
What a GREAT article. I get angry at the dumbing down AND the shrew that wrote that on your critique. (It wasn’t me was it?)
The thing is women can be shrews and who better would know that than another woman, THAT’s why characterization is so important because if you didn’t you’d be yet another person dumbing down not just your character but the character some of us see each day (so-to-speak).
That’s why I prefer to work with men because they pretty much tell it like it is and don’t play games. Well they do, but in this case, “most” women know them well 🙂 while it is exhausting to keep up with the games women play with each other!! (I guess that’s why I’m always in trouble because I don’t hold back, I know that is a major surprise in here, but…..)
I am, of course speaking in generalization, but the fact a writer can take their characters, make them real, and tell a story is a gift. It’s not a gift to “be p.c.” (another pet peeve) and make them all fluffy etc.
I still don’t understand Velma. She’s so…..negotiatible. 🙂
Okay, I just skinned my fake knees when I fell off my soapbox….
It’s because your article ‘inspired’ me….
Only my surname is negotiable, dahlin’.
The problem with noir detectives, they’re always 2¢ from the poorhouse.
Hey, you’ve got silicone knees?
Titanium.
Only the best for me.
“I’ve been told we should be writing for a readership with an eighth-grade vocabulary.”
Who exactly would tell you something like that? What do they base such an opinion on? Oh, perhaps it was a Hollywood studio exec, in which case, yes, that statement makes perfect sense.
I heard that eighth-grade education thing when I used to work as a newspaper reporter. I had a feature story that mentioned the word “orthodontia.” I was told I had to change it to “dentistry” because people wouldn’t know what orthodontia was, and they might think it was something kinky! Sheesh.
It’s still happening, Barb. I’m not sure why editors believe we are not as smart as we know we are. How do we change that?
You figure it out, and let me know! I’m not that smart. 🙂 (Now maybe if someone could explain it to us in language we’d understand, we could figure out a way to change it…)
The “eighth grade reading level” guidance was invented for journalists, not for writers of fiction. There has long been evidence, I have no idea how reliable, that most people’s reading comprehension peaks at that level—the high school English curriculum assumes that you already know how to read, after all, and you are unlikely to take any reading comprehension test in high school except your SATs. Since a newspaper’s job is to to explain things in the simplest and most comprehensible manner possible to the largest population reachable, it makes perfect sense.
I wouldn’t worry about it.
Maybe the old fifth-grade level is now an eighth-grade level. And if you wrote at an eighth-grade level a hundred years ago, it would probably equal a college graduate level today. Please tell me I’m too cynical. That was a great piece, and Tony Hillerman was a treasure.
You have sparked quite a controversy with the eighth grade level of understanding. I have always been told in the training field to train on a sixth grade level for adults. I usually go with the flow on whatever the subject is and smart up or dumb down depending on the group and their understanding, but that is also a live environment. When reading, I guess it would depend on the age group you are writing for. Adults should be able read the article you wrote on Tony without too much difficulty, and if they were having difficulty, they do need a dictionary to enhance their vocabulary a little bit…… now onto the article on Tony. This was very well written, I felt like I knew him personally. Yes, learn from the Master…interesting, involved, but keeping it real. Congratulations Deborah, you have learned from the Master! This piece was well written.
Don’t know what it says about my reading level but I was reading Thorne Smith in the 8th Grade!