PIECE BY PIECE

by Deborah Elliott-Upton

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While I am going through withdrawal symptoms by not having access to the internet (a long story), I’m finishing two baby quilts for twin boys born in Paris, sons of my daughter’s friend Allison and her husband Eric. Like my writing, these quilts were first sparked by an idea, then carefully planned and constructed. I do think my art, whether it be a short story, screenplay, or a baby quilt, is worthy of my hard work, diligence, sweat and, oh yes, sometimes tears along the way.

Although I understand the reasoning behind them, I don’t usually follow strict instructions or utilize formula-type outlines. Rules and guidelines are always there for a purpose, but I enjoy the artistic freedom of bending them sometimes to make new shapes different from the norm.

Often, I am tearing apart lines that don’t fit correctly or rearranging carefully designed plots or characters that didn’t look as good as I’d first envisioned. As a writer, I do much revamping after the first draft of a project.

If there were a Writer’s Heaven, would every line of dialogue come easily, every plot—however intricate—be fashioned into place with care and touched only once by the skilled author? Would clever clues and red herrings flutter onto the page like feathers floating on the wind current and drifting from the sky, softly, quietly and ah, so very delicate? Would characterizations magically seam into the storyline with the perfect amount of narration?

Personally, I would not be as happy a writer if writing came that incredibly easy.

Ideas popping into my mind is delightful, but I find the stories I struggle with turn out to be the ones I am most proud of by the time I am ready to submit. Why is that?

I illustrate this revelation in my artistic adventures in reference to the perfectly fine guy who followed me around in high school. He was a nice guy. He was cute enough and well-mannered. His greatest joy seemed to be doing something—anything—to make me happy, and eventually to like him enough to go steady. As great as it might sound to have a one-man fan club, his affections proved to be no challenge. After a while, his hovering seemed suffocating. I wasn’t having fun and I probably made him miserable not being able to figure out what it was that I did want. (At seventeen, I didn’t even know which shoes I wanted for the prom.) However, I do think of that guy once in a while and hope he found his perfect mate who enjoys his constant fussing over her— or even better, that he found someone who challenged him.

This memory brings me to the subject of reading stories that are predictable in plot, stereotypical in characters and offer absolutely no challenge (or surprises) to the reader. How boring.

As a practiced people-watcher, I’ve observed prospective customers in book stores who seem drawn to a cover, flip over and read the blurb and perhaps endorsements on the back. If they’re still intrigued, many open to the first page. I watch in anticipation. This is where authors can lose or create a fan. How wonderful if they happen to turn to page two and keep reading. If they don’t, they often replace the book on the stack and move on.

How people choose spending their hard-earned money for entertainment is quite fascinating to me. As costs skyrocket everywhere, going to the movies has become more of an event than a way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday night. I believe we deserve to receive our money’s worth. How often have you watched a movie and wondered why that particular script happened to make it to the screen? As much as I pay attention to those scripts that excel and try to determine why, I do the same for those lacking in some manner. The predictable scripts are often produced and/or written by someone occupying the starring role and have had money-making hits in the past. I raise my brows and think This would not have gotten off the ground without a star and his money backing this product. Any beginning film writer would be laughed at for trying to sell this to a studio. And yet, here it is earning a spot on the big screen.

This doesn’t work as well in the publishing world. One bad book can kill a career while it takes several movies to ruin an actor’s career— and yet, comebacks are legend in Hollywood.

Producing your own book isn’t as acceptable as producing your own film. In fact, in publishing there is an old saying, The money should flow to the author, not from the author. Self-published authors are often considered not as good as authors published by traditional publishing houses. This may or may not be true, but the stigma is evident at book stores across the country. Personally, I understand why some writers choose to self-publish. (One man in his late seventies said he didn’t have time for agents and editors to deem his work publishable.) For the most part, I’d advise against the practice unless you are writing a family history to share with family members or are planning on selling the books as a fundraiser. Just my opinion.

Mostly, an actor is paid for his services whether the movie is profitable or not. An author is paid an advance for his work, but then may have to return part of it if the book doesn’t sell enough copies. Doesn’t quite seem fair, does it?

Books purchased by stores that don’t turn out to be best sellers can be returned for credit from the publisher. What other business accepts returns en masse? I admit I don’t understand all the workings of the publishing business, but I am ready to hear from those who do understand why the system works in this manner.

Like most writers, I have writing projects that are in need of fresh look. Perhaps some seams need to be ripped out, the original design rearranged and some may need to be reworked entirely, keeping only snippets of the best lines of dialogue, narrative setting or action sequences. Piece by piece, the project will take form and hopefully become a masterpiece. If not, just snuggling up with it might keep someone cozy.

1. This quilt displayed for purposes of illustration only. I have no doubt that the two Debbie is working on are even more artistic and adorable. –JLW [↩]