Voice versus Action


Subject: Voice versus Action
From: Matthew Cole (matthewcole26@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Nov 02 2001 - 02:17:22 GMT


Hey everyone. I've noticed that in the creative writing classes at the
university I go to (Appalichian State University in Boone, NC) both the
professors and the students seem to be pretty hung up on the idea of plot.
When workshoping stories students seem to get very nervous that their
stories aren't moving along fast enough or that there's not enough going on.
This frustrated me and I couldn't completely figure out why but tonight I
started re-reading "Seymour an Introduction" and it got me thinking. I
really enjoy "Seymour" and it's always felt cozy to me and I'm pretty sure
that it's because of the voice. It feels like a comfortable old friend and
it never bores me. Generally before reading I have to prepare myself for
some action and it takes awhile to become comfortable with the setting or
the situation before I get fully involved in what I'm reading. With
"Seymour" (and to a lesser extent other Salinger stories as well) I find
myself hyptonitized by the voice and I'm wrapped up in no time. I think that
part of the reason that I love Salinger so much is because of the
distinctive deliberately paced voice that's consistent in every single one
of his stories. But I'm seeing a scary trend in my writing classes. The
teachers are intent on spending the majority of the class time lecturing on
formulas that can be used to create effective plots. I've read so many
stories that were written by obviously tallented people who get so tangled
up in the notion that there has to be visible forward progress that they
forget to make sure that they're creating convincing interesting voices in
their stories. It's easy to write a story. It's not easy to create
characters like Buddy Glass. Students who don't care or simply cannot create
any worthwhile characters rely on death, drugs, and sex to create
streamlined stories that are close to worthless. I would love to see more
emphasis placed on the creation of voice in narratives, but maybe that's
just me. So I was curious to know how everyone else fee;s. What's more
important, voice or action? Would you rather read a plot heavy novel or
listen to the off-topic ramblings of a narrator who doesn't rely on
"action?" Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Matthew

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