| Re: Book length - Is this a worrying new trend
Because like any other art there is an element of craft and skill, and that takes time and practice to develop.
It's not enough to have a good story, or even a great story. You need to learn how to balance the needs of plot and character, description, background, foreshadowing ... the list goes on. You have to learn how to use words effectively, so that they say what you mean and not something else. (And then, once you've learned all this, you have to realize that you're going to have to come up with a slightly different equation for every single story you write.) You have to come to terms with the fact that the story you carry around in your head may blind you to the faults of the story you are translating to the page. They aren't the same story; they never can be; they never will be. But the more you develop your craft the closer they'll come.
And there are so many things about writing that could be explained and passed on, if the human brain was constructed (which it isn't) to learn them by any method except trial and error. As it is, you have to teach them to yourself, the hard way.
All of this takes time, and a lot of writing. |