It goes without saying that literature is inspiration for writers. Some might say it is the kindling for our own inner voices. We all have our favourite pieces of written work. What makes them stand out amidst the thousands of other works? What in those pages calls out to us? There are many factors that play into a well thought-out story, including rounded characters, an engaging setting, an intriguing plot, and the prose itself.
Close reading is an act of love for the very mechanisms that create the work. Grab a favourite book off your shelf and open to a particular passage or scene that captivated you. Analyze the gears working on the page. How does the author use punctuation to emit emotion? Do they write short sentences, long, a mixture of both?
In the writing courses that I have taken, all of them point to details. Meaning the details with the object world in which your character may interact with; the details in your character’s backstory and mannerisms; and the details in your writing in general. To demonstrate an example of close reading: on the page you have flipped to, contemplate the structure of the paragraphs. How do they build themselves up throughout the page? How do they transition from one to another? Does the topic being discussed at hand dissolve into something new or is it passed from paragraph to paragraph?
A paragraph is one step of the entire staircase; it is one stone in the building of a house. Paragraphs are integral to how the story is constructed. They dictate how fast paced the plot could be, the reader’s discovery of the character’s emotions and choices, and they lead the story from one chapter to the next. What kind of discovery could be made regarding the character’s intentions in a single sentence? The carefully placed clues and chosen words by the author are worth considering. A favourite book is the perfect blueprint to learning how the author captivated your attention and held it. Through its own analysis, we can figure out what kind of writers we want to be and how our own style of prose can be sculpted into its best form.
By closely reading, we can more clearly see various authors’ approaches and the skills they use. By closely reading, we can become better writers.
Lauren Redwood is a young adult writer, short storyteller, and poet. She attends Sheridan College for a Bachelor of Creative Writing & Publishing. Lauren is the author of two poems, “Under the Shadow of the Tent” and “Cold Days”, published by Gary Barwin in the Dot Dot Journal. Her poem “Change” is featured in the anthology Collecting Dust that came out in September of 2022. Recently, a calculus poem of hers, “Root”, has been featured in the newest release of the B222 Journal. Lauren spends her days on the track, reading too many books at once, writing out her romantic musings, and having countless movie nights with friends.
The views and opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of all WiT members.
Writers In Trees 