Strong Voice vs. Invisible Writing

The writing process, writing advice, and updates on your work in progress
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polymath
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Re: Strong Voice vs. Invisible Writing

Post by polymath » March 19th, 2010, 10:15 pm

Oh my, that's rich. Wanna try for 4th century BCE?

Aristotle's Poetics at Project Gutenberg, the clearest English translation I've read;

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1974
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Susan Quinn
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Re: Strong Voice vs. Invisible Writing

Post by Susan Quinn » March 19th, 2010, 10:54 pm

Somehow the 1921 version seems more surreal. I would never expect to hold Aristotle's Poetics in my hands, not one actually published in 4th BCE (natch). Sure, I could hold Shakespeare's original works, reprinted - but not the original. But I've browsed 100 year old books in the dusty stacks, never guessing that the next time I'd hold something that old would be on my e-reader. I guess it's just all bits now. Look out! I'm teetering on the edge of converting to a paper-lover like Ink.
Susan Kaye Quinn (young adult and middle grade author)
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Colonel Travis
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Re: Strong Voice vs. Invisible Writing

Post by Colonel Travis » March 20th, 2010, 12:19 am

One of my favorite parts of Poetics is when Aristotle is talking about how changing one word is the difference between making a sentence plain or beautiful. This is his example - "The tumor which is eating the flesh of my foot." Had to look it up again because I couldn't remember the word changes he mentioned. Aeschylus wrote a word that means "feeds on" my foot and Euripides used a word that meant "feasts on" my foot. Aristotle said Euripides made the better choice. He had other examples but they don't touch the glamor of that one.

Regarding voice, lots of good descriptions here. Only thing I could add is that in order to find it you need to write a *bleep*load. Once you think you've found it, and if you're serious about your work, you will refine it the rest of your life. Cormac McCarthy, for example, was mentioned. Ever read his first novels? Makes Faulkner look like Dr. Seuss, I have no idea what he was doing. But he kept cranking out books and he eventually went from poetic and unreadable to poetic and readable.

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