The Writers Studio Over-50 Online Writing Workshop Winter with Peter Krass

Transcription

1 The Writers Studio Over-50 Online Writing Workshop Winter with Peter Krass Week 5 exercise: Fitzgerald ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From The Bookshop a novel by Penelope Fitzgerald In 1959 Florence Green occasionally passed a night when she was not absolutely sure whether she had slept or not. This was because of her worries as to whether to purchase a small property, the Old House, with its own warehouse on the foreshore, and to open the only bookshop in Hardborough. The uncertainty probably kept her awake. She had once seen a heron flying across the estuary and trying, while it was on the wing, to swallow an eel which it had caught. The eel, in turn, was struggling to escape from the gullet of the heron and appeared a quarter, a half, or occasionally three-quarters of the way out. The indecision expressed by both creatures was pitiable. They had taken on too much. Florence felt that if she hadn t slept at all and people often say this when they mean nothing of the kind she must have been kept awake by thinking of the heron. She had a kind heart, though that is not of much use when it comes to the matter of selfpreservation. For more than eight years of half a lifetime she had lived at Hardborough on the very small amount of money her husband had left her and had recently come to wonder whether she hadn t a duty to make it clear to herself, and possibly to others, that she existed in her own right. Survival was often considered all that could be asked in the cold and clear East Anglian air. Kill or cure, the inhabitants thought either a long old age, or immediate consignment to the salty turf of the churchyard.

2 She was in appearance small, wispy and wiry, somewhat insignificant from the front view, and totally so from the back. She was not much talked about, not even in Hardborough, where everyone could be seen coming over the wide distances and everything seen was much discussed. She made small seasonal changes in what she wore. Everybody knew her winter coat, which was the kind that might just be made to last another year. In 1959, when there was no fish and chips in Hardborough, no launderette, no cinema except on alternate Saturday nights, the need of all these things was felt, but no one had considered, certainly not thought of Mrs. Green as considering, the opening of a bookshop. Of course I can t make any definite commitment on behalf of my bank at the moment the decision is not in my hands but I think I may say that there will be no objection in principle to a loan. The Government s word up to now has been restraint in credit to the private borrower, but there are distinct signs of relaxation I m not giving away any state secrets there. Of course, you ll have little or no competition a few novels, I m told, lent out at the Busy Bee wool shop, nothing significant. You assure me that you ve had considerable experience of the trade. Florence, preparing to explain for the third time what she meant by this, saw herself and her friend, their hair in Eugene waves, chained pencils round their necks, young assistants of twenty-five years ago at Müllers in Wigmore Street. It was the stocktaking she remembered best, when Mr. Müller, after calling for silence, read out with calculated delay the list of young ladies and their partners, drawn by lot, for the day s checking over. There were by no means enough fellows to go round, and she had been lucky to be paired, in 1934, with Charlie Green, the poetry buyer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 NOTES About The Author Penelope Fitzgerald ( ) was born and lived her entire life in the UK. After growing up in a literary family, she earned a degree at Oxford University. Later, she worked for the BBC, as a magazine editor and as a teacher. Her first book, published when she was 60, was a biography of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones. Over the next 20 years Fitzgerald published nine novels (including four historical novels), three biographies and many essays and reviews. A collection of her short stories, The Means of Escape, was published posthumously. The novel we re looking at, The Bookshop, was first published in In it, Fitzgerald drew on her own experience, for she had herself worked in a small-town bookshop. Fitzgerald was much lauded. Her third novel, Offshore, was the surprise winner of Britain s Booker Prize in 1979, when she was 63. Three of her other novels including The Bookshop were also shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In the U.S. she won the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction for her last novel, The Blue Flower. In 1996 she was awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize for a lifetime s achievement in literature. And in 2008 The Times included her in its list of the 50 greatest British writers since Narrative Technique In this novel Fitzgerald employs a third-person persona narrator. There is no I, and all the characters are referred to by their names, roles or he/she. Also, the narrator is not a character in the story. Just as first-person narration is about revealing the I, third-person narration is all about revealing the main character. In this book, that main character is Florence Green. Third-person revealing is done in ways that are similar to those of a first-person PN. For example, a third-person PN can share the main character s reactions to whatever is happening in the scene. These reactions may include the main character s actions, thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, memories, guesses, and more. For you as a writer, the important thing is to ensure that your third-person narrator is not just describing the action; they also must reveal the main character. To examine how Fitzgerald s PN does this, let s look at the first sentence of our excerpt, which is also the novel s opening line: In 1959 Florence Green occasionally passed a night when she was not absolutely sure whether she had slept or not. At least three things are happening in this one sentence. One, the PN is setting the time period: Two, the PN is introducing the novel s main character: Florence. And three, the PN is revealing something about this main character: there were nights when Florence wasn t sure whether she d gotten any sleep. Later in the same paragraph, the narrator further reveals Florence through a startling image: Florence remembers seeing a bird flying over the water while trying to swallow an eel. The

4 narrator then shares Florence s interpretation of the image: The indecision expressed by both creatures was pitiable. They had taken on too much. This is Florence s worry: that by purchasing the Old House to open a bookstore, she is about to take on too much. That s what s keeping her awake at night. All the other characters are either secondary or tertiary, and they re shown mainly through Florence s perspective. The narrator does not reveal them. Nor does the narrator have access to these other characters thoughts and feelings. While these other characters are important to the story Florence isn t an island they also give the PN a way to reveal Florence. For example, in our excerpt, the long quote starting, Of course I can t make any definitive commitment is spoken by Mr. Keble, a bank clerk with whom Florence is applying for a business loan. Keble is a secondary character. So the PN lets us hear him speak since that s something Florence hears but the PN does not have access to Keble s private thoughts or feelings. The reader sees and hears Keble as Florence does. Note that when their discussion evokes a memory for Florence, we are given that memory. Florence, the PN tells us, remembers that she and a friend worked as sales assistants in a bookstore some 25 years ago. Florence also remembers that she had been paired to do inventory with the poetry buyer, Charlie Green. Again, only Florence, the main character, is given this type of treatment. The PN has access to the private memory of Florence only, and not to the private memories of any other characters. That said, there are times when Fitzgerald s PN expresses her own opinions. Here s an example: She [Florence] had a kind heart, though that is not of much use when it comes to the matter of self-preservation. The second part of that sentence is the PN s opinion, not Florence s. Also, this PN sometimes gives information that Florence is unlikely to know. Here s an example: Everybody knew her [Florence s] winter coat, which was the kind that might just be made to last another year. Still, all this is provided by the PN in the service of helping the reader understand what s going on with Florence. Florence is the main character, and it s her story. Exercise Start with 2 elements: a main character and a third-person persona narrator (PN) who is not you. Once you have your main character, put them in a setting a specific time, place and dramatic situation. For drama, have your character embarking on some sort of adventure or enterprise, something demanding and challenging enough that the outcome is highly uncertain. As a result, your character is anxious, worried, possibly indecisive. Are they doing the right thing? They just don t know. Your third-person PN, by contrast, is feeling none of these things. Instead, their main job is to reveal your main character by sharing with the reader the main character s feelings and thoughts.

5 Also, you will probably want one or more secondary characters for your main character to interact with. But remember, your third-person PN does not have access to these secondary characters feelings or thoughts. Your PN can only narrate what these characters say or do things your main character can also observe. Poets, write your Fitzgerald exercise as poetry, even though our model is prose. Memoir writers, you may want to experiment with a third-person narrator by making the main character your younger self. Otherwise, please remember our regular rules: Your full name at the top. Also at the top, a short (1-3 sentences) preamble. Here, discuss the narrative technique (but not the plot or characters). No need for a title or closure. Maximum length: 2 pages of double-spaced 12-point text. DEADLINES & DISCUSSION We ll discuss the Fitzgerald narrative technique and exercise during our group chat on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, starting at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. Join the chat here: The deadline for the Week 5 / Fitzgerald exercise is Friday, Jan. 18, at 11 p.m. your time. All student critiques of this exercise are due by Sunday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m. your time. And the teacher s critiques will be posted by Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 12 noon ET.