I have a collection of classic novels on my computer, usually read through as I eat my lunches on the weekend. There’s something about munching on pizza while reading Victor Hugo!
There’s something to be said for the classics. These are the books that stand the test of time. They invariably are well written, and are mini lessons in how to write. I suppose if I were ever hired to teach creative writing at a University, I would elect to make one of the courses Writing 201: Learning from The Classics.
Let’s look at H. G. Wells. His “First Men on the Moon” was his take on “A Voyage to the Moon” by Jules Verne. I could go into the tools of the trade on that story alone – characterization and the difference between Bedford and Cavor. How many of you have read the story? The moment I mentioned Cavor, you no doubt thought “buzzbuzzbuzz huzzooo” – the odd humming Cavor would do as he walked around the yard annoying Bedford.
The conflict at the end of the story? Why Bedford is reporting the transmissions from Cavor, and finds himself subjected to the same rants that he himself gave on Cavor! We find ourselves now pitying both men, as Cavor continues a monologue that savages Bedford and justifies Cavor – until Cavor is killed by the Selenites as he warns the earth in vain that Bedford was right!
This is a great exercise in writing – how to take two very flawed characters and transfer the readers emotions back and forth in a short novel, before wrapping the whole mess up in a play upon fear and pity.
I’ve mentioned before how “20,000 leagues beneath the sea” is essentially about three men who go in a submarine and look at fish for 2oo pages with almost nothing happening. There is however constant conflict in the story, usually fought out in the dialogue between the two. The disinterest of Ned Lands and Professor Aronax attempting to convince Ned how interesting this is, the inability of Consiel to understand what Professor Aronax is seeing, Nemo challenging every scientific belief Professor Aronax has, the attempt of self vindication by Nemo, and a thinly concealed polemic against the British people – who nonetheless became enthusiastic followers of the novel!
Conclusion
Every writer really needs to spend some time reading the classics. These books worked, and have been sold and read for over a century and a half. If they work that well, we should be viewing them as textbooks on how to write!
