Modern formulations are necessary even in defense of very ancient truths. Not because of any alleged anachronism in the old ideas – the Beatitudes remain the essential statements of the Western code – but because the idiom of life is always changing
William F. Buckley Jr.Tags: argument conservatism persuasion timelessness relevance phrasing
I ran across an excerpt today (in English translation) of some dialogue/narration from the modern popular writer, Paulo Coelho in his book: Aleph.(Note: bracketed text is mine.)... 'I spoke to three scholars,' [the character says 'at last.'] ...two of them said that, after death, the [sic (misprint, fault of the publisher)] just go to Paradise. The third one, though, told me to consult some verses from the Koran. [end quote]' ...I can see that he's excited. [narrator]' ...Now I have many positive things to say about Coelho: He is respectable, inspiring as a man, a truth-seeker, and an appealing writer; but one should hesitate to call him a 'literary' writer based on this quote. A 'literary' author knows that a character's excitement should be 'shown' in his or her dialogue and not in the narrator's commentary on it. Advice for Coelho: Remove the 'I can see that he's excited' sentence and show his excitement in the phrasing of his quote.(Now, in defense of Coelho, I am firmly of the opinion, having myself written plenty of prose that is flawed, that a novelist should be forgiven for slipping here and there.)Lastly, it appears that a belief in reincarnation is of great interest to Mr. Coelho ... Just think! He is a man who has achieved, (as Leonard Cohen would call it), 'a remote human possibility.' He has won lots of fame and tons of money. And yet, how his preoccupation with reincarnation—none other than an interest in being born again as somebody else—suggests that he is not happy!
Roman PayneTags: life truth happiness education writing inspiration literary-criticism writing-craft paulo-coelho leonard-cohen fame happy excitement paradise novels writing-advice educational islam koran craft birth fortune critique inspirational-life publishing imperfection life-and-death grammar reincarnation inspiring characterization faults authorship roman novelist born-again literary-theory dialogue cohen sentence-structure writing-art craftsmanship writing-from-the-heart writing-and-art critique-of-modernity inspirational-attitude human-potential islamic payne roman-payne narration coelho humaneness famous-authors islamic-quotes inspiring-quotes fame-and-fortune art-of-literature writing-as-a-profession aleph literature-quotes happiness-positive-outlook advice-for-writers phrasing grammatical
Whenever he gives advice it is always something as startling as an epigram, and yet as practical as the Bank of England.
G.K. ChestertonPage 1 of 1.
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