Forum / The standard and the boundary pusher

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  RW Spryszak

  Feb 16, 07:15pm

  Reading a good old copy of Nicholas Nickleby. Remembering why I loved reading, which is why I love writing. And though archaic in mode and transport, I'm reminded again that Dickens' power rested in the creation of characters which either readily slipped into icon, or were, at least, vivid. Do you think a person who stretches the boundaries should be first grounded in the standard and the classical?

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  James Lloyd Davis

  Feb 17, 07:58pm

  No, I don't think so, but it doesn't hurt to know the standards, the classics... if your goal is to transcend them.

  Perhaps the greatest challenge once you've mastered style, is the cultivation of content. I've read some beautifully written contemporary novels that lacked substance. I'd love to give an example, but they are forgettable books.

  Personally, I can't help believing that the best preparation for a writer is incessant, disciplined, critical reading. By that, I mean breaking down the elements of a successful work and trying to learn why it succeeds.

  As for cultivation of content, maybe the best school for that is... life.

• Robin Graham

  Feb 18, 08:35am

  Dickens was stretching the boundaries. There's no distinction.

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