Books which bring a thorough change in one's writing skills

sharma_24013

I remember reading somewhere in ForumIAS that reading midnight's children brought a comprehensive change in the way he writes , i guess he was @ArindamSarkar . If i am right , do share how you approached that book ; If not , then we all can help each other to utilize this hiatus post-mains.

Etat

^^ Yup. It absolutely-positively did.

I started reading certain classics with an aim to analyse the styles of writing and the way they describe thoughts and ideas as well as scenes.

I loved 'The old man and the sea' by Hemingway. It helped me understand how to write descriptively - how to use the scene to drive home a point about a character.

Rushdie's 'Midnight's children' showed me how to write exactly what I want to communicate and not merely writing out a narrative in drabby prose capitulating to every rule of grammar and language. It shows you how to use words like your dgins and not to be a dgin to words. It also helped me understand how to describe things in such a way (like Hemingway) so as to make images pop up in your head.

From 'The Catcher in the Rye,' by J D Salinger, I learnt how to unravel a story and reach a point of peripeteia. The lead character displays emotions that seem like your average teenage behaviour till you reach the end.

'Animal Farm,' by Orwell is perhaps one of the best examples of satire. You see how a complex plot can be written out without confusing the reader.

I have read half of 'All quiet on the western front.' I got bored of the same theme. Yet the portrayal of dehumanisation was remarkable.

Etat

Here's a little excerpt of a piece I wrote about the 'Smells of my childhood' for a competition (lost) trying to utilise my inspirations :

" I grew up in a middle-class central-Kolkata neighborhood back in the late 80s and 90s. The
smells of my childhood, therefore, are
characteristically urbane - that of a musky old
city playing with a new citrus fragrance of
liberalisation. The smells are pluralistic in their
ethnicity, vast and varied in their gamut,
inclusive in their socioeconomic span, yet very
personal in their appeal. Mostly they are
pleasant, but the unpleasant ones are just as
important to provide a much needed contrast
and keep in touch with reality."

Etat

This is the part (same piece) about imagery popping up in your head :

" I have been fortunate enough to travel the lengthand breadth of this country riding the great Indian railways that smell of iron and grease amongst other things. Of course, this was before they started spraying room freshener in thecoaches, or cleaning them, for that matter. Yet nothing could ever mask the smell of the heated rocks that cracked under the weight of the train as it went along, or the smell of burnt diesel bellowing out form the locomotive up front. I have smelled the pines in the thin chilly morning air up in the Himalayas, while sipping a cup of thick cardamom chai from a fragrant burnt-red earthen cup, and looking down into the chasm below. I have savoured the salty humid luke-warm breezes of the sea in the evenings at Puri, while munching on freshly fried fish, standing barefoot on the warm wet sands of the beach as the waves rush past my feet washing away the sand beneath. The smell of the dry desert at Jaisalmer, I contrasted with the smell of the evergreen forests of Madhya Pradesh. And I even had the good fortune of savouring quite a few pieces of cold minty Magai paan and trying out a few of the hundreds of different types of
traditional mouth-fresheners in Varanasi, outside the holy shrines where people jostled for a chance at prayer.

I've been to villages and stayed weeks away
from cities due to various reasons. I have been
woken in the mornings by the rustic smell of the
wood-burning hearth. I have savoured the early
morning batch of palm syrup with its glassy
sweet taste and silky floral aroma. I have
enjoyed the euphoric sights and smells of the
harvest all day, and the rustic smell of grass on
the pastures and the meadows has given me
peace in the evenings. The little town bazaars,
and even the farms on occasion have captured
my senses. I have hand-picked misty-sweet
water-apples, tangy-sweet half-ripe lichees,
juicy ripe mangoes of a dozen kind and crunchy
green jujube, straight off the trees. I had them
all strolling down orchards with their juices
running down my arms and staining my clothes
while mesmerising me with their aroma. I have
refreshed myself dipping into the little stream
that flows by the village. Yet the smell of car
exhaust is something that I have actually missed
quite a bit, when out of the city.
Even in this third decade of my life, I find new
smells all round.There has been a lot of things
that has gone well-noticed under my nose during

all this time. Unfamiliar smells have surprised
my coming off new renditions of old familiar
dishes at the college canteens. An endless chain
of smells of pharmaceuticals at patients'
bedsides have tested my vocabulary to the limit.
And the smell of formaldehyde coming from the
anatomy halls was not as off-putting as I had
earlier experienced to be - after a while of
getting used to, of course. The smell of aromatic
compounds in the labs was far more pleasant, of
course. I have spent one New Year's night
attending to police cases against drivers reeking
of alcohol and being brought in for medical
examination before they were to be charged for
DUI. Of course, the smell of people's personal
grief and loss is something that I have always
dreaded. But in the line of work that I am, it is a
ever-present master.

Within the cacophony of the older smells, I can
now pick out little purer notes. The old smells
now seem to have distinct "heads, hearts and
bases" - each enchanting in its own right. The
citrus smells of new romance were intriguing,
but they have matured into a sweet base
aromatic note. Emotions and sentiments of
people too, now have synasthetic olfactory
resonance. The cliches of pungent smell envy
and sweet smell of success are now clearer me
among others. The smell of coffee - not polluted
by milk and sugar - is now the one that I look
forward to now - three times a day if possible.
There is a lot more in this world left to enjoy and
even more left to explore. Even if someday I have
nothing at all, I would always have the smell of
the rain to look forward to and to the flood of
beautiful memories it would surely unlock."

sharma_24013

^^ This is the reason i have abstained myself from writing on abstract topics in my two mains. The flow of language was serene and relaxed. I really hope , you wrote with the same finesse in your essay.

For now , i am going to get hold of the books you mentioned . I will ping you soon with the progress and hopefully discuss nuances of the writing skills.

Thanks a lot for your reply.

Etat

^^ Thanks. Would love to discuss.

Spellbound

@sharma_24013 : while you are at it do pick some books from Russians. As far as imagery is concerned , nobody beats them. I admit that the language of British writers is beautifully gracious and has hypnotizing effect but trust me even Russian short story writers are much better at depiction of emotions and picturization of situation then many good British and american authors. Try a hero of our times by leromontov or death of Ivan ilych or may be the trial of Kafka . but do give them a try..
@ArindamSarkar : nice writing

Etat

@sharma_24013 : while you are at it do pick some books from Russians. As far as imagery is concerned , nobody beats them. I admit that the language of British writers is beautifully gracious and has hypnotizing effect but trust me even Russian short story writers are much better at depiction of emotions and picturization of situation then many good British and american authors. Try a hero of our times by leromontov or death of Ivan ilych or may be the trial of Kafka . but do give them a try..
@ArindamSarkar : nice writing

Thanks. I'll do too.

Armstrong

@ArindamSarkar, seriously you write like seasonsed writers !

Etat

Also, Indian English authors are pretty good too. I've been reading a bit of Jhumpa Laheri's 'Interpreter of Maladies' and I must say, she hits the nail on the head with her imagery and character sketches.

I have read a few of the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. They helped me to depict a character's thoughts in words. Not a very easy thing to do without turning the piece into a pile of "then he/she thought" / "then he/she imagined" garbage.

I have to also add about the grip that Mark Twain or Oscar Wilde had on their language. Twains description of little incidents in 'Tom Sawyer' or 'Huckleberry Finn' were enjoyable. Similarly, Jerome K Jerome's 'Three men in a boat' was a very enjoyable comedy even though the plot was limited.

In construction of sentences, I have been accused of imitating Charles Dickens, with long-winded sentences such as this with lots of conjunctions. It is only natural. I have read his stories all through my school life as a component of the curriculum. I have always enjoyed reading Dickens.

I tried G B Shaw, but it proved a bit above my league at the time. I'll pick it up again.

Russian / French / etc. authors have not featured in the list simply because I avoid reading translations. I would love to learn French and read Voltaire one day (on my list of things to do before I die). But I don't want to spoil the narrative till then even with the best translation. Russian authors also have an issue with their length. I can't spend a year after one book. I focus more on short stories than on novels.

The list would be incomplete without Bengali prose that has had an indelible impression on my line of thinking. Authors like Tagore, Bibhutibhushan and Sarat Chandra have their altars in my mind. Your vernacular authors would certainly have an effect over your writing.

Etat

@ArindamSarkar, seriously you write like seasonsed writers !

Thanks. Inspirations have been listed out here.