You Will Believe a Man Can Fly (A Love Letter)
When is the job of writers to create a transformation in the reader? Spoiler alert: always
Dear Lovies,
I am old enough to remember the tag line of the first Superman movie (with the spectacular Christopher Reeve, R.I.P.) which was: you will believe a man can fly. (Yes, it was the eighties, before inclusive language, and D.E.I. or the tagline might have used “person” rather than “man.”) It’s no doubt laughable to go back and watch the movie now and see the “special effects” used to make us believe Reeve was flying. (Spoiler alert: they don’t.) But the point is, at that time, they did. Viewers bought into the world of the movie.
(For a great conversation about this film and its impact, read this Reddit. )
I’ve been thinking about this as I finish reading Deborah Harkness’s The Blackbird Oracle. For those who aren’t familiar with her work, it’s set in our world, only with vampires and witches and magic. I like this kind of thing, but I also often tire of it quickly, which translates into most books of its ilk becoming DNFs. But I’ve dived into this novel feet first and landed happily in its dense pages. (And I’m not the only one—the novel is currently number one on the New York Times bestseller list.)
I’ve been trying to figure out why I’ve gotten so immersed in it. And finally settled on this: I want to believe in a world where magic exists, where I can click my fingers and summon a book from across the room, or walk by the kitchen sink and have it clean itself. And Harkness’s book makes me believe this.
But the world of a story doesn’t have to be filled with magic to make me love it. The world of the novel just needs to come to life in my mind, so that I am immersed fully in it and it’s hard to leave when I finish reading.
But there’s also more to this, I think.
It’s also our job to make sure that when readers do finally leave, they leave cheered, invigorated, enthused—somehow transformed. I feel this all the time when I read and it is why I go back to novels over and over again. I love that transformation that occurs, and I want it to happen for my readers too. I want them to believe that a better world is possible and through reading my books (and this newsletter). I imbue them with that belief. (Or at least that is the hope.)
And this applies beyond novels, too. Really, it applies to anything you might write, be it an essay, short story, or memory, even if only in a small way. Our art as writers is the art of making readers believe.
Love, light, and good writing,
Charlotte
P.S. I would love to hear about a book (or any piece of writing) that made you believe.
P.P.S. I’m at the beach with my family for a couple of weeks. I’m posting pictures (admittedly sporadically) on Instagram if you’re interested.
Books
My son bought me a gift certificate at the Manzanita bookstore and the first day we were here, I immediately visited and bought these two books:
I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger. I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never read a book from Enger, though I know he’s very popular. But this one pulled me right in when I picked it up in the bookstore. Here’s the publisher’s blurb: Set in a not-too-distant America, I Cheerfully Refuse is the tale of a bereaved and pursued musician embarking under sail on a sentient Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife. The writing is gorgeous, too.
Dream Girl by Laura Lippman. I’ve never read a book by her, either, but this one was 50% off and it enticed me, too. So I bought it. It’s good to read out of my wheelhouse once in awhile. Big echoes of Stephen King’s Misery in this one.
The Blackbird Oracle, by Deborah Harkness. I’ve read the others in this series and this one enticed me even more. Witches, vampires and magic are sometimes but not always my thing but I love the way this author writes. Update: True confession, by the end of this book, I was reading just to finish. But here’s the deal, while I thought the plot overwrought and overlong, I still loved being immersed in the magical world of Diana Bishop. And that is what kept me reading.
Articles and Resources
Don’t hope, act. “To hope for some result means you have given up any agency concerning it.” This article is not about writing, it’s about environmental activism, but it makes some pertinent points.
How do you know an idea for a novel will be any good?
Writing Workshops
Late-breaking news: last-minute cancellations for both France and Italy leave us with space available. Does one of them belong to you?
There’s a brand-new blog post on our website! It’s about French films. Blog posts on our website will tell you all about the location of our France workshop and why we love it so much. You can read about art and artists in Céret, the crazy annual footrace there, and best of all, the wonderful local bakeries. Nab your spot now. And here is the promised interview with our guest resident Angela M. Sanders (written by the wonderful Shari Lane, whose book is also wonderful!)
And here is the most recent blog post about Perugia. (Update: it’s filling up fast. We’ve had several writers sign up. There’s still space, but you need to act quickly.) To tempt you further, here’s the villa where we are staying.
Other places to connect with me:
My website (badly in need of an upgrade)
Our workshop website
My original blog (now for archive purposes only, no longer updated)
Ways I can help you:
Book coaching
Manuscript evaluation
Mindset coaching
(While I get my coaching site up and running, reply to this email for more info, or leave a comment if you’re interested. Can’t wait to talk to you.)
I so appreciate every set of eyes that lands on this newsletter. If you enjoy what you read here, I’d love it if you shared it with others who might also. Thank you!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
This:”It’s also our job to make sure that when readers do finally leave, they leave cheered, invigorated, enthused—somehow transformed.” Yes!!! I love a book called A Long Time Ago by Margaret Kennedy. I believed so much in their world and, at the end, I wasn’t sure who I believed. I definitely will read it again.