“The core ethical concepts in which you most passionately believe are
Telling these truths is your job. You have nothing else to tell us.” ~ An
Meaning & “The Moral Poin
The Accumulation of Mean
• Meaning must be organically embodied in the
• Made by showing the concrete (as opposed to
• Action (things happening) in a story reveals m
& theme intrinsically tied together)
• LCD of fiction = the senses
• 3 sensuous strokes to make an object real (sa
• Details carry weight, and certain ones will acc
meaning/become symbols
• Meaning = symbols & themes that force unce
series of clues but not a solution/elusive ques
story which is left open)
Symbols
• Scare readers (and writers) away
• Feel like mysterious objects put in ar
common reader
• Forget about symbols; focus instead
Anagogical Vision
• Ability to see different levels of reality
• Fiction should be both canny & uncan
mysterious simultaneously)
• Literal, physical plane fiction enterta
• At same time, works on a deeper (m
spiritual) level that offers meaning
The Habit of Art
• Serious writer not interested in extern
“Habit of Art”
• Quality or virtue of mind; writing some
of itself and that works in itself
• Basis of Art = TRUTH
• Person who aims after art in his work
• Whole personality must take part, con
• Habits must be rooted deeply and cult
Write First, Then Discover
• First drafts must be written from White
unconscious mind
• Details you include are not planned bu
• Time to look for meaning is AFTER YO
then can you discover what unconscio
• Then, and only then, will you look for “
contact with mystery”
Judgment from Vision
•
•
•
•
Your beliefs will be the light by which y
But they will not be WHAT you see or
Belief is the engine that makes percep
Just as with symbols, however, belief
added; it’s only visible to a writer after
• The virtues of art, like the virtues of fa
the limitations of the intellect / Art reve
• All true writing reveals the writer’s ver
The Moral Point of View
• Telling the truth is your job. You have
• NOT delivering a moral or message; if
send a telegram.
• A writer is God in relation to the world
she is responsible for the coherence o
• Coherence is made up of two things:
1- writer’s world view (way the world
2- writer’s sense of morality (way the
Coherence is Meaning
• This cosmic view and the ethical attitu
create a “special kind of thing” the wri
way of seeing the world
• By rendering stories in concrete, sens
organically accumulates meaning that
deepest beliefs, we make the reader f
something is going on here that count
Try This:
• Look at the stories you have already w
and make a list of the objects that stan
• If none of the objects or details stand o
another reader to see if any of the deta
accumulate meaning
• Once you have a short list (don’t look
yourself if there are any patterns betw
• Are you beginning to get a glimpse of
view?