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ENTRY
The evolution of an idea
August 3, 2009
Eric Obenauf of Two Dollar Radio press (great edgy books, check out them out here) asked me this question: "With 'mono no aware' playing such a large part in the story, what was the process of creation -- did you start with the story of Zack Hara or the concept?" The answer is a good follow-up to my post "The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)."
I first heard about the concept of 'mono no aware' when I was working on my second novel The Fourth Treasure. It seemed like what writers, really any artist, are trying to do: get across some emotional reaction through their works. I researched the idea some more and found there wasn?t much written about it, at least in English. So I put together a non-fiction monograph on the subject and tried to get it published. That didn?t work out and I realized I wasn?t fully capturing the feeling of the idea. So I wrote a short story to illustrate the concept which got published (it?s the cherry blossom viewing party scene in OH!). I gradually expanded on the short story into three chapters of a novel, built around Zack Hara?s search for an emotionally fulfilling life. I submitted the chapters and a synopsis to Bruce Rutledge at Chin Music Press. He was very enthusiastic about it from the start and helped me shape the story.
The art is really a separate project of Linda?s, giving her interpretation of 'mono no aware' in the form of visual haiku, small works showing an expressionistic reaction to objects. The text exhibits are ?excerpts? from Zack?s research and attempt to understand the concept in a more didactic way. The art and the exhibits don?t literally illustrate the story, but rather supplement it. To integrate the story, art, and text exhibits, Linda selected a piece of her art that went best with a chapter and I dispersed the exhibits based on what Zack was experiencing. But it was Chin Music?s book designer, Josh Powell, who put them together so well. His design made the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
© 2010
August 3, 2009
Eric Obenauf of Two Dollar Radio press (great edgy books, check out them out here) asked me this question: "With 'mono no aware' playing such a large part in the story, what was the process of creation -- did you start with the story of Zack Hara or the concept?" The answer is a good follow-up to my post "The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)."
I first heard about the concept of 'mono no aware' when I was working on my second novel The Fourth Treasure. It seemed like what writers, really any artist, are trying to do: get across some emotional reaction through their works. I researched the idea some more and found there wasn?t much written about it, at least in English. So I put together a non-fiction monograph on the subject and tried to get it published. That didn?t work out and I realized I wasn?t fully capturing the feeling of the idea. So I wrote a short story to illustrate the concept which got published (it?s the cherry blossom viewing party scene in OH!). I gradually expanded on the short story into three chapters of a novel, built around Zack Hara?s search for an emotionally fulfilling life. I submitted the chapters and a synopsis to Bruce Rutledge at Chin Music Press. He was very enthusiastic about it from the start and helped me shape the story.
The art is really a separate project of Linda?s, giving her interpretation of 'mono no aware' in the form of visual haiku, small works showing an expressionistic reaction to objects. The text exhibits are ?excerpts? from Zack?s research and attempt to understand the concept in a more didactic way. The art and the exhibits don?t literally illustrate the story, but rather supplement it. To integrate the story, art, and text exhibits, Linda selected a piece of her art that went best with a chapter and I dispersed the exhibits based on what Zack was experiencing. But it was Chin Music?s book designer, Josh Powell, who put them together so well. His design made the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
© 2010
COMMENTS
Number of comments: 1
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Jo Reed
Seems like a fairly unusual path for an idea to become a book: from concept to nonfiction to short story to novel. But I guess whatever works!
click here to add a comment
Jo Reed
Seems like a fairly unusual path for an idea to become a book: from concept to nonfiction to short story to novel. But I guess whatever works!
ARCHIVE
date (comments)
Review: Kissing the Mask
August 22, 2010 (1)
Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins
July 12, 2010 (2)
Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010 (3)
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2009 Reviewed
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Book tour
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Punctuation compunction
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June 30, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2
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June 10, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1
June 3, 2008 (6)
Virtual unreality
May 31, 2008 (4)
The purpose of this blog
May 21, 2008 (5)
Review: Kissing the Mask
August 22, 2010 (1)
Jonathan Lethem: Writing at the margins
July 12, 2010 (2)
Review: Love in Translation
June 22, 2010 (3)
Jose Saramago
June 18, 2010 (0)
Marketplace of Ideas interview
June 11, 2010 (2)
Imagining Memory
May 6, 2010 (1)
Upcoming Los Angeles events
April 7, 2010 (2)
Time and energy
March 30, 2010 (2)
Review: Botchan
February 28, 2010 (2)
J.D. Salinger
January 28, 2010 (1)
2009 Reviewed
December 31, 2009 (5)
Review: The Word Book
December 12, 2009 (1)
Chaat and Chat event with OH!
November 6, 2009 (2)
Home at last
November 2, 2009 (2)
Los Angeles events
October 17, 2009 (1)
Poets and poetry
October 7, 2009 (1)
Time + place
September 24, 2009 (1)
The future of books
September 23, 2009 (1)
October book tour
September 6, 2009 (1)
Blogging at Powell's Books
August 28, 2009 (2)
The evolution of an idea
August 3, 2009 (1)
The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey
July 9, 2009 (2)
Tour debrief
July 2, 2009 (3)
Book tour events
May 18, 2009 (3)
Simply in the mood
April 24, 2009 (2)
Book tour
April 8, 2009 (6)
The Necessary Book
March 2, 2009 (2)
"Murder Makes the Magazine"
February 7, 2009 (3)
John Updike
January 27, 2009 (2)
2008 misc. (good news, bad news)
January 1, 2009 (3)
Publishing woes and query letters
December 13, 2008 (4)
Punctuation compunction
November 16, 2008 (3)
The Fountain of Youth (and other Ideas)
October 10, 2008 (2)
David Foster Wallace
September 14, 2008 (2)
Ending it all
September 12, 2008 (2)
The mystery of plotting, the plotting of mysteries
August 29, 2008 (3)
Blocking out the block
August 20, 2008 (3)
"What kind of books do you write?"
August 8, 2008 (2)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 4
July 21, 2008 (3)
Show and tell
July 14, 2008 (3)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 3
July 7, 2008 (7)
Advice for first-time writers (Barry Gifford and me)
June 30, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 2
June 18, 2008 (3)
To be or not to be
June 10, 2008 (6)
Theory of Satisfaction: Part 1
June 3, 2008 (6)
Virtual unreality
May 31, 2008 (4)
The purpose of this blog
May 21, 2008 (5)