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Re: Pat_B
I love all these same authors and have studied them during my "grandma goes to college" days. Way cool, V!
posted by
Pat_B
on January 23, 2022 at 11:35 AM
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Pat_B
I was a huge fan of Truman Capote. I used to go to the local book store with my mother. She went in for her 'True Crime' magazines (which were 98% pure trash!), giving me time to look for books. I was twelve the summer of '65 when 'In Cold Blood' was serialized in 'The New Yorker.' Just reading the headline made me look at it a little closer, and within thirty seconds, I knew I had to buy it.
I had my own money from my 'worm business.' I had 'worm farms,' and I was selling them to local fishermen. I also sold crickets and cow manure grubs. My grandfather had shown me how to trap crickets, so I always had a good supply of them. I didn't realize it then, but I made more money selling bait than my father made working 40+ hours in the local Carnation Milk condensery for many weeks in the summer.
I bought the first installment of the story, and I made sure that the lady at the book store saved me a copy as each installment came out. I bought two copies of the book when it came out in 1966. I kept one because I knew 'first editions' were worth money, and I read the other - over and over again. Unfortunately, a leaky ceiling ruined both copies.
Capote opened up a new genre of writing with that story, called 'Roman à clef' or 'Novel with a key.' Many of my stories are in that genre. The story's underlying basis is factual, but I write it as fiction. Every time I read that story, I picked up more writing methods to emulate his style.
Someone recently asked who had 'influenced' my writing style. I said it was Truman Capote, Dorothy Parker, Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, and Stephen King from youth. Capote and King taught me story arcs, Hemingway and Wolfe taught me color, while Parker taught me humor.
Finally, I had a chance to listen to his childhood friend, Harper Lee, when she gave a speech at the University of Michigan. Lee spent a lot of time with Capote in Kansas doing the background work for his breakthrough novel. Of course, Lee was already known for her book, 'To Kill A Mockingbird.' I was able to spend five minutes alone with her because I was an assistant to the professor that had invited her to the college. She was a shy but brilliant woman.
I look back at what I have just written and smile. I have lived a charmed life. I've experienced so many things by being in the right place at the right time. When the rollercoaster of Life ends, I will definitely smile and know I had quite a ride!
posted by
BigV
on January 23, 2022 at 8:27 AM
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That's scary! You just never know.
posted by
Annicita
on January 23, 2022 at 6:45 AM
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I'm guessing you are a fan of "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote,
the non-fiction novel that founded this genre of writing so many years ago. We studied that book and its background in a journalism class, as Capote's attention to detail and faithfulness to the facts were exemplary... I see that your work follows the same strong principles.
posted by
Pat_B
on January 23, 2022 at 5:32 AM
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