In the introduction of The Best American Short Stories, Barbara Kingsolver states "I love it for what it tells me about life. If it tells me something I didn't already know, or that I maybe suspected but never framed quite that way, or that never before socked me divinely in the solar plexus, then the story is worth the read." Its amazing how the things we consider to be less than normal draws us in day by day, inch by inch. The Secret of Bats is a story that does this as it truly touches two lonely individuals and connects them in a way that no one could ever understand. Its not often enough that we allow ourselves to go beyond the surface to actually feel the spirit in all in which is around us.
The story fits Kingsolver’s statement perfectly in that from the beginning the audience is drawn into this strange girl from Hong Kong and her obsession with bats. Her obsession was not one we can all consider ourselves to be familiar with instead hers was deep in that she wanted to know how bats recognized each other based solely on sound. I think Kingsolver had this surprise in mind because indeed as the story moves along the reason is revealed and it is intriguing. There is a since of wonderment in the story that after reading it you can’t help but stop and think of how would you recognize a loved one.
Kingsolver’s idea of what makes a short story good fits the idea of where I want to go as an artist. It is clearly the rebel within that requires me to find a way to shock someone into wanting more. As a writer, an individual I am constantly seeking new ways to explain things. Now, I think the idea that is different however needed in my writing is a reason for telling the story. I think Kingsolver is absolutely right that the stories that we hold near and dear are those in which taught us a truth about life and even most so, ourselves.
In the stories I write I look for familiarity with a mysterious quirk. In mysterious, I simply mean something that draws us closer, that makes us want to know more. I love characters who are both sad and humorous because I think they represent how I see life. If I can see the movements and hear the ripples in the story, that to me is good fiction. Even more so, if afterwards I am having a conversation with someone and I revert back to something in the story and repeat it as though it were a truth. I’m sure others have had that moment where you recall an event and can’t pinpoint where you received the information. That’s good stuff to me because it has become two things; something I hold truth and believe and something that made an impression on me enough to remember and want to share.
As I have said before I am not good with having a reason, moral, which leads to the ultimate weakness lacking voice. Voice is knowing your beliefs, truths and sharing them with the world. I think to have a voice comes when one believes in themselves and what they have to offer those around them.
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