I recently finished reading Haruki Murakami’s trilogy 1Q84, and it left me with mixed feelings. If you compare any of his previous novels to 1Q84, you’ll be quite surprised. It’s different from the standaard Murakami topics, and his tone and voice have changed in this work too.
Avoiding a description of the content and putting personal preferences aside, there is much to be learned from the Japanese master’s latest work (even though he lost the Nobel race). So here are the lessons I’ve pulled out:
Photo by Monik Markus
1. Long Is Acceptable
There’s room for a modern Tolstoy. Although it’s been said that in this age of information abundance we have shorter attention spans and readers in general are only skimming through pages, not everything should be short and packed. If the story is well-thought of, today’s reader is ready to invest his/her time in indulging in a long narrative.
Also, the popularity of all the recent serialized novels is a great example of people’s preferences: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones.
2. Different Perspective Is King
The story of 1Q84 is weaved alternating through the eyes of two main characters, and a sporadic third one at the end. This is nothing new of course, but serves as a nice reminder of a good way to drive a story forward.
Being able to see a different perspective gives space to the reader to identify with the multiple characters instead of sympathizing with only a single one. In addition, the reader is pulled deeper in the story while contemplating the relations between the characters.
3. Reign the Inexplicable
Events should be explained. Details should be provided. This is the golden rule, right? Maybe not. Sometimes you can leave matters abstract, ambiguous, and provoke thought.
Let the reader use their imagination and intelligence to come up with their own explanation and story version. In fact, this is a very postmodern approach. For example, in the past, short stories had their order and the end wrapped the story up nicely, whereas if you’re to read any short story in a literary magazine today, you’re most likely to find the end inexplicable, as if there’s a comma instead of a full stop.
The modern reader is expected to think for themselves and make up their own interpretation.
4. Use of References
The point of literary references aren’t to intimidate, to look smart, or to hide behind someone else’s work, but to portray ideas better. In 1Q84 in particular, Murakami has used quite a lot of literary references, like Orwell, Lewis Carroll, Anton Chekhov, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, as descriptive tools.
5. Bend Genres
I’m sure when pitching a book proposal, publishers will insist on a clear genre depiction. However, in reality genres are flexible. After all, if you’re to follow strict rules, wouldn’t that kill your creativity? Besides, how can new genres ever come to be, if they have to be strictly defined and framed from the very start? Let yourself go free and see where the creativity takes you. 1Q84 is hard to define in terms of genre. It’s partly a mystery novel, a love story, mixed with magical realism.
What is your opinion? Do you have any experience in writing a story with inexplicable parts?
PRACTICE
For fifteen minutes, write about a story with underlying mystery/magical elements, without bothering to explain the details. Use all of your creativity in setting up the foundations for it. Let the reader decide on the rest. When you’re done, post it in the comments.
Also, don’t forget to read and support others’ practices.
I really liked this book and thought it showed how there’s a readership for the less traditional kinds of book, but I think what works for a master like Murakami often falls to pieces in lesser hands. In fact a lot of the more literary types of books that win awards and get media attention aren’t that great. I think it comes down to: Do you have something to say?
BTW I don’t think it’s all that much a departure for him, Harboiled Wonderland explored very similar themes and had a similar structure.
mood
Moody Writing
Nice observation – I agree that it depends on the reader to interpret the work and assess its value, and yes, it always comes down to having something to say for the work to be worth it. How you say it also matters though, but that’s another point altogether.
This was just what I needed to hear today. Insightful advice that I will be putting to use in my current work. Genre bending, open endedness and perspective were all areas of concern for me just this week. Excellent post and great timing. Thank you!
Glad to hear Neal!
I genre bend a lot in my WIPs. May I post a couple paragraphs from one?
Of course!
Thanks. Okay, this is from my first novel Into the Realm: The Chronicles of Carter Blake, Book 1.. At this point, it’s set in the “real” world, but then it goes into fantasy with a touch of Sci-Fi. The MC is playing a game similar to Dungeons & Dragons with some of his friends:
After an hour of role playing, and no battles, we had managed to ambush the boss of the area, a savage gold dragon. Unlike in Dungeons and Dragons, they weren’t aligned based on their colors. Anderson called for a recharge break. Mike and Stacy went into the living room, Meghan sat next to Lucas, talking quietly and Anderson scowled at them. I pushed a curtain aside to watch people walking by.
The formerly sunshine filled day was gone. In its place, a nasty thunderstorm. Rain pounded the window, streaking the light from the
street lamps. Lightning sheeted across the sky, drawing my attention upwards. Grey brume warred with blackish ones. Another flash of static electricity. An image flashed over the clouds in the afterglow of the fulmination. ‘I couldn’t have just seen a castle,’ I thought. ‘That’s crazy.’
Yet the vision stayed with me: A towering black edifice with massive fortifications and intimidating crenellations. The walls seemed like razor sharp teeth. Dragons soared in the air around the thing and a horde
of monsters spewed from the tremendous drawbridge.
“Hey, Carter!” Anderson’s voice broke into my contemplation. “You gonna rejoin us, or no?”
“Sure. I’ll be right over.”
I turned, and another flash of lightning froze me in place. A tall man in buckskin fought with what could only be a demon with ebony
skin, a pair of forward-growing horns above its glowing red eyes and short ones growing upward from its forehead. The two moved in a blur. They seemed evenly matched, but then, the human thrust a pure white sword into the chest of his opponent. The demon crumpled to the ground, and the image faded from view. I shook my head, and returned the table. I vowed to stay away from the Keebler cookies and Pepsi. ‘They’ve got me hallucinating.’
I just subscribed a few days ago. This was my first prompt and I’m unclear if I should post it here. No doubt 15 minutes of writing means hours of thought before approaching the page, but I have so needed to start, something, anything, so. I jumped in. If this is not the place, please let me know.
I’m sorry, this is all I have. I meant that it was too much, that my only ten could not be given to a melon man. I could survive a week on that. Thank you, and here, here this is for you. I took the book and wondered if there was another ride left on my transit pass. The R25 was empty midday, no one to observe and draw. I opened the book to begin my trip home. That night, I fell asleep to melons. The color filled me, buoyed me above persimmon fields, Thai silk ribbons wrapped my wrists, pulling me closer to the sun. I spoke in my sleep, chanting unfamiliar words, running lines from Four Quartets. All that I know… An eagle, silhouette against a melting sun, climbed invisible steps, stopping only once to look back at me before disappearing into light. The laughter startled me, the face thrown back in delight, fading in and out of transparency. It’s you, are you?
Great to have you Pamela, and I hope we’ll see even more of you soon.
This is thick and beautiful, Pamela. Thai silk ribbons, persimmon fields, Four quartets. I love it.
Welcome to The Write Practice. 🙂
Ok, so this is my first practice. English is not my first language, so I had been a little insecure about actually using it to write. But I love the idiom, and I think dialogues much easier to write in English than in my natural language, Portuguese. Perhaps that’s why I never know what to say in a conversation. Or maybe it’s all those movies and tv series I’ve been watching since I was twelve. Either way, I hope it’s not too big, and it’s not too raw. I could have written more, but I didn’t want to post an essay.
This is from a story that has been in my mind for a few years now, and that I’ve started to develop. The actual story has more genre bend, but this scene has been stuck in my head since the start, and I just had to write it. I hope you’ll like it:
Nick woke up in the middle of the night with his hand troubling him. It was shaking a little, like it had been doing for the past two weeks. That was good. When his hand was shaking the pain wasn’t so great that he couldn’t handle. He flexed his hand a few times, releasing some of the tension that had accumulated over the few hours he had been sleeping. He didn’t dare popping his knuckles, even though his fingers were asking for it, because that might release a wave of agony that he knew would make him feel sorry for even thinking about doing it. He decided to take a hot bath instead, to relief him from the rigidity of his body.
The shower was a good idea. Nick came out of the bathroom feeling restored, like a huge weight had been removed from his shoulders. He wrapped a towel around his waist and routed to the balcony.
It was true what people said about the Big Apple, it really never slept. From his apartment he could see the lights from the streets around the Central Park, and it was a big mess of colored lights, like the lights themself were having an endless party.
A cool breeze passed by him, but Nick didn’t stiff. His body was warm from the hot water, and his thoughts were stuck on the one girl he had been trying to find since the accident in the Radio City Hall.
When he started looking for her, he couldn’t imagine she would be so difficult to find. How many girls with blue hair and shiny tattoos were out there? If he hasn’t met one, he would think there were none. But he knew she was out there, she couldn’t have left. Not after the attack on him. She had to be around to fight those things in the dark.
But where was she?
The breeze came again, and even though Nick was still warm from the bath, a shiver ran down his spine. Maybe it was time for him to go inside and put some clothes on. He turned around, hoping to face his pale reflex on the glass door, but he was shocked when he found two dark eyes staring at him. Those eyes scanned him from head to toe in a fraction of a second, and then turned back to his eyes. He could see no reaction in those eyes, not a thing that would give away what the thoughts behind them could be.But it didn’t matter.
It was her. She was there, right in front of him, after all the time he spent searching for her, thinking about her. Nick wanted to say a lot of things, but he couldn’t think of anything important at the moment. Instead, he said the one thing that had been bugging him from the start.
“You’re hard to find”. The moment those words came out of his mouth he regretted them. He didn’t want to be rude and drive her away. What was wrong with him?
He saw her eyes squeeze a little. “If you knew what was good for you, you wouldn’t be searching for me” she said in a low voice, like she was outraged by his attempts to find her. By all Nick knew, she could be.
I love it, Julia! I hope you keep going with the story – what happens next?
Thank you Paul! It’s really nice to hear that you liked it, I’m so insecure about it. I really like this story, but I don’t know everything about it yet.
Let me try to sum it up without giving much away… well, the girl is there for an specific reason. She’s not an ordinary girl, as you can tell from Nick’s description, so looking for her might have put him in danger. And since he already was in the middle of something, the danger just keep growing. Too bad he isn’t aware of most of it.
Cool – I think it has potential to be a great story
Thank you!
Sounds intriguing Julia. I’m interested to find out more. I’d encourage you to write in English, even though it may feel limiting at first. With English as a second language myself, I find that when I write in English I become more aware of the actual language and style, rather than give complete focus to the plot. It’s a good practice for sure.
Wow, a good read!
I both agree and disagree.
Long is acceptable, but really, length is irrelevant. For every Harry Potter there is a Wheel of Time. In my opinion, 1Q84 leans toward the latter; less story, more dawdling.
Different perspective may or may not be king, dependent entirely on the needs of the story.
I first thought when you said ‘reign’ that you meant ‘rein in’; apparently you didn’t, but I would. Of course not every little oddity requires a detailed explanation, but just throwing a bunch of random weirdness out there doesn’t work either, if it leaves your audience confused and feeling stupid. (I write sci-fi and fantasy, and it is EXTREMELY important to me that everything happen for a believable reason. Even if the reason is magic.)
Use of references again has to serve the story first, the author’s ego dead last. Connie Willis employs literary references brilliantly – her use of Shakespeare in Blackout is stunningly beautiful and evocative – but at the same time leaves less-read audiences out in the cold. I’m sure I missed out on half of To Say Nothing of the Dog for that reason. Excessive references risk limiting the readership to those with the same library as the author.
I don’t remember the literary references in 1Q84. I don’t know if that means they were used well (so seamless I didn’t notice) or poorly (invisible/inaccessible).
Genres are just labels. They may be helpful to publishers, booksellers, and to a certain degree readers, but they’re not much good to writers. Still, not sticking to a genre isn’t necessarily a good thing either. You can’t label 1Q84, you can’t call it this or that… but that’s at least in part because it ISN’T anything. A jumble of random ideas doesn’t fit a genre, but it doesn’t make much of a story either.
Disclaimer: I didn’t like 1Q84.
I didn’t read 1Q84, but I agree with you when you say that it’s extremely important that everything happen for a believable reason. When the reason isn’t strong enought, specially in the end of the book, I feel like I’ve been tricked into reading a book when the main reason of the book’s main conflict is ridiculous. And that’s not a good feeling. Makes me think less of the writer.
Great points, and I agree with everything you’ve said. Honestly, I didn’t like the book myself, except the whole situation of story-within-a-story around the Air Chrysalis and the general mystery in book one. From book two forward it’s unnecessary dragging. However, personal preference is personal, so I’ve shared all the insight I could draw from it. One can learn something from anything, right?
one hopes, yes! otherwise these things would be a tragic waste of time. 🙂
No idea where this is headed, Sophie, but it was fun!
It was almost time for them to arrive. I was sitting at my desk with the necessary materials laid out, thinking this would be a routine matter. I closed my eyes and thought hard for a few moments, narrowing my focus down to a pinpoint. When I opened my eyes, a wispy face floated in front of me, about a foot away.
“James, when they get here, please show them in to my study”, I said.
“As you wish.”. His face faded, then disappeared. So much better than the intercom we used to have.
Everything was ready. Wait, not quite. One document was just out of reach. I looked at it, feeling my focus narrowing to where I could only see that page. At that point the page tilted up and became slightly magnified. I squinted; the font increased another notch. Scanning one sentence in the last paragraph, I saw a phrase with a word missing. A cursor appeared: I mentally corrected the word, saved the document, and let go of the image. With the new system James and I had set up last week, a new hard copy would replace the current one on my desk in about a minute. Still not state of the art, but not bad.
I felt a pinprick behind my left ear, and let my image transmit. Guessing who pinged me, I said, “What is it, James?”
“They’re walking up to the front door. All but one.”
All but one? That wasn’t right. “Who’s missing?”
“Mr. Salvatori.”
Uh oh. The Group always showed up together to debrief me after an event. When someone was missing, especially Salvatori, that meant trouble. Nothing routine about the evening now.
“Okay. That means I’m probably leaving tonight.”
“I know. I’m checking the apparatus now. Will have it packed when you need it.”
“Thanks, James.” I took a few deep breaths as I waited for them to assemble in my study. Where would I be sent this time?
That was interesting, very well written. The system you came up with is pretty cool, I wish I had it to write my college papers.
It seems to me a mix of sci fi and mystery, am I write? Do you plan on continue this story, or was it just a loose scene in your head? I would love to keep reading it, specially more about that Salvatori guy and what is his relation to your POV character.
Thanks, Julia – glad you liked it. You’re right, it is a mix of sci fi and mystery. I’ve played around with this story in several practices on The Write Practice. The main character and story fragments just keep coming to mind. I think I’m going to see if I can develop it into a full-blown plot with developed characters. I’m curious about Mr. Salvatori also, since he came out of nowhere today!
I love it when that happens, when your writing and it takes you to a whole new place you had no idea of. Holly Lisle has a very helpful technique to develop characters by asking questions. I know a lot of autors use this technique and it doesn’t belong to one alone, but Holly has a great way to explain it.
Mysterious and imaginative, I love it when a character just pops out of nowhere and becomes important. The story cries out for further development.
Thanks, Steve. This story won’t leave me alone, so I’d better figure out where it’s going!
I want that system you’ve devised here. 🙂 Seriously, you need to take this story further. Mr. Salvatori sounds like the guy’s right hand.
Thanks, Sophie. I am going to work on developing this story – stay tuned!
Very interesting!
Thanks, Patrick!
No, I haven’t read this book. I have to admit, after reading your post and the comments that I have no wish to read it either. Just doesn’t sound like my cup of tea. I’m heavily into having a variety of perspectives, and utilise at least 4 or 5 different points-of-view in my current book. However, I can’t bear to read rambling stories, or anything too ‘arty’. I’m way too low-brow for that. Hey, I admit it!
I agree, I haven’t read 1Q84, but long rambling books are hard work, and unless there is some clear reward, such as compelling characters and a distinct story line, that work is, for me, not worth the effort. I definitely prefer there be some purpose to the whole thing, not just disconnected thoughts and ideas. I’m not sure if this is a fair assessment of the book, but it’s what I feel generally.
Haha, long works are hard work, no doubt. To be honest, I don’t think you’ll be missing on too much, which is why I’ve sublimed and shared in this post any valuable lesson I could draw from the book.
I must admit I prefer a beginning, middle and end. As for the exercise, I’m not sure if I was to write about an existing story or make one up, so I made one up.
He drove over the old bridge, not sure if it would hold his weight. The sign said “ten cwt”, near enough to five hundred kilos and he knew his vehicle was three times that. Yet he had to go on. They were there, waiting for him. The bridge creaked and groaned but held, and with a whispered thank you he stopped at the far end. He looked back and saw great cracks in the pylons, and wondered how he got over, but he had and he thanked again the unknown guardians. They had seen him here safely and he wondered at their motives, as they had led him to the group he was now about to meet. There were no introductions, just a mutual shaking of hands. The talks started well and there was much haggling, but he could not agree to the terms, the sacrifice was too great. He turned to leave. Half way over the bridge it shifted. He dared not gun the engine for fear of causing more damage. It shifted again. In desperation he rolled down the side window. “OK, OK, I agree.” The bridge creaked again but held. As he drove off the end onto solid land the whole structure fell into the river below. They were too powerful for him, he thought, and wondered just what he had got himself into.
Oh no, the bridge fell. I’m intrigued by the story. Where is he going?
I did try to read this. Like so many recent award winning or “literarily applauded” books it was hard going. I stopped after chapter 1. I do like something I can follow. Being, like Winnie-the-Pooh, someone of little brain I’m afraid this was just beyond me. And I have enjoyed Norwegian Wood. Murakami just got more and more highbrow I feel. Try “The 5 Star Billionaire” by Tash Aw instead for a modern multi-character look at East Asia, this time Shanghai.
Thanks for the recommendation Audrey. I also enjoyed Norwegian Wood a lot.
Never heard of this book, here’s my practice.
____
Detective Aurel Ambro of the City Bureau of Investigation, arrived at the doors of the Temple of Simo, god of Industry, at precisely three o’clock in the morning. His night had been cut short so his mood allowed for no lost time. He passed the finely engraved doors and entered the buzzing halls without even a single look for the grand architecture of the old temple, whose spires where part of the sprawling system that supported the worldwide dome of the City.
His entrance took some time to be perceived as the greeting halls of the temple was full of supplicants, he finally managed to get the attention of a short, round man who said, from behind his desk, “Good Morning sir, name and C-Card please?”
Aurel, bringing out his C-Card, said, “Level 4 C-Card, Detective Ambro of the CBI.”
Promptly getting off his chair “Great, you’re finally here, follow me” he said, as he entered a peculiar looking elevator.
Aurel followed him but wavered before he stepped onto what seemed to be a hovering platform. The clerk eyed him humorously before asking “First time here?”
Aurel said “No, but it has been some time, what is this contraption?”
“It is but another of the great gifts of our god Simo, who enlightened Dream-Thinker Malloy with this ’contraption’ a year ago.”
The man pointed at a series of buttons lining the wall and said “By pressing any one of these buttons, the gravity inside this elevator and the thrusters on the platform will shift in such a way that we will find ourselves immediately transported to the desired location.”
Aurel raised an eyebrow and said “But what if someone arrives from the opposite direction?”
The clerk then scratched his head “Well, there is a reason why it hasn’t been divulged to the public yet, we are still working a few kinks out. But have no worries, this elevator is downwards only.”
So he took a step forward and stepped on the hovering platform, the temple clerk then pressed on a button as Aurel thought one last time about his lost bed and they swiftly descended into the sacred grounds of the temple.
God of Industry, wow! Very interesting Patrick. What happens next?
Robot priests, what else?
:-))
Hello Sophie, i’m writing from Italy, in a small country.
I’ve 16 years, unfortunately, I don’t have a good command of the language, for this reason, sorry me in beforehand, are here for make practice in English!
I love write and i love read many classic books, like: Dostoevskij, Goethe, Bugakov, Nietzsche end other.
Haruki Murakami, the Tokyo commuter. I love he.
All God’s children can dance, is not it?
Thank you for your work!
I’ll read other works on this site, sorry me again for the my English.
A Hug.
.R.