An idea of a novel as a tool for noticing
I am reading Joan Didion's book Let Me Tell You What I Mean, and she reflects on how she wrote her first novel, Run River, over five years, starting in New York.
She had parts of the story that she didn’t know where they would go in the novel, and also notes she wanted in the story but wasn’t sure how to include. These notes were about things she had noticed and wanted to remember from Sacramento, California.
A novel that has yet to reveal itself opens up a space for this kind of noticing. I am intrigued by this way of noticing and remembering. Many ideas, descriptions, and intricate details gather, waiting for a connection in narrative form. Many bits and pieces that are not core ideas in themselves, but will add color and depth to the story.
An idea of a novel as a tool for noticing!
