Writing the Novel: From plot to print, Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block ou le maître du polar, avec son New-york sombre, les meurtres sordides, les détectives privés alcoolo, les femmes fatales aux longues jambes, les cocus, les putes, mais surtout (et c'est là où réside son talent car les polars de ce genre sont nombreux sur le marché !) la construction des intrigues et son écriture si limpide, si lucide, si fluide, ... si évidente !

Publié en 1986, Writing the Novel: From plot to print conseille les aspirants écrivains. Mais Lawrence Block ne pratique pas la langue de bois ! Pas de recette magique, ni de mode d'emploi, il faut simplement rester scotché à sa chaise et travailler, pratiquer, suer (Stephen King, lui, parlait de la "colle au cul" dans son ouvrage sur le sujet). Lire, lire "like a writer", écrire ! Sans attendre la célébrité, ni la reconnaissance, il faut se faire plaisir, pas à pas, mélangeant la création et la technique. Et puis...

Perdre le contrôle !
Écrire transforme, révèle, transporte, fait voyager, voler ! À bas la honte, l'orgueil, la peur et les jugements, ces parasites qui freinent l'écriture, les choix et les actes. Aucun mot écrit, aucun jour vécu ne sont des pertes de temps ! Il y a de grandes chances pour que les premiers pas soient mauvais. Et alors ? Les seconds seront meilleurs !

Au fil du texte, on se demande parfois si Lawrence Block parle bien de l'écriture ou de la vie : l'écriture c'est la vie, c'est le réel, et non une chimère que l'on rêve sans agir. Il n'y a aucune règle. Comme toujours. Juste écrire !

Le livre n'a pas été traduit en français. Toutefois la lecture en anglais est accessible. 

Citations :

"After twenty years and a hundred books, I at least realize that I don't know how to write a novel, that nobody does, that there is no right way to do it. Whatever method works - for you, for me, for whoever's sitting in the chair and poking away at the typewriter keys - is the right way to do it."

"Both failures constituted learning experiences that will almost certainly prove beneficial in future work. While I could by no means afford the time spent on these books, neither can I properly write that time off as altogether wasted."

"If you're unprepared for the risks, perhaps you'd like to rethink this whole business of novel-writing. If you're unwilling to live with the possibility of failure, perhaps you'd be more comfortable writing laundry lists and letters to the editor.
If you really want to write a novel, stick around."

"A work of fiction ought to be an organic entity. It's alive, and it grows as it goes."

"As soon as I step back and try to envision the novel as a whole, I'm likely to be paralyzed with terror. I become convinced that the whole thing is impossible, [...]. But as long as I can get each morning and concentrate exclusively on what's going to happen during that particular day's stint at the typewriter, I seem to do all right - and the book takes shape, page by page and chapter by chapter."

"The chief reason for almost any reader to go on turning the pages of almost any novel is to find out what happens next. The reason the reader cares what happens next is because of the author's skill at characterization..."

"Unless your writing is pure autobiography in the guise of a novel, you will continually find yourself practicing the dark arts of the illusionist and trade of the counterfeiter. All our stories are nothing but a pack of lies. [...] but this is not to say that the purpose of research is to make our stories real. It's to make them look real, and there's a big difference."

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