Have you ever "just had to know" how a magic trick was done? Did you lose that sense of wonder when the veil was lifted?
In this episode of A Book and A Dream, Megan O'Russell discusses how, in writing and other art forms, understanding the magic behind the scenes can actually enhance the experience of the reader.
Have you ever "just had to know" how a magic trick was done? Did you lose that sense of wonder when the veil was lifted?
In this episode of A Book and A Dream, Megan O'Russell discusses how, in writing and other art forms, understanding the magic behind the scenes can actually enhance the experience of the reader.
And once you know how the trick is done, you can never really unsee it. You're always going to see the slight of hand that the magician is using. Welcome to a book in a dream with Megan O. Russell, an author's adventure and writing, reading and to being an Epic fan girl. Hello, my name is Megan O. Russell and welcome to episode 18 of a book and a dream which is also day 15 of self isolation for me. Woo. Uh, the schedule for recording the podcast and these videos as well has gotten a little bit wonky. We are currently in a new environment where we are sheltering in place, stay at home, stay safe. So, uh, if you hear a little bit of weird background, woo woo, woo, sorry. It's an excellent air conditioning unit that likes to participate in recording. So hopefully we'll be able to edit most of that out. But you know what, it's a pandemic and you work with what you've got. So for today's episode, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about looking behind the curtain of the magic of books. The best way I can say to describe that as it's sort of like a magic trick. You know how you see a magic trick and you have no idea where that coin went the first time and you keep looking at it a couple more times and eventually you figure out where the coins going and once you know how the trick is done, you can never really unsee it. You're always going to see the slight of hand that the magician is using to fool you. And there are things like in theater for example, I had the absolute joy of getting to see Harry Potter and the cursed child on Broadway. It was a magnificent, magical experience and because I have spent my life in theater, there were some things that they did where I would guess 99.9% of audience members aren't going to catch exactly how they're pulling the stage magic off. But because I have spent my life in theater, I know, Hey, there is a dresser hidden in that unit, or Oh, they're using a lift to make this happen. Or ope that's getting them told that their wires are on. So I was able to see those things because they're all things that I've worked with, so I know what the towels are. Now for me, that almost made the magic a little bit cooler because I could see all of the absolute artistry and craftsmanship that went into achieving those magical moments. And it's easier to see that when you're talking about a magic trick or something that's happening on stage than it is you're talking about a book. But there are so many little slights of hand and magic tricks that go into creating an enjoyable reading experience. Now, some of those are little bitty details that kind of come with being an author. Uh, you have after a while, this little like editor voice living in your head telling you things that you're not allowed to do, like you're not allowed to use any L Y S you're not allowed to head hop. You should never repeat words within the same paragraph. All of those things can be broken and are broken by. Some of the best authors like J K Rowling, sneak some head hopping in there when she needs to get our point across. It happens, so you kind of have to embrace that there are rules you've been told you can't break that are going to be broken and that kind of like makes a little editor in your head go, no, but you have to accept it and move on with your reading experience and then there are other little things that the editor in your head picks up on and you go, Oh, that's going to be important later. Like a side character who gets way too much description. He is not just a dark haired man. He's a dark haired man with broad shoulders and a distinctive scar on his face. Well, okay. Obviously he's coming back and I know that because an author who's creating 200 characters for a book isn't going to create a distinctive scar for someone that you're only going to see. Once mr Scarface is coming back. He's either going to stab somebody or be the Levin trust. It also comes with honoring tropes. Let's say that your a romance writer, no matter how bad things get, they're going to end up together at the end of the day and there are things that you can slip in there like maybe a secondary love interest or a big fight or whatever to make it look like they're not going to stay together. But if you're advertising to the romance market on Amazon, you know from the look of someone's cover, if they're going to end up happy, why? Because an author would ruin their career if they did not meet those expectations. It's the same with like hurting a dog. You can't hurt a dog as an author. If you're in a happy book or a not tragic, horrible book, you can't hurt the dog. You have to be John wick in order to get away with that because people are going to throw that book across the room and pan you in reviews. So you kind of know the dog safe. The small child is safe and less. This is a tragic story. Unless it's a mystery. Nobody's hurting the little kid. Yeah, they might end up in danger and get kidnapped. They're coming out. Okay, because that's what the readers want. So what does it do to your reading experience when you are peeking behind the curtain, when you know what's expected of the author, what tricks they could be employing, how they could be adding in a subtle side character just because they need that one little scene lit and you're like, well back glass of wine is coming back into play at some point because there's no way. They introduced another point of view just for that scene and it's okay. It's okay to see those things because it's like watching Harry Potter on Broadway. You get to see all of the artistry and mastery that they're employing. Now. Of course, it doesn't always come across as brilliant and wonderful and absolutely delightful. There are times where you look at it and you go, Oh, you got desperate. Didn't you sort of like being an actor. When you go see a show and you can tell that someone's voice is suffering, they are flipping into their mix every two seconds. You can see them taking those huge Arshay breaths and you go, Oh honey, I hope you have something warm to drink backstage. And it's not a an angry thing. It's not a disappointment thing. It's a a commiseration. And you do get that with authors as well, where you can see, Oh, you wrote yourself into a corner, didn't you? And you feel sorry for them. And sometimes they find a brilliant way out of it and sometimes there's a magical bit of space time and where they can hide all powerful beings that will save the day because people feel guilty. My husband's laughing at this right now because he knows exactly what I'm talking about. But we don't say bad things about other people's books on this show. No. But if you do know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about. And you could see it coming because you could see that he had played his hand too far and made his villain too great. And so for my husband who is not an author, him reading that last book, getting to that magical little point in the space time continuum, we're all powerful beings. Wait to save the day was just furious me. I felt so sorry for the poor author who had given himself no other way out. So there is a way to look at every magic trick in music and theater and books. There is a way to appreciate it. There is a way to sympathize with it when it goes badly. And so I want you to take a moment because most of us have a moment right now and think through it. What, what is your thing that you know how to do? What little tricks do you see other people who do that art or math or accounting or whatever it is, what little tells do they have? What little tells do you have? We're all going a little bit insane right now cause you know the world's gone insane. So look at that. Take a moment and figure out what tiny little tricks have let you in on the magic of what you do. And it's not gonna make it worse. It's not gonna make it disappointing to be aware of the tricks, you know? But it'll give you something exciting to appreciate your fellow artists or accountants or whatever, because you are aware of the magic that goes into what you do. So leave me a comment below with what it is that you know, the tricks of what tricks you've noticed. Let's share a little bit of the magic of what we do. And don't forget to like, subscribe, follow the podcast, whatever it is on the specific page that you like to participate in a book, in a dream on and stay safe, stay sane. And uh, I will see you all next time.