What Makes It Classic?

Welcome to Tilly’s Emporium of Uselessness—in which Tilly will ramble about useless topics.

Windy originally asked me to review a book. I didn’t have time to finish the book I intended to review. Instead, I thought I might write an article on how to fall in love with writing again—except that I’m still trying to figure that out myself.

I sat down this morning and told myself I will write this damn article if it kills me. A few hours of sitting in front of my laptop, typing and deleting on various ideas, has led me to believe that it might actually kill me.

So where does that leave us?

Mostly with me riding a last-minute deadline, procrastinating as usual, and a last-minute topic that I have demanded of myself that I will finish.

What is a Classic?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the idea of what makes books “Cannon Literature.” There are books that we always read in high school or college because they’re “Classics.” And many of them are very well written books that inspired future writers.

However, what is it that makes books “Classics” for us as writers? Some of us love the old Classics. Some of us can’t stand them and find them dull and lifeless. *cough * RaymondCarverandErnestHemingway *cough *

Some of us love the way the language of Classics flows, and some of us find it lingering too much on things we don’t care about. Get back to the story, Tolkien. (I say jokingly, as I’m one of those obnoxious sorts who adores Tolkien’s rambling descriptions.)

At the end of the day, everyone has different tastes. Everyone has different books that impacted them most as a reader or an author. Some of those books are classics. Some of those books are modern. Some of those books are not book at all, but are poetry collections, essays, or plays. But these are all pieces of literature that, for us, are Cannon Literature, our Classics.

How do I determine what is Classic for me?

Your pieces of Classic fiction may be composed of one genre. They may be composed of multiple genres. Your pieces of Classic writing may fall under the category of strictly fiction work, or they may be pulled from various styles and sorts of writing all over the map. Everyone is different, and that’s okay.

I usually tell people to think of the first five to ten books they would immediately recommend to someone who isn’t a big reader. What books would you suggest that captured your imagination and heart? Generally speaking, even if there are more or less than five to ten books, those are things that you would consider Classic.

What are Tilly’s Cannon stories?

Because the idea of a “Classic” or of “Cannon Literature” is so hard to truly unravel (because honestly, it’s a very subjective terminology), I decided that I would set the example. Below you will find (in no particular order) a list of some of my Classic pieces of literature, as well as a few honorable mentions.

Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald has been one of my favorite books for years. Most people only remember the green light and a car crash and the fact that Gatsby had a thing for a married woman, but the heart of the story is much deeper than that.

(If you really want to dig into that story, I suggest reading a book called The Great Gatsby: Why it Endures—excellent dissection of the story, characters, and cultural aspects of the story and the time when the story was released.)

That said, what I admire most about The Great Gatsby from an author’s perspective, is the great detail that Fitzgerald put into developing his characters. The smallest details that he uses to bring out their personalities, secrets, and thoughts is uncanny and set an example for me as an impressionable young author.

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was a book that taught me something both in my personal life and in my writing life. It taught me that a person and a character is capable of overcoming anything. It taught me, as a writer, the importance of putting characters through a crucible. Put them through a heartache and a challenge that they cannot back away from, cannot escape, and see how they immerge on the other side.

While I’m often irritated with stories that portray feminism as a major theme (because let’s face it, feminism today is not what feminism was meant to be, sorry ladies), something I admired about Jane Eyre was the way that it approached such topics. It showed women as strong, independent, capable—but it also showed women that there is happiness and many other good things to be found in relationship with the male counterpart—because no single sex, no single human being, was created to face the world on his or her own.

Night Circus

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern will forever be one of my favorite books of all time. As a reader, it’s an absorbing story with fun characters and an intriguing plot. However, as a writer, I have learned to adore of from another perspective.

The atmosphere, the worldbuilding, and the description in Night Circus are incomparable to anything else that I have ever read. Reading this book taught me that good description doesn’t have to be wordy. It can be concise and precise and still evoke powerful imagery and emotion in the reader.

(A side note, this post was originally supposed to be a review of this book and well, obviously, that didn’t happen. Maybe in the future.)

A Dog Called Kitty

A Dog Called Kitty by Bill Wallace is one of my childhood favorite books. I remember my mother reading it out loud to me when she was in the hospital. At the time, I merely thought it a cute story. An emotional one, certain, but cute none the less. And it was a way for me to connect with someone I loved.

Looking back now, as a writer, I can see that reading this book taught me one thing that I emulated fairly well in my own writing. Wallace’s novel taught me a greater understanding of human emotion and how to evoke it on the page. It began teaching me about character voice—though that’s still a thing I struggle with as a writer—and it showed me how to set down tension on the page to draw the reader into the story with the character.

Medallion

Medallion by Dawn Watkins was a book that I read as a small child. It was one of the first fantasy stories that I got to read independently—following Narnia. As a reader, it taught me a love for odd and interesting creatures. It taught me that stories can truly be whatever creative, inventive thing that a writer can reasonably come up with. It taught me that weird is okay.

As a writer, Medallion showed me the basics of story structure and how to build a conflict and path for the character, rather than simply having that character meander around and do nothing particularly fascinating. It also showed me the importance of continually upping the stakes for the main character, for the world, and for the villains throughout the story to keep things moving and interesting.

(This story is something of a twist between a medieval fantasy and a combination of Never-Ending Story and Howl’s Moving Castle. Excellent amusement read.)

Heartbeat

Heartbeat by Sharon Creech is a children’s verse novel that I read in college while studying children’s literature. For those of you who know me well, you know that I loooooove verse novels. I love the poetic sway of the words that still somehow develop characters and plots and themes all within the span of fifty or so poems. It’s something I find incredibly astounding.

That said, what I love most about this particular one is the voice developed in it for the main character. It’s not often that I see books that are written with characters who act their age. And the voice of this character was so deeply coherent and in tune with the psychological development of the appropriate age range that I nearly cried tears of joy.

Needless to say, it reminded me that I need to be aware—particularly when writing children—to have the voice on the page reflect the true age mentally, physically, emotionally, and psychologically of the child (or person) that I’m attempting to write. Which, unfortunately, is not an easy task to accomplish.

Motherless Brooklyn

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem is a book that I both love and hate. It’s considered a vintage classic, and I would definitely say it’s worth reading if you don’t mind quite a bit of violence. But what I love about this story is the way that it approaches writing concerning mental and physical disabilities. Rarely do I have the chance to read books where such disabilities are accurately portrayed, and as a writer and a reader it’s incredible to have this example set forth for me and for others.

Deathless

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente is yet a retelling story like none others. It’s the Russian fairytale of Koschei the Deathless retold amidst the events and aftermath of the Russian Revolution. It’s an incredible story as a reader, and a gorgeous story as a writer.

As a writer, this book taught me the importance of having continuity. Your general story prose, as well as your dialogue, should flow well. It should create a solid atmosphere that doesn’t feel as though it is broken up by insertions of odd dialogue or random descriptions. The lyrical flow of Valente’s book and the solid dialogue make it a book I would suggest that everyone read.

Honorable Mentions

Witch of Black Bird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare was a book that I read in middle school. It’s a story about a young woman who is supposedly a witch, and it was one of my first introductions not only to middle grade fiction but to historical fiction.

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente is a book that I’m greatly intrigued by. While the plot is not immediately apparent, what I most love about this book is the mix of mediums and styles that it uses, while still managing to remain cohesive and engaging.

The False Prince by Jennifer Neilson is a book that taught me all about how to write great plot twists. There are many times that I will read books and I will know several pages or chapters in exactly what every major plot twist will be, because authors tend to make very similar set-ups and character decisions. However, Neilson approached her plot twists in a new way that I love analyzing to see if I can replicate.

Instructions is a picture book written by Neil Gaiman. I’ve rambled about this book several times before, but I love doing it. Not only is it a step-by-step, suggestive guide on how to approach writing a fairytale, but it also contains (from an adult perspective) a practical guide to approaching making wise decisions in everyday life as well. What I love most about it is how it melds the practical with the fantastical, making something that’s layered without having a pushy message—something many writers seem to struggle with today.

Wrap-Up

As noted prior, Classics are different for everyone. I believe that every author has a list of stories that they return to again and again, a list of stories that they learned from, a list of stories that impacted them as a person and an author.

I also believe that it’s important that we share those things with others. There are so many wonderful books out there in the world, so many of them obscure titles or indie produced, and if we don’t get out there and share them with each other then no one will ever know the bounty of gorgeous literature available to them.

So—as a fellow reader and a fellow author—I would encourage you not only to read beyond the realm of your knowledge, but to share those books that you consider your Classics, your Cannon Literature, with others. Your suggestions may very well impact someone’s life and career in a deeply astounding way.

You never know what will happen in this world of writing, anything is possible.

~ CS Taylor

What are your pieces of Cannon Literature? What Classic stories, poems, or other writing do you never fail to love when you read them again? What pieces will you always recommend to other authors or readers? Share them with us in the comments below!

C. S. Taylor was raised on the fairy lit roads somewhere between the backstreet alleys of Jackson, Mississippi, and the jazz infested avenues of New Orleans. Now she’s settled in the open meadows of Iowa where the tulips grow thicker than the grass.
She spends her days teaching special needs and gifted children to read and write and spends her nights star-gazing and ignoring her writing.
She graduated from Sterling College in 2016 with majors in Writing and Editing and Research Psychology. She graduated from University of Nebraska (Omaha) with her terminal degree in Writing and Editing in 2018.
From there, she plans to follow the River, Muse, and darling, that could take her anywhere.

You’ll find her primarily residing in the Folded World, a secret place that unravels at your touch, a doorway to places not even she can imagine. She also wanders around on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Goodreads. You can also email her at thefoldedworld@gmail.com.