I Am Making Agatha Christie My Writing Teacher And She Can't Say No.
Deep Reading Assignment Into The Hercule Poirot Books
The great thing about dead or remote masters is that they can't refuse you as an apprentice. You can learn whatever you want from them. They left their lesson plans in their works.
- Austin Kleon, Steal Like An Artist
Agatha Christie is the reason why I want to become a writer.
I want to create and share the same mental and emotional satisfaction with my readers as Christie gave to me.
And what better way to do so than go deep diving into her books.
Why Should You Do A Deep Reading Assignment?
A deep reading assignment can come in handy when you have an author whom you love dearly and would love to know how they pulled off their work.
When indulging in a deep reading assignment, you get to -
learn the author's writing style
understand the author's psychology
understand the author's writing strengths that are your writing weakness
understand the author's writing weaknesses which are your strength
learn plot structure and pacing
find out where you stand as a reader, a writer - as in trying to understand the book and the author, you start to understand yourself.
How To Go About A Deep Reading Assignment?
Once you find an author you marvel at and want to figure their work out, I think it's best to go chronologically.
With Agatha Christie's Poirot books, going chronologically will help me see the writer and the character change throughout the books. It will be like living their life with them.
Earlier, when I read novels, I never marked the books. But now, since I am reading the books for entertainment and research purposes, I am open to taking notes in the margins.
I note places/dialogues that piqued my interest or made me react and note down quotes, what I like and what I don't like.
I am trying to figure out how Agatha created the mystery, marking things and subtle hints that look like clues to the mystery.
I am also learning what works or doesn't work in the genre - some things worked when Agatha wrote her novels, but they need to change, keeping in mind the current taste of the readers, like the length of her chapters.
In addition to reading the book, I am also watching the series/movie adaptations of Agatha's Poirot books to learn how the screenwriters adapted them while maintaining the essence of the plot. This is a bonus writing lesson.
Once I am done reading the novel, I make digital notes of the book in my Notion.
What I Intend To Gain From My Deep Reading Assignment?
One - To have a bird's eye view of why I think Agatha Christie is the best.
Two - How can I replicate it and make it even better.
I don't want to be the next Agatha Christie.
Pfft! No one can hope to pull off what the Queen of Crime did.
All I can do is learn from her how she did it, apply it to my work and hope someone finds solace in my novels, just like I found in Christie's.
Moral Of The Story
Find yourself a good author you love.
Deep read their works.
Then get one or more of the following outcomes -
how the author's brain works,
how you relate to the book,
how you can pull off the same.
