Pure Writerly Moments 2 (Short Stories, Essays, Book Reviews, and More)

What I talk about when I talk about ballet (A Statues in the Cloud Research)

What I talk about when I talk about ballet (A Statues in the Cloud Research Brief)

The Synopsis for the Novel "Statues in the Cloud"

One day, a writer in Japan receives a letter from a young fan who is dying from a mysterious disease. The young fan, Aya, gives the writer a challenge -- come to Nagasaki and help find seven pieces of a statue. If you can help me do this simple thing, she tells him, you will have cured me. What the writer soon finds out is that finding the seven pieces means telling the stories of seven unique individuals: a politician, a soldier, a folk hero, a dancer, an AI, a writer, and the story of Aya herself.

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Love is tough. Love means sacrifice. When you love your novel it means that you sometimes have to research things you have no interest in...at all...

Like ballet.

But one of my characters is a dancer. And in order to get in her head, I had to read and read again the section from the novel "Feather on the Breath of God" on ballet. I also watched a number of Youtube videos about ballet. I looked at websites. I found a Quizlet set with a glossary of terms on ballet. For a few weeks, I had to scribble random notes about ballet in the hope that some of it would lend itself to a more authentic character.

In the book "Feather on the Breath of God" the author says, "Men don't get to go on pointe. And what is ballet without pointe?"

To write a novel is to research authentic descriptive details. And what is a novel without authentic descriptive details?

Gradually, I came to understand that ballet is about loving pain in the service of beauty. You deny yourself food, you mangle your feet, all so that you may look beautiful for just a moment. No pain means no pointe. And what is ballet without pointe?

No chance at reaching the apex of your beautiful art...it means a kind of spiritual death.

And so it is for a novelist. If you are a novelist, you suck it up and watch episodes of "Strictly Ballet" on Youtube and hope that some of the details can help you get closer to your character. What is writing without authentic descriptive details?

Indulgence. Vanity. Childish make-believe.

It is ballet without pointe.

For many ballerinas, the studio is as holy as a church. The beloved reek of the studio. The sweat-soaked floors. Black leotards, pink tights, pink shoes. Ribbons worn around the knees, ankles, or waist. Hair must be kept long and worn up for class.

The specific language of this art is something I think an American football player would understand. Chin straps, helmets, mouth guards, pain killers...