William Golding Says Author's Style Will Change With Subject Matter

Novelist William Golding discussed writing style in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room last night and concluded that "if a man has style, it's because he has one thing or nothing to say. If a man goes on living, life becomes more abundant for him, and he has more things to write about, then his style must change."

"A young writer, one with nothing to say, has to go to style," said the British author. After reading a parody of his own on C.S. Forester ("author of that singularly topical book, Death of the French"), Golding cited it as an example of "pure style" to point out the "advantage of being wise after someone else has done the event."

Golding read two widely different descriptions of water from his book, Lord of the Flies, and commented that "it was a wild, whirling book, and has a wild, whirling style," not necessarily found in his other works.

The book, published in 1956, was mean as "a sober assessment of small boy when left alone," according to its author. Although he said in such an allegory "all hell will break loose with no constraints," Golding remarked that a reader's mood at the end of Lord of the Film should be "sober, thoughtful, on the whole optimistic."

Asked about his plans for future writing, Golding mentioned that "Ultimately you'll find another book with my name on it. I've written a book three times and now have to rewrite half of the thing draft. It might come out in the spring."