September 11th, 2012: HOW TO FRAME A STORY

Basically, with any narrative, there are three general sections to consider: B M E.

BEGINNING

In the beginning, your job is to first of all get the attention of the readers so they want to read on. Now, if you're a famous writer who is well known, you may be able to cheat and put in more development or backstory at the beginning; your readers will be patient because you are who you are. For the rest of us, we're not allowed that luxury.

Even in the blog post comments on September 5th, look at how many people were led to read the selections they chose because of a title or a first line. Never overlook the importance of those two elements.

We also have to meet the characters (especially the main character) and get to know them a bit early on. Otherwise, if we don't care about the character (PATHOS), it doesn't matter what happens in the rest of the story. Try to get us cheering for the main character so that when bad things happen (CONFLICT), we'll care.

MIDDLE

In the middle, we get the conflict--mental, psychological, emotional, spiritual, physical, or a combination of those. Also, the conflict SHOULD get worse in some way, meaning that it's rare for an author to begin with the worst possible conflict. Throw your character into trouble, then deeper trouble, and maybe even...well, you get the idea. The middle is like the introduction of the "villain," whoever or whatever that may be.

END

Now, I know what most English teachers will say here. Have an ending that ties up all loose ends. Unfortunately, in quite a bit of short fiction today, that just doesn't happen. In many cases, if the piece of writing is "character fiction," focused on a person's growth and change, there may be MUCH left up to the readers' imaginations at the end of the tale. What I would say is that it's important to leave off at a scene that makes sense. If stopping there will make your readers stop and pause and think about what comes next, it may make sense. If you'd like to tie up all the loose ends in a surprising way that makes sense when the readers look back to earlier parts of the story, go for it. The main point to keep in mind is not to have a "convenient" ending. In reality, our enemies never get struck by lightning or a car (ok, I know of one freaky story where the car thing happened, but still), and nobody loves reading through thousands of words to discover "IT WAS ALL A DREAM!"

Inner Circle:

Today, we're actually dissecting some technique in Kate Cayley's short story, "The Summer the Neighbours were Nazis" (issue 122 of the new quarterly). Think of how she creates empathy for Richard and how she slowly slides in details about the narrator, his younger sister. How does she create the mystery within her story to hook you, and then how does she finish it off in an unexpected way? What were the clues along the way that were inserted so that the ending would make sense? Which objects became important symbols by the end of the story? Which visual descriptions stick in your mind the most? Then,

• Choose a character of your own that readers would empathize with.
• Select at least one object that is going to be significant in some way in your story. Have it appear near the beginning of your story, and come back to it a few times, or at least at the end, where it takes on added meaning.
• Create a compelling title and first line.
• Think about the kind(s) of conflict your character would struggle the most with, and put him or her in trouble, then more trouble.
• Choose the kind of ending you're going for...one that ties up loose ends, or an indeterminate one, but HAVE A REASON for ending it where you end it.

For this first piece of short fiction, don't worry about word count. Write the story you want to write, and see what you can do with it!

SEPTEMBER 7th: SCALES? FOR WRITERS?

Musicians and singers know scales...very, very well. When they play or sing the scales, it's a way of warming up, of getting in touch with a process that is familiar, one they're likely fairly confident with.

Well, writers need scales too. Some call them story starters or sparkers, but really almost ANYTHING can become the start of something penned on the page. There are MANY books out there that contain these starters, and what I've found is that often, if you begin by writing what they give you first, it gets your pen moving (try to do these pen and paper, please). Once the pen is moving, it has a way of continuing, and before you know it, a page or more is filled with ideas.

For the INNER CIRCLE:

In your BOUND JOURNAL, try one of the following two starters or scales. Give yourself at least ten minutes to explore the idea.

The first comes from a book called The Pocket Muse, by Monica Wood:

 

I could have avoided all that trouble if only I'd remembered to...

 

 

The second comes from a book called The 4 A.M. Breakthrough, by Brian Kiteley:

 

 





 

ADDICTED TO LOVE. Write a short piece of fiction in which the central character is addicted to love--but not necessarily addicted to sex. This character seeks a new conquest with some regularity not because she wants the experience of new lust, but because she wants to feel the early stages of love again.

SEPTEMBER 5th, 2012: WRITERS ARE READERS!

One lesson that took me a LONG while to learn is that great writers are great readers. They read in a wide variety of subjects, genres, and styles, and invariably, they learn from others: techniques, approaches, syntactic structures, and powerful forms. I used to believe that I should mainly read what I want to write. If I want to write poetry, read poetry. If I want to write short stories, read short stories. Now I see that reading widely, fiction and nonfiction, in a variety of subject areas is the best recipe to inspire ideas.

FOR THE INNER CIRCLE:

We'll start with literary journals. Choose one, read through it, and find the poem, short story, or creative nonfiction piece that speaks to you most. Then read it again AS A WRITER. How did the author make you enjoy what he or she wrote? What did you like about it? Are there favorite lines or phrases that stand out? What makes it so good for you?

Add a comment to this blog that begins by naming the piece, its writer, and the literary journal (including the date or issue number) it came from. In it, tell me what you enjoyed about the writing that made you choose it most of all. Feel free to mention content, technique, descriptions--anything at all you like about it.

Ace Baker's sample comment:

Right now I'm reading a poem by John Steffler, one called "Since Life Values Nothing Higher than Life," in the Summer 2012 edition of CV2 (page 23). The poem speaks about items of war that last long after the wars have finished--"hard tools for cutting and slashing," including "axes, spears, arrows, swords and daggers." What makes the poem unique is that Steffler doesn't focus on the destruction caused by them. He does a complete 180, and mentions that they are there also to PRESERVE life. They are often the objects left over through the ages that help archaeologists learn about a particular culture. Unlike softer items, "flowers or tongues," they last, persisting through the ages to teach us about the people they belong to. I think that's the most important thing poets do: they see something everyone else sees, but in a different way. I really DON'T like the final two lines of this poem. I understand he's aiming for emphasis, but I feel it's a bit overdone. If you read it, let me know what you think.