From Andrea Barrett's short story, "Servants of the Map":
He does not write to his wife about the body found on a mountain that is numbered but still to be named: not about the bones, the shreds of tent, the fragile, browning skull.
Friday, 3 May 2013
GREAT FIRST LINES: #002 in a series
From T. C. Boyle's "The Love of My Life":
They wore each other like a pair of socks.
GREAT FIRST LINES: #001 in a series
From Elizabeth Graver's short story, "The Mourning Door":
The first thing she finds is a hand.
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Beginnings: BAMBI Meets GODZILLA
Okay, I mentioned yesterday that two goals for your beginning are to get attention and create pathos. One way to do that is a technique I call "Bambi Meets Godzilla." Watch the video first, then read below it:
The technique is simple enough--create a pleasant mood, and then SQUASH IT! Look how Dudley Clendinen accomplishes it in the beginning of "The Good Short Life":
I have wonderful friends. In this last year, one took me to Istanbul. One gave me a box of handcrafted chocolates. Fifteen of them held two rousing, pre-posthumous wakes for me. Several wrote large checks. Two sent me a boxed set of all the Bach sacred cantatas. And one, from Texas, put a hand on my thinning shoulder, and appeared to study the ground where we were standing. He had flown in to see me.
"We need to go buy a pistol, don't we?" he asked quietly. He meant to shoot myself with.
"Yes, Sweet Thing," I said with a smile. "We do."
I loved him for that.
See what I mean? Slow and peaceful, then hit 'em hard! Give it a try for your next opening and let me know the result...
The technique is simple enough--create a pleasant mood, and then SQUASH IT! Look how Dudley Clendinen accomplishes it in the beginning of "The Good Short Life":
I have wonderful friends. In this last year, one took me to Istanbul. One gave me a box of handcrafted chocolates. Fifteen of them held two rousing, pre-posthumous wakes for me. Several wrote large checks. Two sent me a boxed set of all the Bach sacred cantatas. And one, from Texas, put a hand on my thinning shoulder, and appeared to study the ground where we were standing. He had flown in to see me.
"We need to go buy a pistol, don't we?" he asked quietly. He meant to shoot myself with.
"Yes, Sweet Thing," I said with a smile. "We do."
I loved him for that.
See what I mean? Slow and peaceful, then hit 'em hard! Give it a try for your next opening and let me know the result...
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
BEGINNINGS? Get PATtention!
So often, when studying short fiction, we've been taught that "ski slope" diagram by English teachers--you know, the one that begins with "character" and "setting" at the beginning, peaks with "climax," and ends with "resolution." Trouble is, we haven't always been taught how to WRITE an effective opening, middle, or ending. Today, let's focus on BEGINNINGS...
In my mind, an effective opening accomplishes two tasks:
1. It gets ATTENTION.
2. It creates PATHOS.
Getting attention is critical. If you don't attract the eye of the reader, the page is flipped quickly to someone who DOES accomplish that.
Pathos is the feeling the reader has for a character. It's important that the writer makes the reader care about the character BEFORE the conflict. Otherwise, if readers don't sympathize with the character, they won't care what happens to that character. Let's look at a few examples:
Opening paragraph from "YOU OWE ME," by Miah Arnold:
The children I write with die, no matter how much I love them, no matter how creative they are, no matter how many poems they have written or how much they want to live. They die of diseases with unpronouncable names, of rhabdomyosarcoma or pilocytic astrocytoma, of cancers rarely heard of in the world at large, of cancers that are often cured once, but then turn up again somewhere else: in their lungs, their stomachs, their sinuses, their bones, their brains. While undergoing their own treatments, my students watch one friend after another lose legs, cough up blood, and enter a hospital room they never come out of again.
Opening paragraph from "HOUSEWIFELY ARTS," by Megan Mayhew Bergman:
I am my own housewife, my own breadwinner. I make lunches and change light bulbs. I kiss bruises and kill copperheads from the backyard creek with a steel hoe. I change sheets and the oil in my car. I can make a pie crust and exterminate humpback crickets in the crawlspace with a homemade glue board, though not at the same time. I like to compliment myself on these things, because there's no one else around to do it.
The two stories above get our attention and make us care about the main character. The first, a nonfiction personal essay, begins with children who have terminal cases of cancer AND the writer whose job it is to work with them, seeing child after child die. We end up caring about the children AND the writer. The second, a short story, has a very strong character we admire--one who seems to be able to do almost anything on her own--but we care because of a few of the words that opening ends with: "there's no one else around." We WANT this person to find someone to love (cue the Queen music now:"Find me somebody to love...").
Want to create an effective opening? Get ATTENTION and create PATHOS. Put them together and what do you get? Get PATTENTION!
In my mind, an effective opening accomplishes two tasks:
1. It gets ATTENTION.
2. It creates PATHOS.
Getting attention is critical. If you don't attract the eye of the reader, the page is flipped quickly to someone who DOES accomplish that.
Pathos is the feeling the reader has for a character. It's important that the writer makes the reader care about the character BEFORE the conflict. Otherwise, if readers don't sympathize with the character, they won't care what happens to that character. Let's look at a few examples:
Opening paragraph from "YOU OWE ME," by Miah Arnold:
The children I write with die, no matter how much I love them, no matter how creative they are, no matter how many poems they have written or how much they want to live. They die of diseases with unpronouncable names, of rhabdomyosarcoma or pilocytic astrocytoma, of cancers rarely heard of in the world at large, of cancers that are often cured once, but then turn up again somewhere else: in their lungs, their stomachs, their sinuses, their bones, their brains. While undergoing their own treatments, my students watch one friend after another lose legs, cough up blood, and enter a hospital room they never come out of again.
Opening paragraph from "HOUSEWIFELY ARTS," by Megan Mayhew Bergman:
I am my own housewife, my own breadwinner. I make lunches and change light bulbs. I kiss bruises and kill copperheads from the backyard creek with a steel hoe. I change sheets and the oil in my car. I can make a pie crust and exterminate humpback crickets in the crawlspace with a homemade glue board, though not at the same time. I like to compliment myself on these things, because there's no one else around to do it.
The two stories above get our attention and make us care about the main character. The first, a nonfiction personal essay, begins with children who have terminal cases of cancer AND the writer whose job it is to work with them, seeing child after child die. We end up caring about the children AND the writer. The second, a short story, has a very strong character we admire--one who seems to be able to do almost anything on her own--but we care because of a few of the words that opening ends with: "there's no one else around." We WANT this person to find someone to love (cue the Queen music now:"Find me somebody to love...").
Want to create an effective opening? Get ATTENTION and create PATHOS. Put them together and what do you get? Get PATTENTION!
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Off to the WRITE start! Here comes 2013!
Yes, it's time to talk about that GOAL-SETTING monster, but...
Here's what I've learned about setting goals over the years:
1. It's important to write them down.
2. It's important to write them down.
3. It's important to WRITE THEM DOWN!
You need to have the goals where you will see them regularly. For me, this is the inside cover of my journal. I have that good habit established, writing daily, by hand, with pen and paper, no matter the day or circumstance. That means I see that journal daily and I'll see my goals daily. Last year, I set 23 writing goals, and reached 14 of them. But what's even more important to me than having the goals there where I can see them, is this:
REVIEWING what I've accomplished during the year so far. It's easy to forget what you're doing well after you've read your latest rejection letter, especially if it's one of those form letter rejections. When you see goals that you HAVE attained, it's a bit of a buffer--it adds some tough hide to that rhinoceros skin you need to develop as an author who sends work out to others.
I also think that, contrary to the current teaching of setting a few goals and focusing on those, I believe in setting many goals--some that I believe are attainable with hard work (writing so many poems, short stories, or novels within a year, for example); some that are somewhat outside of my control and depend on others as well (winning a major writing contest or landing a book contract); and some that are dreamlike (winning the Writer's Digest contest, the overall prize that includes $3000 and a trip to NY along with a fully-paid for conference and private meetings with agents and editors!). Last year, I met all of my production goals, and won two major contests, including one I'd never even been shortlisted in before. I also had a "dream" goal come true--hearing established, best-selling writers gush about a story of mine in front of 800 other writers at a conference (in my dream, there was more champagne involved, but still...!). It's a moment I won't soon forget, and Jack Whyte and Diana Gabaldon's comments will stay with me in those dark times when others say, "It's not right for us at this time."
For 2013, I aim to write 1 new novel, 6 new short stories, 20 poems, publish work in at least three major Canadian literary journals, land a book contract, do better in 2013 than I did in 2012, along with 21 OTHER writing goals which include an important one...
...to update this blog DAILY with writer ideas useful to others who may find there way here! Here's to a successful 2013--I hope you meet your writing goals too!
Happy New Year! from Ace Baker
Here's what I've learned about setting goals over the years:
1. It's important to write them down.
2. It's important to write them down.
3. It's important to WRITE THEM DOWN!
You need to have the goals where you will see them regularly. For me, this is the inside cover of my journal. I have that good habit established, writing daily, by hand, with pen and paper, no matter the day or circumstance. That means I see that journal daily and I'll see my goals daily. Last year, I set 23 writing goals, and reached 14 of them. But what's even more important to me than having the goals there where I can see them, is this:
REVIEWING what I've accomplished during the year so far. It's easy to forget what you're doing well after you've read your latest rejection letter, especially if it's one of those form letter rejections. When you see goals that you HAVE attained, it's a bit of a buffer--it adds some tough hide to that rhinoceros skin you need to develop as an author who sends work out to others.
I also think that, contrary to the current teaching of setting a few goals and focusing on those, I believe in setting many goals--some that I believe are attainable with hard work (writing so many poems, short stories, or novels within a year, for example); some that are somewhat outside of my control and depend on others as well (winning a major writing contest or landing a book contract); and some that are dreamlike (winning the Writer's Digest contest, the overall prize that includes $3000 and a trip to NY along with a fully-paid for conference and private meetings with agents and editors!). Last year, I met all of my production goals, and won two major contests, including one I'd never even been shortlisted in before. I also had a "dream" goal come true--hearing established, best-selling writers gush about a story of mine in front of 800 other writers at a conference (in my dream, there was more champagne involved, but still...!). It's a moment I won't soon forget, and Jack Whyte and Diana Gabaldon's comments will stay with me in those dark times when others say, "It's not right for us at this time."
For 2013, I aim to write 1 new novel, 6 new short stories, 20 poems, publish work in at least three major Canadian literary journals, land a book contract, do better in 2013 than I did in 2012, along with 21 OTHER writing goals which include an important one...
...to update this blog DAILY with writer ideas useful to others who may find there way here! Here's to a successful 2013--I hope you meet your writing goals too!
Happy New Year! from Ace Baker
Monday, 5 November 2012
SCARY STORY UPDATE
Two more grade 12 writers were sent a lovely e-mail about their works informing them that, while they did not land in the prize money, their stories were shortlisted. The writers? SELIN JESSA (in English 12) and GRACE CHEN (in Writing 12). Congratulations, writers!
Thursday, 1 November 2012
SCARY STORY WINNERS
Ok, our Tri-city Scary Story contest results are in, and out of three cities of entries from students between the ages of 11-18, three of the seven winners are students I have the privilege of working with:
3rd place, in the 11 to 14 category, is Hanna Hofer's story, "ESCAPE,"
Honourable Mention, in the 15 to 18 category, is Anna-Maria Angelis' "TOO MUCH TIME," and
FIRST PLACE, in the 15 to 18 category, is Emma Hoffard's "THE DARK"
Congratulations on creating such creepy stories!
3rd place, in the 11 to 14 category, is Hanna Hofer's story, "ESCAPE,"
Honourable Mention, in the 15 to 18 category, is Anna-Maria Angelis' "TOO MUCH TIME," and
FIRST PLACE, in the 15 to 18 category, is Emma Hoffard's "THE DARK"
Congratulations on creating such creepy stories!
NANOPLANNING STEPS SIX and SEVEN
Ok, I'm guilty of not posting steps on here because I was, ahem, a bit behind in planning my own Nano novel...time to catch up!
Step Six involves taking each section written about in step five and writing a full page of actual manuscript as it might appear in that part of the book. This is no longer description of what it's about; it's actual story. What this forces you to do is to start thinking in the "voice" of different sections of your book. You may use this writing later on, or you may not, but it's good practice, and it's just short of the daily output requirement for Nanowrimo--about 1250 words, instead of the 1633 you'll need to write daily to reach your November goal...
Step Seven is a huge one, and our Inner Circle of 28 has been working on it for a while now:
This step is a big outline, from the beginning of your novel until the end. Basically, you aim to describe, very briefly, 100 "scenes" from your novel--not chapters, but scenes. If you can do that, you will have enough material to fill a 50 000+ -word novel. Anywhere from 80-100 scenes generally leads to success. What to do if you're tapped out at 50 scenes? Add a subplot. Add a character with his or her own secret or story. Throw your protagonist into some kind of deeper trouble. For each scene, I find it helpful to list whose point of view we're seeing the scene through, a brief description, and an idea of whether it will be a small, medium, or long scene ( I actually attempt to guesstimate page numbers when I do it, but my guesses are always wrong...!). A typical entry might look like this:
1. Chouko ("butterfly girl") --she reveals the abusive relationship between Dad & Mom (short scene)
2. Chouko-- Abuse poem, followed by us witnessing Chouko's "escape"--catching butterflies (medium scene)
3. Chouko--learning how to make a "killing jar" and slowly gathering the materials she needs (longer scene)
And it's that easy...list 100 scenes like that, and you'll have a novel planned out from beginning to end. Now, realize, I have NEVER seen anyone totally stick to a plan. Usually characters take over at some point and start telling you to write things you never thought you'd write. That's perfectly normal. It's good to have a plan you can feel flexible about than to have no plan at all. That way, on days when you're stuck, you can "jump ahead" to a part you KNOW you can write. Good luck as we begin NANOWRIMO!
Step Six involves taking each section written about in step five and writing a full page of actual manuscript as it might appear in that part of the book. This is no longer description of what it's about; it's actual story. What this forces you to do is to start thinking in the "voice" of different sections of your book. You may use this writing later on, or you may not, but it's good practice, and it's just short of the daily output requirement for Nanowrimo--about 1250 words, instead of the 1633 you'll need to write daily to reach your November goal...
Step Seven is a huge one, and our Inner Circle of 28 has been working on it for a while now:
This step is a big outline, from the beginning of your novel until the end. Basically, you aim to describe, very briefly, 100 "scenes" from your novel--not chapters, but scenes. If you can do that, you will have enough material to fill a 50 000+ -word novel. Anywhere from 80-100 scenes generally leads to success. What to do if you're tapped out at 50 scenes? Add a subplot. Add a character with his or her own secret or story. Throw your protagonist into some kind of deeper trouble. For each scene, I find it helpful to list whose point of view we're seeing the scene through, a brief description, and an idea of whether it will be a small, medium, or long scene ( I actually attempt to guesstimate page numbers when I do it, but my guesses are always wrong...!). A typical entry might look like this:
1. Chouko ("butterfly girl") --she reveals the abusive relationship between Dad & Mom (short scene)
2. Chouko-- Abuse poem, followed by us witnessing Chouko's "escape"--catching butterflies (medium scene)
3. Chouko--learning how to make a "killing jar" and slowly gathering the materials she needs (longer scene)
And it's that easy...list 100 scenes like that, and you'll have a novel planned out from beginning to end. Now, realize, I have NEVER seen anyone totally stick to a plan. Usually characters take over at some point and start telling you to write things you never thought you'd write. That's perfectly normal. It's good to have a plan you can feel flexible about than to have no plan at all. That way, on days when you're stuck, you can "jump ahead" to a part you KNOW you can write. Good luck as we begin NANOWRIMO!
Sunday, 14 October 2012
NANOPLANNING: STEP FIVE
Step five is simple to explain, but a bit harder to do than any of the steps you've had so far...
Step six is going to build on these five paragraphs, so don't put them off...
- LOOK BACK at step two.... Now expand each of those sentences into more detail, making a paragraph out of each. Five sentences get fleshed out into five paragraphs.
Step six is going to build on these five paragraphs, so don't put them off...
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
NANOPLANNING PART FOUR: Character summary
Today is step four of seven in our quest to prepare for Nanowrimo 2012. Today, we get a bit more inside the mind of some of our main characters. Use a sentence or two for each of the following six sections for each major character in your novel (or at least the two you did character profiles for):
Character snapshot: Briefly, who are these people? For example, in the new novel I'm working on, Arietta is a cross between Robin Hood and Joan of Arc. That should already put some of her qualities into your mind...
Motivation--why are the characters acting the way they are now, in the present? Backstory.
Goal--related to motivation, but bigger. What do these people want out of life? Future-oriented.
Conflict--What's the main problem that's preventing characters from getting what they want?
Epiphany--What are they going to learn? How will they grow and change?
Direction--where the character is generally headed in life.
INNER CIRCLE:
Look at the handout I'm giving you today to see a full character summary on Roxy Lee, a character in one of the novels I've written in the past. Keep in mind that instead of a Monday deadline, you're looking to have these ready for Friday, when we look at step five...
Character snapshot: Briefly, who are these people? For example, in the new novel I'm working on, Arietta is a cross between Robin Hood and Joan of Arc. That should already put some of her qualities into your mind...
Motivation--why are the characters acting the way they are now, in the present? Backstory.
Goal--related to motivation, but bigger. What do these people want out of life? Future-oriented.
Conflict--What's the main problem that's preventing characters from getting what they want?
Epiphany--What are they going to learn? How will they grow and change?
Direction--where the character is generally headed in life.
INNER CIRCLE:
Look at the handout I'm giving you today to see a full character summary on Roxy Lee, a character in one of the novels I've written in the past. Keep in mind that instead of a Monday deadline, you're looking to have these ready for Friday, when we look at step five...
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
NANOPLANNING: PART THREE
Today, we take a break from that little paragraph we wrote, and we begin to think about characters and backstory. Often, writers have much more "material" about a character than what ever shows up in their novel. Fleshing out characters helps them understand exactly what a character would or would not do in any given situation. In fact, once the characters are fully developed, THEY may begin "telling" the writer what to do. Minor characters may take over and become THE major characters if they become interesting enough.
Imagine keeping a file on or interviewing your character--you'll know what they look like, of course, and their name, but you'll need to dig deeper too. Find out all the pertinent facts. Does being the eldest or youngest in the family affect them? Do they have a nuclear family? A dysfunctional one? Do they come from the richest of neighbourhoods or are they dirt poor?
Here's an example of a "character profile" template found online that can help you get to know your characters more. You can find more by Googling those words in quotation marks too. Fill one out for AT LEAST your main protagonist and main antagonist:
http://www.suspense.net/profile.htm
INNER CIRCLE:
I'm giving you handouts to complete this step with, but of course you can add sections that you think will be more useful to your characters. What I give you is just enough to get you going...
Imagine keeping a file on or interviewing your character--you'll know what they look like, of course, and their name, but you'll need to dig deeper too. Find out all the pertinent facts. Does being the eldest or youngest in the family affect them? Do they have a nuclear family? A dysfunctional one? Do they come from the richest of neighbourhoods or are they dirt poor?
Here's an example of a "character profile" template found online that can help you get to know your characters more. You can find more by Googling those words in quotation marks too. Fill one out for AT LEAST your main protagonist and main antagonist:
http://www.suspense.net/profile.htm
INNER CIRCLE:
I'm giving you handouts to complete this step with, but of course you can add sections that you think will be more useful to your characters. What I give you is just enough to get you going...
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
NANO PLANNING PART TWO
So you have your single sentence to describe your novel? (See, Tiam? I started a sentence with "So...")
Part two involves E X P A N D I N G that sentence into a small paragraph (which will end up sounding a bit like a back cover blurb):
Sentence #1 Story setup / backdrop
Sentence #2 Conflict / disaster #1
Sentence #3 Conflict / disaster #2
Sentence #4 Conflict / disaster #3
Sentence #5 A HINT of the ending or resolution--don't give anything away...
Keep in mind that this is a GUIDELINE, and I won't be counting sentences, or anything like that. Just be sure to have the five parts covered:
Blake Mack is a thief who, while fleeing police, veers off onto a logging road and slams into a cyclist, whose identity he assumes. he enjoys his new start at first, but then a young hotshot police officer with something to prove starts making his life more difficult. To make matters worse, he discovers a shocking secret about the true identity of the man he has become. when a new love interest betrays him, he has no one to turn to. He's on the run--from the law, from "The Company," and from a broken relationship; his only way out may be to start all over again...will he get the chance?
Part two involves E X P A N D I N G that sentence into a small paragraph (which will end up sounding a bit like a back cover blurb):
Sentence #1 Story setup / backdrop
Sentence #2 Conflict / disaster #1
Sentence #3 Conflict / disaster #2
Sentence #4 Conflict / disaster #3
Sentence #5 A HINT of the ending or resolution--don't give anything away...
Keep in mind that this is a GUIDELINE, and I won't be counting sentences, or anything like that. Just be sure to have the five parts covered:
Blake Mack is a thief who, while fleeing police, veers off onto a logging road and slams into a cyclist, whose identity he assumes. he enjoys his new start at first, but then a young hotshot police officer with something to prove starts making his life more difficult. To make matters worse, he discovers a shocking secret about the true identity of the man he has become. when a new love interest betrays him, he has no one to turn to. He's on the run--from the law, from "The Company," and from a broken relationship; his only way out may be to start all over again...will he get the chance?
Monday, 1 October 2012
NANO PLANNING: STEP ONE
Can you believe it--Nanowrimo is just one short month away! It's time to start planning...and to do that, let's start small...with a single sentence:
We start with your dream--seeing your novel on the New York Times bestseller list! If it was there, you would see a one-sentence description of it, like some of the ones from today's list:
STEP ONE (of SEVEN)
We start with your dream--seeing your novel on the New York Times bestseller list! If it was there, you would see a one-sentence description of it, like some of the ones from today's list:
1
|
WINTER OF THE WORLD, by Ken Follett. (Dutton,
$36.) In Book 2 of the Century trilogy, members of five interrelated families
from five countries, some of them children of characters in the previous
book, “Fall of Giants,” grapple with the tumultuous historical events of the
years 1939-49.
|
2
|
1
|
A WANTED MAN, by Lee Child. (Delacorte, $28.) A
carload of people involved in a conspiracy pick up a disheveled hitchhiker,
Child’s vigilante hero Jack Reacher.
|
3
|
2
|
GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn. (Crown, $25.) A
woman disappears on her fifth anniversary; is her husband a killer?
|
4
|
3
|
THE TIME KEEPER, by Mitch Albom. (Hyperion,
$24.99.) A fable about the inventor of the world’s first clock, who returns
to our world after centuries of banishment; from the author of “Tuesdays With
Morrie.”
|
LOW PRESSURE, by Sandra Brown. (Grand Central,
$26.99.) A woman makes disturbing discoveries — and acquires a stalker — when
she writes a book about her sister’s murder.
INNER CIRCLE:
You have two days (although I know most of you will finish it today) to write the one-sentence description of the bestseller you are about to write in November, 2012. Step two on Wednesday!
|
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
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,
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.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
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:
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.
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, 30 August 2012
CAROL DESPEAUX IS HAUNTING ME...
Ok, I don't know Carol Despeaux...but I know Carol Despeaux. Let me explain. At my win for SIWC last year, Carol Despeaux, a Seattle writer, came in a close second to win the honorable mention.
Later, on a whim, I entered the Writer's Digest contest and came in fourth (out of 2300). When I saw them print the top ten list in a later edition of the magazine, Carol's name was listed in eighth place. We BOTH made the top ten in a contest of more than two thousand entries? Are you kidding me?
A few months passed and PNWA (the Pacific Northwest Writers Association) listed eight finalists in poetry for their two poetry prizes (and they receive roughly 1000 entries per year). Carol's name was on the list with mine. The odds of this happening, for any of you who have entered writing contests before (editors are so subjective) are astronomical. I ended up winning, and she did not win the second prize, but...she WON for memoir writing, another contest they run at the same time.
So I think I have what is the closest possible to my own personal ghost or shadow. I Googled her, and she's a Seattle writer who seems very sweet and family-oriented. If I'm going to be tracked by anyone, she seems a fine choice...but, I hope the sun doesn't shift suddenly and have me chasing her. So far, I've been quite fortunate; I can only hope my luck continues.
Later, on a whim, I entered the Writer's Digest contest and came in fourth (out of 2300). When I saw them print the top ten list in a later edition of the magazine, Carol's name was listed in eighth place. We BOTH made the top ten in a contest of more than two thousand entries? Are you kidding me?
A few months passed and PNWA (the Pacific Northwest Writers Association) listed eight finalists in poetry for their two poetry prizes (and they receive roughly 1000 entries per year). Carol's name was on the list with mine. The odds of this happening, for any of you who have entered writing contests before (editors are so subjective) are astronomical. I ended up winning, and she did not win the second prize, but...she WON for memoir writing, another contest they run at the same time.
So I think I have what is the closest possible to my own personal ghost or shadow. I Googled her, and she's a Seattle writer who seems very sweet and family-oriented. If I'm going to be tracked by anyone, she seems a fine choice...but, I hope the sun doesn't shift suddenly and have me chasing her. So far, I've been quite fortunate; I can only hope my luck continues.
CATCHING UP: PNWA WIN! (and...?)
Ok, time to update. I'll try to be a bit more regular on here (for more than a few reasons) but let me explain my "writing year." My writing year begins in October, not January, when the Surrey International Writer's Conference (SIWC) rolls into Surrey. In October of 2011, I was fortunate enough to win first place, the $1000 prize in poetry--for a single poem, a single sheet of paper.
After that, my next "placing" was in Writer's Digest seventh annual poetry contest. I placed fourth out of 2300 entries. That was the good news. The bad news was first to third had MUCH better prizes and fourth through tenth had ho-hum prizes, all the same--a small amount of money and a book--the new Poet's Market.
A few months later, I found out that I was one of eight finalists in the poetry contest for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association contest. They get about one thousand entries per year, so I was thrilled to be among the final eight. In July, I found out that I WON--$700--for FIRST PLACE, for three of my favorite poems! It was my second major contest win in less than a year.
In the meantime, I have other news, about the Mary Ballard Chapbook Contest. I entered a chapbook, My Body, Broken for You, on June 15th. They received 350 books in their contest. On July 31st, they made their first cuts. The list was reduced to "quarter-finalists," the top 100 books of the 350 submitted. I made the cut. Next, to make it to the semi-finals, my book had to outlast 75 others on that list. The good news is that it DID! The next cut is the toughest to make. That list of 25 will now be reduced to 3 finalists. I have to wait two weeks to find out who those three are (by Sept. 14th, I'm guessing), but in the meantime, my heart is literally in my mouth as I consider what might happen. You see, out of those 3 finalists, only one gets ALL the prize money, and gets his or her chapbook PUBLISHED! Fingers crossed...
One thing is certain...hard work definitely pays off. I've been concentrating on my poetry in the past few years, reading a pile of literary journals and studying technique, and now I'm starting to feel like my poems belong at that level. It's nice to see some results coming my way, so I'm encouraged and excited to see what the end of my writing year still has to bring...
After that, my next "placing" was in Writer's Digest seventh annual poetry contest. I placed fourth out of 2300 entries. That was the good news. The bad news was first to third had MUCH better prizes and fourth through tenth had ho-hum prizes, all the same--a small amount of money and a book--the new Poet's Market.
A few months later, I found out that I was one of eight finalists in the poetry contest for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association contest. They get about one thousand entries per year, so I was thrilled to be among the final eight. In July, I found out that I WON--$700--for FIRST PLACE, for three of my favorite poems! It was my second major contest win in less than a year.
In the meantime, I have other news, about the Mary Ballard Chapbook Contest. I entered a chapbook, My Body, Broken for You, on June 15th. They received 350 books in their contest. On July 31st, they made their first cuts. The list was reduced to "quarter-finalists," the top 100 books of the 350 submitted. I made the cut. Next, to make it to the semi-finals, my book had to outlast 75 others on that list. The good news is that it DID! The next cut is the toughest to make. That list of 25 will now be reduced to 3 finalists. I have to wait two weeks to find out who those three are (by Sept. 14th, I'm guessing), but in the meantime, my heart is literally in my mouth as I consider what might happen. You see, out of those 3 finalists, only one gets ALL the prize money, and gets his or her chapbook PUBLISHED! Fingers crossed...
One thing is certain...hard work definitely pays off. I've been concentrating on my poetry in the past few years, reading a pile of literary journals and studying technique, and now I'm starting to feel like my poems belong at that level. It's nice to see some results coming my way, so I'm encouraged and excited to see what the end of my writing year still has to bring...
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