Had I not spent time as a high school teacher in Normal, Illinois, I doubt that I would have discovered my favorite short story, "A Worn Path." I doubt very much if I would have ever come across the work of Eudora Welty.
My life would have been different, poorer.
People may be surprised by that. After all, I am a notorious Stephen King fan. Edgar Allan Poe, Dickens. I love horror stories. No ghosts in "A Worn Path."
Maybe.
Today I walked about the campus of Northern Colorado University and observed the trees, the sidewalks, and the blanket of snow. I looked up at the blue sky and the clouds on the horizon, noting that perhaps more weather--more of the white stuff-- was on the way from the mountains to the west. Looking down at the path ahead of me I saw footprints in the snow.
I wondered about Phoenix and her endless journey to get medicine for her grandchild in "A Worn Path."
I am haunted by that journey of love. No less grand, nor less important a journey than that of Odysseus.
And that leads me to the connection with writing-- with storytelling --that I want to make today.
Every story begins with a character on a journey of some kind. That journey may be a journey of the mind, but a journey, a change of some kind-- be it locale, or mind, or life, or relationship-- must take place.
We like to explore, we like the road. We like stories.
Readers also like arrivals, destinations. And we like coming home again. In other words, we like satisfying endings.
It is unwise to take your reader for granted.
Take us on the road with your characters. Take us on their journey. We will gladly take that ride and explore. Exploration is truly the subject of every story from the dawn of culture.
Remember that every journey--even a good journey, even a fulfilling journey that makes us better or stronger or just fills us with fond memories--every journey comes at a cost. So it is for our characters.
As we witness the dawn of a new year let us not be afraid to take that first step toward the horizon.
Enjoy the journey.
Have fun and keep writing!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Character Development: 101 Memorable Characters
I used to be very protective of my characters.
Like a good mommy or daddy, I did not want anything bad to
happen to them.
So I wrote stories that were full of the threat, the
possibility of bad things for my characters to cope with but nothing much
happened emotionally or physically for that matter.
And that means-- I am sad to say-- I wrote some bad
stories. Lots of them. I will most likely have to write many more
bad stories before I can even approach writing a good story.
Characters become memorable because we care about them, and
we care about them because they are part of a story-- a story that has unfolded
in such a way that we are led to care about them. Circular, but true.
In other words, characters have troubles. In real life troubles often create
change. Big troubles create big changes
in our lives and attitudes. Inside and
out. So we tend to care about characters in trouble. Maybe that's because human beings find themselves in so much trouble so much of the time.
People have troubles, so they relate to characters. Memorable characters have memorable troubles. Big troubles that are
interesting. They might even be quiet troubles.
If you create a list of characters that are the most
memorable-- well,
go ahead, I'll wait...
Got it? Good. Take a look at your list.
I'm willing to bet that the fictional folks that made the cut got into all sorts of trouble. Back in the English department we called the kind of trouble that characters get into conflict. Conflict can come from a variety of sources. The source of conflict may be other people, nature, society-- you get the idea.
Much of what we think of in terms of characterization is actually how throughout the unfolding of story characters cope with and respond to the sources of conflict in their fictional lives. Often the sort of conflict that readers relate to with the most gut-punch power is the sort of thing that we recognize from life experience.
go ahead, I'll wait...
Got it? Good. Take a look at your list.
I'm willing to bet that the fictional folks that made the cut got into all sorts of trouble. Back in the English department we called the kind of trouble that characters get into conflict. Conflict can come from a variety of sources. The source of conflict may be other people, nature, society-- you get the idea.
Much of what we think of in terms of characterization is actually how throughout the unfolding of story characters cope with and respond to the sources of conflict in their fictional lives. Often the sort of conflict that readers relate to with the most gut-punch power is the sort of thing that we recognize from life experience.
Today I read a post about a friend that had a routine flight turn
into one adventure after another. This is the sort of thing many travelers can relate to (and many travelers pass the time reading). The
flight did not crash, but the turbulence was scary. The people on the plane
displayed their experience of horror with varied and specific reactions. The situation turned from incredibly scary to
comic as the flight landed--safely-- at a very busy airport and the passengers were evacuated off the plane and detoured to a bus full of even more colorful and eccentric characters and more
transportational-yet-transformational discomfort.
How did the people cope? How might they deal with the experience? They may talk (dialogue) they may think about it in babbling thoughts (interior monologue, stream-of-consciousness), they may grab on to a neighbor for support, they may run screaming down the aisle... they may save a baby--whatever they do, we the readers will learn something about them, about what makes their fictional human heart tick.
Certainly our friend may have behaved heroically, as major story-driving characters often do. When faced with challenges and chaos and pressure, we learn. Readers tend to empathize with characters that get involved one way or another and have to act in the face of obstacles, complications, and conflict.
If she transformed the adventure into fiction, she would turn the events into the troubles for characters that shared the adventure while her fictional surrogate had to cope with it all and perhaps learn something about herself or life along the way.
Then she would have a heck of a story.
I hope she turns it into fiction. But even if she doesn't, the actual nonfictional experience was a memorable tale of survival to be shared with friends for years to come.
How did the people cope? How might they deal with the experience? They may talk (dialogue) they may think about it in babbling thoughts (interior monologue, stream-of-consciousness), they may grab on to a neighbor for support, they may run screaming down the aisle... they may save a baby--whatever they do, we the readers will learn something about them, about what makes their fictional human heart tick.
Certainly our friend may have behaved heroically, as major story-driving characters often do. When faced with challenges and chaos and pressure, we learn. Readers tend to empathize with characters that get involved one way or another and have to act in the face of obstacles, complications, and conflict.
If she transformed the adventure into fiction, she would turn the events into the troubles for characters that shared the adventure while her fictional surrogate had to cope with it all and perhaps learn something about herself or life along the way.
Then she would have a heck of a story.
I hope she turns it into fiction. But even if she doesn't, the actual nonfictional experience was a memorable tale of survival to be shared with friends for years to come.
And that is pretty cool too.
Oh--were you looking for 101 memorable characters?
They were on the plane and the bus.
Go ahead and make them up. Create a handful of interesting details about them and weave those details into dialogue and narrative action. Next thing you know you will have a bunch of characters...
I'm wondering how your main character will deal with it.
I'm wondering how your main character will deal with it.
Have fun and keep writing!
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Where to start?
The simplest answer is anywhere you want.
Consider the kind of fiction you like. Start with your favorite authors-- look at
how they approach beginnings. If you are
on a tight budget, go to a library. If
that seems old-fashioned (sigh, anguish) then click over to your favorite
Amazon free-peek and browse the opening lines. Take a look at the start of the novel or
story. What opening lines/paragraphs draw you in? What hooks you? Most people are inspired to write because
someone impressed them. Most writers
start out as readers. Somebody cast a
spell on you with their words. Probably
that is why you want to return the favor.
Here are a handful of my favorite starts:
"First of all, it was October, a rare month for
boys. Not that all months aren't
rare. But there be bad and good, as the
pirates say. Take September, a bad
month: school begins. Consider August, a good month: school hasn't
begun yet. July, well, July's really fine:
there's no chance in the world for school. June,
no doubting it, June's best of all, for the school doors swing wide and
September's a billion years away."
--Something Wicked this Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
"It was December—a bright frozen day in the early
morning.
--
"A Worn Path," Eudora Welty
"I read about it in the paper, in the subway, on my way to work. I read it, and I couldn't believe it, and I read it again. The perhaps I just stared at it, at the newsprint spelling out his name, spelling out the story. I stared at it in the swinging lights of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside."
--"Sonny's Blues," James Baldwin
"I read about it in the paper, in the subway, on my way to work. I read it, and I couldn't believe it, and I read it again. The perhaps I just stared at it, at the newsprint spelling out his name, spelling out the story. I stared at it in the swinging lights of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside."
--"Sonny's Blues," James Baldwin
"Nobody was really surprised when it happened, not
really, not at the subconscious level where savage things grow."
--Carrie, Stephen King
"My earliest memories involve fire."
--A Drink
Before the War, Dennis Lehane
"My father said he saw him years later playing in a
tenth-rate commercial league in a textile town in Carolina, wearing shoes and
an assumed name."
--Shoeless
Joe, W.P. Kinsella
These are a few opening gambits that grab me--but the opening lines of
stories and books that you love will probably teach you more than any list that
I could provide. I like Lawrence Block's
mysteries. He's another writer I've
mentioned that has shared his wisdom. I
notice he almost always begins with some sort of action and a time stamp. At the very least he likes to play with
numbers in his openers:
"On the last Thursday in September, Lisa Holtzmann went
shopping on Ninth Avenue."
-- The
Devil Knows Your Dead, Lawrence Block
I include that one because it is something of a professional practice in crime fiction.
Here's a classic from Kate Chopin:
I include that one because it is something of a professional practice in crime fiction.
Here's a classic from Kate Chopin:
"Little Mrs. Sommers one day found herself the
unexpected possessor of fifteen dollars."
--"A Pair of Silk Stockings" Kate Chopin
It can be simple. "Call me Ishmael" is about as
simple an opening as there is...and it is attached to a whale of a story.
(Ow.) The point? Simple is good if you are stuck. And the
truth is that you can always go back and change it. Don't let the notion of a perfect start stop you from starting at all.
This list could go on, but again, check out the stories and novels that you like, that drew you in, that grabbed you and led you to actually read the tale.
This list could go on, but again, check out the stories and novels that you like, that drew you in, that grabbed you and led you to actually read the tale.
Please allow me to digress: In my blog about description I pointed out that a handy
trick to build your skills is to try copy-writing the prose of an author you
like. If you have not tried this, and
you feel stuck or lack confidence in your skills-- try it.
One of the most fun moments you will have is that EUREKA!
moment when you realize that you would not have written that sentence in that
way. That you could, in fact, have
written that one sentence better. Every
time I look at something I've written I find a reason to rewrite, something to
improve. Alas.
But when you see this in the work of a real honest-to-God
professional-- wow. You start to realize
that yes, maybe you can.
And if you stick with it, you will.
So back to that sticky problem of where-to-begin.
The answer is: right
now.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
10 Rules to Live By
About a million years ago, someone challenged me to create a list of "ten rules to live by." It was one of those indirect challenges that show up on your favorite browser through various social media marketing strategies.
Usually such a challenge is the attempt of some wannabe self-help guru that can't think of any other way to get your attention that day.
While I admire the often good intentions that lead to such a list, I rarely see any point in giving it further consideration than the few seconds it takes for me to scan it on my feed.
But...
Sometimes life happens, and you give it more thought, and those thoughts snowball into a fit and spasm that forces you to write about it before you will be allowed to move on to something else. So, with apologies for an introduction that is way too long-- here's my list:
1. You have to love and respect yourself before you can love and respect anybody else. Treating others as you yourself would like to be treated means you have to love yourself too. Otherwise the whole thing doesn't work. Those periods in my life when I lost my sense of self-respect are those periods in my life when I've felt the most miserable. I am at my happiest when I believe that I am taking the right course of action.
2. Someone once said that when you lose, don't lose the lesson. That seems to promote learning the hard way. But, the hard way is still a valid way to learn. Whatever setbacks or obstacles or tragedies befall you, do not fail to see-- and learn from-- the lesson. That which does not kill you can make you stronger, but only if you build on the rock of the lesson and not the quicksand of victimhood. So you learned the hard way-- learning is learning. When you have fallen on your face, own up to it and be thankful that you have the strength to get up again. Or make art. Pain can translate into great art.
3. Sometimes it is better to love and be silent.
4. You can't control what others say and do. You can control what you say and do, and lead by example.
5. Worry is a waste of time and energy. Don't worry. If you find that you are worried about something, take appropriate action. Focus on what you can do, not that which is out of your control.
6. Respect for your loved ones does not mean giving up on your values for their whims.
7. Work hard; more important, work smart.
8. Tolerance, art, and diversity are not luxuries; they are facts of a beautiful life.
9. When all else fails, help, teach, learn, and be kind. That is not giving up or giving in, and even when you die trying, you die a hero.
10. Love is the most important thing. If everything else is based on love, then you've got a list worth having.
To paraphrase John Lennon, I hope I passed the audition. The next blog will be about writing again. Honest.
On second thought, maybe this one is about writing.
Usually such a challenge is the attempt of some wannabe self-help guru that can't think of any other way to get your attention that day.
While I admire the often good intentions that lead to such a list, I rarely see any point in giving it further consideration than the few seconds it takes for me to scan it on my feed.
But...
Sometimes life happens, and you give it more thought, and those thoughts snowball into a fit and spasm that forces you to write about it before you will be allowed to move on to something else. So, with apologies for an introduction that is way too long-- here's my list:
1. You have to love and respect yourself before you can love and respect anybody else. Treating others as you yourself would like to be treated means you have to love yourself too. Otherwise the whole thing doesn't work. Those periods in my life when I lost my sense of self-respect are those periods in my life when I've felt the most miserable. I am at my happiest when I believe that I am taking the right course of action.
2. Someone once said that when you lose, don't lose the lesson. That seems to promote learning the hard way. But, the hard way is still a valid way to learn. Whatever setbacks or obstacles or tragedies befall you, do not fail to see-- and learn from-- the lesson. That which does not kill you can make you stronger, but only if you build on the rock of the lesson and not the quicksand of victimhood. So you learned the hard way-- learning is learning. When you have fallen on your face, own up to it and be thankful that you have the strength to get up again. Or make art. Pain can translate into great art.
3. Sometimes it is better to love and be silent.
4. You can't control what others say and do. You can control what you say and do, and lead by example.
5. Worry is a waste of time and energy. Don't worry. If you find that you are worried about something, take appropriate action. Focus on what you can do, not that which is out of your control.
6. Respect for your loved ones does not mean giving up on your values for their whims.
7. Work hard; more important, work smart.
8. Tolerance, art, and diversity are not luxuries; they are facts of a beautiful life.
9. When all else fails, help, teach, learn, and be kind. That is not giving up or giving in, and even when you die trying, you die a hero.
10. Love is the most important thing. If everything else is based on love, then you've got a list worth having.
To paraphrase John Lennon, I hope I passed the audition. The next blog will be about writing again. Honest.
On second thought, maybe this one is about writing.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Setting the Scene: Nothing up Your Sleeve or Pulling a Rabbit Out of Your Head and On to the Page
I think the best way to approach description is to remember that it is part of the story. Giving the reader a sense of place is a part of your job as a writer of fiction. Description is not the story.
Description should serve the story, not the other way around.
I'm not discounting the power of description or its place in fiction. I'm just saying that you should not get too hung up about writing long descriptive paragraphs (unless you want to, and it serves your story-- all elements of fiction serve story).
We live in an incredibly visual age. Digital photography is everywhere. Old texts (books, novels, short stories from say, 1950 and back) tend to be loaded (over-burdened, top-heavy) with description. Just ask many of my former students, who bemoaned having to read Great Expectations. (As a matter of fact, I love Dickens in general and Great Expectations is a great novel).
David Morrell, the author that invented Rambo in First Blood, has a PhD in American Literature. He taught for many years in addition to writing popular novels. Bottom line: He knows his stuff.
Morrell's advice is great. He points out that visual description is the weakest, and should always be paired up with the other senses. The 5 senses are key to understanding what draws the audience into the environment of your story. He favors a kind of triangulation of sensory detail using three of the five senses. He'll change it up, sometimes 2, sometimes one-- and if he has to cut one or two-- he'll try to cut the visual.
Scene description and character development go hand in hand. Why? Because people see, smell, hear, taste and feel. The impact on how a character perceives the world in the way you tell the story is obvious if you are using the first-person point of view. Most popular fiction uses third-person limited to one or more characters, usually separated by chapter breaks.
Out of necessity, I'm going to keep it short, knowing that I will come back to the subject in future posts. Frankly, this subject could easily be a class all by itself. I don't claim any special expertise either.
In the meantime-- pick up a favorite book-- any work of fiction you like. Any work of fiction that is the type of book/story you want to write would work just fine.
Pick a scene from that book. Any scene could work, but pick one that you like AND has description. Take some time to copy that scene by hand or just type it. Watch how the pro got that scene into your head.
Next, take a scene when a new character is being introduced-- a major character preferably-- this time anyway. Do the same thing. Notice what details he/she used to get that character across. Please note, I'm NOT suggesting that you plagiarize-- this is called practice. It is one thing to read that passage in the moment when you are into the story. It is something else to have to type it or write it out long hand. Don't be overwhelmed by the idea. You won't believe how useful it will be. You will notice how the pro gives you the answer to your questions about "how to"-- and this is something you should do whenever you feel like putting in "practice." That is what it is. Just like a ball player or a ballerina. The practice gets you ready for "showtime."
Try it.
Have fun! It should be fun. Keep writing your own stuff, apply what you have learned about scene writing, characterization, description from the same writers you like to read. You are going to notice the stuff that makes fiction tick. I know it sounds like a chore.
Trust me, I wish I had done this thirty years ago. (Yes, THIRTY freaking years ago).
Good Luck and Keep Writing!
Description should serve the story, not the other way around.
I'm not discounting the power of description or its place in fiction. I'm just saying that you should not get too hung up about writing long descriptive paragraphs (unless you want to, and it serves your story-- all elements of fiction serve story).
We live in an incredibly visual age. Digital photography is everywhere. Old texts (books, novels, short stories from say, 1950 and back) tend to be loaded (over-burdened, top-heavy) with description. Just ask many of my former students, who bemoaned having to read Great Expectations. (As a matter of fact, I love Dickens in general and Great Expectations is a great novel).
David Morrell, the author that invented Rambo in First Blood, has a PhD in American Literature. He taught for many years in addition to writing popular novels. Bottom line: He knows his stuff.
Morrell's advice is great. He points out that visual description is the weakest, and should always be paired up with the other senses. The 5 senses are key to understanding what draws the audience into the environment of your story. He favors a kind of triangulation of sensory detail using three of the five senses. He'll change it up, sometimes 2, sometimes one-- and if he has to cut one or two-- he'll try to cut the visual.
Scene description and character development go hand in hand. Why? Because people see, smell, hear, taste and feel. The impact on how a character perceives the world in the way you tell the story is obvious if you are using the first-person point of view. Most popular fiction uses third-person limited to one or more characters, usually separated by chapter breaks.
Out of necessity, I'm going to keep it short, knowing that I will come back to the subject in future posts. Frankly, this subject could easily be a class all by itself. I don't claim any special expertise either.
In the meantime-- pick up a favorite book-- any work of fiction you like. Any work of fiction that is the type of book/story you want to write would work just fine.
Pick a scene from that book. Any scene could work, but pick one that you like AND has description. Take some time to copy that scene by hand or just type it. Watch how the pro got that scene into your head.
Next, take a scene when a new character is being introduced-- a major character preferably-- this time anyway. Do the same thing. Notice what details he/she used to get that character across. Please note, I'm NOT suggesting that you plagiarize-- this is called practice. It is one thing to read that passage in the moment when you are into the story. It is something else to have to type it or write it out long hand. Don't be overwhelmed by the idea. You won't believe how useful it will be. You will notice how the pro gives you the answer to your questions about "how to"-- and this is something you should do whenever you feel like putting in "practice." That is what it is. Just like a ball player or a ballerina. The practice gets you ready for "showtime."
Try it.
Have fun! It should be fun. Keep writing your own stuff, apply what you have learned about scene writing, characterization, description from the same writers you like to read. You are going to notice the stuff that makes fiction tick. I know it sounds like a chore.
Trust me, I wish I had done this thirty years ago. (Yes, THIRTY freaking years ago).
Good Luck and Keep Writing!
Friday, August 22, 2014
Great Writing Advice: 4 Links and 4 Books
Here's a short roundup of great writing advice I've compiled over the years. This stuff works for me, and might work for you too. This is not even close to being a comprehensive list, but these are a handful of my favorite go-to articles when I feel stuck and need to get going again.
I know of the late Richard Laymon's work from the above essay and reading one of his short stories, Hammerhead, found in a collection called The Museum of Horrors. Very creepy. His advice is sound. His fiction is scary.
My guess is that if you know about Joe R. Lansdale you most likely discovered him via the novella, Bubba-Ho-Tep, which was made into a movie starring B-movie actor Bruce Campbell (If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor) as the late Elvis, King of Rock n' Roll and intrepid Mummy hunter. Reid's interview with Lansdale is first rate-- and perfect for those getting started and unsure of how to get going.
Dennis Lehane's work is everywhere. Read it. My favorite Lehane book is Mystic River, with Shutter Island a close second. Oh, they were made into pretty good movies, too.
Author Joe Hill is author Stephen King's son, so it is a safe bet he is getting some good advice from his old man. Joe's short story collection is wonderful. It's called 20th Century Ghosts. Find it and read it. I also enjoyed his breakout first novel Heart-Shaped Box. Frightened at the prospect of writing a novel? Joe's advice is right on time.
In addition to the above links, I'm going to add 4 of my favorite books on the subject:
Best of luck and keep writing!
I know of the late Richard Laymon's work from the above essay and reading one of his short stories, Hammerhead, found in a collection called The Museum of Horrors. Very creepy. His advice is sound. His fiction is scary.
My guess is that if you know about Joe R. Lansdale you most likely discovered him via the novella, Bubba-Ho-Tep, which was made into a movie starring B-movie actor Bruce Campbell (If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor) as the late Elvis, King of Rock n' Roll and intrepid Mummy hunter. Reid's interview with Lansdale is first rate-- and perfect for those getting started and unsure of how to get going.
Dennis Lehane's work is everywhere. Read it. My favorite Lehane book is Mystic River, with Shutter Island a close second. Oh, they were made into pretty good movies, too.
Author Joe Hill is author Stephen King's son, so it is a safe bet he is getting some good advice from his old man. Joe's short story collection is wonderful. It's called 20th Century Ghosts. Find it and read it. I also enjoyed his breakout first novel Heart-Shaped Box. Frightened at the prospect of writing a novel? Joe's advice is right on time.
In addition to the above links, I'm going to add 4 of my favorite books on the subject:
- The first, and my long-time favorite, is by the late, great Ray Bradbury: Zen and the Art of Writing. The man was exploding with passion and enthusiasm for his work. I can't recommend ZATAOW enough. My favorite Bradbury novel (he's mostly known for short stories) is Something Wicked this Way Comes.
- The second is literally related to Joe Hill, above. Stephen King's On Writing is not only a favorite of many who would want to know how fiction works (at least King's fiction) but I suspect it is also an example of a father trying to give the best possible advice to his son on how to break into the family business. Truly, Uncle Stevie is the fellow you want by your side when the voice of the quitties is shouting you down and making you feel like you just canna do it. (Bonus Book: If you are interested in horror in particular and fantasy/science fiction in general please consider reading King's other nonfiction masterpiece Danse Macabre for a second helping from the master).
- The third is Bird by Bird by Ann Lamotte. This is a truly inspirational book. Writing is a lonely business, and the voice of Ann Lamotte is a whisper and shout of kindness and encouragement.
- Fourth is a book by mystery writer Lawrence Block. If you want straight talk from a seasoned professional novelist, the tough guy in the room-- read Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print. My favorite part is his chapter on what to do when you get stuck. I have to add that I consider this hard to find book the most practical of the bunch. Not the best necessarily, but the most practical for the do-it-yourself-er.
Best of luck and keep writing!
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