THOUGHTS ON CREATIVITY AS THE YEAR TURNS

"The role of the writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say."  ~Anais Nin

"I'm a terrible cook, but if I could cook, I would see that as art as well, it's how much creative energy you put into something."  ~Tracey Emin

"Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which as cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience." ~Henry David Thoreau

"If there is a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." ~ Toni Morrison

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make."  ~Truman Capote

TREBLE THE TROUBLE

Writing fiction? Then Les Edgerton's nifty book, HOOKED, is a great choice for your holiday gift list. (If you're like me, you play secret Santa and buy yourself a few pounds of libros for the holidays.)

Edgerton covers well-traveled ground when it comes to the how-to of structure. But he does it by focusing intensely on the basics of story setup--the opening hooks and problems--that directly connect to deep story structure. 

Edgerton defines the Inciting Incident--a term often used in the language of screenplays--as something that "happens to the protagonist that creates his surface problem and introduces the first indications of the story-worthy problem."

He goes on to note that "The inciting incident sets the stage for the story-worthy problem, which functions just beneath the surface of the story on a more psychological level. Consider it the driving force behind the initial surface problem as it's ultimately what the protagonist must reconcile at the end of the story."

Want to read on? Put Hooked at the top of your Dear Santa list asap.

A NARRATIVE SENSE OF PLACE

"If character is the foreground of fiction, setting is the background, and as in a painting's composition, the foreground may be in harmony or in conflict with the background...where there is a conflict between background and foreground, between character and setting, there is already "narrative content," or the makings of a story." Janet Burroway, Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft

As an exercise, Burroway suggests writing a scene in which two characters are in conflict over their surroundings. One wants to stay, the other wants to leave.

If you choose to do the exercise, you might try it twice--first choosing a familiar setting; next choosing some place exotic. How do two very different settings effect the possibilities for conflict?

Finally, try setting a scene in the landscape pictured with this post. Photo provided courtesy of photographer Jack Arnold.

SCAFFOLD SCENES--Part One

Scenes are basic building blocks of narrative. A scene can be defined as a story episode rendered fully and dramatically in order to make the reader feel she is present and witnessing the action in real time. In effective scenes, things happen and the world shifts. Secrets are discovered. Adversaries are confronted. Revelations arise. Decisions are made. When you write--especially when you rewrite--you should know what each scene accomplishes in your story. Ask yourself what function it serves. Effective scenes do more than one thing at once, but a quick inventory will help you stay on track and in action with your stories. 

When working on your next scene, assign a one-word caption to define the scene's primary function: Catalyst; Decision; Investigation; Discovery; Confrontation; Revelation; Recognition; Turning point; Capitulation; Defiance; Resolution.

It's worth repeating that effective scenes work simultaneously on more than one level--for example, serving to introduce a character and a conflict in a particular setting, and providing vital backstory. Remember, your goal is always to deepen the story conflict and to move the story forward. That's where the one-word captions come in handy.

To be continued...

ANXIETY AND IMPULSE

Today--a special day for me--I'm sharing a quote from Hackneys, Huskies, a Glimmer Train essay by author Roxana Robinson, the award-winning author of four novels and three short story collections. To read the essay in its entirety visit glimmertrain.com.

"All of the fiction I write arises from the same sort of impulse: it's a feeling of discomfort, a kind of unspecified anxiety, a need to uncover something that troubles and disturbs me. I write toward that feeling. I try to explain it to myself in order to disarm it, to rob it of its potency. I don't know how this explanation will happen. I don't know how the disarmament will take place, or what else will happen in the process."