Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 09:16:02 EDT From: "look ma, no hands!" Subject: [WRITERS] EXERCISE: A Passion For Narrative (part 2) Getting Started: Finding Stories Meant for You From "A Passion For Narrative" by Jack Hodgins, ISBN 0-312-11042-1. "But the wide creative vision, though no fragment of human experience can appear wholly empty to it, yet seeks by instinct those subjects in which some phase of our common plight stands forth dramatically and typically, subjects which, in themselves, are a kind of summary or foreshortening of life's dispersed and inconclusive occurrences." "...But whatever the central episode or situation chosen by the novelist, his tale will be about only just so much of it as he reacts to. A gold mine is worth nothing unless the owner has the machinery for extracting the ore, and each subject must be considered first in itself, and next in relation to the novelist's power of extracting from it what it contains." (Edith Wharton, The Writing of Fiction) [skipping lightly by several interesting sections... maybe we will throw in a word or two here and there...along with titles] Recognizing Good Story Material When You See It Why Writers Write How Stories Announce Themselves Is There Anything We Must Or Must Not Write About How Do Writers Write Getting Started The First Draft (P. 38) " Write the first draft for no one but yourself. Write to find out what you're writing about. Think of this as just a way of nailing the story down so it can't get away. No eyes but yours will see it. Writing the first draft should be fun (you're telling yourself a story, after all) and surprising (you're making a journey, where people will reveal things you hadn't anticipated) and free (you can change your mind or change direction as often as you want so long as you feel you're getting somewhere that might pay off)." (P. 40) Reprise: How Do You Recognize the Material You Ought to Be Writing About? 1. Is there something about the story that only you can offer? 2. Is there something about it that excites you in some way beyond easy explanation? 3. Is there something about it that seems dangerous ("If i don't do this right I could ruin in good story idea." 4. Is there something about it that seems to suggest it is larger than you think, that you will have to select rather than add? 5. Is there a sense that this story already exists somewhere just waiting to be told -- or do you think you're going to have to make it all up and hammer and nail it together? 6. Is there something about it makes you wish someone else had already written it because you know it's the kind of story you would like to read? 7. Is there something about it that seems appropriate to your nature, your voice, your way of looking at the world? 8. Has it presented itself you in a manner that suggest that hidden riches await you once you start exploring? 9. Are you beginning to see natural and exciting connections between this bare story idea and several other images, people, places, or ideas you can hardly wait to write about? 10. Would you rather be writing this story than reading a book by your favorite author? Do you think this story deserves to be written as effectively as your favorite writer writes? That ends the quotes. Okay. Let's try our own variation on one of the exercises that Hodgins proposes. Take a number from 1 to 6 (go ahead, pick your number now, we will wait :-) 1. A river bank 2. A basement 3. The neighbor's house 4. A street 5. A field 6. A school room Now, think of a favorite or perhaps not so favorite spot which had an important role in your childhood (this should be the kind that you chose of course). Write down some words or phrases which remind you of the smells of that place, the textures, the sounds, the images -- all the sensory excitement of that childhood experience. Now write some sentences using those words and phrases to suggest or imply how you felt about that place. Write a complete paragraph or scene showing you either entering, doing something in, or leaving that place. Next imagine someone coming into your place who will see that place as differently as possible. Write a paragraph or scene from their point of view about your place. And, of course, if you feel as if you want to, please go ahead and show us what happens when you and they are in "the place." At this point, it may be worthwhile to look at the list of questions that Hodgins provided to help you decide what is the best story you can tell. You don't have to answer all of the questions but it may be worthwhile thinking about them. tink (this exercise has been dictated using DragonTech NaturallySpeaking TM. Since this required me to change computer systems, I hope it is still readable but I'm not really sure. I'm still learning to use the dictation software and the other systems. Thank you for being patient.) [yes, I wimped out and checked it on my unix system before dumping it on the list...looked good!]