Answers Without Questions
Back during the early days of the pandemic, when we switched over to zoom teaching, in an attempt to get some discussion going I began having the Young Scholars ask me written questions. They’d submit the questions on a Canvas discussion, and I’d answer them in writing, and then expand orally on my answers in zoom class. It was fun! I’ve continued to do this in subsequent semesters. The questions are usually about whatever it is we’re doing in class, but they can range out to almost anything….
And so here are some of my answers from this last spring. Answers only, no questions!
(If you need questions, supply your own…).
Hero sets off to see their fortune....you can do a lot with a road trip....
That's a really good question! I'll look into it—
I like writing about people/couples who are not getting along. You can do a lot with friction and tension!
Here's a way to start: imagine a character (your protagonist); then put them in a relationship; then put them into a situation (horror/crime/weirdness) that puts pressure on them....
The value of weirdness.
The value of setting.
The value of a tight third person POV....
Very! Totally. I also have empathy for him—he's going through a tough time....
I guess I hate movie/book scientists who do things unscientifically and stupidly...? (I’m looking at you, Prometheus).
A swimming pool in a story about a competitive swimmer....good interesting!
Make them bank robbers. Have them run a funeral home. Have them go ghost-hunting....
Think of the story as people who are in a relationship—who do something....
Perfect!
Yes, indeed! Creative writers do research---
Google is your friend. Especially Google Streets....
But also videos, maps, Expedia...you can find setting information in a lot of places….
In fiction, I currently read a lot of noirish-detective/crime books. I write, basically, literary fiction—though my last book was noirish, and my work in progress has horror elements....
Ideas pop up everywhere--observe the world around you and then apply imagine to what you see--which is simply asking, "What if...?"
Depends on how the writer approaches the topic—like, you probably shouldn't write a comedy about the Holocaust....
Good question—could be a moral deformity or a physical deformity...? Like, the bullies in Stephen King's It aren't just bad kids—they are morally deformed by the monster-thing....
Fiction....
(Note—I look at genre differently than many students....).....
Think of a person—your character. Then put them in a (scary/dangerous/amusing) situation—how will they react?
Go from there....
Try to focus on the character, not on the plot. Your stories are going to be short—six to eight pages—and you don't have narrative space for very much plot, if any....
Make sure your writing is solid—yes, all the periods and commas and so forth.
Plot and "originality" is not as important as you might think. Storytelling is very important!
Try Come Closer, by Sara Gran....
Try to see the setting through the eyes of the focal character—let the reader see what the character thinks is important.....
Sure, you can have a dog as a character. But do some research—how do dogs see the world? Sense the world?
What language will the dog speak to the reader? English, probably, but how good are their language skills?
Does the dog fully comprehend what's going on?
Read it out loud.
Then—read it out loud backwards....
Do something unexpected and cliché-repellant—
Let's say you're writing a basketball story. The cliché is "buzzer-beating shot wins the game,” right?
So—have the buzzer-beating shot clank off the rim. Have the game not be close. Have the team be terrible. Have someone poison the popcorn. Focus on something other than the "big game" (like the maybe relationship between players, or between the coach and her husband)....
You have lots of options!
In a small group, in class....
I try to! You don't need a lot of time—a page a day is a book a year—
I try to get in some time each day, usually in the evening....I have multiple projects, so if something is not working, I can switch to something else...
The villains I've met in real life have been small-minded and ignorant and too powerful. So the villains I write about are....
This is tough! Life gets in the way of so much good work!
Maybe try finding something that makes you happy, and carving out a little time for that every day. (My therapist keeps bugging me to do that).
I read an article about noirs written by women, which led me to Megan Abbott, my fave contemporary writer....
I usually write in the evenings—1000pm or so. Music—recently I listen to WWOZ a lot, though some Spotify playlists, too....
Me, when I was a kid I just read books that I loved, almost entirely adult literary fiction, and when I started writing I tried to do what those writers did....
My suggestion: get good at using the language—at sentences, commas, em-dashes, etc. Then write what you like....
I think it's good practice, certainly, and fun. But I would not get emotionally attached to any fanfictions—
I think you should save your passion for your own creations....
When I'm writing in my notebook, I can be in bed, in my recliner, in a coffeeshop....
When I'm revising, at my desk.
I go by time—I try to get a minimum of 20 minutes of writing a day.
But some people certainly set word goals! Everyone is different....
Try different approaches and find what works for you--
Do something different....
Do something unexpected and cliché-repellant--
You have infinite options!
BUT HERE IS ANOTHER THING!
All the plots have been written—but not all the stories!
Because what makes a story unique is—YOU.
What does your personal life and experience in this world bring to the predicable plot/trope?
Well, your characters live in an environment. The reader should be experiencing this environment through the focal character's senses.
What's important to the character?
Try to keep it between people....
In that situation you’ll need a primary character (protagonist/focal character) and a secondary character....
Run everything through the character's POV....
Characters commit action (dialogue is an action)—
Characters exist in an environment.
Try the Social Security Baby Name Index….
Also...old phone books....
Hmm...lovers who aren't getting along....???