Creative Cattle Prod

Aiming your story

2006-07-05T07:01:00.000-04:00

This week I'm taking a short break from the type of prods I usually post. I'm going to talk a bit about how to aim your story.

This might be a new term for you. Okay, it probably is a new term for you because I just made it up. I think most writing "how-to" books call it "targeting". Targeting, though, implies your story is so precisely defined that it can hit dead-center bullseye in the interests of your readers.

In real life, I don't think things are that neat and well-defined. I think most writers get the idea for the story first, then decide to which audience it would appeal.

I'm going to suggest doing things a little different. I'm going to suggest aiming your story.

Aiming implies that you know the general direction you'll shoot at. It implies you have a target. It just doesn't imply that you have your sights zeroed in and locked down on the exact spot you intend to hit. I think that's more like a story or novel in progress.

I coined the term based on a website: Aim A Book. I found the site useful to narrow down subgenres for a story I'm considering.

Here was my thought process:
I had a general idea for a character-driven story. As of yet, I didn't (I still don't) have the characters fleshed out, but I knew, vaguely, how I wanted the characters to interact. The interesting thing, to me, was the idea of exploring this interaction in a genre where I thought I could bring out the interaction the most.

Once I decided on the genre, I decided to explore sub-genres. This story wasn't suitable for all subgenres of the genre I chose, so I wanted to narrow down the possibilities.

This probably all sounds a little amorphous (if the story goes any where I'll be more specific later), and more than a little backwards (most writing books, from what I recall, don't suggest targeting your story this early in the process. Some that I have read don't suggest targeting until you write a query letter!). Writing isn't like engineering - the process is much less defined and the order in which you take the steps required isn't important.

In my opinion, approaching your story by aiming it can help you break through some blocks. If you have problems getting the story out, maybe you don't have a firm grasp of who your audience is. Or maybe at some point you've decided to tell a different story than the one you began with, but you haven't yet realized it.

Or for a different tack, try this prod:
Take a scene from whatever story you're currently working on. Rewrite the scene, but place it in a different genre, or subgenre. How has the story changed? This may give you ideas on different directions you can take your story.

More ideas on genre:
Genre Descriptions from Agent Query
Answers.com on fiction genres You can click on links to different divisions such as mystery and sci fi, and from there, click on subgenres for a description.
Wikipedias list of literary genres You can click on each to find a description, and from there, subgenres.

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Flood!

2006-06-28T15:40:00.000-04:00

Due to water leakage in my basement from recent downpours, it will be a few days before I update.

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Action Jackson

2006-06-16T17:46:00.000-04:00

Action seems simple to write, but isn't always. You have to clearly convey what's happening, but in a way that keeps the story moving (which usually means minimal description during the fast-paced scenes), keeps the character growing, and keeps the reader invested in the story, but at the same time paces the narrative such that it matches the pace of the action being described.

There are tricks you can use. Writing an action scene using the most descriptive verbs you can think of can add interest and can help with pacing. The best action scenes start quick, and get quicker. They use an economy of words to get the reader's pace of reading in tune with the action, which in turn really involves the reader with the scene.

So here you are: write 200 words using full characterization and scenery, with as much tone and atmosphere as possible, but avoid adjectives for description.

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Heroism

2006-06-07T22:56:00.000-04:00

Write 200 words about a heroic characters. However, this character's heroic actions may not be life-saving, world-saving, etc.

For example, here is the skeleton of a scene. Guy at a store. He's in a hurry, seems generally tired. There's a whiny kid in line in front of him. The mom is obviously having a bad day. She's yelling at the kid, taking out her bad day on the child. This strikes a chord with the guy. Maybe his kids are grown and have moved away, and remembering how many times he yelled at his kids, he feels moved to try to ratchet down the emotion.

There is an act of minor, every day heroism. Writing suspense and emotion into life and death situations is easy. If the reader relates to the character, and really cares for her, the outcome of the situation has high stakes. Taut suspense is the natural outcome of high stakes and an uncertain outcome.

In an every day situation, however, the emotion probably won't running as high. You will have to work harder to develop suspense. The challenge is to develop the right amount of suspense without descending into melodrama. Imagine reading a story where every situation is written like the fate of the world rests on the character's decisions and actions. The reader would likely find it laughable after just a few pages.

So this week's challenge is: Can you write a suspenseful scene of every day heroism without melodrama? Let's see what you can do.

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Inaction Jackson

2006-06-01T23:05:00.000-04:00

As the song goes, the waiting is the hardest part. No matter how action filled your story or novel is, at some point, things will slow down. How do you keep the reader on the hook, so to speak? Can you write a suspenseful expository scene? This scene can be someone waiting, a brief interlude of description for purposes of setting, or the aftermath of a big action scene.

Here's the challenge: write 200 words of a scene with little or no action, which still creates suspense. Bonus if you can get the scene to build in suspense throughout the scene. Try to avoid cheap theatrics, like a surprise ending.

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Hidden agenda

2006-05-24T21:29:00.000-04:00

Related to misunderstood characters.....

Sometimes a good way of building suspense in a scene is to make it appear as if characters, or even other things, have a secret. It's easy to descend into melodrama again using this technique. You don't want to cause blunt force head trauma by beating the reader to death with “There's a secret! A secret, I said!” Being able do this subtly, and yet still create the right level of suspense shows skill.

So here's the challenge: Write a scene with a secret. Remember, it isn't just characters that have secrets. An object, a pet, a place can all hold secrets. Showing that something inanimate or inarticulate has a secret may even be harder that skillfully showing a character with a secret, so bonus if you choose this for your challenge entry.

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Misunderstood

2006-05-22T19:47:00.000-04:00

Countering Friday's prompt:

Sometimes a character's actions, reactions, and overall demeanor leads the reader into believing the character is antagonistic, or guilty of some dark act within the context of the story. This has been cliched in film and television, where the ugly, foul-tempered character turns out to be a hero finally (and the heroism usually results in the character's injury or death!).

However, writing your character as being misunderstood can be a powerful tool to build sympathy for him or her (or it), which is why the technique is used so often. One key is to do it subtly, without beating your reader about the head and neck area with stereotypical villain characteristics like the scar, the taciturn manner, the limp, etc. Another option is to write the character as being misunderstood in terms of something other than good and evil. For example, a character may be misunderstood as unintelligent, or cruel, or as a bully.

Your task for this prompt is to write a scene where it become obvious - gradually, it should dawn on the reader rather than surprising him or her - that a character is misunderstood.

Good luck.

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Two-faced

2006-05-19T06:32:00.000-04:00

We've all known two-faced people before, someone who appears to be your friend but undermines your efforts, or denigrates you when you're not around.

Depicting a character like this can be a good way to generate dislike for a character, or to generate sympathy for a character. But writing a scene which shows this type of behavior, and doing it subtly, shows skill.

So here's the challenge: Write a scene which hints at a character being two-faced, but without showing the actual acts.

Good luck.

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Miraculous

2006-05-15T19:14:00.000-04:00

While reading this post at the blog Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science, I found this quote from Freeman Dyson:

Littlewood's Law of Miracles states that in the course of any normal person's life, miracles happen at a rate of roughly one per month. The proof of the law is simple. During the time that we are awake and actively engaged in living our lives, roughly for eight hours each day, we see and hear things happening at a rate of about one per second. So the total number of events that happen to us is about thirty thousand per day, or about a million per month. With few exceptions, these events are not miracles because they are insignificant. The chance of a miracle is about one per million events. Therefore we should expect about one miracle to happen, on the average, every month.

(link to quote)

This is an interesting theory. It seems to match my personal experience. It also gives me the idea for an interesting writing exercise.

Many fictional plots are melodramatic, but if the melodrama is not kept in check, the writing can become humourous (usually unintentionally). The ability to write an understated scene of melodramatic events can be a useful skill. Miracles, by their very nature, verge on the melodramatic. They elicit exaggerated emotion, and typically involve exaggerated characters and events.

So here's this week's challenge: Write a short scene depicting miraculous events, but understate them so much that they seem nearly commonplace.

Good luck.

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Little Evils

2006-04-05T07:40:00.000-04:00

This week's challenge: Little evils

It's easy to write about an evil that threatens the world, or the life of a character. But there are lots of "small evils" that happen every day - bullies, gossipers, backstabbers. These little evils can be useful to generate dislike for a character, or to generate sympathy for the character who is the subject of these evils.

The challenge is to write these scenes with just the right amount of drama. Too much, and it becomes melodrama. Too little, and the scene is flat.

So here's your challenge for this week: Write a scene showing a character inflicting or enduring these small persecutions (or one character persecuting another), with just the right amount of drama.

Good luck.

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Self-deception

2006-03-24T13:48:00.000-05:00

This week's prod is: Self-deception:

Who do you know that's guilty of self-deception? Nearly everyone is guilty of self-deception at one time or another. This facet of our personalities can be a wonderful tool for humanizing characters and rounding them out.

Remember: show, don't tell. For example, don't write: “George was ugly. But he constantly annoyed the women around him by flirting with them.”

Flesh it out, like in this (admittedly outrageous and stereotyped) example:

George leered at the waitress. “Bring me a beer. And if you're quick about it I might decide I like you enough to take you out tonight.” The waitress froze momentarily, mouth open, then turned away quickly. George scratched the wart on his nose, and leaned back in his chair. The buttons strained across the bowling ball shape that was his belly. He scanned the room quickly. Not much talent here. Not at all. That little waitress might have to do, though she was a brunette. Blondes, tall, with long legs were his preference.

This example is the cheap and easy way out. Write 200 words about a character that is fooling themselves. Bonus if you can arrange the scene so that the reader realizes the truth late in the scene. Let's see what you've got.

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Quick Note about Copyrights

2006-03-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

I just added a copyright notice to my site. You'll see it at the bottom.

That only applies to my own work.

The copyright for any posts made will remain with the post author, with the exception that you will grant me limited right to display your post. Anything else, it's all yours.

Economy

2006-03-21T07:32:00.000-05:00

This week's prod is economy:

Write a story in 100 words or less. Pay attention to characterization, atmosphere, tone, and description.

To do this right, you must be efficient. You want words that can do double duty, describing and providing tone at the same time, or can characterize while describing.

Good luck.

Post your stories here.

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2006-03-21T07:16:00.000-05:00

About this blog........

Sometimes you need a new challenge in writing. You need a challenge that will make you work hard, think, and solve problems, yet not take too much time from your real writing.

Sometimes you just need a diversion, some quick project to take your mind off the main focus of your work.

Here, you won't find advice about writing, or personal war stories about the process, or even thoughts on writing. What you will find is a series of brief challenge projects - about 1 a week - to make you think about writing in a new way, with my ideas (for what they're worth, I'm not a published writer) of how the challenges relate to your writing. They won't take long; the idea is to make them less than a few hundred words so that it distills the essence of the writing to the essentials, and doesn't take time away from the writing you want to do.

You'll also find a showcase for your work via the challenges. If you take the challenge, post your entries in the comment section. Show how you approached the challenge, inspire others, and read other people's work.

If I'm doing my job correctly, maybe I can get you to think about your writing in a new way, giving your creative energy a little jolt - like a cattle prod.