October 15th, 2010%
Want wit and charm, an unsolved mystery, or a little practice with POV? Drink at the bar, not a table.
- Hornitos Tequila
Objective POV: If something happens, you’ll notice it. So much will happen, you won’t think about it. In the morning, you’ll write about it.
Story Starters: You’ll have several delayed reactions which could be filled in with better stories.
These two women seemed to be fighting over something until this guy came up. One of the women put a half-full martini into her purse and walked away. I couldn’t see her face.
- Hendrick’s Gin
First Person POV: The world is concocted only to incite and complement your wit. Razor sharp microwave popcorn, if that helps.
Story Starters: You’ll sense the forgone opportunities which are now lost forever to sobriety, but ripe for imagination.
What does it really take to be a trophy wife? That man saw me exactly for the amazingly beautiful conversationalist that I am.
- Rail Vodka (Don’t Call)
Third Person POV: You know so much, but you just can’t say it. You feel it. Intuition is like a sunburn to you.
Story Starters: Given your non-existence and innate knowledge of anyone you saw, you have the makings of something Kafkaesque.
Why didn’t your friend finish their drink before they left you forever? All your new friends are slowly turning to strangers.
Regardless of what happens, your memory will select the best parts of reality to steal in the morning. In Season 3, the British TV show Coupling provided some good examples of alcohol fueled storytelling given the restrictions of POV.
October 5th, 2010%
Who decided that POV shifts were taboo? And why is it a rule that I would scarcely dream of breaking?
Recently, in my African Short Stories class, we discussed Nigerian writer Segun Afolabi’s Caine Prize winning story “Monday Morning”. Afolabi commited the cardinal sin of workshop by switching points of view rapidly between his characters. Ultimately, my class decided that he deserved a free pass—after all, by switching POVs, he characterized the family as a unit and allowed his story to be read almost as a case study—or so we told ourselves.
What I didn’t say to the class is that I knew I would feel differently if this story didn’t have “2005 Caine Prize Winner” stamped at the top or if it had shown up in a workshop packet as opposed to a literature class assignment. We decided it was okay, though I would wager that almost all of us would have crucified the piece if it had been written by one of our peers.
I like to know whose head I’m inside. Consistency strengthens voice, and voice drives a story. But when is it okay to break the rules? And how well do you have to break them in order to succeed?
I started focusing on POV shifts as a big no-no because someone simply told me it was. What it all comes down to is purpose. Breaking the rules needs to be a choice, and one that works to enhance the piece instead of distracting from it. Afolabi greased the wheels enough that the vehicle still drove, but the challenge lies in finding the fine line between mechanics and mistakes.
September 9th, 2010%
A writer can be a door or a window to a story, depending on their intention and their ability to fully embrace a character’s way of seeing.
How would this character in this moment interpret this room and this interaction with this person?
Does it matter if the reader is aware of the writer whispering stage directions and observations to their characters? I find it distracting when I get Déjà vu halfway through a collection of stories. What’s with hands? Why is this character acting like that other one in that totally different story?
The way that I see things, even through characters, is unique to me. Maybe this is the problem. Not necessarily what I notice, but how I notice it and translate it into imagery. Dialogue is much easier to fake because you’re using someone else’s words.
Any art has the potential to cast the shadow of the creator, whether it’s film, literature or music. Chapter 13 by Common; Flava In Ya Ear by Craig Mack; Mona Lisa by Slick Rick are two early 90′s tracks and one late 80′s track with guys using food and cultural references to make their point. Impressed? This is clearly gratuitous so I’ll get to the point.
If I use a character as a lens, my distorted imagery will still betray my presence. You can’t hide behind a lens.
July 28th, 2010%
Our goal is to bring the reader into the story, not to confuse them. Readers need stability. Writers have concrete details. Then, things get a little crazy when we start to write.
For example, how would a writer move the reader through this scene from Roma, a film by Frederico Fellini, while retaining pace and energy?
Dialogue, observations, thoughts, and actions can be the source of order or unpredictability as we seek to recreate the scene. Tension can be created, but we need to manage it using all the tricks of craft.
As writers, our budget for special effects is unbounded, but our ability to handle complexity limits our access to the reader’s imagination. Film directors have their boundaries. We have ours.
July 21st, 2010%
Themes emerge when we look at several stories from the same writer. I recently noticed several prominent themes in an old story of mine called the 11th Arrondissement which were unintentional and became annoying once I realized they kept coming up.
Why was everything rotting in my story? I’ll admit I was reading some Baudelaire when I wrote it. I let that theme take over too many descriptions for a story that takes place in Paris. The city is very much alive and well. Noticing something like this may be similar to noticing things in a picture of me that no one else might notice, but it matters to me.
Here is an excerpt of my journal, written when I was seven years old, which demonstrates the dangers of writing with a theme (in this case, fun):
Today I went on a feild trip to the Puldick library. It was fun. The nexst day I went to the zoo. It was more fun then the library. I saw anamlas and I even got a suvener. I got two suveners that is what I mean, and elafant and a tiger. I already have a pangwen. Today is June first. Today is my last day of school. School is kind of fun.
Other than contrasting fun things, I don’t really let you know what I mean by fun. Themes can make your writing unintentionally generic like this, but it’s hard to identify emerging themes when you’re so close to the piece.
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Writer Loop Official Photographer Jenny Hoover currently lives in Bellingham, WA.
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