Okay, you've done a free-write on your topic. You've written some expanded details to give your readers a clear picture of your topic (or setting or character or what-have-you). Now you are going to do some "Development and Support" in the form of a Compare and Contrast exercise. Things are getting more complicated now.
Take out your free-write and your expanded details. Now, think about your topic. Did you write an expanded detail describing common misconceptions about accountants? Maybe you described a character for a story. Or a setting. Or an action performed by a character. Or an action performed by an engineer.
Here's the tricky bit. Pick something to compare/contrast to that scene/action/character etc. Hmm. What does that mean, doggone it? Well, if you described a character, pick another character from the same story to compare him to. Described the hero? Compare him to the villain. Or compare him to his sidekick. Or to a similar character in another story. It's all good.
Described an action performed by an engineer? Compare it to a similar but not identical action that might also be performed by an engineer.
Described a scene in your story? Compare it to another scene. Compare/contrast two settings that will appear in your story. Or compare engineering to manufacturing.
It's important that you compare/contrast two fairly similar objects. Your hero and your villain are both humans (probably. More or less). They are engaged in a confrontation over a shared goal. If your human hero is battling extra-dimensional tentacled alien god thingummies, trying to compare them is going to be meaningless in terms of your project (just to prove me wrong, one of you will go out and do it brilliantly).
In a non-fiction project, you might compare an accountant to a bookkeeper because they have similar jobs and often work together (but only if that fits into your topic, otherwise it's a waste of your time). Or compare the cliched image of the accountant to a real-life accountant of your acquaintance.
Now that you have decided on something to compare/contrast, it's time to start making lists. You will need a column for similarities (compare), and another for differences (contrast). It doesn't matter where you start. Sometimes it's easier to do one list at a time. Or you might go back and forth between them as the spirit moves you.
Let's say you start with the hero and the villain. Let's say they are both: tall, driven, in love with Penny Pretty, popular, influential in their community etc. See if you can come up with at least ten of these, but don't sweat it if you can't. Your hero and villain are opposed to one-another, so it would make sense that they are more different than similar.
Now list the ways in which they differ. Villain is narcissistic, hero is empathetic. Villain is funny, hero is serious. Hero is a confronter, villain is a manipulator.Hero is influential because everybody likes him, villain is influential because everybody is scared of him. As you start listing these, you will begin to see how hero and villain will interact in your story.
In non-fiction, The engineer and the manufacturer may work on the same project (compare) and have a similar love for creating and developing technology (compare). However, engineering might be a largely intellectual pursuit, while the manufacturer is largely physical (contrast). And by the way, everybody get off my case--what the heck do I know about engineering or mechanics? (and extra credit for anybody who can tell me what you would call the guy who builds the prototype of the thingummy the engineer designs?).
And by the way, if it's easier for you to do this exercise in a paragraph--even in a free-write--that's absolutely fine.
Can you see now how this exercise can both clarify your own ideas about what you want to say, and give your reader some benchmarks for understanding your topic (or characters or seeing the setting, action or what-have-you?)
You won't necessarily use the stuff you've written down in this exercise directly. Maybe it will come out later in the way your hero and villain behave (villain sets trap for hero, hero plows right through it) or in the kinds of things that happen in different settings (fistfight in the bar, love scene in the boudoir). Or you may realize you need a chapter in your book for the engineer and another one for the mechanical type guy. That's great! Gosh, you're halfway to an outline/plan for your book.
Next lesson: Facts and Figures
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
First Things First
Recently, someone cried out into the vast spaces of the internet, "Can't somebody offer me some writing exercises for aspiring writers?"
Like Superman, my super-ears tingled to the clarion (not to be confused with the Science-Fiction writing seminar with a similar name) cry. Actually, my usual alter-ego for this kind of thing is MONUMENTA, FEMINARCH OF THE MULTIVERSE!, but she is not likely to be helpful in this case, as her preferred solution to any problem is to blast it with a thunderbolt, and I am sure you will agree that would be overkill under the circumstances.
So, relying on my experience teaching Fundamentals of Writing--which I did for two years at Eastern Washington University--I am going to offer a few suggestions to beginning writers who want to write--book, novel, nonfiction etc.--but feel they need some basic skills. Remember, this is for the raw recruits. Old campaigners need not apply (except to make helpful suggestions in the comments section if you wish).
I am going to suggest a notebook (groans from audience). WAIT! Don't click your back button yet! This notebook is going to be the first draft of your book! See? You're writing already!
I'm going to assume you already have a topic, genre, or the vague outline of a story. I generally recommend a really detailed outline of your story, but that's a tome for another time.
Let's start bright and early Monday morning--or on your lunch break or at 11pm after the kids have finally gone to bed. You sit down with a cup of coffee (or a nice relaxing cocoa or chamomile tea). You flip open your notebook...er, I mean...open a new file in your "Writing" directory. In ten words or less, put down a title: a single scene/topic which you intend to include in your book, ie, Dangerous blonde walks into detective office, Hero rides into ghost town, aliens land in Wyoming, education necessary to become an astronaut, work hazards in an accounting office etc.
One scene only. If you have to include the word "and" then you are trying to write two scenes. No good.
If you haven't got that far in your planning yet, no problem. Write down, "Protagonist" or "Villain" or "Fantasy Adventure" Anything to do with the story, or the KIND of story, you would like to write.
(this works fine for short-storyists, too, but don't try to do it all at once. One itty-bitty scene a time, thank you very much!)
If you're a non-fictioneer, you might write down the general topic: Engineering, modern dance, writing a blog for new writers who want to write a book etc.
Now, for the next ten minutes, you are going to "free-write" without stopping. Your fingers will never stop rattling the keys or scratching that pen across the page. Ten FULL minutes. If your mind goes blank, write, Gosh darn it, my mind is a total freakin' blank, over and over for ten FULL minutes. If you never really get going, you can, go back and reset your timer for five minutes--or two. Anybody can write for two minutes at a time.
Whew! Not so bad, right? Ha ha, but you're not done for the day. No sir. Now, go through your free-write and highlight or circle three points, ideas or images that seem important or particularly interesting. Or one. If you can't find even one, no worries--you can try another free-write session on the same topic.
Now pick the best of those three ideas and...wait for it...You guessed it, ANOTHER ten-minute free-write on that idea!
Whew! There you go, you've done your assignment for the day. At this point, I like to reward myself with a shiny gold sticky-star on my calendar. It's surprising how gratifying it can be for a grown woman to admire that glittering little award and look forward to getting another one tomorrow.
PS. You can expect to do this every Monday for approximately the rest of your life.
Like Superman, my super-ears tingled to the clarion (not to be confused with the Science-Fiction writing seminar with a similar name) cry. Actually, my usual alter-ego for this kind of thing is MONUMENTA, FEMINARCH OF THE MULTIVERSE!, but she is not likely to be helpful in this case, as her preferred solution to any problem is to blast it with a thunderbolt, and I am sure you will agree that would be overkill under the circumstances.
So, relying on my experience teaching Fundamentals of Writing--which I did for two years at Eastern Washington University--I am going to offer a few suggestions to beginning writers who want to write--book, novel, nonfiction etc.--but feel they need some basic skills. Remember, this is for the raw recruits. Old campaigners need not apply (except to make helpful suggestions in the comments section if you wish).
I am going to suggest a notebook (groans from audience). WAIT! Don't click your back button yet! This notebook is going to be the first draft of your book! See? You're writing already!
I'm going to assume you already have a topic, genre, or the vague outline of a story. I generally recommend a really detailed outline of your story, but that's a tome for another time.
Let's start bright and early Monday morning--or on your lunch break or at 11pm after the kids have finally gone to bed. You sit down with a cup of coffee (or a nice relaxing cocoa or chamomile tea). You flip open your notebook...er, I mean...open a new file in your "Writing" directory. In ten words or less, put down a title: a single scene/topic which you intend to include in your book, ie, Dangerous blonde walks into detective office, Hero rides into ghost town, aliens land in Wyoming, education necessary to become an astronaut, work hazards in an accounting office etc.
One scene only. If you have to include the word "and" then you are trying to write two scenes. No good.
If you haven't got that far in your planning yet, no problem. Write down, "Protagonist" or "Villain" or "Fantasy Adventure" Anything to do with the story, or the KIND of story, you would like to write.
(this works fine for short-storyists, too, but don't try to do it all at once. One itty-bitty scene a time, thank you very much!)
If you're a non-fictioneer, you might write down the general topic: Engineering, modern dance, writing a blog for new writers who want to write a book etc.
Now, for the next ten minutes, you are going to "free-write" without stopping. Your fingers will never stop rattling the keys or scratching that pen across the page. Ten FULL minutes. If your mind goes blank, write, Gosh darn it, my mind is a total freakin' blank, over and over for ten FULL minutes. If you never really get going, you can, go back and reset your timer for five minutes--or two. Anybody can write for two minutes at a time.
Whew! Not so bad, right? Ha ha, but you're not done for the day. No sir. Now, go through your free-write and highlight or circle three points, ideas or images that seem important or particularly interesting. Or one. If you can't find even one, no worries--you can try another free-write session on the same topic.
Now pick the best of those three ideas and...wait for it...You guessed it, ANOTHER ten-minute free-write on that idea!
Whew! There you go, you've done your assignment for the day. At this point, I like to reward myself with a shiny gold sticky-star on my calendar. It's surprising how gratifying it can be for a grown woman to admire that glittering little award and look forward to getting another one tomorrow.
PS. You can expect to do this every Monday for approximately the rest of your life.
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