I had a discussion with a friend recently about writing. She said she had trouble writing because she had trouble with plotting. I will share what she said because I think her opinion of her writing life is illustrative of the way a good many people feel:
I think that for me, the main problem is having a plot. That is what it really comes down to. When I have something to write about, the words come easily and flow out in style. But I am very bad at thinking up stories
My advice to her was not to worry about plot, then. This is what I wrote to her:
A wonderful book by Jerome Stern called Making Shapely Fiction teaches that fiction needs a "shape" to exist in. That's a perfect description for me to wrap my mind around, because my thoughts and energies are so fluid. So I have to find a shape to pour the liquid into. You discover the proper shape through imitation or trial and error. So what if it takes a while to find the right shape? You can let your ideas flow on paper however they want to. The shaping can come later.
The main thing for her--and for the rest of us--is to get thoughts down. The main thing is just to write.
Stern writes: "A shape invites you to fill it. The shapes of fiction inspire by presenting ways to embody your experiences, memories, and imaginings" (3). This is a useful book for anyone seriously engaged in the writing of stories.
Sometimes a "shape" comes to me right away when I write. Sometimes my stories come out in a whoosh; the organization is associative, very right-brained. Sometimes I have bits and pieces that must be arranged and shaped, like a puzzle. My process varies from writing to writing.
Recently, I ran across something that Emily Dickinson is supposed to have said. I read that when she sent her poems to her editor, she didn't want to know whether or not her poems were "good." She wanted to know if they were "alive."
That's the question my friend can ask herself. Is her writing alive? I know she can write works that are alive; she does so when she writes to me of her experiences, longings and dreams.
Dickinson's question to her editor: Are my poems "alive" is the question I want to ask myself regarding the stories I write.
It's the perfect question for any writer to ask herself or himself.
3 comments:
I love the Dickinson quote. I too have trouble with plotting. The structured part of me wants set up an outline from the beginning, yet then I rebel against it -- usually by stopping writing, rather than going with the flow. I've been trying to work on letting the plot emerge from a more generalized idea -- really more of a theme than a plot.
That is a great question...an animated story has the ability to evolve in the eyes of the reader...refreshing everytime it is read.
I envy your diversity of discipline! Are you familar with wordweaving? I just ordered the wordweaving book, though I couldn't find any reviews of it.
http://www.wordweaving.co.uk/acatalog/Wordweaving___The_Science_of_Suggestion.html
BTW-Thanks again for your comments. If you'd like, you can see Sacagawea Rock via a web cam. The Winter Solstice is soon. Perhaps you can get a glimps of the ecliptic event I wrote of happeing around Dec. 22nd. I believe the Bonneville North Cam will show it, weather permitting.
http://newweb.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/cameras.php
Take care
Scott
That's a great reminder. My Christmas resolution is to try writing some fiction and ED's standard is an excellent place to begin. Not to mention, ED is a wonderful reminder of school years in the Connecticut Valley.
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