EXERCISE: From Writing as A Lifelong Skill (9)

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Original posting: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 21:20:00 -0500

From Writing As a Lifelong Skill by Sanford Kaye

"SITUATION: suppose that you have been awarded a fellowship (enough money to live reasonably well) for one year in order to write a book.

QUESTION: What book would you write?

In answering this question you may want to consider the following: why would you write the book?  Who would you expect or hope to read it?  What would you want readers to get out of your book?

REQUIREMENTS: limit yourself to 30 minutes of writing time (two full handwritten pages).  Plan enough time to proofread what you have written.  Making every effort to turn out a flawless essay so that your reader reads exactly what you wanted to say."  (Page 30)

So, the mysterious stranger in the sable coat (or was it an angel, descending in a beam of sunshine?  Perhaps a craggy hand emerging from a jagged crack in the pavement?  Anyone for the lottery?  Whatever!) has awarded you a one-year fellowship, with the minor condition that you spend the time writing a book.

What do you write?

EXERCISE: From Writing as A Lifelong Skill (10) aka Your Apprenticeship on WRITERS

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original posting: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 13:29:33 -0500

As a prelude, allow me to note that deciding what you want to achieve here on WRITERS often goes a long ways towards deciding whether you enjoy the relatively unstructured format or not.  Let's face it, the listowner is a volunteer who doesn't have enough time to do a lot on the list, there really isn't a designated "instructor surrogate" (or even a reasonable facsimile of a guru.  Several unreasonable carbon copies, but those aren't the same thing at all :-)  Matter of fact, mostly we got some people who are learning, just like you and me, and some of us are willing to help out around the edges, which makes the list rumble and mutter and sputter along.  Sometimes the sputter gets pretty damp, but we waddle through.

So, tell me, what are your plans?

From Writing As a Lifelong Skill by Sanford Kaye and

(with some emendations by moi!)

"A good way to ensure your progress in writing is to commit yourself to a realistic set of goals.  Through regular evaluation..., you can adjust these goals to make the most of [your participation]."

"... this conscious decision about what you really want to accomplish and how much you think you can get done... is a contract with yourself to make the best use of your time.  You can continually revise and sharpen your plan."

"Keep in mind that goal setting is only a technique to track and support your continuing development.  You will need plenty of patience and a sense of humor about expectations that are subjected to the stresses and strains of real life.  People who set out to accomplish a goal (especially those who feel they have to make up for something), and tend to forget that an unrealistic plan becomes still another obstacle to learning.  Much of writing is experimentation: finding out what works and what does not work.  No matter how wonderful the textbook... how conscientious your instructor, or how constructive your fellow students, you need a trying-it-out spirit to strengthen your skills."

"Moreover, this search, sometimes fun and often frustrating, is inherent in the medium of words.  Once you feel at home with the idea that you will learn something new each time you write, you can begin to enjoy the satisfaction of doing the best writing you can."

Sanford's worksheet (p. 51) to help you think about your goals...

1. My demonstrated strengths as a writer:
2. My most important weakness as a writer:
3. Things that other people have told me about my writing:
4. My reasons for wanting to improve my writing:
5. My specific priorities for improving my writing:
6. Attitudes I hold that will help me improve my writing:
7. Attitudes toward writing that may get in the way:
8. Writing I have read that I like:
9. Writing I have read that I don't like:
10. Resources that can help me reach my goals:

Therefore, I hope to achieve the following:




(Wow!  Do you really want to... huh, I never would have guessed.  That much ink?

Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?
I think so, but how are we going to get a crate of fishnet stockings into the White House?
gnarf...:-)

TECH: Make A Scene #15: Contemplative Scenes

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Chapter 15: Contemplative Scenes

Walking through Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld, in Part Three about scene types, suspense scenes, and dramatic scenes, we now turn our attention to contemplative scenes.

"Contemplation -- the act of careful consideration or examination of thoughts and feelings and smaller details -- is the antithesis of action." Rosenfeld suggests that good contemplative scenes:

• have more interior monologue than action or dialogue
• are slow-paced, letting the reader get a deep intimate look at the protagonist's inner life
• focus on the protagonist interacting with self and setting more than other characters
• give the protagonist time to digest what is happened and decide what to do next
• let the character reflect and the reader catch their breath before or after an intense scene

These are good for thoughtful consideration and reflection, but they're also slow. So you need to balance the pace.

Interior monologue is the mark of contemplative scenes. The protagonist is thinking, and the reader learns things about the plot and character from those thoughts. The old convention of italics for interior monologue is usually now simple, elegant exposition. Remember that interior monologue is very intimate, with the reader inside the mind of the character.

Contemplative scenes often open with interior monologue, setting description, or transitional action. You need to let the reader know quickly that we're going to slow down.

If you start to contemplative scene with interior monologue, make sure that the thoughts are related to the scene that just ended. Don't make readers guess what the protagonist is reflecting about.

Setting description, on the other hand, gives the reader a little bit of physical reality, then dives into the thoughts. Use the setting details to kick off the character of thinking and feeling. This little bit of interaction with the setting can provide an alternative to action for contemplative scenes.

Sometimes, of course, you can do a little bit of transitional action, usually finishing up the action of the last scene. Then slow down and contemplate.

Character and plot -- a contemplative scene is really there to give in-depth understanding of the character, and how they are reacting to whatever's going on. You want a contemplative scene to focus on the protagonist:

• having realistic and appropriate responses to an event
• struggling with something that has happened recently or is about to happen
• making a plan, thinking about options, or coming to a decision

One of the difficulties of a contemplative scene is keeping dramatic tension high. Mostly, you do that by including internal conflict, including unspecified dangers, or creating an eerie or tense atmosphere. Danger or mystery on the horizon, or settings that make the reader nervous, are likely to keep the tension high.

Setting is often used to provide mood and ambience for contemplation scenes. Setting details can provide balance for the thoughts and feelings. You can keep the contemplation in touch with reality with occasional detail of the setting.

Contemplative scenes usually end with a little return of energy and action. You might end with a sudden action cliffhanger, or with a moment of decision. You can end with a surprise, or a bit of foreshadowing pointing to what's coming next. You need to set up the next scene, and get the reader ready to go again.

Rosenfeld's checkpoints for contemplative scenes:

1. Does the contemplative scene balance or slow down action?
2. Does the contemplative scene signal that it is a contemplative scene as quickly as possible?
3. Does the contemplative scene focus on the inner life of the protagonist?
4. Does the protagonist grapple with a conflict, dilemma, or decision?
5. Are setting details used to create dramatic tension and establish a mood?
6. Does the end of the scene return the reader to action?

Next we will be taking a look at dialogue scenes, but for right now, let's reflect on those contemplative scenes.

Assignments? Probably the first question is whether you want to use a contemplative scene or not? While Rosenfeld suggests that traditional literary fiction uses them, he also admits that most genre and other writing uses them very sparingly if at all. I think in most of these you're more likely to see the contemplative paragraph.

In any case, you might try looking at a book that you enjoy and identifying a contemplative scene. Or take a piece of your writing and consider how you might use a contemplative scene in it. How would you introduce it, and how would you spend time letting the protagonist think out loud without boring the reader? How do you mark the ending of a contemplative scene, and return to the car chases?

'saright? Something to think about, eh?
and write!

When we write, we introduce unknown friends to each other.