TECH: Journal-ism Made Easy (moldy oldie)

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Original Posting 8 August 2011

Writer's Digest, February 1993, pages 32 and 33, have an article by Arno Karlen. Arno is talking about the simple practice of keeping a journal. It's an exercise in self-discipline, I suppose. Let's take a look at what a writer's journal does for you.

"I've been a writer, editor and teacher for more than 30 years, and that's how long I've kept a journal, diary or both. My journal is my laboratory, the workshop in which I find-to my eye, ear and language. It's both a warehouse for my imagination and a nursery for future works. Much of my writing begins there."

That sounds pretty exciting! Arno notes that a writer's journal is not a "dear diary" outpouring. Instead, it's a place to exercise imagination and craft. Your writing should improve, your ideas and observations increase in vividness, and it spills over into your other writing. However, most people try journals and then give up. The problem is that nobody says how to keep one! It needs a plan, and organizing idea and mental roadmap.

First, are you keeping a journal or a diary? The main distinction is that a diary is more private, while a journal is a workshop. Arno actually keeps both, one to talk to himself (the diary) and the journal for writing -- anecdotes, conversations, descriptions of faces and voices. Comments on public events and reading. Phrases that caught his attention, even if they don't belong in what he's currently writing. Ideas for articles, stories, poetry that need to ripen.

Arno reminds us to review the journal pages when we're looking for scenes, characters, or ideas.

Also, use your journal to practice dialogue, narrative, and description. Make yourself a constant observer.

Arno suggests starting out by committing to doing at least three months of journal writing. Along with a minimum daily production -- one long paragraph, a half of a typed page? Certainly you can write more, but decide to do the minimum every day.

To help focus your journal, Arno suggests seven steps:

1. Always carry a small notebook. Take notes everywhere. Sure, lots of times you can't write down everything, but at least make a note to remind yourself later.
2. Become a relentless observer. Colors, sounds, other people, yourself. Every encounter -- put it in your journal and make it live.
3. Set yourself a variety of assignments. There's a two-week list below -- work through it at least twice during your three months.
4. During the second month try this exercise for two weeks: each day describe a thing, person, or event in about one page. Then revise the previous day's entry, polishing it as if you are going to show it to another writer.
5. At the end of every week and every month, skim your entries for the time. See what is well-written and badly written, remember which was easy or difficult. See which strengths you've got, and what skills you need to work on. Use this to lay out future journal work.
6. For one week, keep a personal diary instead of a journal. Make it as intimate as you dare. Later, compare the diary and the journal pages. Which helped you with writing skills and personal satisfaction? What did you learn doing these two kinds? Then you can decide what you want to do -- diary, journal, or some combination.
7. Read some published journals.

After three months, answer the question: how can a journal help me to write a better poem, story, article, or book?

Arno suggests that a journal can help us practice accurate, vivid writing. It can help us with characters and events, colors, smells, the progress of events and ideas. And because we're not trying to write in a particular form or genre, the journal let you focus on particular skills or problems.

"You discover that there are no days or lives without drama, pathos and humor; there are only days and lives unexamined."

Blogs, journals, all that good stuff...

Oh -- 14 days worth of assignments:

1. Describe a person you know. Another acquaintance, having read the description, should be able to recognize the person.
2. Sit for 5 minutes with your back to a window. Using only sounds, describe everything that happens outside. If possible, do this on a rainy day.
3. Describe -- through observation -- how a number of people do one simple thing differently. You might report on how they blow their noses, full of newspapers, or study labels in the supermarket.
4. Describe an incident observed in a public place. It should stand independently, a small but vivid slice of life.
5. Describe a smell and everything you associate with it.
6. Observe all the shop signs on a block. Write a mini essay describing them and what they reveal about the area.
7. Explain what you dislike about someone.
8. Rewrite yesterday's entry, making funny.
9. Tape-record 1 minute of conversation among two or more people. Recreate it on paper as convincing dialogue.
10. Describe how a relative, friend or neighbor speaks. Catch voice quality, mannerisms and body language.
11. On a day when you can think of nothing to write, describe how it feels to have nothing to say.
12. Write a one-page description of anything or anyone, in your usual style. Rewrite it, making sure no word is modified by more than one adjective or adverb.
13. Write an opinion piece about an opinion piece in a newspaper or magazine.
14. Describe how you feel about journal writing at this point.

A way to practice observation and re-creating the worlds around and inside you in words -- and all it takes is a little paper (or some bits on your computer) and some time. Not bad!

I usually tell my students when I'm asking them to write a journal to try to do three things: describe something that happened as objectively as possible; then describe their own reaction to that -- how did they feel? And finally, what would they like to do the next time? It's a real simple framework, but my students seem to be much happier to have even that simple guidance: what happened? How did you feel about it? What do you wish you had done?

So, journal?

TECH: Short Story Blueprint, Step One (moldy oldie)

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Original Posting 11 August 2011

Since I can tell that everyone is thrilled to be reading these (I can see right through your monitor... look at those glassy eyes, that intent gaze!)... Here's a six step plan to help you write a short story. Ready?

Writer's Digest, February 1992, p. 20-22 have an article by Jack Bickham with the title, "The Writer's Digest Short Story Blueprint." It's the first part of six. The basic idea is that Jack Bickham is going to coach us through writing a short story. It's a workshop. All right? So let's get started.

Jack starts off with the observation that stories are about people. Usually a protagonist, and often an antagonist. The reader is supposed to like and identify with the protagonist, and dislike antagonist. Sounds pretty simple, right.

But just what kind of personality traits do you find appealing or detestable? Well, your first assignment is to make a list of personality traits that you admire or detest in real people you know or from vivid fictional characters.

How do you make a list? Well, Jack uses file cards. And for this assignment, he suggests starting by, on a single file card, writing down a single aspect of personality that you admire. Then on that same card, write down an action or a handful of spoken words that will show this trait to a reader. It might be something you've seen, or just something you imagine. But make that personality trait concrete for your reader.

Now, next do the same kind of thing for something that is despicable. And under the heading, write down a specific action or speech that shows that trait in action.

Keep going until you have about 20 of each kind, good and bad. You can use three or four words for the trait, but you looking for isolated traits, not big lists. Your cards don't need to be consistent -- they can be traits in different characters. All you're trying to do is identify what you like and dislike.

So with your two lists of traits -- on file cards, Excel spreadsheet, or word document, whatever works for you, next we need to consider what kind of the story you want to write.

Jack suggests that there are three kinds of stories (yes, other people have seven, 20, one monomyth, or whatever. But today, we're studying Jack's ideas, okay?). Conflict, decision, and discovery. He also suggests that stories start with a person who has a vague or even well realized lack -- "Something inside them that aches for change or repair." Life has knocked them out of balance, and something needs to be fixed.

In conflicts, the character has a specific story goal, which they think will make them happy again. But,someone else in the story opposes that quest. They struggle, and in the end, after a confrontation, someone wins and someone loses.

In a story of decision, the central character has a lack or problem to fix. There may not be a clear villain. The major character struggles, and eventually reaches a point where they need to make a hard decision and take some action that is at least potentially life-changing.

In a story of discovery, the character struggles to achieve some kind of realization, which again has the potential to be life-changing. These stories are often quiet and subtle, depending on style and nuance, and may end without as much apparent significance. These are also the hardest to make convincing for readers.

So which one do you like? Well, Jack suggests starting by making some more lists. First, make at least 10 character objective cards, listing something that your character would be willing to fight for. Objects, accomplishments, whatever drives them. Then turn the cards over and describe the kind of opposition your character might run into. Use a villain, and describe why and how they would get in the way. Second, do the same sort of thing for story decisions. Write a difficult character decision -- choose between two jobs, etc. on the back of these cards, make notes about story angles that could make the decision more difficult. Third, make it least 10 discovery cards. On the front, pinpoint the lack or sadness or need that the character faces. On the back, describe a subtle change that might suggest that things are now different.

When you do this, one type of story card will probably come easily. You'll probably find that these are the kind of stories you like to write. But save everything. You never know when that idea that seemed really useless will turn out to be just right.

Finally, Jack suggests a bit of field research. Basically, listen to the dialogue around you. Pay attention to wording, interruptions, slang, all of that. And whenever you can, make a dialogue card about interesting aspects of what you hear. Practice observing.

Checkpoint. Before you go on to step two, you should have stacks of cards or lists somewhere, with your good and bad traits, stories of objectives, decisions, and discoveries, and some interesting dialogue. You may have other lists, too. If you got all that, it's time to go to step two, setting up your story. If you don't have it, you need to do your homework.

That's step one!

So:

- at least 20 traits you admire, each with a concrete action that would show that trait to a reader.
- At least 20 traits you detest, each with a concrete action that would show that trait to a reader.
- at least 10 character objectives, things that your character would be willing to fight for, and the kind of opposition they might run into.
- At least 10 character decisions, things that your character might agonize over, and what would make it harder.
- At least 10 character discoveries, things that might change in your character, and signs that the change had taken place.
- Finally, a collection of interesting observations about real dialogue.

That's just to get started! All right?

Write those file cards. (Is there an electronic equivalent that is really as useful? Y'a know, I vaguely remember something on the old Apple computers that was an electronic card file... and people who used it swore that it was the most useful program. I think it died somewhere along the way, though...)

Oh, well. Make your lists, in whatever media you like.

TECH: Short Story Blueprint, Step Two: Setting Up Your Story (moldy oldie A)

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Original posting 17 August 2011

Say, don't glare at the monitor that way! Come on, you know you want to write a short story, and here's Jack Bickham laying out some steps along the way. If you don't like them, you're certainly free to do something else, but... Take a look. There might be something useful for you. So with no further ado, lean back and read...

Writer's Digest, February 1992, pages 23 to 26 have the second step by Jack Bickham. Setting up your story... Planning the story. As Jack points out, some people sit down to write a story with just the very vaguest idea -- and figure it out as they go. That's fine. However, longer stories usually start with some planning. Figure out what you want to do ahead of time. I like to think that most trips take some planning, and writing a story is kind of like taking a trip.

Anyway, one way to go is to answer some or all of the following questions. Jack suggests especially to start do them all -- and remember that your answers have to fit into the same story. Sometimes you'll need to go back and revise things for consistency. That's normal. You may want to answer a later question before an earlier one, that's okay too. The key is that thinking through these questions and your answers helps you plan the story.

This is one case where the original article may be worth looking up -- Jack provides a little bit of description or examples for most of the questions. In any case, here are the questions with some explanatory material.1. What kind of the story is it? Romance, mystery,...

2. What's the setting? Write a paragraph or two describing it, and make notes about facts that you need to research.
3. What is the time setting? Do you need to do research?
4. Who's your main character? Name, age, occupation, short background.
5. What is this character like? Describe him. Pick out admirable traits from your cards.
6. What does this character want or lack? What's the problem?
7. Why is it so vital for this character to reach the goal, make the decision, or achieve the insight? What's driving them?
8. Who's your antagonist? Who or what is going to oppose the hero?
9. What is the villain like?
10. What is the antagonist's plan? How are they going to fight or block the hero? Why?
11. Why is it essential for the antagonist's happiness to fight the hero, convince him to make the wrong decision, or keep him from achieving the discovery or insight?
12. What can secondary characters contribute to the story? How will they help or hinder the hero and villain? What traits do they have?
13. What is the timeframe of the story? Minute, day, week, what?
14. How does the story start?
15. How and when does the story end? At the climax, where will we physically be? Who will be there? Why? What is going to happen? What does the ending mean question
16. What specialized information or factual research do you need to do?
17. Could you tell this story in dramatic scenes onstage? Could you turn it into a stage play? (Or, for modern thinking, could you make it a TV show or movie?) This helps focus on dramatic action.
18. Where is the narrator's viewpoint in this story? Often, this is a viewpoint character. Usually, one character, most often the hero.
19. Can you identify a publication that might buy this story? Not that you should imitate, or be driven by commercial planning, but having a potential publication in mind can help you shape the story.

There you go. Take your time, answer all the questions, think about them again.

When you've got your answers, come back. Jack provides a self-check list, to let you check your thinking!