TECH: A Gentle Intro to Writing Fiction?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting May 5, 2015

This is in part an exercise, and I invite everyone to join in.

Someone looked at the somewhat disorganized pile of materials over at http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/writers.html and at the extensive set of stuff at http://writercises.livejournal.com/ and asked me if there was a gentle introduction to writing fiction buried somewhere in there. There really isn't... But maybe someone has a suggestion? I mean, where do you start?

In the meantime, let me offer this.

I think there's kind of two different starting places. One is more or less the cognitive process. The other one... I'll get to that in a minute.

For me, the key to the cognitive process is to start with what you like to read. Then consider what makes that genre, that collection of books or stories interesting to you. Next, most of the time, stories are made up of three big things. The setting, where it takes place, is the background for everything else. The characters, who is involved, are usually where our interest really gets tied in. Finally, the problem/plot, what happens, is what makes up the story. Most stories start with a problem, an inciting incident, whether it's finding a dead body somewhere (a mystery), running into an interesting other (a romance), or perhaps discovering that there is something that needs doing to save the world or perhaps a friend? Something kicks the main characters into action, anyway. Then the story rolls through several try-fail cycles, where the characters are trying to achieve something and failing. Eventually, the story comes to a climax, a try-success cycle, if you like. Along the way, we've got tricks such as foreshadowing, giving us hints and clues about what's coming so that it's not too surprising, puzzles and mysteries to make us curious, along with tension or suspense, making us worry about what might happen.

That's kind of a high-level quick sketch of the cognitive process. What about that other starting place?

When a friend asks you, "Where were you yesterday?" You probably don't have any trouble telling him or her where you were and what you are doing. That simple storytelling is where I think the other starting place is rooted. You see most of us need to practice. We need to tell stories. They can be as simple as where you were yesterday and what you did, or as exotic and fantastic as your imagination. You can borrow settings and characters – fanfiction, by any other name. You can try out generic plots. But you need to write. To a certain extent, just writing will help you improve. However, letting someone else go over it and comment can help. Admittedly, you don't need someone to stomp around and be a nasty critic, you need someone who looks at what you are trying to do, and helps suggest ways to improve. You will need a bit of a thick skin, because even someone who is trying to be helpful can be irritating when they are commenting on our very own babies! But... write, toss it out here (SUB: in the subject line so we know you want feedback), and see what happens.

Part of this is that writing is not simply a matter of learning a certain body of knowledge. It's a skill, and you don't learn skills just by reading about them – you have to do them. So yes, there are guidelines and suggestions galore about just what we're doing – outlining, pantsing, plots, characters, and so forth. But along with all of that is the nasty requirement to sit down and write. You may run into the acronym BICHOK -- butt in chair, hands on keyboard. I actually think you have more options than that. You can write with pen and paper, with a keyboard, or even dictation. But the principle is the same. Sit down and write. That's actually the gentle introduction to writing fiction.

I need to think about this a little more, but... There's some preliminary thoughts, at least. Do any of the rest of you have suggestions? Where should someone start?

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