writercises | Entries tagged with realism

Original Posting 2020/12/15

Writer's Digest, March 1991, pages 22-27, had an article talking about Clive Barker. The subtitle was "His fiction deals with the wildest ideas imaginable, yet Barker strives to maintain 'emotional realism.' Here's how he creates such dark fantasy bestsellers as The Great and Secret Show and Weaveworld."

The article starts out with a little background history of Clive Barker. Born in Liverpool in 1952, in the 70s he went to London and got involved with avant-garde theater. He was "the enfant terrible of London's fringe theater..." In the 80s, he started writing fiction, and was first published in 1984. "Horror stories laced with vivid imagery, sardonic wit and sometimes copious amounts of gore." Wild ideas rooted in a realistic framework.

And then he tackled movies, too! Hellraiser...

"Readers know Barker for hish use of graphic sex and violence in his work." Hum... rigorous writing schedule, 8-12 hours a day. Writes in longhand! Then they drop into an interview format...

Q: When you're writing, do you first focus on the characters or the ideas?

A: The characters. Very much the characters.... Get the reader to accept one thing, one weirdness, and then the rest of it must follow realistically. ...

Q: When the story ideas begin to get very bizarre or complex, what can you do to make sure you don't lose that sort of emotional underpinning?

A: The first thing is you've got to believe in the characters. You've got to be thinking with the characters and you've got to be in their skins. ... Any writer's belief in his or her characters -- or the situations in which the characters find themselves -- is central to his ability to convince the audience.

The second thing is that I look for parallel situations.

Q: I know you visited a prison before you wrote "In the Flesh" and I know you've watched an autopsy. Do you think that kind of firsthand research is necessary to what you do, even though your work is so involved with the imagination?

A: I think it's maybe more necessary because I'm involved with the imagination. It's very important to root your material, your fiction, in some knid fo reality. ... Solid research gives you a great place to move off from. It allows you a springboard, if you like, out into the fantastical.

Q: Have you ever had to scale back an idea or a plot line because you thought the characters were getting dwarfed by it?

A: Not really. ... Part of the pleasure of writing is taking risks.

Q: Working on a novel that size, is there a danger of getting halfway through and thinking ... "Is this idea worth the time and emotion and everything else I'm putting into it?"

A: Absolutely. Starting wtih short fiction showed me that you can put a lot of material in 30 pages. If you are going to write 700 pages, they better be full. You better have an idea which is going to justify that length, justify the audience reading the thing for that long. ... I want a novel to be like getting a box of really great chocolates and you just have to go on to the next one and each one is different. ...

Q: Would you recommend short stories as a good place to start for people who want to write imaginative fiction?

A: ... It depends on the idea the individual's got. Short fiction lets you finish soon. A large novel means you have to pace yourself.

... I think it's very important that you try to be original, that you don't simply follow in the tracks of someone else. ... go out and do whatever makes sense to your imagination.

...

Q: What advice do you wish someone had given you when you first started to write fiction?

A: To have faith in my imagination. To not care that this wasn't 'reality.'

Whoosh! Okay, so... let your imagination roam, and follow where it leads you!

mbarker

Original Posting Aug. 28, 2018

(whoops? It looks as if I wrote this, but forgot to send it? Okay, let's kick it out there...)

Sorry about the delay. Lots of other things going on, and I lost track. So, this is me reading Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee rather slowly. Let's see, principles not rules, forms not formulas, and archetypes not stereotypes. So what happens next?

Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.

Remember, he's talking about his book, Story, and about screenwriting or screenplays. He starts out this little commentary by pointing out that a screenplay may take as much time to write as a novel. Screenplay pages often have a lot of white on them, which may mislead people into thinking it's faster writing. However, Robert says that it takes the same "density of world, character, and story." Yes, film writers spend a lot of time cutting their text down to the fewest possible words, but they're trying to express a lot in those few words. "Economy is key, brevity takes time, and excellence means perseverance."

Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing.

Oddly enough, there are no secrets about writing. Aristotle wrote The Poetics 23 centuries ago, and every library has the secrets on public display. It may even look easy! But, trying scene by scene to make a story work, it's hard. For one thing, everything is out front for a screenplay. There's no authorial voice, no soliloquy.

Which is interesting, especially for those of us who may be writing other genres. Do we really want to "hide behind our words," as Robert puts it. Or do we want to try to be as upfront as the screen writer?

Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace.

Knockoffs and retread stories are unfortunately common. But, the real winners are top quality, new stories.

Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience.

Ouch. Robert suggests that bad writing usually stems from either an idea that you feel compelled to prove or an emotion that you're driven to express. On the other hand, good writing is driven by a desire to touch the audience. Simple, right?

Look at the audience. Admit that they have an incredible capacity for response. Robert says not only are they amazingly sensitive, but their collective IQ jumps 25 points! They're smart, they're focused, and they're waiting for you. You need to understand the reactions and anticipations. You need to satisfy their desires.

I think I'm going to stop there again. Thoroughness, reality, mastering the art, and respecting the audience. Well, he's certainly setting a high bar for what this book is all about.

mbarker

Original Posting July 1, 2018

Writer's Digest, June 1990, on pages 32-34, has an article by David Madden talking about how to craft compelling stories. The subtitle says, "The best stories pull readers into a fictional world and keep them there. Follow these tips to create such stories – fiction that is instantly accessible, tangible, and real."

David starts by pointing out that readers want an illusion of reality in fiction. They want reality, but with extremes of action and emotion that everyday life usually doesn't offer. So you need to write stories with an urgency, that grab the reader and make them pay attention to your fictional world, that make them forget that they are reading words on a page.

David suggests that we instill such immediacy in fiction primarily in three areas, in structure, description, and writing style. Then he provides tips for each area.

In structure, we need to get off to a running start. Concentrate on captivating the reader, not the easiest way into the story. Check your openings for these elements. Clear and consistent point of view, so that readers know who they are seeing the story through. Conflict! Characters in conflict means action, and readers love it. Exposition and background. Unfortunately, those long detailed descriptions of characters and loving settings are not really all that interesting. "A single sentence, if well imagined and worded, can do that far more immediately." In real life, we pick up details, single observations, and slowly build the picture. Do the same thing in your stories. You might try burying some of it in dialogue, but be careful of the talking head dialogue.

Next, compelling description. Use action, moving objects, and make it come alive. Here are some other tricks you might use. First, charged images. These usually get built up throughout your story, and often tie everything together. Second, rhythmic, evocative descriptive sentences are much better than mechanical simple sentences. Third, use all the reader's senses. Visual is fine, but don't forget smells, sounds, feels, tastes… Fourth, filter the description through the point of view. Use the point of view, that character, to look at the scene. And, fifth and final, be brief.

For writing style, remember that you are guiding the reader. The way you arrange your words, phrases, and sentences builds a sense of immediacy. Here's some guidelines and techniques. State things in chronological order. Use active phrasing. Keep your transitions crisp. Yes, you want to mark the time and place, and move readers from one to the next. Do it quickly. Impinge phrases, run phrases and words into each other, forget the connectives. Juxtapose elements. Two words, images, or events separately may not have much impact, but side-by-side, see if you can evoke something else! Reversal, and surprise, are useful for keeping attention. Repetition is a good way to emphasize something. But, avoid distractions and deadeners. Yes, fancy words can be fun for the writer, but they're just a distraction for the reader.

Keep your fiction immediate. One way to avoid getting lost in your own wording. "You can, I am convinced, overcome much of this occupational hazard by imagining as you begin to write an audience of strangers. Try to feel their living, breathing presence, and respond to their craving for an immediately intense experience."

So. Make the opening drag you in, and then keep you there. Make the description come alive! And finally, tighten up the writing until it disappears.

mbarker

Original Posting March 5, 2017

Writer's Digest October 1995 on pages 35-37, and page 60, have an article by William H. Lovejoy with the title "Creating Action Scenes That Move." The subtitle is "The two worst things that can happen in action scenes are for the events to be unbelievable or to have the action come to a screeching halt. Before your hero takes a step, learn the techniques to keep the action moving."

That sounds exciting, doesn't it? William starts off with two heroes – well, a hero and heroine. The hard-boiled detective is in a fistfight. But, with one punch he knocks out his opponent, and readers just don't believe it. On the other hand, our tired heroine is running through the dark forest, and runs, and runs, and the reader just get bored. So what happened? Well, here are the tips from William.

Get Real. Unless you're writing science fiction and fantasy, you need to obey real physical constraints. Hand-to-hand personal confrontations usually are short. Make sure you remember the physical capabilities of your character. Even the greatest hero, probably gets hurt a little bit. Deal realistically with weapons. Most of us need research.

Get their hearts pumping. Words and pace make speed. Keep it moving. Paragraphs, sentences, words get shorter. Make it faster. Simple words. Read it aloud, and make sure the pace and rate go faster and faster and faster…

Make them talk. Dialogue! You can inject uncertainty, keep the readers aware of what's happening, and dialogue is just more interesting. It needs to sound right.

Use some restraint. You want unusual, one-of-a-kind action scenes. Don't just repeat things. No gratuitous violence, all right. There has to be a reason for an action scene that's violent. "The purpose of the scene must be clear – to evoke a response and readers, to move the plot along, to reveal character traits, or whatever."

Prepare the reader, research the weapons, and pump up the pace! Avoid unbelievable or boring, and make your readers happy!

There we go. An action scene! Let's see. Sports, war, avoiding the runaway sheep, even chopping and dicing vegetables for dinner, there's plenty of action to go around. So if you want to practice, pick your action, lay in a couple or three characters, and... ring the bell, and may the best pepper steak win!

Go ahead. Write my day.
tink

mbarker.livejournal.com

original posting 4 September 2009

Writer's Digest, October 2006, pages 73 to 75, have an article by Mort Castle with the title, "A Waking Nightmare." The subtitle provides a little more context, "Scare readers with the perfect setting and characters in your horror fiction." What could be better with Halloween horror stories coming up?

The article starts with a short description of that common experience where we get wrapped up in a story and don't notice time passing and all the problems and pains of the real world. John Gardner called fiction a "waking dream." Or as Castle says, "when you enter the waking dream of a well-written short story or novel, it's just as real." Of course, for horror stories you want to create waking nightmares.

1. Start with reality

"It's reality's 'what is?' not imagination's 'what if?' that can transform horror premise into horror story. It takes reality -- heaps of it -- to create and populate a story realm that gives readers the frights royale." You need real settings, real characters, and real conflicts. Good fiction should feel credible -- believable. Even when it's incredible! Make the setting and the characters as realistic as you can. You're going to ask readers for a leap of imagination, some acceptance of the incredible. Make the rest of it very true to life.

2. Write what you know.

The most real settings are the ones that you know. Now you may have to do a little thinking and digging to make it interesting, but there is a lot of local color that you know better than anybody else in the world. Actually, for horror, prosaic, commonplace settings can help. Readers identify with the ordinary, and they find it realistic. Hohum, humdrum, until... "When the ordinary is invaded by the terrifying extraordinary, horror happens."

3. People like us

Fictional characters are unique, but they often take characteristics and bits and pieces from the people you know. Make the characters three-dimensional, well-rounded humans. Someone that you might meet around the corner. Make their reactions real, make their feelings deep.

So when horror invades real settings with real people, waking nightmares shake your readers. And keep them turning page after page.

Current Mood: lizards

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 1 June 2008

Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld

You probably remember that we are walking through this book, and we've just talked about the setting for the scene (a.k.a. Chapter 5). Coming right behind that, we have Chapter 6 talking about senses. Sensual details -- probably the key tools for bringing your written world alive for the readers. And as Rosenfeld points out, that's not just sight and sound. Smells, tastes, and all of the wonderful feelings.

So the first thing to pay attention to is authenticity of detail. Things need to be realistic and believable. Blackberry pie doesn't smell like meat, and the senses need to be integrated and blended into the scene and setting. Don't just add them as gilding around the edges, make them seamless backdrops to the scene, characters, action.

Sight is probably our most important sense. It's also tricky because writers rarely draw pictures to go with the writing, and yet you want your readers to come away with the impression that they have seen what was going on. You need to provide mental images of the characters, the world they are in, their actions, and all of the other surroundings. You need to have a good visual idea to provide appropriate cues. You're going to run your camera (the point of view character looking around) over the world. Beware of what Rosenfeld calls double vision -- Jimmy saw something. We already know that Jimmy is looking around. Just tell us what he sees, don't make a big fuss about him seeing things.

Interestingly, Rosenfeld suggests that touch be the second sense that you try to work in. We all poke and prod and touch from our very first days as a baby. So put a little bit of practical touch into your story, but don't overdo it. Fidgeting and fumbling in the middle of dialogue is very common. Personal touches -- what a person is willing to touch and who -- also tells us a lot about the character.

Then there are smells. Smells are sometimes extremely evocative (note that doesn't mean they start fights -- it means they make us remember things and feel things). Memories and emotions get cued off of those little nasal neurons, so use them to dramatic effect. There are good smells and of course stinks -- er, Rosenfeld calls them bad smells. Choosing to associate certain characters or situations with certain kinds of smells can fairly quickly get across a judgment to the readers. The key here is to think about smells and use them in your writing.

Sounds. So often mysteries use sounds or the lack of sounds to help with setting, plot, and character. Wherever we go, sounds are a big part of the setting and the action. So make sure that your scene has the right acoustic background. "Sounds enhance mood, set tone, and create atmosphere, and should not be forgotten when setting the scene."

And last but not least in Rosenfeld's list is taste. Eating and various other times, we taste things. It may not be something that you want to put in every scene, but where it fits, let your characters taste.

[Interesting. I tend to think of the physical sense of motion as one more in this list. It's not just touch, it's the whole muscular balance physical feeling of doing things. Flying by the seat of your pants, putting your foot to the floor, and various other strains and struggles. Don't forget them!]

Rosenfeld points out that a lot of this comes naturally and in natural combinations. That pie that the character is looking at involves sight, smell, probably taste if they can manage to sneak a piece out, perhaps all the fun of cutting the pie and trying to lift out the first piece -- and the sound of the cook yelling as they find out that some one got into dessert before dinner! But when you go back to revise your scenes, make sure that you think about the various senses and consider the balance. Lots of talking heads? Get their hands in the mud along the streamside, and have them trying to catch frogs in the evening twilight. Or whatever, but put those senses to work.

And an assignment? Okay, pick up your favorite story and pick out a scene that you really think works well. Now go through it looking for each of the senses. How did the writer use the senses to set the scene, bring out the characters, make the plot move, and so forth? Did they skip one of the senses? Consider why, and how that sense might be worked into the scene. Suppose one of the characters has lost their glasses, has a cold, or otherwise is somewhat impaired today in sensations. How does this change the scene? How do you make the reader feel that stuffed-up separation from the world?

So -- a scene? Setting and senses, the background and the perception of the world. And next -- people! Character development and motivation.

When we write, we set dreams free.

Current Mood: hungry

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 7 April 2008

Keep It Real by Lynn Flewelling in Writers Digest Nov. 2004, pg. 56-57.

"Make your readers believe that the fantasy world you've created actually exists by researching your setting."

You might not think of realism as an ingredient in fantasy, or in general fiction, but Lynn argues that a good setting helps readers suspend their disbelief and dive in. So to engage and entrance readers with an alternate world of dazzling wonders, you start by convincing them with a plausible, lively, internally consistent backdrop.

"Setting is the bedrock of your story." So get the facts right. Now if you are making up a world from whole cloth, you need to have at least a nodding acquaintance with weather basics, towns, trade routes, cultures, etc. Or you could model it on the one world we know well, but then you're back to checking out details in reality.

In either case, "the real world is the fantasy writer's scrapbook." [and I venture to say for any fiction writer!] Real history, geography customs and religions are great sources for guidance and inspiration. Do your homework -- go places, use the internet and other tools to dig, or use your locale, since you know it well. Even there, take a good hard look, and you may surprise people with the raccoon that lives in the local park. And when you can, add to the sensory palate with some experience. Try a little bit here and there. Pick up and swing that maul that the plumber uses. Try out some foods. Scribble or jot notes about it, too, so you can remember what that red ant tasted like, or what looking in a lion's mouth makes you feel. (Did it really smell like that?)

Some cautions. Beware anachronisms and inaccuracies. The historical setting crumbles when dialogue uses modern slang, or horses, guns, and so forth just keep going and going. Also, while you as writer need to know all the background details, most of that should not show up on your page. No info dumps -- long dissertations on how something works. Think of details as the spice of the story, not the meat and potatoes. Watch for emphasis -- if you spend a total time describing something the reader expects it will be important to the story. Make sure to use the antique mallet that you lovingly described, or the reader will hit you with it

Finally, especially in fantasy, beware the "oh, wow" details. These glaringly unusual elements are usually added hoping to get readers to think that the setting is exotic. However, the usual response to pink trees or other oddities that aren't integral parts of the setting is to throw the reader out of the story because they're trying to figure out how that could work.

So, when you're working on your setting, you need to get the facts. Do the research. And watch for inconsistencies such as anachronisms and inaccuracies. Avoid dumping loads of information, strive for the finely selected detail rather than the raw quantity. Anything you spend time on needs to play an active role in the story. And don't tease the readers with exotic frills unless they are a legitimate part of the setting. Glued on scenery falls off too easily.

'saright?

When we write, we let others imagine.

Current Mood: bedrock

Profile

The Place For My Writers Notes

Navigation

February 2025

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28

Syndicate

Page Summary

Style Credit

Base style: Heads Up by momijizuakmori
Theme: A Brighter View by zaluzianskya and skylark_photos

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Dec. 30th, 2025 06:05 pm

The Place For My Writers Notes

Entries tagged with realism

TECH: Clive Barker: Trust Your Vision (moldie oldie!)

TECH: Story Bits 02

TECH: How to Craft Compelling Stories (moldy oldie) (572 words)

TECH: Creating Action Scenes That Move (Moldy Oldie Time!)

TECH: A Waking Nightmare

TECH: Make A Scene #6: Senses

TECH: Keep It Real

Profile

Navigation

February 2025

Syndicate

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags