The problem of writing from real life events

I’m still looking for a new story, so I’ve been mining events in my life, just writing. For example, my son had to take a Parenting class in 9th grade and there were at least three hysterical stories from that class, including one egg-baby named Adolf. When I stopped to evaluate what I wrote, though, they were very flat. Fortunately, Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall explain why in Chapter 23 of Finding Your Writer’s Voice: A guide to creative fiction. This is what I learned.

Problems with turning life into fiction

1. Too faithful a telling. Often writers cling to events because “they really happened.” So what? That doesn’t mean the event will successfully become a fully developed story. To turn life into fiction, you must be willing to turn loose of the “reality” to find the “truth” in the fiction.
   Suggestion: Try to deliberately change one major thing in a story. For example, change the setting. Look for the larger story embedded in the event that keeps you coming back to the event.
2. Too few details. Sketchy. Because life stories are often told to friends who already know you, your life, your situation, life stories are often told in a shorthand. Fiction, though, must assume an audience who knows nothing beyond what is on the page.
   Suggestion: To change life into fiction, work hard to describe everything in detail. You can edit out some later, but start by giving way too much, so the story is grounded.
3. Point of view problems. The narrator (you) is also a character in the story. But when you write the anecdote and try to remove yourself, the story is boring; at best, it’s flat. You must find a way to endow the story with fully-developed characters separate from yourself, including the first-person narrator. Developing that first-person character on the page is important and often neglected when telling something that “really happened.”
   Suggestion: Removing the first-person narrator and write it in third person is also an option. Evaluate how well the incident might work as fiction. Or write it from first person, but change something significant about the narrator: age, sex, culture, etc.
4. Too slight an event, not yet a plot. Sometimes, it’s just a running gag in your family; or perhaps a “cute” moment in your child’s or grandchild’s life. But remove the sentiment and it has no lasting entertainment value and no enduring themes or ideas.
   Suggestion: Look for the conflict and enduring themes and enhance them in the next revision.

In general, as you work with real-life anecdotes (either yours or historical events), look for the conflict and universal themes. For example, I’ve been researching a historical event, thinking it would be a picture book biography of a famous person. Instead, when I found an account written by someone who was a child at the time, I found a new theme: don’t believe everything that is printed. Today, that would translate to “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” That theme makes the story worth telling. The biography is gone, but I think I’ve found a stronger story.

As you work with real life events you will discover what “Story” means to you. The anecdotes you so cheerfully tell your friends are “slices of life” not Story. Those events can provoke a story, if you let them. So, tell the anecdotes, rehearse it, enjoy it. But when you commit it to the page, be ready to struggle with it to find the story that lies within.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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NYT List, Sales, and Champagne

Wow! A couple of you have had great success this year. Read these:

• April Henry: “One of my books hit the NYT list! I sold a new YA. And I learned my next YA will be a lead title from Holt next fall. This has been my best writing year ever – and I got my first contract in 1997.”
• Janni Simner: “I had one book come out and sold two more this year, which makes it … pretty much my best writing year since 1996.
  Hmm, looked at that way, I clearly need to drink some more champagne! :-)”

For me, I kept writing and producing through a hard personal year; also, I’ve experimented with lots of new things. It’s not as exciting as April’s or Janni’s, of course, but I count it a successful year.

In this year when the economy has supposedly been in the dumps, I’d love to hear more stories of success! It’s encouraging to all of us.

What are your successes this year? Please, share!

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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What are Your Writing Goals?

What are you writing goals? Have they changed?

I know that one of my early writing goals was to write a great read-aloud picture book. And a second goal was to write a middle grade fantasy. Those are still my goals.

Yet, I’m working on a middle grade, character-driven (definitely NOT a fantasy) novel.

Abandoned or Just Changed Goals

Have my goals developed and changed with time? Or have I abandoned my old goals, betrayed them, so to speak?

I don’t know.

Picture books. Since I started thinking about this, I’ve gone back to the picture books I have in progress and evaluated: could this one be a great read-aloud? If not, is it one that is high priority for me to work on? Why or why not?

I’ve read the WIPs aloud. Have I tried to use language that flows, have I anticipated places where kids can join in a refrain? What are my goals as I work on picture books.

Novels. I’ve also pulled out old drafts of novels. Hey, they read pretty well after sitting a long time. So, what would it take for this fantasy mss to be salable? Is this story a priority?

I’ll finish the novel revision I’m doing now. But I’m evaluating and prioritizing my next efforts. Have my goals changed? Or do I need to return to abandoned goals?

What about you?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Many speakers used quotes in their presentations or made memorable statements. Here’s my collection of quotes from the conference:

• About True Love: “It’s great when a publisher loves my work, but a contract is better; a contract is True Love.” Jarrett J. Krosocka, picture book and graphic novel author and illustrator.
• Humorous Take on True Depression: “It’s like, no one has blogged about my book in two days.” Jarrett J. Krosocka, picture book and graphic novel author and illustrator.
• “Nothing good comes from reviews.” Paul Newman, actor.
• “I only wished to publish a book or two that lasts.” Susan Hirschmann, founder of Greenwillow Books
• “Magic doesn’t create: it summons.” Richard Jackson, editor.
• “You write books for children? Huh. I guess someone has to do that.” Woman on plane to Bruce Hale, author.
• “There is no terror in the bang–only in the anticipation of it.” Alfred Hitchcock, film director.
• “Fiction is a lie and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.” Stephen King, author.
• “We must continually be jumping off cliffs and growing our wings on the way down.” Kurt Vonnegut, author.
• “There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.” Zora Neale Hurston, author.
• “Sure it’s simple writing for kids. . .Just as simple as bringing them up.” Ursula K. LeGuin, author.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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Last night we had the next session of Fearless Writing, led by Crescent Dragonwagon. CD focuses on the writing process and creativity.

If you Show Up, the Work Will Flow

CD talks about necessary percepts or perceptions, ways of thinking about our work. Not precepts, but percepts. One is that if you consistently show up, the work will flow.

We started by doing a timed, fifteen-minute free write on any topic you wanted. After that, working as a group, we made lists:

• List of 5-6 fears
• List of 7-8 places humans could shelter (cave, bed, tent, etc.)
• Looking back at our free write, we were asked to circle five verbs.
• Then we contributed verbs to a list of about 10-12 from the group.
• Looking at our free write, we circled nouns and contributed to the group list of 10-12 nouns.
• Looking at our free write, we circled descriptive words and contributed to the group list of 10-12 nouns.
• Finally, we were asked to give a number between 1-100 and the name of a tree; then the name of a former President. These gave us addresses of 88 Oak Street and 8 Roosevelt Rd.

The result looked like a hodge-podge of random words, with different vocabulary levels and different topics. After all, they came from the text of a dozen different writers, writing about a huge variety of topics.

Finally, we were asked to pick out one of the feelings and write it in the top right-hand corner of the page; then fold down that corner so no one could see it. We chose an address and a shelter, both part of a title: The Tent at 88 Oak Street. Then, in a fifteen-minute timed write, we were supposed to write something that incorporated all the other words. ALL of them.

The results were amazing. The flow came for most people and somehow, out of the chaos, story lines appeared. Nothing perfect, of course, but enough to demonstrate that Stories Want to be Told, and that Flow Will Come if You Show Up.

One more session tonight for our final percepts.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win