Second verse same as the first…

     I began writing this short story just a handful of days ago and already it has changed from a disaster story, to a post apocalyptic story, to a story that is set in the real world. I think that it has finally reached its final evolution. It’s nice to be able to write a story where the setting isn’t always changing. Setting, as much as things like character and plot, is just as important to a story as, well, character and plot. Setting lays the groundwork for what can and cannot happen in your story. The rules and laws that your characters must abide by are determined in a large way by the setting. For example if you take the story The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and change the setting to a space colony on the moon, well, that sounds kind of cool actually but I don’t necessarily want to read about Hannibal Lecter bouncing on the moon in a spacesuit. By taking Lecter out of the realm of the immediately possible it makes him less scary to the readers. In other words, it takes away the sense of “this guy could actually be out there somewhere.”
     Whenever I get an idea for a story it will usually go something like, “I want to write a story about a man whose dreams begin to blend in with his reality.” For me this really narrows down the setting, I immediately think of a man who is working at a corporate desk job in some large American city. Maybe he takes the bus to work because his dreams interfere with his driving. The setting is sometimes already built in to the kind of story that you want to write.
     My story takes place in Hawaii. Not only is it was fun to write about the empty ocean and the searing sun, but it is important to your readers that they see what you are seeing. This brings up another point; “Show don’t Tell.” You don’t want to tell your reader that the protagonist is nervous you want to show it through dialog or small character actions. For example:

The cashier looked at him. It made Jack nervous.
     Vs.
The cashier looked at him. Jack looked away and absently twisted his watch around his wrist.

     The difference here is that the reader gets to figure out what Jack is thinking for himself, and it should be apparent through his actions. Showing a story is a great way to allow the reader to become immersed in the story and helps them buy in to the plot, characters and setting.
     As for my story it has taken some interesting turns so far, especially because it is only two pages long. It will be interesting to see where it goes now that the setting has been established. Today I think I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes about writing:

     “The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” ~Mark Twain

In the beginning?

I have recently begun writing a short story, and by recently I mean today. Today is the day, I told myself, that I will write something new and amazing. Oh yes, I have written several short stories before but I have fallen in to a slump. I think the problem is that it is hard to start a story. The possibilities, the potential, the questions unanswered and unasked creates an ominous wall; a wall that holds back characters and back story and plot lines and dialog and cities and landscapes and whole worlds. You can see how this can be a little bit daunting. This has always been my problem with writing fiction. Where to begin?

I have had several creative writing instructors pass on this small piece of advice and whenever I can't figure out what I want to write about it has served me well. Write what you know. Ever been to Mexico? Write about that. Have a crazy friend who likes to jump off of bridges? Write about that too. The great thing about writing fiction is that every story has a beginning and an end, but you don't necessarily need to start at the beginning. Sometimes you won't know where a story begins until you're waist deep in it. Stories evolve and change as they are being written, and sometimes the author's vision for the story is not where the story wants to go.

As for my story I think I figured out what I want to write about. Sometimes it's good to just jump in and start writing. When I start a story that is proving difficult for me I tend to want to outline or summarize. This helps as it gets out all of the back-story that was, uh, backing up my writing process. It helps to get all of the things I feel that I needed to say out on paper. The story itself tends to flow from there. Out of all of the back-story, character descriptions and scene outlines that I wrote, something would catch my interest and make me want to write more about it. The wall doesn't seem so ominous once you're on the other side of it.