Thoughts on our First class

Writers!


Energetic class last night, even considering how late in the day it was. I particularly enjoyed listening to how you see yourselves as writers. You're working in different genres. Some of you already have books in the trunk, while others have tons of ideas stashed in journals. But we've all experienced roadblocks: difficulty in getting started because writing is just so darned hard, fear that other people won't like or understand what we've written, worry that we're somehow doing it all wrong (as if there's one right way). These anxieties keep us from doing what our hearts and minds tell us we want to do, namely write.


By bringing your work into the daylight and letting others in the class respond to it, you'll gain more insight into what you are actually doing and what you WANT to do. Remember that you have the authority to decide which suggestions to use or discard. So listen carefully. Even if something sounds off-the-wall, you may come up with a third way somewhere between your original impulse and the crazy idea that works better. That's happened to me a lot and often with surprising and wonderful results.


DON'T FORGET to email me a brief description of what you most want to improve on as a writer at your earliest convenience.


A LITTLE MORE ABOUT BEGINNINGS:


Here are some suggestions for those of you who are using chapters/stories you've already written:

1. Plunge right in by showing your protagonist on screen and in focus. Get readers into her/his head. Don't stop to give a guided tour. You can do that later with flashbacks.


2. Establish your protagonist in context. Is she/he a hexagonal peg in a square hole?


3. Offer a scene that mirrors the overall conflict (but go lightly here). Ask a question, though not necessarily literally. Why am I hopelessly in love? Why did my father leave? How did my best friend end up in a pool of blood on the floor?


4. Portray an evocative situation, a signature scene where the protagonist has something at stake. But if you're going to use action, remember that readers don't yet know who your protagonist is, so choose wisely. Stay simple.


5. If you're in the realm of fantasy, science fiction, or history, for example, show how your world works starting with the most familiar elements first as a guide to readers.

THANKS TO ANNE FOR THIS SUGGESTION:

Here's the memory fragment I read in class. We ran out of time before each of you had an opportunity to take a stab at the beginning. Now's your chance. Please DO share your first sentences with the rest of the class by posting them on the blog.

One day when I was around five years old, I walked over to the train tracks that were not too far from my backyard. I could always see the trains go by from my bedroom window. When I got close, I noticed a small stick on the ground. It gave me an idea, and a wicked one it was.

I reached down, picked up the twig, and headed toward the tracks. I thought that if I put the stick on the tracks, the train would derail and crash. What a cool sight that would have been! I didn't think about anyone getting hurt, as I never did see anyone on a train before.

A COUPLE MORE THINGS:

• Here are links to two lists of rules for writing. They're fun, so read them and come to class prepared to talk about them--by Vonnegut and Orwell.


• Don't forget to email your first assignment to me by Friday, Feb. 5th at 10PM.

Have a great week.