tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post3399895024827397581..comments2024-03-29T07:25:11.925-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: Strategizing StoryJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-56541410526462706562014-05-14T10:24:09.494-04:002014-05-14T10:24:09.494-04:00Hi, Paula--
I really enjoyed your post. One other ...Hi, Paula--<br />I really enjoyed your post. One other thing you might mention to your students is the importance of observation. Sometimes, I've gotten story ideas just by noticing strangers in restaurants, stores, and so on, and imagining an explanation for something odd about their behavior or appearance. When I taught creative writing, I sometimes had students observe a stranger in a public place, take notes, and then write a story with that stranger as the main character. Anyway, it sounds like a great class!B.K. Stevenshttp://www.bkstevensmysteries.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-45999778928170336752014-05-14T09:53:28.738-04:002014-05-14T09:53:28.738-04:00Your approach sounds right on target. Wish I coul...Your approach sounds right on target. Wish I could be in the class. You might add a carrot at the beginning, stating that there is a big market out there for short stories and then name just a few sources. Most people don't know where they could go to get their short story published. Have fun.<br />Grace Toppinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291304815273486038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-55630225236352889262014-05-13T23:53:55.821-04:002014-05-13T23:53:55.821-04:00Thanks so much for all the great advice. I truly a...Thanks so much for all the great advice. I truly appreciate it!Paula Gail Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08843350597811462936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-81396561672627044372014-05-13T21:29:48.886-04:002014-05-13T21:29:48.886-04:00My main character and plot come first. Usually, wh...My main character and plot come first. Usually, who the character is will determine the time and place, but then the plot will determine where she has to go or be to solve the mystery. You'll do great, Paula. Take a look at your own shorts. Use a few as examples since you know how you constructed them. Have fun!E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-87232118334607046802014-05-13T16:16:12.113-04:002014-05-13T16:16:12.113-04:00It sounds like it's going to be a great worksh...It sounds like it's going to be a great workshop Paula. I'm sorry to miss it. One other little thing you might mention is to remind your students there is no such thing as perfection. It's more important to get something down, anything rather than to try write the perfect sentence/paragraph/story. And read, read, read...nothing is more inspiring than reading other authors. Good luck!sunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-12709593093285777402014-05-13T15:23:37.952-04:002014-05-13T15:23:37.952-04:00Excellent advice, Paula. I think reading short sto...Excellent advice, Paula. I think reading short stories is helpful, too.Kara Cerisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484336785514235707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-83785518395540515392014-05-13T12:27:32.360-04:002014-05-13T12:27:32.360-04:00Nancy Pickard talks about starting at the point wh...Nancy Pickard talks about starting at the point when a life-changing event occurs.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-6493945382741307022014-05-13T12:21:39.369-04:002014-05-13T12:21:39.369-04:00Thanks, Paula, for the great post—and for includin...Thanks, Paula, for the great post—and for including me here too! It's been great exchanging ideas with you offline as well as here, and I hope that the workshop students will appreciate all the hard work and expertise that you're bringing them!Art Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02409008167752619352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-66264965378543960732014-05-13T11:12:07.432-04:002014-05-13T11:12:07.432-04:00Thank you for all the wonderful responses and grea...Thank you for all the wonderful responses and great suggestions. Jacqueline, that's a wonderful opening line. <br /><br />I need to make a correction: Art suggested writing a story with 6 sentences, not 5. The topics for each sentence would be:<br />(1) character, (2) desire, (3) action, (4) conflict, (5) climax, and (6)resolution.<br /><br />How could I forget climax?<br /><br />Thanks, Art. I appreciate your excellent advice.<br /><br />Just to let my students know, during the workshop, everyone will be given the opportunity to write a short story. Maybe two!Paula Gail Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08843350597811462936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-21921365559002212162014-05-13T10:15:33.274-04:002014-05-13T10:15:33.274-04:00It sounds like a great workshop! I know the studen...It sounds like a great workshop! I know the students will learn tons from you. When I write, whether short or long, I plot first. Even if the idea came from a character, I then have to figure out my plot. <br /><br />What I think would be helpful to me, and anyone listening to your presentation, is to tell them how you decide where to submit your short story after it's written. Also, do you pick where you'd like to sell it and write what you think would work for them? Or do you write it first and then decide where it would fit well?<br /><br />I'm sorry I'm going to miss this, Paula. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday and hearing how it went!Dorothy St. James/Dorothy McFallshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07887218723787623545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-25505613270220394152014-05-13T10:13:53.808-04:002014-05-13T10:13:53.808-04:00I don't know how I could improve on your advic...I don't know how I could improve on your advice, Paula. What you presented is excellent. For me, I usually write towards a certain theme for an anthology. However, after I get an idea for plot I need a character who speaks to me. But still until I get that first line, I have difficulty starting. And then like KM, my characters sort of take over. For me the character is the mover of the story.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-34086699785488543542014-05-13T10:10:30.107-04:002014-05-13T10:10:30.107-04:00Wish I could be at your workshop! I'm just fig...Wish I could be at your workshop! I'm just figuring out who I am as a writer (pantser, plotter). I think of myself as a "scenester" since I write in scenes and then put them together, but sometimes the framework takes awhile to emerge....<br />So these exercises from Art and Ursula LeGuin are so helpful. Thank you, Paula (and Art and Ursula)!Shari Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16425493627354028820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-23003246730319686592014-05-13T09:57:57.072-04:002014-05-13T09:57:57.072-04:00I love the exercise from Art Taylor. It would also...I love the exercise from Art Taylor. It would also be useful in writing a pitch or very brief synopsis. <br />Another important point: Just write. This is so critical. Even if what you write you toss away, the process will help you get to your story.carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15985823239660829148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-4229944876929402612014-05-13T09:43:15.019-04:002014-05-13T09:43:15.019-04:00I like to begin by stating that we can all be writ...I like to begin by stating that we can all be writers because we are all unique individuals who have at least one good story to tell.Jacqueline Seewaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09177500620940251009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-65730876404622783602014-05-13T09:23:37.497-04:002014-05-13T09:23:37.497-04:00Most of my short stories have a circular structure...Most of my short stories have a circular structure--they start & end in just about the same place, having resolved (or not resolved) a conflict along the way. They pretty much appear to me as nearly fully developed entities, even if I'm not aware of it until I write them out. Sometimes I feel like the characters have taken over my typing fingers & I am channeling them, not writing a story myself.<br /><br />Some of my stories are character studies, or variation in a larger story developing in my mind. I view them as similar to a painter's sketches--he/she may draw several versions of, say, a bridge to be included in a larger work, and each one of those has value in itself, in addition to being part of a larger picture.<br /><br />Other times a short story may be a snapshot of a character in a time and place. Admittedly, some of those turn out to be only a picture, without enough action to really be a story, but my writing critique group points that out to me if I miss it myself.<br /><br />In most of my writing, I am somewhat compelled to present situations and characters that I fell are underrepresented or misunderstood in most literature, or to show how a sincere person can go completely off track without realizing it.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-16391083659953234722014-05-13T07:19:15.243-04:002014-05-13T07:19:15.243-04:00As a pantser, I am jealous of those who can strate...As a pantser, I am jealous of those who can strategize and plot their way to the perfect placement of the perfectly written story. I am (so far) hopeless in that regard.<br /><br />I think of a story I want to tell, write it (badly at first and then progressively better through rewrites) and then I wonder to whom I should send it. All of which may suggest why I have so few short stories published.<br /><br />I’m sure that you and your students will have a wonderful time at your session.<br /><br />~ Jim<br />Jim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.com