 Short Stories: June 15, 2011 Issue [#4455] |
  Short Stories
This week: Planning ahead... or not Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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Greetings! I am one of the editors for the Short Stories Newsletter, and I hope to share some of my thoughts on writing short stories, and perhaps about writing in general. I suggest you treat these not as pearls of wisdom dropped from on high, but rather musings of a fellow writer, written to inspire, provoke or stimulate your personal muse. I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions.
~ Ben Langhinrichs |
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Planning ahead... or not
(For regular readers, I want to let you know that I wrote this newsletter before the one by Jay's debut novel is out now!  on a similar topic was posted. This is not meant as a response or rebuttal, but you might find reading the two together to be of interest to see different perspectives. See "Plotting to a Conclusion" by Jay's debut novel is out now! )
Among authors of novels, a never-ending debate is whether to outline or not. Some call the debate "planning vs. pantsing", referring to those who don't plan as flying by the seat of their pants. Short story authors, including me, seem to fall far more heavily into the seat-of-the-pants model.
There is no right approach to writing novels or short stories. Those who tell you there is only one right way really mean that there is only one right way for them, and even then they may be mistaken.
It seems to be a universal trait of human nature to think that your way is the "one true way". Pediatricians often have strong feelings about getting infants to sleep (you must let them cry themselves to sleep vs. you must never let them cry themselves to sleep vs. you must follow this exact procedure about when to let them cry themselves to sleep or not). People taking in an exchange student often say, "Such and such is the American way of doing such-and-such" when they really mean it is their family's way of doing things.
But if you set aside your personal heartfelt belief on this matter, I want to suggest that part of our job as writers is to stretch ourselves, even stray onto the far side of our comfort zone. Often, the way we learn is to stumble, and the way we stumble is to try something new.
If you are an outliner already, trying writing without a plan. Start with a character or situation, then simply write the story without any idea where you are going. It may feel awkward and uncomfortable, and you may hate the result, but give it a chance.
For those of you cheering and taunting the organized outliners struggling with a blank page, don't think you get off scott free. Now it is your turn to sweat. You take a great character or situation, and don't write about it. Instead, try to outline the scenes that will happen, the flow of events. Write a short character sketch of each major character. Tie the scenes together. Then, try to write a story and contain your free spirit.
Not so comfortable now, are you? It can be hard to plan, and even harder to follow the plan once you are actually writing. I can almost hear the plaintive cries of how the characters want to go a different direction, how the plot evolves. Don't let them hijack your plan.
Will it work perfectly, either pantsing it for outliners or outlining it for free spirits? Probably not. I doubt you got on a bike and rode perfectly the first time. You may have even wanted to get off and walk, a skill which you had down cold by then. But you kept trying, and eventually riding a bike was easy. But even after it was easy, you were able to walk if you wanted.
Learning a new skill doesn't mean abandoning or betraying an old one. It means expanding your horizons, which is a good thing for any writer.
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Feedback from readers
The newsletter these readers were responding to is
"Am I an Unreliable Narrator?" by Ben Langhinrichs
First person does not always mean truthful. (Short Stories Newsletter - May 18, 2011)
Harvey Stoll  Great advice.
power Writing seems to be an amazingly intricate set of coincidental events. Here I am trying to make sense of my own work, and out of the blue this simple little article I read today pounds a stake in teh ground I can tie all my ropes too. I think writers must get a sense of need from other writers through the ethos.
LJPC - the tortoise  Hi Ben!
There was a lot of great info in this NL. I had no idea about soliloquies. The unreliable narrator is a risky undertaking. While any 1st-person POV naturally has flaws because it's subjective, when the POV crosses the line into surreal, most readers will head for the hills.  This approach has its advantages, though, for things like dual POVs in horror novels where you are exploring the psyche of the killer.
Again, the reader can then cleverly figure out those mysteries.
I love leaving breadcrumbs strewn throughout my writing, leading up to the reveal. However it seems that many readers don't want to wait for the reveal. They want it all explained up front. I get too many reviewers asking, "But why (insert impatient question here). Expand and clarify it now, so the reader knows all about it." *sigh* We have become an impatient society.
Thanks for the great newsletter! 
-- Laura
Danger Mouse Thank you, This is a good newsletter. Unreliable narrators can be fun when produced on purpose, and a bane when not.
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