 Short Stories: January 18, 2006 Issue [#837] |
  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Diane  
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Welcome to this week's edition of the Short Story newsletter. Each edition of the newsletter highlights issues of concern to short story writers.
~ ~ Diane ~~
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A Different Perspective
It's often interesting to speak to other writers about their motivation for writing. Although I spend a lot of time on Writing.Com, I don't often stop to ask others about their own writing unless I'm discussing a review. Last week, I took the time to talk to a friend, phil1861, about his writing. During this conversation, I realized its important to understand our own writing method and motivation.
Phil writes in a different genre than I do, but despite that difference, we still share much of the same thought process about our writing. Through our conversation I got to know him a bit better and it generated an interest in my own writing process. I'm hoping it will do the same for you.
Diane : Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for the readers of the Short Story Newsletter, Phil. When did you write your first short story?
phil1861: In 1990 I wrote a short story with all of the resident advisors I worked with as characters set in space. A sort of knock off of Aliens 2 with a group of military specialists investigating a remote mining operation and why it went off the air.
Diane : I'm assuming the movie was the inspiration for the story. Do you usually write science fiction tales?
phil1861: Nope, nor do I usually write for people I know, but this was one of my first forays into writing short fiction. It wasn't until I took a creative writing class my last semester in college that I discovered I wasn't such a poor writer after all. I started my first novel in 1987 and since then it has gone through 3 iterations and almost 19 years later is almost complete in its latest form.
Diane : I know your novels are your babies, but since this interview is for the short story newsletter, I'm going to refocus you on that format. I know you've written more short stories since that time, what is your favorite?
phil1861: That would be "Invalid Item" , a short story I was given to write after a long walk around my nieghborhood one summer pondering the human mind and brain. I viewed all of the houses and the lawns and other objects made by man's hand, then looked over at the ancient lava flow that surrounds my neighborhood, forming a plateau and the major part of the Petrogliph National Park. I marvelled at how, despite our advances in engineering, construction, and invention, we could not come near the interesting rock formations that tower thirty feet above where I live. This thought about how we really understand very little of our brains lead me to wonder at how we label those whom we consider handicapped or mentally disabled.
Of this thought, Peter Paulson, a brain damaged young boy was discovered. He sees the world around him as a colorless storm while surrounding him is a bubble of color and everything he can touch and understand remains in that bubble. He is misunderstood by those outside his realm and is equally unable to understand them as long as they refuse to see things as he does.
Diane : Why is this your favorite?
phil1861: I think it is my favorite so far as it exemplifies a common misconception we writers have about "writing what, and only what, we know." I've heard from several readers who have disabled children or work with them who've told me the story struck them somehow as being very real and they could see a little bit of Peter in their own experiences. It's something called ESP (extra sensory perception) and in a writing frame of mind can allow the writing to delve into areas where they do not have personal knowledge or experience. I've never been closely associated with a mentally handicapped person but only through observation here or there. I followed what seemed to me to be logical threads in the story line and the premise that we label things but have zero idea if we are accurate in those assessments or not. I think this happens more when we are open to following a story as we try to listen to it being told by our muse or inner artist.
Diane : That sounds like a fascinating story. I'll have to read it. I also find myself writing about topics beyond the realm of what "I know." With a bit of research, its possible to write about many things. What would you say is a common element in your short stories?
phil1861: The unusual. My main characters tend to be societal outcasts yet they are comfortable with themselves: a middle aged man who retreated into a fantasy land of story in high school, a boy who stumbles upon an old daguerrotype and discovers how the two soldiers whose image was struck in his hands came to their end in the civil war, and a German paratrooper who sees his role model crumble before him. Being a military historian, my short stories tend to be about soldiers and their coping with combat and life in wartime.
Diane : Those sound like interesting characters. Do you interject a bit of yourself into each character?
phil1861:Hhmmm, yeah! My short story, "Invalid Item" , was based upon my civil war reenacting experience with my brother at the 135th reenactment of Chickamauga in Georgia in 1997. I suppose for all writers there is a touch of themselves in every character they discover. In Fulfilled I became the frustrated and angry father who would not let go of the past and accept the present with Peter's state of being. I was more directly Jimmy Hanson from "Invalid Item" as the overly sensitive and withdrawn personality who is affected too easily by what goes on around them.
Diane : So writing for you is a method of self discovery. Is there any advice you'd like to leave the readers of the newsletter with about writing?
phil1861: Overplanning and editing while you are writing will kill a story before it can really be born. There are as many tidbits of advice as there are writers out there and no method or step program will ensure a satisfactory story. You have to find out what works for you and discover why it does.
When I first started I bought a bunch of books on short story writing, plot, and characterization. I didn't finish a single one of them. A few had exercises to do and things to get the process flowing, but in the end they were someone else's ideas and not my own. Find a mentor and stick with them. Someone I consider a mentor to my writing and my developing philosphy is Julia Cameron. She promotes the idea of creating as a form of play. Emphasising your muse or inner artist child is a playful being who wants to have fun. Creating then should be a play date set with your writer self and free from drudgery or chain-gang mentality.
To keep the creativity flowing, write first, edit last, and watch whom you allow to read your material while it is in process. There is nothing like the shock of some unfeeling or unthinking individual to derail your work.
Diane : I agree, the process should be enjoyable and this is different for every one of us. We can use guidance from other writers, but in the end our creative process must be our own. Thanks for sharing your views on writing with me and the readers of the Short Story Newsletter.
Talking with Phil made me examine my own writing process. I too started by reading every book I could get my hands on about writing. Some were helpful and others entertaining, but the vast majority were useless. Every writer must come to their own process. This is generally accomplished through trial and error. Use the books on writing and advice of others to find what works for you, then stick with it.
Until Next Time,
Diane
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I've selected a few stories for your enjoyment. Please remember to send the author a review. 
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Featured Contest:
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The editors work hard to make sure the newsletters are informative and enjoyable. We appreciate your responses.
 scarlett_o_h "Thank you for pointing out the overuse of the word 'that!' Almost every story I review contains many uneccesary ones and I always seem to be advising writers where it isn't needed. And yes, I find them in my own stories too when I edit! I hope many members will take your words on board."
karabu "Extra 'had's and 'that's are pet peeves of mine as well. As a newbie I found this article: "Invalid Item" by A Guest Visitor and I still refer to it often! Great advice."
Joy  "Excellent newsletter, Diane, especially because you touched the importance of eliminating "Unnecessary Words." This is a pet peeve of mine, not only in the pieces I review but also inside my own writing."
DRSmith  "With respect to your piece on "use of superfluous words", I had wanted to let you know, that words that are not needed in our literary efforts was a great little tid bit that I found interesting. Things like these will stick with me, or any aspiring writer, that surely will help us improve. I had learned a lot. In fact, so much so that I had felt compelled to thank you.
(*grin*, seriously... I find valuable blurbs like these most helpful because they tent to embed themselves into the subconscious ready to snatch violations when such drivel is penned, and thus helps strengthen ongoing efforts. Keep up the wonderful tips.)"
You have NO idea how hard it was to leave all of those extra words! Thanks for the laugh. 
scribbler "I don't know, those little extra words do not bother me in the least. Acutally sometimes you need them to make a story seem less choppy."
I don't mind a few, but when they are throughout the story, I find it distracting. Thanks for offering another viewpoint.
writetight "Thanks for bringing to light the overuse of "had" and "that." In addition to those, you can add my pet peeve "was" to the list.
The instructor of a creative writing class I took a few years ago told his students that each use of "had" and "was" jerked the reader from the present to a previous time, disrupting the flow of the story.
As his way of "grading" our writing assignments he would take scissors and cut out each "had" and "was" from our papers. When he returned the papers, he would sprinkle the tiny bits of excised words over each students head.
At the end of the course the "sprinkle" showers were drastically reduced.
I finally began having my work accepted for publication after I took put my mental scissors to my work and removed every unnecessary "had" and "was" as I wrote."
Sounds like an effective teaching tool! 
PlannerDan "Oh, Diane! you've exposed my weakness. Those pesky 'hads' and 'thats' sneak into my stories, increasing my word count and driving other folks nuts. Perhaps I do it because that's the way we speak--you know, lots of 'hads' and 'thats' thrown in. It just goes to show the written word is much more unforgiving than the spoken. After all, it is right out there in public where it can be view for eternity. Now where did I put my extra 'hads' and 'thats?' I know my comment could use a few."
The written word is certainly a different animal than the spoken word and we must be diligent to keep it as such! Otherwise we'll have novels that like go on like forever, you know?
Maimai J Saves for Upgrade "I noticed I'm really fond of using had in my stories, mainly because I want to clarify the sequence of events. Thanks to your NL, I learned that this word should be used in moderation."
They sneak into my stories too. I don't worry about it until the editing process; this is when the delete button comes in very handy!
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