Articles archived for February 2011

At the end of the first “How To Think Sideways” lesson, Holly points us to some further reading, particularly for those who are primarily right-brain oriented (like me). I found the material on “logical argument” and “fallacy” particularly fascinating (especially when I could grasp them in relation to given examples). I could see how this topic would connect to my university studies; critical thinking, and presenting arguments in assignments. It resonated with me in a way I would not have been prepared for or open to before I began my university studies.

But what was more inspiring was how the “logical fallacy” readings clicked within me with regard to the “FEEL never thinks” aspect of Holly’s course. One of the greatest “opportunities” I’ve been facing with my writing is anxiety. I realised that I spend a great deal on the emotion rather than the logic.

As I was reading through the “logical fallacy” and “logical argument” material I realised that I could use these to debunk anxious thoughts (aka emotional unTHINKing). It’s just the same as when I use logic “this dress is $79.99, I could buy three $25.99 dresses for less than this single dress, therefore this dress is too expensive” to talk myself out of an emotional “I want this dress” (and possibly into buying three dresses instead of one) while shopping.

I could apply logical argument to the logical fallacies that presented as writing anxiety. Like this:
Anxiety = logical fallacy: You don’t know your protagonist well enough to portray him effectively on the page.

• Argumentum ad ignorantiam (argument to ignorance)
  You haven’t tried to write yet so you don’t know how well you know your protagonist or if you could effectively write him on the page.
• Argumentum ad logicam (argument to logic).
  Your argument is based on the assumption that you do not know your protagonist “well enough” yet there is no conclusive evidence as to how well you do or do not know him.
• Argumentum ad verecundiam (argument or appeal to authority)
  Who is the judge of your “effectiveness” and how can YOU judge your effectiveness unless you have material from which to make such judgements? Who is the judge of how “well” you need to know your protagonist to write him effectively and how can YOU determine at which point you might know him “well enough”?
• Non Sequitur (“It does not follow”)
  Just because you do not know your protagonist well does not mean that you could not portray him effectively on the page if you tried.

As I wrote this logical argument I realised that this example also ties in with PERFECT never finishes (I may never feel I know my protagonist “well enough” to make an effective portrayal – effective could be synonymous with perfect),
and SAFE never starts (I won’t write anything if I’m waiting to know my protagonist “well enough” to be effective).)

It’s incredible these insights and “AHA!” moments I’m discovering through this writing course. And it’s only week one! I’m eager to explore the course material further and I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead.

Have you ever been “suckered” into something? Emotional blackmail, manipulation, guilt, and all those touchy-feely things get you doing things you don’t really want or need to do. In fact, this sort of materialistic manipulation of my emotions is the primary reason I DO NOT WATCH T.V. Or at least, the T.V. I watch is striped of all advertising. Advertising makes me retch (or sometimes laugh) at the ridiculous antics of marketers.

Everything we do in life, everything we buy, comes from two places, want and need. The wants come from your gut; your emotional desires. “Oh! I want that dress! It’s so pretty” If you act only on your wants you’ll be facing some pretty dire consequences. This is how I could relate to Holly’s lessons regarding FEEL.

I know what it is to impulse buy. When Bipolar sends me manic I have to take very firm control of these impulses. I have to remind myself to pause, to THINK, and to evaluate every potential purchase I might make. “Yes,” I tell myself, “that dress is pretty, but it’s also $79.99 and I don’t need it at that price.”

When it comes to shopping I’ve got this one handled. But how does FEEL affect my writing?

Oh, oh! THERE it is. Every time I give into anxiety and choose NOT to write, I’m dominated by FEEL. The logic, THINK, knows that there is nothing to fear. THINK knows that writing is about putting word after word on the page. It knows that the process, while emotional, is technical. Words are the domain of the left brain, the logical brain, the thinking brain.

Creativity I’ve got mastered. That’s right brain. Creativity is feeling. And I’m tapped into my creativity. I’m confident of my creativity. I never sit down to write and find myself grasping for my imagination or my ideas.

But I do find myself grasping for my logic. I flounder in a sea of FEEL, of emotion, and fail to hear the reasonable side of my voice telling me to THINK. I struggle to find how to put my creativity into logical constructions. I need to use that left brain to organise my ideas and to put them into a pattern and shape that makes sense.

So, next time I sit down to write and get swallowed up in FEEL I’ll call on THINK and ask him to express to my emotional mind a logical argument. Step aside emotions, we’re working now, and that’s what writing is, work. Strictly professional, emotions aside.

Do you spend more time in FEEL (the land of emotions and imagery) or THINK (the land of organisation and words)?

I used to be a VICTIM. I used to think there were all sorts of things I could not do for myself. But I woke up hard when I HAD TO. There is a refreshing power that comes from having to do things for yourself. When you step away from the crutch of society, of family, of friends, and of the little “things” in life that you “depend” on, you’ll discover that what you really NEED is minimal and completely within your own power to get.

You don’t need to BUY anything. You don’t need to OWN anything. You don’t even need to BE anything, for anyone. As I think if breaking out of VICTIM-mode the song, “Pay Attention” by Valeria Andrews and Ryan Toby comes to mind from the movie, “Sister Act 2″ starring Whoopi Goldberg.

If you wanna be somebody
If you wanna go somewhere
You better wake up and pay attention…
…expect from yourself, and you’ll respect yourself
you control your destiny…

This song is all about taking charge of your life and stepping out to make things happen for yourself. Don’t expect others to SAVE you. And don’t live down to your situation. Rise above!

I’ve been learning to do that for the past six years, and I’ll continue to learn because sometimes those sneaky VICTIM thoughts get around my independence. When you notice you’ve taken charge of one area of your life, look around, where are you still waiting to be rescued?

For me, I spend a lot of time “waiting” for that magic bullet that will make writing easier. I hunt about for the “magic pill” that will take away my anxiety. No more! I am NOT a VICTIM! I’m waking up and paying attention. I depend only on ME, I respect myself, and I CONTROL MY DESTINY!

I think my desire for “perfection”, although perhaps in a milder form, is a big part of why I have trouble finishing. Inside my head, a story IS perfect. Bringing that story out onto the page in a way that does justice to the way it was “given” to me makes me quake in my boots. This is a self-esteem thing, and I’m aware of it.

In a sense it’s not so much “perfection” that I seek. Instead, it’s a deep-seated sense that my imperfections lead to my writing not being “good enough”. My insecurities makes me feel, that even with an allowance for imperfection it’s not even “very good” or “good”.

Using the ten-minute timer technique WORKS. I know this! I do it, sometimes. I need to do it more consistently. But I loved Holly Lisle’s insight to “set limits on your time” (Holly Lisle, 2008, How To Think Sideways).

If I allow myself, say, two hours to write a story and then pace myself through those two hours in ten minute segments and understand that at the end of those two hours I will write “The End”, then I will finish imperfect stories and they’ll be good and I’ll be able to make them better. Failing to “finish” because of these fears and insecurities, this need for “perfect” or “very good” or “good enough” prevents me from having the finished first draft to work with.

So, the lesson here: Set Limits On Your Time!

Wow! One part of the “SAFE” barrier to thinking really connected with me. In the first lesson of Holly Lisle’s “How To Think Sideways” Novel Writing Course, Holly said:

“SAFE is a construct of the conscious mind. The conscious mind likes to feel sheltered, and doesn’t care about the truth if a nice bit of fiction will draw the shades over the danger in the real world.

Your subconscious mind, your Muse, knows there are monsters, and knows that if you do not go out to battle them, they will come home to chase you. Your muse will, in fact, make small monsters into big ones if you do not take risks and give it an occasional big one to battle.”

That’s how I’ve been feeling. I feel like ALL of my monsters are big ones. At least my anxiety level does. But my conscious mind tries to figure out what all the fuss is about. It knows these monsters are tiny and it can’t understand why they cause me such fear.

My subconscious has been hard at work fattening up my monsters so it can have something decent to battle. Because I’ve spent so long “hiding” from my dreams or stepping back from taking those risks that will move me toward my “moonbeams” my Muse is stuck in a comfort zone (of sorts) and needs to manifest these anxieties to keep itself entertained and to protect itself from the monsters that might follow it home.

It’s time to STOP playing it SAFE. Safe is easy, but it’s also stagnant. And it feels AWFUL! I don’t like safe. What I’d like, is a finished book; a published book. What I’d like is to feel alive and free of this anxiety. I want to face down real monsters and feel like a champion, a hero, doing it.

No more SAFE!

How about you? Do you find you play it safe and have trouble getting started? What monsters has your Muse created to protect itself from reality?

If you haven’t already checked it out, I honestly recommend Holly’s Course, “How To Think Sideways“. Just the first lesson is worth the price of the whole first month and if you find it’s not for you Holly has a satisfaction guarantee that makes trying it out for yourself risk-free.

Beware, the following paragraph my be challenging to read. I’ve included an audio version for your convenience.

“If one took the time to sate a moment in mine company one might discern that I am not wholly within myself to-day. My head is spate with smatterings of conundrum and my speech is affected by a twisting of the tongue so greatly unlike one would normally be insisted upon to face that one might begin to wonder if I were fixed in the head and that I should deserve to be set to bed least my affliction be contagious or likely to worsen. I would argue that your ears, or rightly eyes, are deceived for I spake in a manner like I would commonly address a fellow and not in any dissimilar fashion discernible to my own considerable consciousness. This phrase is not perpendicular to any other. It stands upon itself and makes complete and perfunctory sense in all grammatical manner and typographical standing. It is, indeed, well writ and one would be in err to consider it otherwise. Yet were I to continue in this fashion for longer than these many sentences and to ramble on about for several more with none to pause or break to as many paragraphs you would, and rightly so, turn from me with haste.” ~ Rebecca Laffar-Smith [audio version (1.6 MB)]

Guess who I’ve been reading today? Ok, you mightn’t be able to guess from the paragraph above but I’ve spend three hours today immersed in the fantastical wanderings and recount of ship surgeon and intrepid adventurer, Lemuel Gulliver, a creation of Jonathan Swift and a book more commonly known as “Gulliver’s Travels“. (The original, NOT the Jack Black movie recently released.)

The copy I’m reading was published in 1814 and it is rife with strange dialects, odd and archaic words, and sentences or paragraphs so long and convoluted that I found myself wondering where each point began or ended and how they connected to each other. I remember thinking earlier today that if Swift had taken this manuscript to today’s publishers he’d have been slapped with so many rejections he’d have even further reason to grow increasingly discontent with his fellow man and indeed retreat into seclusion in disgust for the entire race.

But what I found more fascinating is that the more I read the more I began to think, and yes to speak/write, in Swift’s voice rather than my own. My subconscious mind began to mimic the odd turns of phrase, the lengthy soliloquy, and the haphazard constructions that make Swift’s writing uniquely his own. Has this ever happened to you?

One of the first “rules” of writing is to read. To read in abundance. And, perhaps part of the reason for this rule is to absorb so many different voices that no single voice affects the voice that emerges as you write; the voice that is uniquely your own.

But it’s fun to play with mimicry. So, if you have a chance today, pick up a book and spend a little time immersed in the author’s voice. Then, put the book down and see if you can put aside your own voice and mimic that of your chosen author. Explore your thoughts as they wander in the thinking of your chosen author.

How does your writing differ and what strange, unique, and fun ideas come to you when you’re not “wholly within” yourself?

Dear Reader,

Oh, that brings back memories of my “Postcards from L.A.” but I’m not here today to talk to you about my world-exploring adventures. Or maybe I am! I’d like to know if you’d be open or interested in my taking this blog in a new direction?

For the past six months we’ve brought you posts that talk about “The Craft of Writing”. The posts are a lot more like articles than journal entries, a lot more expository than experiential. Yes, we talk about what we’ve learned through experience but most of the posts are removed from the experience rather than in the thick of it. They take a professional approach to a topic, essay style, rather than a personal one, journal style.

And you know what? I think that’s a big part of why I haven’t been writing posts for The Craft of Writing Fiction much lately. I’ve shared some fantastic content from other writers but haven’t felt I could give posts the right “tone” and so I haven’t shared the experiences and insights I’ve been learning these past months here. But maybe you’d be interested in those?

I’ve written a couple of new posts at my personal blog, “A Book Thing“, that are writing-related:

• It’s Time To Stop Playing It SAFE
• Not To PERFECT, Not To Very Good, Not Even To Good Enough, But To THE END
• Debunking Anxiety-Fallacy With Logical Argument

A Book Thing deals with all sorts of personal growth and development insights but I thought these writing-related posts in particular might interest you. Please, check out one, two, or all three of those posts and let me know if you’d be interested in my sharing posts like those here at The Craft of Writing Fiction. Would it be taking this blog in a direction that doesn’t interest you or do you think you’d like the more personable and chatty approach to exploring ideas together?

Help me guide The Craft of Writing Fiction in the right direction for the future! Please, tell me what you think! I need your advice!

Sincerely,
Rebecca

The term “short fiction” includes many different types of writing. The most popular among these types are short stories and flash fiction. A short story can range anywhere from about 500 words to 10,000 words, depending on the source of the information. Many publishing companies, especially the ones specializing in anthologies, look for works that range from 1,000 words to 5,000 words. Flash fiction usually ranges from 100 words to 1,000 words.

So, what is the difference between short stories and flash fiction? There are many differences, though they are often difficult to discern. The main difference between the two is the concept of structure.

Short stories should have a basic structure including introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. Many believe that a short story is just a flash into the lives of the characters, when in reality, a short story contains the same essential elements as a novel. The difference between a novel and a short story is the depth at which the characters and plot line are explored. In a basic form, a short story needs a beginning, middle, and end, with a healthy dose of character development. 0t should tell a complete story, whether the topic is how a relationship between two people begins, the testing process of a wizard, a car accident, or perhaps even a character’s struggle to find a job. The possibilities are endless. What needs to remain constant is that there is an introduction, character development, a conflict, and a resolution for that conflict. It does not have to be a positive resolution, or a happily-ever-after, but it does need to be a conclusion which the reader finds satisfactory.

Flash fiction, on the other hand, is a “flash” into a situation. It should include one character, conflict, and resolution. The difference here is that the plot can be quite simple. For example, an evening in the life of a character in which realization is achieved. There does not have to be an external conflict in flash fiction, and the resolution can be as simple as the character making a decision they were previously having trouble resolving. There are many forms of flash fiction. Some of the most popular are stories with a word count restriction. There are those that specialize in using exactly 55 words to tell a story, all the way down to 3. These kinds of flash fiction concentrate more on hinting at the plot line, and may not even contain a solid character.

In the end, the main identifiable difference between a short story and flash fiction is the depth of which the character(s) development, plot line, and resolution strive towards. Both forms have great merit, and there are many published authors who have made a name for themselves strictly by writing flash fiction and short stories.

Joy Campbell specializes in article writing, research, short fiction, and creating helpful information for new and emerging writers.