In some stories (my own included, sadly), the villain moves through the plot like a chess piece in a rigged game. These stories may have action, but they lack depth.In a great story, the hero and the villain engage in a kind of dance, each illuminating the other’s options and choices. There’s a sense that the story could be told from the villain’s viewpoint, inside-out and backwards, but still with desire, motivation, rising and falling action, and a satisfying ending.It’s like the two essential … [Read more...]
Log’s Eye View
A week at the beach has been a good time for learning to create a zone for writing. In the psychological fantasy I'm working on, I find that the sound track is the David Lynch station on Pandora. Why David Lynch? What attracted me most to Twin Peaks was not the story, which was a series of loosely related events that didn't build in any direction. What gave the thin events texture and richness -- what continued to affect me after the credits -- was the soundtrack. Exploring the sources of that … [Read more...]
Stakes in Fiction-Writing: The End of the World
In fiction, stakes are always about the end of the world. I’ve been resistant to that because I think oncoming asteroids and alien invasions are boring (even though I like science fiction). But that’s because I’ve defined the “end of the world” too narrowly. The end of the world can happen on every level, from universal (Star Wars) to global (War of the Worlds) to geopolitical (Lord of the Rings), to the community (It’s a Wonderful Life), to the individual (impending death, life changes, … [Read more...]
Progress on Ghosts
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, 2003, it's Regina Carter on iTunes tonight, and Mocha is off elsewhere. But I had intended to write at least every day or two and now it's been almost two weeks. So, Jan, where've you been all this time? Thanks for asking. I've made progress on my novel, Ghost Songs of Oregon City. I'm ordering the scenes so that I'll know what to write. I actually wrote the first scene, just felt like it, and it feels like it's good. I know, it needs work, and when I come … [Read more...]