Julie Duffy's Blog, page 178

[Reading Room] Dr. Heidegger’s Experiement by Nathaniel Hawthorne

This is a story that, as well as being enjoyable and stuffed with great language, is firmly rooted in short story history.

Dr. Heidegger invites five old reprobates to his study for an experiment (as apparently all men of learning did from time to time if Hawthorne and H. G. Wells and all the rest are to be believed). Of course, it turns out that the guests are the subjects of the experiment and, of course, it doesn’t go well.

As I was reading it I was aware that the style is so far from our modern style of writing and talking as to be almost as foreign as Shakespeare (in fact, it probably will be in a couple of generations). It’s not quite as dense as Dickens, not quite as antiquated as Washington Irving, but has that strong third-person narrator that not so many writers use any more (with apologies to Terry Pratchett, who lets the narrator visit from time to time).

It wasn’t just influenced by the past, though. I could clearly see how this story (and others like it) had influenced another generation of writers: the early science fiction and fantasy writers; the people who wrote for The Twilight Zone and other early TV shows. There’s a strong dose of the mysterious, the tricksy, the twisty ending (though this one doesn’t twist so much). I could clearly imagine this, updated and dusted off, in a Twilight Zone episode.

In fact, it occurred to me that this would make a perfect story to use in the CopyCat Workshop component of the StoryADay Warm Up Writing course. If you already have your copy, why not dig out that workshop and give it a try today?

Announcing the 7DayStory Webinar

In case you missed the last post:

As you’ve probably noticed I’ve been working on a little side project called The 7Day Story(write, revise and release a short story in 7 days).

It’s like a graduation gift for people who have been through StoryADay: a little more time to work on a single story; a little more help with the ‘what now?’ after you’re finished your first draft.

I’m working with Gabriela Pereira of DIYMFA.com and we recently ran a challenge where we guided people through the process of writing, revision and releasing a story in 7 days. The feedback was phenomenal, so we’re running the challenge again, starting on July 1. You can sign up here.

But this time we’re previewing the whole thing in a free webinar, next Wednesday. Join us, live online, for the webinar, and we’ll take you through our week-long inspiration, drafting, and tiered revision process — a process that you can use over and over again to turn out polished short stories in next-to-no-time. We’ll take questions during the webinar, so do sign up if you have any questions to ask us about the process, or tips for first-timers. We’ll also be making a big announcement during the webinar that I think you’re really going to like (we’re putting the final touches to that right now. Shhhh!).

A little bit about my co-conspirator: Gabriela Pereira (who actually has a fancy, traditional MFA) has made it her mission to show the rest of us how to get all the good parts of a University-based MFA, without the time-wasting and crippling tuition bills. She has loads of enlightening things to say about the revision process, which really complement what I try to do here at StoryADay.org (which is mostly about inspiring you and empowering you to get those first drafts done). I’ve learned a lot from her already and, in The 7DayStory, we’ve put together a set of tools which take you that next mile along the writing road.

Join us for the 7DayStory webinar, on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, at 1PM (EST, GMT -5).

(If you can’t make it to the webinar, make sure you’re on the mailing list so you hear about our Big Announcement, when it’s ready!)

Why We Write

Today I have two things for you: 1, A quick rave about a great book for writers; 2, An fun announcement.

Why We Write

After we’ve been writing for a while — after you’ve succeeded in making writing a habit, even for just a month — it can lose its dreamlike appeal. It can become, well, work.

How do you reignite your DESIRE to write?

For me, it helps to read great writing by people whose style I adore.

But it also helps to read about the habits of working writers (yes, ‘working’ writers, meaning the ones who get paid for it. I ADORE my writing groups, online and off, but modeling my behavior on that of people a little further up the professional road, seems like a smart move).

I just finished my first read-through of Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How And Why They Do What They Do by Meredith Maran (I say ‘first’ because I know I’ll be going back to this one a lot).

The writers include Jennifer Egan, Isabelle Allende, Rick Moody, Sebastian Junger, Armistead Maupin, Terry McMillan, Sara Gruen and David Baldacci, among others, so it’s a wide spread of subjects and audiences they’re writing for. There is, quite literally something for everyone in this book: from authors who simply must write in one place all the time, with one set of music playing, to authors who hate routine, can’t write with music on; writers who write every day, and writers who ‘binge-write’ and then take months off.

Some common threads from the book:

Music

It was amazing how often the word ‘musical’ came up. An astounding number of the authors profiled talked about how important it was to ‘get the rhythm right’ or ‘make it sing’ or about how the language, when writing was going well ‘feels like music’. That sounded like a good way of talking about that moment when you just know the writing is working.

Fear

I don’t think there was one (highly-successful) author in the bunch who didn’t talk about how much fear they have: before, during and after they write. They are all insecure about every project, and that doesn’t go away after they get published. In some ways it gets worse. This is (I say, with some schadenfreude) immensely reassuring.

Persistence

Most of these authors said something along the lines of “I write because I can’t do anything else/I’m unemployable/I must”. And they talk a lot about the necessity of getting your butt in your chair, your fingers on a keyboard, a pen in your hand and WORKING at it. Just keep writing (whether you have a writing routine or you’re a ‘binge-writer’) until you are finished. When it’s hard. When it’s going well. When you don’t want to. When you’re scared. When you’re despondent. When you’re flying on the wings of inspiration. When you’re starting to wonder if maybe a soul-sucking corporate job might not be a better idea after all…Keep writing.

And they ALL said ‘it’s worth it’. Whether they were billionaire best-sellers or acclaimed literary types scratching out a living by teaching while they write. They all said: it’s worth it.

And now I have a little gift for you. Two gifts actually: an assignment (with a deadline) and a free webinar to guide you through it.

As you’ve probably noticed I’ve been working on a little side project called The 7Day Story(write, revise and release a short story in 7 days).

It’s like a graduation gift for people who have been through StoryADay: a little more time to work on a single story; a little more help with the ‘what now?’ after you’re finished your first draft.

I’m working with Gabriela Pereira of DIYMFA.com and we recently ran a challenge where we guided people through the process of writing, revision and releasing a story in 7 days. The feedback was phenomenal, so we’re running the challenge again, starting on July 1. You can sign up here.

But this time we’re previewing the whole thing in a free webinar, next Wednesday. Join us, live online, for the webinar, and we’ll take you through our week-long inspiration, drafting, and tiered revision process — a process that you can use over and over again to turn out polished short stories in next-to-no-time. We’ll take questions during the webinar, so do sign up if you have any questions to ask us about the process, or tips for first-timers. We’ll also be making a big announcement during the webinar that I think you’re really going to like (we’re putting the final touches to that right now. Shhhh!).

A little bit about my co-conspirator: Gabriela Pereira (who actually has a fancy, traditional MFA) has made it her mission to show the rest of us how to get all the good parts of a University-based MFA, without the time-wasting and crippling tuition bills. She has loads of enlightening things to say about the revision process, which really complement what I try to do here at StoryADay.org (which is mostly about inspiring you and empowering you to get those first drafts done). I’ve learned a lot from her already and, in The 7DayStory, we’ve put together a set of tools which take you that next mile along the writing road.

Join us for the 7DayStory webinar, on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, at 1PM (EST, GMT -5).

(If you can’t make it to the webinar, make sure you’re on the mailing list so you hear about our Big Announcement, when it’s ready!)

[Writing Prompt] Mashup

I’ve been reading a lot about marketing recently. One of the techniques that strikes me as a double-edged sword is the advice to create an elevator pitch for your story that goes like this:

It’s like Alien meets 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

It’s Sleepless in Seattle but with dogs

(Can you tell why I think it’s a double-edged sword?!)

The Prompt

Write A Short Story Mashup

Let’s have some fun with this idea, and go literal:

Take a character who is suspiciously like another character from literature or film (an Indiana Jones-like explorer, a Tess of the D’Urbevilles-like victim, a Ferris Bueller-like rogue).
Drop this character into a completely different environment (put your Indy-alike in a cyberpunk thriller; Pseudo-Tess on Wall Street; Ferris-esque into a made-for-TV-movie plot about a football team…hmm, maybe not that one).

Write your tagline first, then write whatever you like. Use this as a chance to try something new and a little bit whacky.

[Reading Room] Death By Scrabble by Charlie Fish

I loved this story.

It’s filed under ‘humor’ and it definitely made me laugh out loud a few times, in a black-humor kind of way.

The story begins,

“It’s a hot day and I hate my wife.”

There: that’s funny already. It’s the juxtaposition, the unexpectedness. I love it.

The story goes on in the same vein. The couple play Scrabble together and all we get is a torrent of emotions from the man who … hates his wife. He blames her for everything, despises everything about her and begins to fantasize about ways out of the situation.

It’s not the situation, nor the conclusion, nor even really the characters that make this such a great story. It’s the writing.

If you ever think up a scenario for a story then shoot yourself down, thinking ‘it’s been done before’, take a break and read this story. Only Charlie Fish could have written THIS story this way. Take heart from that, writers!

Read Death By Scrabble by Charlie Fish

An Interesting Publishing Experiment

Our friend Simon Kewin1 has just announced that the first six chapters of his new novel ENGN are being released free at Wattpad.com.

Over the next six weeks Simon and his publisher will be releasing a chapter a week and soliciting feedback from readers via Wattpad’s comments stystem.

It’s great use of the new publishing technologies to help writers find and interact with readers. Why not pop over and take a look?

past participant and recent Guest Prompter ↩

[Writing Prompt] Perseverance

 

This is the first weekly prompt since the end of StoryADay 2013. Congrats to all those who took part. If you finished even one story you’ll know something about this week’s prompt:

The Prompt

Write a story with “Perseverance” as the theme

Tips

You can write a fast-paced romp in which your protagonist perseveres against ridiculous, comic odds,

You can write a deep and thoughtful piece that reflects on the role of perseverance in a good or bad situation

You get to decide if your hero succeeds or fails and whether or not their perseverance (or lack thereof) helped. (Tip: Don’t be afraid to do the opposite  of what readers might  expect. Perseverance might *cause* things to fall apart…)

Go!

P.S. Did you sign up to take part in the 7DayStory Challenge? It’s a challenge I’m running with Gabriela Pereira from DIYMFA.com. It takes you through the process of writing, revising and releasing a story in 7Days (a luxurious pace, around these parts!). Check it out: 7DayStory.com

 

P.P.S. If you don’t want these emails to pop into your inbox every week, but would like to be able to save them for later, why not let your email software filter them so that they drop straight into an archived folder? Here’s how to do it in Gmail.

[Reading Room] The Judge’s Will by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Read this story in The New Yorker

Set in Bombay, this is a skillful story that features four distinct characters: an elderly judge, his wife, his son and his long-time “kept woman”. The author is economical and shares a lot of detail — characters, culture, physical setting — in relatively few words (even though this is not a short-short story). Not a word is wasted and it is worth reading if only to see how that’s done.

I have a couple of problems with this story, and they are matters of personal taste.

Firstly, I don’t like any of the characters. I know there’s a place for this in literature, but I really prefer a story where I like at least one of the characters at least a little bit. I can sympathize to some extent with almost all of the characters in this novel (a testament to the writer’s skill), but I don’t like any of them, which leaves me with a feeling of not having enjoyed the story.

Also, I know there is a kind of resolution in here, if I go looking for it, but I prefer a good, strong ending. This story, like real life, just pauses for a moment and then carries on, anticlimactically. It’s a literary style that is much admired, just not by me.

What do you think? Do you like this kind of story? Do you like storybook endings or are you OK with thinks just petering out?

Take The 7DayStory Challenge Today

The 7DayStory is a new short story writing challenge, from the creators of StoryADay May and the DIY MFA:

Write and revise a story over the next seven days
Use the hashtag #7DayStory to connect with other working writers.

Why Write A Story in 7 Days?

We believe that it is by writing that we become writers. But it’s not just by writing. It’s also by finishing, revising, releasing our work, and connecting with readers and other writers, that we become writers. So we’re encouraging writers to sharpen their writing skills by writing, revising and releasing short stories in seven days.

Finishing your first draft in a day or two, before you lose momentum
Revising the story over the next few days in several passes
Connecting with other writers to find sources of support and feedback.
Releasing the story to trusted readers, or perhaps even publications.
Repeating the process often, to learn from your experiences and reinforce the writing habit.

Sign up now to join the #7DayStory challenge and get daily updates to keep you on track through the writing and revision process

 

Email:

 

But That’s Not All

Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to stumble through this process alone? What if someone put together a guide for gathering ideas, writing that first draft and working through the somewhat overwhelming process of revising and releasing your story?

Coming Soon: The 7Day Story eBook

 

Write, Revise, Release, Repeat: Your Blueprint for Short Story Success

by Gabriela Pereira and Julie Duffy.

Join the challenge today!

What are you waiting for? Enter your email below and join the 7DayStory Challenge!

 

Email:

 

You Win!

Well, it’s here: the end of StoryADay May 2013.

Thank you for taking part, for paying attention, for commenting and for sharing, you great big Winner, you.

 

You Win

If you wrote a story this May,
If you wrote a story every day,
If you wrote, but you missed a few days,
If you learned anything at all about your writing journey,

You win.

If you did write every day, then you don’t need me to tell you how much you won. You’re already bubbling over with awesome and excitement and all the lessons that you learned. And I am so happy for you. Now go forth and keep writing.

If You Did Not Complete A Story Every Day…

…this bit is for you. (And I’ll be honest: I am one of you!)

You still win (and b, go and write a story using today’s prompt “When One Door Closes” or any of the other prompts including one of your own).

No matter how your StoryADay May went, there is a sense of achievement at having *tried*. And there are certainly lessons to be learned if you’re willing to take a little time and analyze what happened over the past month.

I encourage you to take some time today or tomorrow and assess what worked and what didn’t in your writing life this May.

Write down the answers to these questions, now, while it’s fresh in your mind:

Were there days it was really hard for you to write? (Sundays are bad for me.)
Were there times when writing worked best? Morning? Evening? Lunchtime? 10 minutes sprints in parking lots between sales calls?)
Did you discover you could start a story and come back to it later in the day? (This was one of my revelations the first year I tried the challenge.)
Did you find ways to write even when you weren’t in the mood? (Hint: you’re going to need them. Write them down!)
What did you learn on your best, worst, and middling days? (Mediocre days are plentiful. Pay attention to how you got the work done on those days, for future reference.)
Did you discover a style, a voice, a genre or a length that fitted you best? (Was it the style/voice/genre you *thought* was going to be your best?)


Today or tomorrow, write yourself a blog post or journal entry that captures these lessons.
Write a pep talk, as if your writer self were your best friend, for when you are having trouble in future. (You will have days when looking up this pep talk totally saves you!)
Grab the graphic to remind yourself of all you accomplished and all you learned (even if you ‘missed’ some days, or ‘failed’. You learned a lot in the attempt. Pay attention to that.)

I would love to hear what you learned, so, if you post these lessons anywhere online send me at link at julie at storyaday dot org and I’ll share the best with the rest of the gang.

And well done!

Keep in touch and keep writing,

Julie