A Fun Way to Write Short Fiction
By Lisa Lawler
Copyright © 2008 by Lisa Lawler, All Rights Reserved
I came across an interesting method to help writers put together ideas
for a piece of short fiction. It's called the Bubble Method, and each
step is well-defined and easy to follow. This method will get you
writing, even when you are short of ideas.
I have adapted the Bubble Method to incorporate Mind Mapping™,
developed by Tony Buzan. Mind Mapping, according to Buzan, is "a
powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlock the
potential of the brain." (You can find more about Mind Mapping and the
Bubble Method in the Further Reading section at the end.)
A story usually needs four elements: Character, Setting, Conflict, and
Resolution. This method will help you discover them.
What you'll need:
Some blank sheets of paper
-
A pen
-
A highlighter
-
Coloured pencils/pens
-
A timer
On the first sheet of paper, in the centre but with enough space to
write above it, write the word Setting. Put a circle around it.
In the centre of the page, directly beneath the word Setting,
write the word Emotion, and put a circle around it.
At the bottom of the page, directly beneath the other two words but with
enough space to write below it, write the word Perspective and
put a circle around it.
These are your three 'bubbles'. Draw eight lines coming from each of
them.
We're going to work on the Setting first. Set the timer for 60
seconds and write down eight ideas for settings. Be as creative and as
exotic as you like. Don't censor yourself. Take the first ideas that
come to mind and write them down, one against each line, e.g. bed,
clothes-line, kitchen.
Once you've finished, move straight on to the second bubble - Emotion.
Set your timer for 60 seconds and write down eight different emotions,
e.g. love, envy, heartache.
Now move on to the third bubble - Perspective. This bubble is
going to be about your main character's perspective.
Set the timer for 60 seconds and write down eight animals (insects,
fish, birds, mammals, amphibians – anything goes!). There is a wealth of
symbolism, myth, and legend attached to animals, but, in addition to
that, everyone also has their own personal idea of an animal's
attributes. For example, cat-lovers think that their little darlings are
playful and independent, elegant and refined. Non-cat-lovers might see
them as conniving, wily, snooty, and cold-hearted - a bit like T.S.
Eliot’s McCavity! For Perspective, I come up with cat, alligator, and
spider.
Once you've finished, look back over your bubbles and choose one word
from each. Don't think too much about it. Just go for whichever words
excite or interest you. For this example, I'm going to choose kitchen
from Setting, envy from Emotion, and spider from
Perspective.
Circle your choices and highlight them.
Once you've completed this first stage, you can take a break and come
back when you have more time. You may even find that, as you go about
your day, your subconscious will be working on ideas for you to write
about at your next writing session.
Once this stage of the Bubble Technique has been completed, I turn to
Mind Mapping. This is great fun, so take out those coloured pencils or
pens and put on your artist's smock and beret!
I believe that stories begin with characters, so it makes sense, for me,
to approach the task by considering whom the story is about. (If you
prefer to work from a different starting point, adapt the following
procedure to suit.)
Take a second sheet of paper. In the centre of the sheet write
Character, and put a circle around it.
Draw six thickly-coloured wavy lines coming from your Character circle.
Why wavy? According to Tony Buzan, our brains like curvilinear, organic
shapes. The wavy lines encourage our brains to look for links and
associations, while the colours stimulate the right side of our brain,
which is the creative, artistic side.
We'll be focussing on the ending of the story, because when you know how
the story ends then you can think backwards to find out how the
character came to be in that position.
On each coloured line, write one of WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY?
and HOW? Make sure that the lengths of the lines match the
lengths of the words. Everything is free-flow. Use the question words to
ask questions about your character, and write words (one per answer per
line) and draw an accompanying picture.
The WHO? is answered for me. My character, at the end of the
story, has the perspective of a spider, so I add a thinner coloured wavy
line onto WHO? and write
spider in block capitals on it. Out comes the black pen and I
draw a spider beside it.
The WHERE? is also answered - the character is in a kitchen. I
add a coloured wavy line onto WHERE? and I write
kitchen along it, again in
block capitals, making sure the word fills the line. With my coloured
pens I draw a saucepan simmering. (Why a saucepan? That's the first
picture that came to mind.)
The WHAT?, as in "What is my character feeling?" is answered, too
- envy. I add a line and write
envy along it. Hmmm. What picture would I use to depict envy? I'm
no artist, but I'll draw something that is instantly recognisable to me
as envy. Maybe a face with thin eyes and a straight line for a mouth.
I come back to the spider
idea, because I've thought of a web. I draw a line with
web written on it, and
draw a picture. Web makes
me think of networking, so possibly my character is a socialite. From
web I draw a line
with networking written on
it and draw in some stick people or a cocktail glass. I can draw another
line from networking, even
if I can't think of anything to write on it straight away. My brain will
see the empty space and it will look at the word
networking and the web
picture and start working on filling in the blank.
While that's in progress, I'll move back to
kitchen, and continue
working there.
I've drawn a saucepan. Kitchens are for preparing food. I'll draw a wavy
coloured line, write food
on it and draw a plate of food. Now, my character is feeling envious, so
maybe that food isn't too healthy. Maybe it's poisoned! Another wavy
line, Poison written along
it, and a picture of a skull and crossbones to accompany it.
The thing to remember about your setting is that it can be a physical
place, or it can be a metaphorical place. Maybe my character is in a
kitchen in her mind (it looks like I've decided that my character is a
she) and she's 'cooking something up' for someone she feels envious of.
I’ll draw a second wavy line from
kitchen and write plotting
on it, plus a head with a cloud bubble above it to show the head is
thinking.
This leads me back to Web
and I draw a second line from it because webs are sticky and catch
flies. Maybe my character is trying to catch someone. Is she out for
revenge? Or is she a manipulative person? Another wavy line emanating
from Web, with
predator written on it and
maybe a picture of teeth.
All sorts of questions are coming to me now. If she's a socialite, who
is her 'enemy'? That's the WHO? line again. Networking – maybe
she will be in contact with someone who can help her ‘do away’ with her
enemy? Maybe my main character is after revenge? That takes me to the
question WHY? and more wavy lines.
The ideas are flowing thick and fast at this stage, and it's all I can
do to get words, wavy lines, and pictures drawn to keep up with my
ideas. My mind is looking for gaps on the page and trying to fill them
in, while finding links for what’s already there.
Keep asking questions, write down a one-word answer, and draw it along
the appropriate wavy line with a picture, linking it to what's gone
before.
Make sure the line lengths match the word lengths. If a line is too long
for a word then there is a gap between it and the word linking to it.
This visual gap between the two words erases the link between them for
our brain.
You might find that different wavy lines feature the same word. For
instance, developing my spider
line and my revenge line I
see that they, like kitchen,
both have the word Poison
on them. I circle the three instances, noting to myself that the poison
can also be metaphorical and not literal. Networking and gossip maybe?
Damaging someone’s reputation?
If you come across words that appear two or three times, circle and
highlight them. These words might lead you to discovering your theme or
an element that is important to the plot. These words will help in some
way to give a sense of depth to your writing.
The idea of the Mind Mapping stage is to have fun, let your imagination
run riot, draw pictures, play with the colours, and let the ideas flow
without censorship. At some point, the storyline will take on a life of
its own in your head and you will want to get the outline of the story
down on paper.
It is now time for the Timed Writing stage. By limiting the amount of
time you have to write, you will be more inclined to write only your
first ideas and not as inclined to censor yourself.
Set the timer for ten minutes, and write down the story as it is being
played out in your head. Don't read back over your writing; don't
correct any spelling or grammar mistakes; just keep writing until you
get all the ideas down on the page. Write steadily for ten minutes, and
don't let your pen stop moving over the paper, or your hands stop moving
over the keyboard.
At the end of the ten minutes you may have finished the outline of your
first draft. If not, set the timer again and write for another ten
minutes.
And that's how you move from having no ideas to having the first draft
of a piece of writing. What I like about this method is that it appeals
to the playful creative side of writers, and also allows those with
limited free time to get their first draft written down over the course
of two or three ten-minute writing sessions. The Mind Mapping stage can
be expanded on in between other daily tasks because your subconscious
keeps working on the links and blank spaces, even while you're doing
other things. This is the goal of the method: to get your mind busy
creating ideas that you can write about.
I am using this technique at the moment to write a short story for a
local competition and it's been fun. No more nail-biting. No more
hyperventilating about the deadline while I look at a blank piece of
paper. No more laying my forehead on the desk, whispering Think!
Combining the Bubble Method with Mind Mapping has made the whole process
quick, easy, and fun.
I wish you all the best in your own writing.
Further Reading:
The Bubble Method article:
http://www.essortment.com/all/microfictionsh_rlub.htm
Tony Buzan and Mind Mapping:
http://www.buzanworld.com/mindmaps/
http://www.imindmap.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ
The
poem McCavity the Mystery Cat by T.S. Eliot can be found
here:
http://www.mccavity.com/
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