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I just use pages, mostly. I’ve tried more complex schemes and mostly they don’t work. Counting how many pages I worked on today also lets me account for those situations when the same section gets visted repeatedly — if I have to go through it six times on six different days, then I count it six times.
Sometimes I count it by story units — xx scenes, xx chapters, etc.
If she does use words, she should remember that it’s words processed, not words added. Sometimes when I’m editing, I forget that.
Yes, “why” questions were high on my list of helpful things, but truthfully, the other kind of question doesn’t help me much, probably because I was so glibly good at essay questions way back when and learned to bullshit my way through questions like that. Sometimes it will lead to interesting information, but more often it’s, “Character A is most afraid of situation B because of blah blah blah,” and it’s all on the surface. It doesn’t work when I try to apply what’s essentially literary analysis to my own work in progress. That said, though, I have known many people for whom those questions are a big help, so it’s possible I’m just weird
I’m not sure I agree that plots don’t have a voice, either. They certainly have moods, and atmospheres. Situations and settings can latch onto the psyche and not let go until I figure out how to turn them into story. Some plots — perhaps most of my good ones — come so inextricably bound to a character that the character’s voice and the plot’s voice are the same. But your basic questions–what’s going on, what could go on, what could go wrong–are critical to any plot no matter what its voice or its attitude.
I find that if I ask questions that are in any way related to writing terminology, such as “does it increase the tension?” I find a way to answer it in abstract story terms that have little or nothing to do with what’s going on in the actual story.
I have much better luck with questions that are specific to the characters and situation. So I’ll ask things like, “Did John know Darlene before they met at work?” and “Wait, if Cassie’s father is so abusive, cruel, and arbitrary, how come she loves him so much? Does he have redeeming traits, or is she doing it for some other reason?” “If Michael’s father used to go out with Lorinda’s mother before they both married other people, he must have SOME feelings about Michael’s crush on Lorinda.”
Oh, wait, just using that question as an example made me realize this explains a piece of Michael’s father’s very inconsistent behavior. He’s a rather strict disciplinarian, but he’s been tolerating the way Michael spends all his spare time with the drama club. But it’s because of that former feeling.
Thanks for asking
Woodle pooves! Woodle Pooves! http://zette.blogspot.com/2005/10/author-versus-character.html
Also, woodle poove beer steins: http://www.cafepress.com/+stein,149944744
I certainly hate doing things like that and the older I get, the less I like it. If a similar situation showed up in my story, I’d be likely to have most of the bad stuff happen offstage.
On the other hand, I’m writing a murder mystery with a serial killer and a ghost, so feeling bad about it doesn’t usually stop me
djmills wrote:I found one description for serious fiction and serious books at http://marylaine.com/bookbyte/serious.htmlAnother place called literary fiction serious fiction, as opposed to genre fiction not being serious.
Not sure if literary fiction is what the person in your article meant by serious fiction.
The context sounds like that’s more or less what they meant. But “literary fiction” is a pretty vague term too. A lot of fiction that fits a genre also winds up fitting “literary.”
Okay, that sounds like an example of what I mean about it working in context in the story. You’ve set up the connection in her experiences so you can call it up when you need it — sounds to me like it will work.
No matter what you do, some readers will not see the symbolism. Any explanation comes across as heavy-handed, so I’d strongly recommend that you not go that route. Sometimes it works to have the characters discuss the situation, but again it can come across as heavy-handed if it’s not closely tied to the story.
As far as “adding” the symbolism — it seems to me that symbols only work as symbols if they first work on a literal level in the story. They don’t bring meaning into the story from outside, they grow meaning from the context of the story and underline the emotions, ideas, and so forth. You can add details that support or call attention to the symbol, or add references to it in other places to strengthen it, but usually trying to graft a symbol into the existing story comes across as heavy-handed. It can be done and I’m not saying don’t do it at all, just be careful.
I do have some resolutions, in the sense Dawn mentioned of trying to modify behaviors. I need to replace some bad habits with some good habits, in both my writing life and my personal life. Nothing too earth-shattering or difficult: be more aware, eat better, exercise more, get to bed on time more often, write more regularly.
It’s not an all-or-nothing kind of resolution where you will yourself to something for a couple of weeks, fall off the wagon, and give up. It will be slow, with lots of ups and downs. Changes don’t happen overnight. As long as the trend’s positive, I’ll be happy.
