The Art of Narrative Craft
In the exemplary stories that follow, the setting takes over the narrative, almost as if it is a character in the story. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” the setting actually is a character in the story, and is, in fact, the antagonist of the story. And Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is actually about the setting. As you Continue reading SETTING STORIES
I. Begin a story that is set in an unusual time and place, so that you must absolutely let your reader know that, hey, this isn’t here and now, but there and then. Can you do this without the obvious This is Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War? II. Begin a story whose setting is a ‘character’ in the narrative, Continue reading SETTING PROMPTS
II. SETTING Every story takes place somewhere. And yet every year I receive from learning writers stories that seem to take place nowhere, that is to say, without any narrative depiction of the time and place wherein which the present action of the story occurs. What exactly do we mean by Setting? Here it is: SETTING = TIME and PLACE Continue reading II. SETTING
Now, let’s see how a couple of real masters handled these elements of story and plot, and the elements of dramatic structure (conflict-crisis-resolution). In Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and James Joyce’s “Araby,” all the elements of dramatic structure are evident as the stories build from conflict to crisis and resolution. Copyright laws prevent me from posting Continue reading STORIES
I. Write a 6 sentence narrative wherein each sentence represents a plot point on Freytag’s Pyramid: 1. Exposition (introduce character w. desire) 2. Conflict (antagonist) 3. Rising Action (complications) 4. Crisis Moment (moment of truth/choice) 5. Falling Action (consequences) 6. Resolution (end result) II. Using your response to the above exercise, begin your story by introducing your protagonist, her desire, Continue reading PROMPTS
from E. M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel: Chapter 2: THE STORY WE shall all agree that the fundamental aspect of the novel is its story-telling aspect, but we shall voice our assent in different tones, and it is on the precise tone of voice we employ now that our subsequent conclusions will depend. Let us listen to three voices. Continue reading I. STORY, PLOT, STRUCTURE
I use the term ‘fictive’ to differentiate ever so narrowly from ‘fictional.’ There may be no difference to Daniel Webster, but there is a slight interpretative difference to me, and this text is meant as a guide for fiction and nonfiction alike, and thus admits to the notion that there is plenty about the nonfiction narrative that is ‘fictive.’ I Continue reading A BRIEF PREFACE
Beginning today, I will be uploading chapters from the new 2nd ed. of fictive craft to these pages. This is the text that I am using this Fall 2014 semester in the fiction workshops at Lehman College (CUNY). This text is essentially the same as the 1st Ed., but with editorial corrections, additions, and revisions. It is my intention to Continue reading FALL 2014: FICTIVE CRAFT 2ND EDITION
There is an excellent essay by Joan Didion from her wonderful collection, Slouching Toward Bethlehem, called “On Keeping A Notebook.” Didion writes about something not often discussed: why we keep journals, and what we should write in our journals (and why). This piece is incredibly valuable for all writers. You can find it online here. I have been keeping a Continue reading Keeping a Notebook
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Absolution” (which is the discarded first chapter of The Great Gatsby), and William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning,” each author’s unique narrative ‘voice’ is present in every corner of every page. Their voices are unmistakable. Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby can be seen as a young boy, in the frightening presence of a priest who is on the brink of Continue reading STORIES FOR VOICE AND STYLE