So You Think You Are Writing to Shock: Think Again

Fortunately, my husband loves to listen to me reading to him.  We choose reading over what television has to offer most evenings once Jeopardy ends and on Thursdays I've seen "Doc Martin".  Wendell's taste in reading material is almost as wide as mine.  He has listened through many of Michner's thousand page ramblings.  We recently completed Chesapeake, and as a consequence know a lot more about slavery and geese.  Seven of Tom McDevitt's (a member of my writing group) short self-published adventures occupied about the same amount of our time.

Right now we are reading The Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark first published in 1953.  When we closed my parents' home, it was among the books no one else wanted.  We have read all those hardbacks, still have three Michners to go, and this thin volume came to my hand last evening.  A sentence on page 13 turned what promises to be a book worth reading into a valuable source of wisdom for writers: "Cussing is for emphasis. When every other word is a swear word it just gets to be dull and don't mean anything any more."

Why are contemporary writers so enamored of the "F" word?  Writers who sprinkle it throughout their novels are like the correspondent who lavishes her letters with exclamation points.  All it conveys is a dearth of vocabulary.  While reading aloud, I find that skipping the "F" word or a blasphemy has little or no effect.  We have become immune to the shock.  Saying or not saying the word goes unnoticed.  More than half a century ago, Ruark knew how over use killed shock .  Shakespeare knew it three centuries ago.  It's time today's writers learned it.

It's the 27th day of April, and it's snowing hard--big soft flakes.  The thermometer outside my back door registers 36 degrees F., and it's still melting on the concrete patio, but the grass is almost covered.  We are promised frost tonight.  We've had the sprinkling system turned on for the summer but haven't had to use it yet and hope the frost doesn't go that deep during this cold snap.  Imagine so much moisture in Idaho!

I need this time to stay indoors just now, anyway.  Pocatello Chapter Idaho Writer's League is hosting the 2017 annual conference in Pocatello on 22-23 September.  This year it will be at the Chubbuck, Idaho, Travel Lodge.  Since I'm the secretary, I'm very busy contacting prospective presenters for the 22 one-hour workshops for that conference.  So far we have workshops lined up for book art, outdoor writing, travel writing, conventional publishing, writing articles, preparing for contests, writing film scripts and play scripts, voice, journaling, and creating a book from getting it started to publication.  We're waiting on presenters for social media, sci-fi, fantasy, self-publishing, marketing, poetry, westerns, using fonts to advantage, and more.

Six years ago when we last hosted, one hundred people attended our conference from all around the state. Quite a few local writers not associated with our organization also took advantage of our invitation to participate.  We hope this year's conference will generate as much enthusiasm and participation.  We put every effort forth to make our conferences the best they can be.  Whether you are a seasoned writer with many publications to your credit or only a wannabe, you are invited.

Surely there will be no snow.

St. Patrick's Day Break from Slaving to Bring a Great Writer's Conference to Pocatello

It's St. Patrick's Day.  I have corned beef cooking and will add the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage at the appropriate time.  A shamrock door ornament has hung on my door all month, and a spray of glittery green and silver shamrocks is sitting amid the battery operated, flickery candles and ivy on the dining room table.  That's as far as our St. Paddy's celebration goes.  I've always believed the story that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, but after what I heard yesterday, I'm disillusioned.  Is it true that there never were snakes in Ireland.  Can't be.  There are snakes everywhere.  Maybe there just used to be many more than normal in Ireland.  Why not honor the saint for the sacrifices he made to carry Christianity to a distant people?  That seems enough to me.

I'm not Catholic.  It was just always fun to wear green and enjoy the traditional food.  It wasn't fun when I was a child who forgot to wear green and got pinched, a wicked tradition.  In my opinion, so is all the green beer drinking that goes on and the accidents and rioting that follow, but who am I to criticize those whose beliefs differ from mine?  I'll continue having fun on this day in my own conservative style.

This year St. Patrick's Day is a break from my labors as a member of Idaho Writer's League in searching for presenters at the conference Pocatello Chapter is hosting 22-23 September.  Anyone who reads my blog is welcome.  It will be at the Travel Lodge in Chubbck just north of Pocatello this year, and we are working hard to present a great conference at a minimum cost.  The conference will include ten workshops running at the same time as ten others, twenty-two choices for attendees to choose from.  So far we have lined up an artist to teach about illustration and book covers, writing film scripts, writing plays, writing about the outdoors, and travel writing.  We plan to add e-books, a professional publisher, self-publishing, poetry, cowboy poetry, writing fantasy, short stories, historical fiction, flash fiction, Native American writing, social media, and a three-session workshop on starting, developing, and publishing your book, writing articles.  Getting everything lined up requires many phone calls, e-mails, and in person visits.  I'm busy, and I'm not alone.  Just want you to know that something good for writers is coming up.  Check my blog for updates.

The Basic Elements of Writing

The Basic Elements of Writing

By Alice H. Dunn, 2016

            In the best writing class I took in college, the teacher said I had a “voice”.  I knew she meant it as a compliment, but I wasn’t sure just why.  Did she mean that when I wrote something, the reader could tell how I felt about it?  That was the rather indistinct idea she gave me.  I have pondered what else it might mean for the next 33 years.

            Last month at my writing group (Idaho Writer’s League, Pocatello Chapter) we had a discussion about a shared novel chapter involving where and how the writer introduced a new character.  This writer definitely has a voice, and he uses it in his own distinctive style, which is like no other.  The problem boiled down to two things: point of view and logic.  I was not satisfied that we had helped him solve the problem clearly. It wouldn’t hurt to summarize the basic meanings of a few writing terms with an eye to using what we know about them to improve our work.

Voice—To briefly answer the question with which I started this piece, voice is the way the writer’s ideas, beliefs, and opinions are exposed in his/her writing.  Voice contains and shapes the story.  The writer’s voice should also suit the story.

Logic—It’s pretty plain that even though logic may be hidden in mystery, no piece of writing ends well if logic is not eventually satisfied, case in point, Jessica Fletcher’s wind-up at the end of every Murder She Wrote installment. 

Theme—The focus of the piece of writing; what the story is about.  Consistent focus must be maintained throughout.

Style—The means by which the writer uses his/her voice, such as how he selects words and puts them in place to best suit the story.  Any writer may vary his/her style to write with local color, ornament, force, countrification, sincerity, or artifice, or poetically, or in a journalistic style, or in any other way he/she chooses to demonstrate his/her own style.

Point of View—Who tells the story.  This may be an omniscient narrator who knows and sees all and can report anything logical with the final outcome of the story even if no character knows things that are reported.  The POV may otherwise be either 1^st person or 3^rd person.  In first person, everything reported must be as the narrator sees it—I saw, I heard, I did, etc.  In third person, everything reported must be what the character telling the story sees, hears, does, etc.  Other characters can contribute information through dialogue and actions that the POV character interprets.  Only what is logical for the POV person to know at the time of the scene belongs in that scene.  In summary, the POV character brings knowledge with him/her to the scene and may learn from other characters and from observations during the scene. 

If POV changes, there must be a break or a new chapter to accommodate the new POV, and it must be a clear change.  For example, in one chapter may have one character as narrator (That means what happens in the chapter is logically known to the person through whose eyes the action is being experienced and reported, and he/she is referred to by name or a pronoun for that name.  The next chapter might be what is happening to a different character and is reported from his/her POV.)  Or sometimes when the writer has two or three characters with related things going on at the same time, their stories can be told in a parallel manner by writing different sections of the same chapter, each section from the POV of the involved character.  In summary, when POV changes, the story needs a new division, be it a clearly indicated section or a new chapter.

Person—The essence of each character.

Structure—The way the story develops with highs and lows, problems and solutions, building toward the denouement and resolution.

Sequencing—Presenting small and large events logically so that focus remains clear while creating tension and surprises that result in suspense and desire in the reader to seek the final outcome.

Genre or Type—The above elements apply to writing in any genre although much else can vary.  A genre is loosely defined as a “school of fiction”.  Some genres (not an exclusive list) to consider as to how the elements apply and what other elements might be important to them individually are briefly described below:

Romantic—stories such as Ivanhoe and Westward Ho.  This genre includes sub-genres such as adventure, heroic fiction, escape, historical fiction, western, stories about far away places, and stories that pit the noble against reality.

Romance—A beautiful young woman is saved from danger by a handsome hero.  They fall in love (and may be shown in a steamy session or two.)  Christian romance contains religious references and practices.  It is usually less steamy.

Sentimental—the story emphasizes feelings and emotions.  Classics such as Tristam Shandy and the Vicar of Wakefield are examples of sentimental literature.

Realism—Dickens, Thackery, and Sinclair Lewis wrote in this genre.  It is considered the definition of fiction: “…exhibit life in its true state… ” (Dr. Johnson, I assume Samuel.)

Naturalism—True stories told as exactly as possible.  Dreiser wrote in this school.  Detective stories are this genre.

Stream of consciousness—This genre attempts to represent the flow of ideas and images through the mind.  Virginia Wolf, James Joyce, and Collette wrote in this genre.

Fantasy—Dream world (Alice in Wonderland), not bound by the limits of real life (Gulliver’s Travels), science fiction, supernatural tales, etc.

Information for this posting came from Johnny Payne, Voice and Style; Ronald B. Tobias, Theme and Strategy; James N. Frey,  How to Write a Damn Good Novel; Hugh Holman,  A Handbook to Literature, 4^th edition; and The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 4^th edition.  I also refer the reader to the excellent piece on point of view by Hemlata Vasavada in the Palouse Chapter News of the April,2016, Leagazette of Idaho Writer’s League.  It can be found at www.idahowritersleague.com.

Life got in the way, and I neglected my blog for more than a year.  It's time for me to get serious again.  I think any followers I may acquire need to have a handle on my brand, so here goes:

I write fiction—short stories, novels, and children’s books and stories—as well as poetry and non-fiction.  When publishing my fiction, I use the pen name, Alicia Tycho.  Otherwise, I publish under my business name, Alice H. Dunn or occasionally Alice Henderson Dunn.

My short stories are usually slice-of-life with a lesson or moral.  For example, “A Piano for Margot” is the story of a child whose parents reluctantly realized that their daughter had natural talent and a strong desire to use it but needed her own piano to develop skill.

My children’s books teach about animals through the eyes of children.  Lennis is the protagonist in all of them, first as a four-year-old who helps his mother control the snail population in their yard and learns about them in the process.  I illustrated that book myself using my elementary school art skills in water color.  The results looked pretty good to me.  In Summer Visitors, Lennis, at eleven, discovers owls nesting in the fireplace clean-out and becomes their caregiver. He makes a detailed study of owls while becoming their friends.  I’m reworking a book that fits between in which Lennis learns about bats, and I’m still researching for his second grade study of dinosaurs.

My novels, Il Prato and Wheeling a Suitcase Coast-to-Coast, are literary and adventure, respectively.  The themes of Il Prato are honoring a pioneer ancestor, living a life that supports family and community, and building international relationships.  The themes of Wheeling a Suitcase Coast-to-Coast are completing a coast-to-coast trek, discovering faith, and finding a spouse.

Poetry is my way of honing word skills while expressing my deepest feelings as succinctly as I can.  I have won prizes for my humorous poems, imagine that!  And I have published a chapbook of some of my poems.

Non-fiction rewards me in dollars.  I get out and interview people, tell their stories in the most literary way I can, and wonder why readers choose to read them in preference to my more imaginative work.  Some of my articles are family history, and I have published two full-length family history books.  I'm also wont to write about things I do, such as growing a garden or traveling.

I can’t remember when I didn’t invent stories and poems, and I began writing them down as early as second grade.  I began to be really motivated to write seriously when I was asked to direct short vignettes.  Scripts had to be written before they could be produced, and I was elected.  It was a thrill when I won my first prize for something I wrote, but perhaps that first check for a published article was my biggest thrill so far.  Imagine my joy at the publication of one of my books!  I’m excited when anyone reads what I write, especially if they appear to enjoy it.

I hope my readers will learn something from what I write, find cause to think (after all, teaching was my first profession) and also be entertained—even though I have to dig deep to write humor.

We have six great kids the youngest of which and her husband took us traveling in their forty-foot "coach" this summer.  Can you imagine a son-in-law so nice he takes you with him to his class reunion?  Well, actually, we tended our eight-year-old granddaughter while they attended the reunion, but it was 1500 miles from home, and we saw many sights getting there and coming home.

The first stop (after driving through Yellowstone Park, watching Old Faithful erupt, and seeing a real live young grizzly bear on the hillside as we drove by) was the Buffalo Bill Museum.  From the statue of Sacajawea standing before the entrance to the mounted grizzly that looked just like the live one we had seen in Yellowstone, this museum is a treasure trove of western memorabilia.

We own a J. E. Stuart painting of Mt. Hood at sunset.  He painted a number of originals of that mountain.  Guess he wanted to get it right.  We had heard that the Buffalo Bill Museum had a large collection of his work, and Wendell (my husband) strongly desired to see it.  Unfortunately, they had only his "Splendid Geyser" displayed, or so the docents informed us.  Stuart had several "periods."  The first was his Wisconsin period.  Those paintings are gloomy--meadows in the rain, for example.  The Yellowstone period came next.  The Buffalo Bill collection is likely from this period.  Then the Alaskan government commissioned Stuart to create paintings of Alaskan scenery for their buildings, and so he spent a number of years there.  Our painting is from his West Coast period, his fourth period and said to have produced his most joyful work.  He stayed on the west coast for the remainder of his life.  We began to leave the museum a bit disappointed.  Finding our way through the three buildings that make up the museum is like navigating a maze of corridors,but as we turned one of the corners, Stuart's "Yellowstone Falls" appeared directly in front of us.  We recognized it immediately, as we had seen it pictured in miniature.  We gasped at its beauty and size.  It is immense and captures the falls in sunny bright color.  I suppose the museum would like to own it, but it was only on loan from another museum.

From there we went to Hart Mountain to visit the Japanese Relocation Center.  The local people have done a wonderful job of helping the public feel what citizens of the United States were put through because of fear of anyone Japanese during WWII.  From there we traveled to the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mt. Rushmore, Latter-day Saint historical sites in Illinois and Missouri, the Caterpiller Visitors Center in Peoria (site of our son-in-law's reunion), the Lincoln Tomb and home in Springfield, Illinois, and the St. Louis Arch.  We even saw a few old friends along the way, people from different times and places in our lives.  And as Son-in-law Bill says, "This is the way to travel."  Just be sure to tow a small vehicle to get around in after the coach is parked.

I'm Back

I was bitten by ants while planting my garden on 30 June 2013!  They apparently liked the taste of my legs, for they took more than one hundred tastes.  Thus began a year of misery characterized by huge blisters ultimately diagnosed to have nothing to do with the ant bites but a disorder with an ugly name, bullous pimphegoid, to go with the ugly blisters.  Frequent doctor visits ending with a hospital stay took a lot of time and more energy than I possessed.  My goal for winter writing thwarted, my blog fell to the bottom of my priorities list. 

I got so technologically rusty that I had to call my grandson to help me get back to the blog composition page!  He has a degree in computer science, but I think my eight-year-old granddaughter could have gotten there for me, too.  Why is it that children catch on to technology so quickly and it is like Greek to we older folks?  It seems that Google had thrown my password in the trash for lack of use. 

I did do a little work on short items while I was ailing, especially after the hospital visit and a change in my prescriptions.  That's when my health began to improve.  Seems I had developed an allergy to the sulfer in my medications, and sulfer is the culprit in the blistering disease.  I say "is" because I'm now labelled "allergic" to it.

I considered not raising a garden this year, but which is harder and which is less productive, keeping weeds down or growing food?  I chose to grow food--with kind help getting the plot ready by men from my church.  My 2014 garden has already produced lettuce, radishes, and cabbages, and zucchini has begun to flood the neighborhood.  The ants (which I can't seem to get rid of) are scurrying about, but they haven't bit me this year, knock on wood.

In late spring I began writing again in earnest by preparing three entries to the Idaho Writers League annual contests.  I have won many prizes in those contests, so I  have hopes to take some places in them again.  During my illness, I wrote sporadically, and my article about Camp Floyd State Park in Utah came out in the August/September issue of Idaho Senior Independent.  Seeing the published article rivaled the check in how good it made me feel. 

And now I'm Back and ready to share.

Sometime during this difficult time, I turned my special feeling about marriage into a poem, perhaps inspired by my husband's dash with me to the ER and constant attendance at my side while there.  It follows:

 A Marriage Metaphor

 

Getting married is like jumping into a swimming pool together:

There you will keep each other from drowning in loneliness

And protected from forces that try to pull you under.

Love is fragile:

Submerged in your pool of love,

Buoy each other up with tender, caring hands.

In this pool where the husband and wife share everything,

Let nothing or no one push you out of your place,

Not even your children.

As you are blessed by God,

Bless each other with your goodness

And celebrate the pool that surrounds you

Replenishing this treasure from heaven with love

To keep it filled

Eternally.

My usual practice is to revise/rewrite/edit anything I write many times before presenting it to public view.  However, "A Marriage Metaphor" appears above exactly as I first wrote it.  It came from my heart.  It is honest.  Perhaps it lacks in poetic devices, but I think I shall leave it as is.  I hope it gives readers of my blog a certain insight into who I am and the very long relationship my husband and I share.