Oct 08

Diary of a Binge Reader

Donna Tartt’s, The Goldfinch, hijacked my social life for the past two weeks. And consequently, my life as a binge reader emerged once again.

For months, I can exist perfectly content on my diet of short stories. Then, the unwieldy novel finds me unsatisfied in my 5000 word count stories, lures me to a world of plots with multiple characters and offers a new captivating world to enjoy and forget the everyday mundane. The process begins innocently enough — an evening hour in a big chair with my feet up, a chapter instead of dinner, an alarm set earlier to read before breakfast, and eventually the pages of a 784 page tome reluctantly parted across my sleeping self — until in the middle of the night, the book falls, thudding loudly against the floor, startling the dog who barks and wakes the household and next door neighbors.

How does this happen to me? I confess a predilection for Donna Tartt’s brand of storytelling. Is Tartt’s magic the plot or the theme? A diagram from the NY Book Editors shows themes of prize winning novels in 2014. The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize and contains many of the plot lines of prize-winning novels: unlikely friendships, betrayal, terrorism, death, theft, school days, running away, criminal gangs, love and suicide. Other winning plots include less appealing topics: cannibalism, East London, homicidal cowboy brothers, an escaped tiger, horniness, jazz, nanny trust issues, a mysterious letter, Totalitarian Bucharest, and war. As to plot, Tartt chose well except I am intrigued by the cowboy idea.

Screenshot 2015-10-02 23.18.45The NY Book Editors post also includes speculation on what makes an interesting story. The answer is a good story arc. Larry Brooks’ Story Engineering also covers these topics along with a bevy of books about story structure. In “Writing Fiction Like a Pro” by Steve Alcorn, the classic three act structure includes nine dramatic elements. For the elements, I included a sketch by fellow writer and classmate, Mame Zirro.

Act 1 introduces the characters, the setting and the story. Through The Goldfinch’s adolescent narrator, Theo, the reader meets his mother and learns the critical backstory. The trigger is the plot point that propels the protagonist into Act 2. It is also called the inciting incident or the door that the character passes through that cannot be undone. Theo’s plot point occurs after the museum explosion. Surrounded by debris, Theo meets Welty and follows his advice. With his mother missing and his theft of a famous masterpiece, he cannot go back to his former life.

Act 2 is the middle of the story. Our boy, Theo, is in crisis – dead mother, abandoned by his father, nowhere to go, no one to turn to, stolen painting, and dead man’s ring. Imagine a horizontal graph of time. After the beginning first act, the middle second act extends for the bulk of the novel. In the case of The Goldfinch, Act 2 is 400-500 pages of Theo’s escalating struggles with his friend’s family, his father’s return, his misadventures in Las Vegas and his betrayal of father-figure Hobart.

Act 2 ends with another plot point. This time the story veers in an unexpected direction. Act 3 is the shortest in duration and the highest point of tension. While Act 2 concentrated on the emotional story and struggles of the protagonist, Act 3 is all plot. Theo is older and burdened by his theft and loss of the famous Fabritius painting of The Goldfinch. His epiphany guides him to a new course of action, a solution for the greater good and his final plan to save the painting, actually several plans, since nothing in a Tartt novel will work the first time. The climax ends where the story began in Amsterdam. I will leave the ending untold for future readers to enjoy. Suffice it to say, Act 3 resolves Theo’s many problems.

The three act structure probably has as many critics as Donna Tartt. Some argue for more than three acts and others for less, such as the simplicity of creating a problem and resolving a problem. The internet displays diagrams of pinch points and new takes on structure with grids, circles and even circus tents. As for Donna Tartt, even the literary crowd disagrees on whether this is a fabulous adult novel or a Harry Potter-esque children’s book. Reviews on Goodreads offer accounts of unfinished readings (no doubt from quitters, wimps and lightweights) in contrast to exhilarating comments about the plot and characters.

For this novel with a massive three act structure, my vote is yes. Read it. But don’t drop it on your foot. Don’t try to fit it in your backpack or purse. And don’t drop it in the middle of the night unless you want to risk a call to 911 from the neighbors.

Oct 06

Frustration

“Writing: Somewhere between torture and fun.” – The Write Practice

“I just sit at my typewriter and curse a bit.” — P.G. Wodehouse

Frustration

My current project, an historical novel, started as a short story written during a creative writing class. The sudden death of an important, but minor, character propelled the scenes to a heartbreaking conclusion. After reading my final version aloud, I looked up to see tears flowing from the eyes of several classmates. Pleased that my work received the emotional response I desired, I shelved the story with no plans for further development.

For several years the characters continued to invade my thoughts insisting I reveal more about their lives. I finally relented and gave them proper historical names, added more dialogue, and expanded their storyline. My short story became the catalyst, but not the beginning, of a novel.

The words spilled onto the pages for months until suddenly the plot stalled because my characters rebelled at the direction I took them. The character who died now wanted a more significant role than originally planned. This character asked for, no, demanded to be resurrected to find a place in this world, to see the changing seasons, to experience adventures, to feel loved.

This frustrated me because that character’s inclusion changed the entire plot forcing me to do more research to add authenticity to the details.

Call me crazy if you wish, but I now believe what some writers have said about their characters talking to them. The characters know their story better than I do. After all, it is their story, not mine. I’m only the storyteller or historian whose job it is to simply tell their story in a convincing, thought provoking way.

Do your characters speak to you? If so, do you listen? Have you changed a storyline to accommodate your characters’ desires?

Oct 03

Top 5 Myths about the “Real World”

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Top 5 Myths about the “Real World” by John McCarthy

I recently read a syllabus for a college course that struck me as odd. According to the syllabus, the instructor stated that he was preparing his students for the real world. How? If students brought out their cell phone in class they would immediately be told to leave the class. Also, if a student is sent out of the class twice during the course, that person would be kicked out of the course.

This is not made up. Based on the instructor’s faulty logic, people in the workforce are fired without opportunity to redress or remediate the problem, when there is often some sort of due process. Even if the logic was true, if employers let go of employees for the most minor of faults, they would be under staffed, and would be critiqued by their boss for the high cost of constantly retraining new employees. Most likely the manager would be fired for creating such disruption in the work force.

Here are some other myths about the real world that are perpetrated in schools. See which ones you may have encountered:

  1. Late work will not be accepted.

In the real world, a supervisor needs a memo or work product even past the deadline. In most cases, the staffer charged with the task is still required to get it done. Will there be a consequence afterwards? Yes, either officially or unofficially. The staffer may get a dressing down, warned, written up, and/or not be given such responsibility for a long while. Firing is a possibility, but usually not the first option. The work must get done, and if it’s high quality, the staffer might get off with no official penalty.

Accepting late work sends the message to students that they are not off the hook and must get it done.

  1. Listening to music using earbuds while working is a distraction.

There are many offices, cubicles, and cafes where people work while listening to music. They wear earbuds or headphones so as not to disturb others. Work time is different from times for lectures and discussions. Banning the practice denies the opportunity for coaching students on proper etiquette.

  1. Do not ask questions during emergency drills.

A mother shared with me how her child received a demerit for talking during a tornado drill. On the surface, this seems appropriate. If you’re talking then you and those around you won’t hear the instructions from the authorities. In this case, the offending student was asking another student why for a tornado drill they were marching outside to another structure. The other structure was a tornado shelter, which makes sense to an adult mind. However, this child did not understand and asked the teacher, whose adult-minded logical response did not satisfy the concerned child, “But why would you go outside at all if there were a tornado?”

While idle chatter is not appropriate, inquiring questions should be welcomed. People ask questions about different situations and under different circumstances. Schools and most workplaces are not military installations. Speaking up to inquire under any conditions is an important skill, just as responding to someone’s concerns under difficult conditions is critical.

  1. When students fail due to low test scores and missing assignments it’s their responsibility.

Students do share a responsibility to do their best and complete all tasks assigned to them. It’s also the teacher’s responsibility to model perseverance by providing all resources to meet the needs of their students. These efforts can be draining, yet determination and doggedness can lead to students turning around and finding success. How can we expect students to learn to persevere and strive past obstacles if the highly trained professionals give up on them–and the students know it?

In the teaching workforce, when an employee struggles to be effective, they are placed on a work plan. The intent is to help the person improve their practice so as to get off the plan. The process can be quite extensive. Both teacher and administrator are responsible to work together. We should offer the same real-world opportunities to all students.

  1. If a student fails a test there are no retakes.

Only in academia is this practice believed to be the way of life. In many other fields, future professionals can take the required tests multiple times until they pass or get the score that they need. Such examples of these tests for professional certifications include C.P.A (accountants), Bar exam (lawyers), ACT & SAT (prospective college students) and state certification for licensure of teachers.

Allow students to retake a test when they are ready and have grown in their understanding. It’s more important to have highly skilled students then a collection of grades based on the archaic practice of averaging scores.

What are other myths about the real-world that you have experienced or heard about? Post them in the comments section below.

Sep 28

Can I Use My Bathroom?

2015-09 SRemi1I’m embarking into the world of home improvement and remodeling. “Oh no!’ my internal counselor says. “Don’t do it! Your home will be in a shambles for weeks if the contractor says days. Months if he says weeks. You’ve heard all the horror stories. It’s not worth it.” I should listen, but I hate my master bathroom. It’s the only room in the house I couldn’t stand when I purchased the home.

 

 

 

 

2015-09 SRemi2My intention all along has been to redo it. Until I could decide what I wanted done, I did what I could to make it look passable. I took down the dark green wallpaper with the gold elephants. A throw rug partially covers the yellow and white floor tiles reminiscent of the seventies. I even painted, yes painted, the Formica countertop of the vanity.

Those stopgaps are wearing thin and I can no longer live with how it looks – especially because I have an open door bathroom. What that means is that the area with the vanity and linen closet has no door and is visible at all times to the master bedroom. The section with the toilet and shower is behind a door, so at least I get some visual relief on that part. It’s time for a change and to take the plunge.

I started moving forward in January when my friend, Anne, showed me the work she had done on her bathroom. Energized by how good it looked in her home and having a reference for a designer, I set up an appointment. There have been twists and turns, delays and doubts, but things are finally coming together and it looks like the work will begin at the end of September or beginning of October.

“That soon!?” Okay, Sue. Take a deep breath. Think positive thoughts. This will go well. It will not be a disaster. They will not find ugly things behind the walls that will double the cost of the work. It will look beautiful when it’s done. Meditate. Ohmmmmmm.

Please send me your positive thoughts. I can use all the help I can get!

Sep 23

Crowdsourcing

I was looking into crowdsourcing as a possible way to publish Broken String next year. Kickstarter.com is the one I was looking at, but there are others. Crowdsourcing is a way to find supporters to fund your “project.” That project can be just about anything from a space satellite to a movie, or a book. You start by pledging something in return for supporters’ dollars. One project offered to shout out your name in a ballpark for a pledge of one dollar, but most just offer tee-shirts, mugs or deep discounts on the product they are trying to get started. Kickstarter has had some success with publishing books, but mostly graphic novels and children’s books from what I see on their website. They’ve had a little success with fiction books, but most fiction titles I see are “non-starters;” projects that did not raise the amount of money needed in the time allowed. Non-starters don’t happen and no one is obligated to anything. The project turns into digital dust.

Gulp.

It’s like a poker game where you’re all in. If you win, you’re up, up and away. But if you lose, you’re left with just hot air and no balloon. I’d love to hear from someone who’s published a novel this way, to get an idea of their experience. I’m not afraid to take a chance, I just want to have a look over the cliff before I jump.

Reading through some of Kickstarter’s history and success stories, it seems the most fully funded projects are the ones where you, yourself, bring in a lot of supporters in the beginning. The best way seems to have a rollout where you create a lot “buzz.” Then launch the project on a specific day and get your “circle” to “support” the project on Day-1. That initial surge of interest gets the casual Kickstarter members checking out what all the fuss is about.

That’s great if you’re a big satellite company or a movie mogul where you’ve got thousands following you on social media, but it’s scary for a lonely fiction writer whose circle of friends could be corralled with his belt.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Check out Kickstarter.com if you haven’t already. It’s easy to get lost in some of the projects, many of which are fascinating new ways to tackle old problems, like the mechanic’s glove with a magnetic index finger to hold nuts and washers in place at odd angles. Brilliant!

Would a suspense novel be a success? Would folks want to read it enough to actually buy it? You know, with money? What do I have to lose? Well, confidence for one thing. It’s like amateur night and I’m at the mike. Hope people will laugh at my jokes, but what if they don’t? This isn’t my first trip to the mike, so to speak. Guess I won’t know if my audience is growing or shrinking unless I try.

Kickstarter gives “publish or perish” a whole new ring to it these days. Any hints, ideas or suggestions to help me sleep at night?