Jeff Derrickson

LITR 3731

To Writing: Be Yourself and Speak Up

Of the many things I’ve learned this semester about the fiction genre, I believe the reinforcement of story origins is what stood out the most.  In the past, I’ve been resistant to conventions because of my desire to do something different.  To this day there’s still a small part of me that dislikes the word “conventional.”  But what I’ve learned is that you cannot be unconventional without at least knowing what you are trying to get away from in the first place.  This is especially true with story origins.  There has to be something of yourself in a story, or it becomes flat, unconvincing, and stale.

      Chapter thirteen of Three Genres was especially helpful, and admittedly funny.  I think every writer becomes tempted to draw from one of the seven deadly sins of writing fiction that are highlighted.  I myself have been tempted to use a few of my dreams as stories, and I’m sure with the advent of Twilight’s success there are many writers trying their hand at vampiric fiction.  A while back, I wrote an “epic space drama” called The Soul Star that reeked of the category of high tech melodrama.  It involved an intergalactic chase, a lady protagonist that didn’t reveal anything of herself, and a ton of characters that fit stereotypical “team” roles such as the loner, the wild man, and the technical guy.  After that, I realized that I needed to focus upon what I knew, and not necessarily something that I make up entirely.

      It’s not impossible to have a farfetched setting, however.  During one of our workshops, I believe it was Jennifer who submitted a work of historical fiction.  Our discussion was eye-opening because we spoke about the very problems I had when writing The Soul Star.  Can a work that is set in a time or place that we could never, ever visit be a personable one?  I think the answer is yes, but the key is that the focus must be placed upon the human aspect of your story.  Jennifer’s story featured a warrior princess who more or less inherits, and must lead, a warring army.  There was mention in the story that the protagonist did not have the luxury of a typical childhood because of the training she had to endure in order to succeed at her destined life path.  This is where the guts of that story reside.  An issue about lost childhood or people who must assume immense responsibilities at an early age is a very relatable concept.  The author can then weave the desired setting and human elements together to tell an exciting and relatable story.  After all, what is Star Wars without a teenager with daddy issues and surrogate parents that guide him towards finding himself?

      It takes a little more than simply drawing upon what you know to make your story relatable, however.  I’m a huge fan of characterization and dialogue, and I was happy that the subject came up at several points this semester.  In Three Genres, chapter 22 focuses on the subject and its conventions.  I knew about the dichotomy of dialogue and exposition, but what struck me about this chapter was the way you can use the two to control the pace of your work.  I think I’ve always had a problem with pacing, primarily because I get excited when I write and I’m anxious to get to the end.  I also tend to go crazy with dialogue because I like it so much.  Paraphrasing is a great way to correct both problems with one stone.  The use of one or two lines to convey a six to ten line of conversation is a weapon I intend to keep at the forefront of my readability arsenal.  I love the idea of using dialogue to develop your characters, as well.  I think in almost every workshop I asked the writer for more, but I remember specific examples from Amanda’s story, My Confession.  Her unnamed protagonist was a rich character almost from the start, but I would have liked to have seen more, especially when she stands up to her mother for the first time.  In my story, Positive, a problem I was having was differentiating the characters.  I plan on using dialogue to signify some differences between Dray and Jon.