There is nothing more annoying to Cook than that one fly. I know it is a different one each day, but she insists it is the same one. She calls it the "demon fly." It has been her adversary for this past month and, in the fact that it hinders her work, it is our adversary. Papa doesn't like his meals to be late. Tonight he commanded that she spend the next ignoring the fly.
I chuckled, but he glared at me. Let me tell you, I shut my trap real quick. When Papa means business he means business and no longer. Period. When dinner was over I volunteered to help Cook kill the fly. She was hesitant. I managed to convince her that, with patience, we could kill the annoyance.
I put a dab of honey on the counter, grabbed the fly-swatter, and waited. I could hear Cook's heavy breathing beside me. I wondered if she would have enough patience for this. It turns out she did not.
As soon as the fly landed and started to eye the honey she left out with a rolling pin and tried to smash it. The fly darted away and hovered inches from her face, mocking her.
This continued for about three hours. The haughty fly grew more and more confident and ever the more obnoxious. Cook seemed to have steam coming from her ears. I sent her off into the next room. I had the fly right where I wanted it, right there in its overbearing self-confidence. It landed and looked at me. I waited. It buzzed toward me and buzzed back to the honey. I almost laughed. It was trying to intimidate me! I stayed still.
It soon grew bored of its game and, in its pride, it landed and began to eat from the drop of honey. Oh, foolish fly! I rushed forward, bringing the fly-swatter down. The last thing the haughty fly saw was that pile of honey. It had fallen for my trap. Patience was victorious over speed once again.
The End
Flies are the most obnoxious antagonists ever. There are certain people who are just as obnoxious. They are arrogant, they mock us, then they fall. No one likes these people. But only the patient people can ever tolerate or defeat them.
These obnoxious antagonists can be used rather effectively in short stories. The reader knows how irritating these type of people can be and therefore they connect more with the protagonist. Not every villain in a story should be brilliant, some need to be those obnoxious people that we all struggle against.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
The Beatitudes of Writers
Some would say that this modern age has thrown out the old writer, the one who signed books and interacted with people, and replaced them with a breed of instantly published e-book writers who lurk at their computers and loiter on the internet. I disagree entirely.
There are certain qualities writers need that are necessary for success, even perhaps survival, in the publishing marketplace. Many writers possess these qualities, some do not, others have yet to emerge from their shells. I have compiled a list of beatitudes for writers. I hope they help you.
1. Writers need to understand people and interact with them on a regular basis. Our readers are our lifeblood. Our characters are people. So why shouldn't we strive to understand (though this is hard at times) and communicate with people. The better we know how people act, the more believable characters we can make. The more we communicate, the better our dialogue is.
It is true that in this age the internet has arisen as the dominant method of communication. This does effect writers and allows us an easy method of communication with editors and agents and each other, but we must not forget how to communicate with people face to face. Think about it.
Say, for example, that you create a wonderful story, cultivate a loyal, online tribe, but never interact with people apart from a small circle, and a publisher notices you. They e-mail you and offers you a chance to pitch the book to their editor-in-chief. Now, you go out there, your knees shake, you are uncomfortable and pale. The editor stares at you and waits patiently. Then, because of your lack of face-to-face capabilities, you fail the pitch. This is a disaster.
So remember dear friends, even though the internet provides us with boundless marketing and networking capabilities, we must never abandon face-to-face interaction. I understand that many of you are dedicated and must be at your computer, but would it hurt to take a break, get a haircut, and just talk casually with the barber? Those guys are limitless sources of material too!
2. Writers should, specifically, interact with their readers. In the past this was through book signings (which are still done) and even letter correspondence. In this modern age of ours this quality of a writer has gone up in its necessity. Our readers are online now. They are on our website and blogs. They expect interaction and you should give it to them. This beatitude is easier to possess today than it ever was. Twitter is a prime example; short, quick responses to short, quick questions or comments. Then (KABAM!) the reader feels valued.
3. Writers should know their manners. This can be used in context to both the above beatitudes. When working with editors and agents, the editors expect and deserve respect. They are the gatekeepers. When publishing an e-book, be respectful and polite to the reader. When talking with an agent, be respectful and they will respect you. A lot of the senior members of this writing community grew up with manners and they are impressed by members of the younger generation who use it.
4. Writers should give the readers their best. Nothing more needs to be said on this beatitude. It is a rule and a quality that should not need explanation.
Dearest reader, I realize that there are some aspects in attribute/beatitude #1 that have not been thoroughly explored, but I do not believe blogs should be overly long. I do hope that these beatitudes (or behaviors) are ones you will apply to yourself. They are the ones I try to live by.
There are certain qualities writers need that are necessary for success, even perhaps survival, in the publishing marketplace. Many writers possess these qualities, some do not, others have yet to emerge from their shells. I have compiled a list of beatitudes for writers. I hope they help you.
1. Writers need to understand people and interact with them on a regular basis. Our readers are our lifeblood. Our characters are people. So why shouldn't we strive to understand (though this is hard at times) and communicate with people. The better we know how people act, the more believable characters we can make. The more we communicate, the better our dialogue is.
It is true that in this age the internet has arisen as the dominant method of communication. This does effect writers and allows us an easy method of communication with editors and agents and each other, but we must not forget how to communicate with people face to face. Think about it.
Say, for example, that you create a wonderful story, cultivate a loyal, online tribe, but never interact with people apart from a small circle, and a publisher notices you. They e-mail you and offers you a chance to pitch the book to their editor-in-chief. Now, you go out there, your knees shake, you are uncomfortable and pale. The editor stares at you and waits patiently. Then, because of your lack of face-to-face capabilities, you fail the pitch. This is a disaster.
So remember dear friends, even though the internet provides us with boundless marketing and networking capabilities, we must never abandon face-to-face interaction. I understand that many of you are dedicated and must be at your computer, but would it hurt to take a break, get a haircut, and just talk casually with the barber? Those guys are limitless sources of material too!
2. Writers should, specifically, interact with their readers. In the past this was through book signings (which are still done) and even letter correspondence. In this modern age of ours this quality of a writer has gone up in its necessity. Our readers are online now. They are on our website and blogs. They expect interaction and you should give it to them. This beatitude is easier to possess today than it ever was. Twitter is a prime example; short, quick responses to short, quick questions or comments. Then (KABAM!) the reader feels valued.
3. Writers should know their manners. This can be used in context to both the above beatitudes. When working with editors and agents, the editors expect and deserve respect. They are the gatekeepers. When publishing an e-book, be respectful and polite to the reader. When talking with an agent, be respectful and they will respect you. A lot of the senior members of this writing community grew up with manners and they are impressed by members of the younger generation who use it.
4. Writers should give the readers their best. Nothing more needs to be said on this beatitude. It is a rule and a quality that should not need explanation.
Dearest reader, I realize that there are some aspects in attribute/beatitude #1 that have not been thoroughly explored, but I do not believe blogs should be overly long. I do hope that these beatitudes (or behaviors) are ones you will apply to yourself. They are the ones I try to live by.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Quadruple S
I cross myself and spit to one side whenever a fellow Professional Writing major mentions Silent Snow, Secret Snow. It is a joking action that I thought up with my friend Nathan Sturgis. I should probably explain myself.
Silent Snow, Secret Snow is a superb short story created by Conrad Aiken. We are studying it in my Professional Writing class. My teacher, Doctor Hensley, adores the story; and for good reasons! The short story concerns a child named Paul Hasleman and how the people in his life, who should be uplifting him and causing him to bloom forth in his dreams, are pushing him back into a little, cold, protected seed. They want him to be normal. Paul, in reaction, develops a protective screening of snow that only he knows about. It separates him from the world.
It is an utterly frightening reality check on how we treat others, particularly children. Silent Snow, Secret Snow reveals the awesome influence adults have over children, especially those in adolescence, when they're developing their interests and going through changes. I am the older brother of several young siblings. I understand how little children look to their elders for guidance. I also understand what it is to have a dream and to have it suppressed. This story frightens me because I can put myself in Paul's shoes and, what is worse, I can see my little siblings in Paul's shoes. I know they aren't there in real life, but I can see the possibility and it horrifies me.
I apologize for rambling on up there in the last paragraph. I do believe you understand the power of this story though. It is a fantastic read. It is a literary masterpiece. But, above both these things, it is more powerful when read aloud. It seems as if it it designed to be read aloud. You can actually hear the whirlwind and the snowstorm in the reader's voice. This is due to the 's' and 'ch' sounds that are woven together in a miraculous symphony of alliterative prose. Everything in that short story is placed there on purpose. No color, no reference is out of place. Nothing is without meaning. I highly recommend reading this short story, both out loud and silently.
But, on a negative side, and to explain why I cross myself and spit at the story's mention, it does get tedious when we are analyzing it day after day. It is enlightening and I am sure it is teaching us something. But I believe that some short stories are meant to be enjoyed and not over-analyzed. The story had more impact on me when Doctor Hensley read it aloud than it did when we started analyzing it. But the analysis has brought out many aspects I would never have seen. I stand rather half and half about this "Quadruple S short story," as I have called it. I am appreciative of the analysis for the fact that it helps me see how to write better.
Also, it is a little frightening and could be self-defeating to compare one's own writing to such a masterpiece, but I feel that, for me, it has motivated me to writer better. It has motivated me and I tell myself that, "if a guy with a weird name like Conrad Aiken can create a masterpiece, a guy with a rather normal name like Joshua A. Spotts can create a masterpiece as well!"
Silent Snow, Secret Snow is a superb short story created by Conrad Aiken. We are studying it in my Professional Writing class. My teacher, Doctor Hensley, adores the story; and for good reasons! The short story concerns a child named Paul Hasleman and how the people in his life, who should be uplifting him and causing him to bloom forth in his dreams, are pushing him back into a little, cold, protected seed. They want him to be normal. Paul, in reaction, develops a protective screening of snow that only he knows about. It separates him from the world.
It is an utterly frightening reality check on how we treat others, particularly children. Silent Snow, Secret Snow reveals the awesome influence adults have over children, especially those in adolescence, when they're developing their interests and going through changes. I am the older brother of several young siblings. I understand how little children look to their elders for guidance. I also understand what it is to have a dream and to have it suppressed. This story frightens me because I can put myself in Paul's shoes and, what is worse, I can see my little siblings in Paul's shoes. I know they aren't there in real life, but I can see the possibility and it horrifies me.
I apologize for rambling on up there in the last paragraph. I do believe you understand the power of this story though. It is a fantastic read. It is a literary masterpiece. But, above both these things, it is more powerful when read aloud. It seems as if it it designed to be read aloud. You can actually hear the whirlwind and the snowstorm in the reader's voice. This is due to the 's' and 'ch' sounds that are woven together in a miraculous symphony of alliterative prose. Everything in that short story is placed there on purpose. No color, no reference is out of place. Nothing is without meaning. I highly recommend reading this short story, both out loud and silently.
But, on a negative side, and to explain why I cross myself and spit at the story's mention, it does get tedious when we are analyzing it day after day. It is enlightening and I am sure it is teaching us something. But I believe that some short stories are meant to be enjoyed and not over-analyzed. The story had more impact on me when Doctor Hensley read it aloud than it did when we started analyzing it. But the analysis has brought out many aspects I would never have seen. I stand rather half and half about this "Quadruple S short story," as I have called it. I am appreciative of the analysis for the fact that it helps me see how to write better.
Also, it is a little frightening and could be self-defeating to compare one's own writing to such a masterpiece, but I feel that, for me, it has motivated me to writer better. It has motivated me and I tell myself that, "if a guy with a weird name like Conrad Aiken can create a masterpiece, a guy with a rather normal name like Joshua A. Spotts can create a masterpiece as well!"
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