Overrun by progress,
filthy remembrances of a time before.
Unyielding to the reclamation,
as nature retakes her shores.
A trial of wills,
reflected in the waters shimmer.
Bended, unheeding, triumph,
two worlds become one.
Eventually nature the victor,
claiming what it owns,
progress is overtaken,
returned to the splendor of old.
© T.A. Olivia 2010
51 words
To any interested party – I’ve posted my response to Kathan’s Quote of the day.
Why do we obsess over blog statistics? As if they wield some form of power over the honesty of our words.
For months, I watched the little line rise. My eagerness to be heard escalated with every new marker crossed.
Somewhere along the journey an obsession developed. Several post, all written in advance, filled prescheduled dates out of the fear I’d suddenly find myself with nothing to say.
As the cliche’ goes, all that goes up…well you know the rest.
As quick as those fickled hits came, they fled to newer ground. I may have possessed the skill to connect writers to one another, but failed to make many true connections myself. So I did what comes natural for any writer — I started to doubt myself.
You’re not good enough, the voices said.
What was wrong? Why were my words falling on deaf ears? I began to study and tear my written voice apart. Did it lack this? Or that? Maybe, I thought, I lack any natural God-given talent at all.
The cold self-analysis overshadowed my writing. My love for words got lost as I robbed my heart of the very thing it longed for — freedom from the cynicism of my own contemptuous mind. All the introspective thought combined with my inner critics and not only did it hinder my ability, but also my will to write.
So I’ve allowed my prewritten post to run their course and on February 4th they met their final end.
Free at last, my words cried out, Free to live an unbridled existence once again.
Lives fade like sunsets viewed from sheltered forest floors.
You don’t watch the transitions occur, they do so alone.
Life, like the day, starts out luminous, intense and brilliant.
Sometimes it blisters — boils.
You find yourself caught in the everyday living,
to do lists, tasks, take precedence.
Before you know it, lives slide away.
Timing is everything!
My online writing buds issued two challenges that came almost simultaneously. Kathan Ink. issued the Challenge #2: NaNoEdMo and a few short days later Nancy Drew Too issued the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition challenge.
It appeared as if the writing pixie issued a direct challenge to get off my seat (or rather on it) and polish one of my manuscripts for publication. Being the obedient writer, in other words obeying my nagging muse, I’ve decided to take on both challenges. I have 12 months and 3 days to prepare Caveman’s Mosaic for submission. Wish me luck!
Thanks to my online friends for issuing this challenge. By some form of divine intervention they always manage to come through when I need it most.
Oh, and if you decide to join in and need a little inspiration or someone to hold you accountable raise your hand – the more the merrier.
***
Today I’m posting my second and last installment on developing conflict. I hope you find the information in this review helpful on some level.
The Structure of Conflict – Conflict follows a basic formula. It needs careful layering, with each chapter raising the stakes for the protagonist. This creates suspense while drawing the reader further into the story.
Conflict Killers – Also important is pacing the conflict. As the tension builds and you move your protagonist closer to a final resolution, it is important not to kill the tension you’ve created and slow the pace of the story. Look for the items that can kill your conflict.
Designing the conflict – Keep the reader in mind. Understanding your target audience will help you design the correct conflict formula. Ask yourself these questions.
Genre Familiarization – Being familiar with the publishing limitation established by age groups and genre will help you determine the type of conflict that is acceptable and publishable. Here are a few examples of how genre affects conflict.
Literary Stories – Center on internal conflict.
Mysteries – External Conflict is a requirement
Romance – Emphasis is on a romantic relationship
Science Fiction / Fantasy – The most open and versatile genre when it comes to conflict
Thriller – The High Stakes Genre
YA – The most limited category
So, that sums up my take on conflict in a nice tight and tidy little package. I think I’ll print down these post and add them to my writer’s toolbox for those projects I’ve been stuck on for a while. Maybe a weak conflict or possibly conflict that doesn’t align with the genre is hindering my process. It’s a starting point and something to think about anyway.
Discussion: How much thought do you put into conflict? Are you a planner who uses conflict as the basis for your outlines, research, and prewriting? Or are you a lucky pantster who can take a concept, begin to write, and let the chips fall where they may?
This week I’ll begin looking at the basic elements of Conflict and try to summarize what I understand about creating conflict in a story and the impact it has on the reader.
Conflict - The device used to hook the reader and bring them through the story.
It is the struggle of the protagonist against a rival force. Conflict creates expectation on the part of the reader and is what keeps them turning the pages to find out how the issue or problem is resolved. Without conflict there is no story.
Types of Conflict – There are two kinds of conflict: Internal and external.
Internal Conflict - The struggle within a person putting him at odds with himself. Internal struggle helps the reader feel empathy for the character. When creating internal conflict ask yourself – Will my reader care about what happens to my protagonist?
External Conflict – A fight or struggle against an object outside the character.
Conflict and Character – Conflict in some way directly attacks the characters flawed nature. Excellent catalyst that illustrate conflict is the fundamental flaws of man.
| Pride | Greed | Jealousy |
| Intolerance | Hate | Lust |
| Gluttony | Anger | Sloth |
Conflict and Theme – The conflict should tie back to your major theme.
To find the conflict ask – WHAT IF?
Example: What if a man who is afraid of water finds himself stranded on a deserted island and his only means of escape is a leaky boat?
Discussion: What type of conflict do you find most intriguing in a novel? Is it internal or External? Why does this type of conflict cause you to become involved in the story and attached to the protagonist?
This story is either truth or fiction – you decide!
“I guess it was a nice run,” Julie said closing the laptop and caressing the silver Q engrained on the lid.
“That’s it? You’re done?”
If the last eight years of experience with Julie taught Nathan anything, it was don’t allow her to stew for too long.
Julie turned first looking down at the floor, then, raising her head to glare him straight in the eye, “What choice do I have?”
“Plenty! Just because things aren’t going the way you planned doesn’t mean you should just give up.”
Nathan’s anger grew. After all, he paid for the classes, allowed her to purchase a new laptop, and then there was the ink, the paper, the files, the new filing cabinet, the two-sided printer and the books.
Oh God — the books, he thought. Hundreds of dollars spent on writing books, market publications, and magazines all about the “craft” as she called it. All things she promised would make her better at what she did. Now, she wanted to give it up. All he could think was what a waste of money. Money they would need very soon. His anger was justified.
Tears welled up on the lower lids of Julie’s eyes, “You don’t understand.”
Nathan didn’t allow her self-pity and anger to faze him. He knew something she didn’t. He knew his job would soon end.
Secretly he counted on her selling one of her books although he never told her. He hoped she could help make the ends meet or at least replace the money they spent on her writing courses. He trusted her, but now second-guessed his decision.
He tried to maintain his composure while the anger boiled in his belly, “Then explain it to me,” he said surprised by the amount of compassion in his voice.
Julie sighed and tried to explain.
Then, the floodgates opened and emotion spilled out and down her face. She collapsed over the desk clinging to the laptop like a life raft. “Because, I’m just not good enough,” she whispered through sobbing breath.
“Is that what this is all about? You don’t think you’re good enough?” He thought that maybe she had lost interest. It wouldn’t be the first time. However, this was different.
His heart cracked open and he understood. “Julie,” he said, turning off the Television and rising from the recliner to stand next to her slumping pile of sadness, “You are much better than you think.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed feeling the tension residing in her neck. How long had this plagued her? Why didn’t he see it before?
Preoccupied with his job and the prospect of losing it, he hadn’t paid much attention to her. Obviously, it affected her all along.
Julie raised her head, “I’m not good enough and I don’t have anything to write about anyway.”
She grabbed the files and the neatly stacked manuscript on the corner of her desk, flinging the papers across the room. They watched the pages rain down on the carpet at their feet.
“No one wants to read this crap. The only way to make money is to write news articles and nonfiction. I’m not an expert at anything. What do I have to write about?”
Her sobs rose, forcing her head back to the desk. Her arms clutched the laptop again and her unmanaged hair buried her face. The scene was surreal, as if she were trying to hide inside the safety of her electronic world.
Compassion grew in Nathans voice. He suddenly realized she knew.
“But you don’t have to support us. I never asked you to do that.” He hadn’t hid the secret well and with the big announcement on TV the secret was out, he would be losing his job soon.
Julie raised her head and wiping the wet grief from atop the computer asked, “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know sweetie. But you let me worry about that,” Nathan said stoking her hair with one hand and squeezed her wedding ring and finger with the other twisting her ring slowly as he always did.
Julie pressed her face firmly against his stomach, “I’m sorry I failed you,” she said.
“You haven’t failed me. You have never failed me,” Nathan said with a smile. “Look at the bright side. We won’t be paying taxes for a while!”
He felt a small chuckle rise through her back pulling back from her death grip he looked down at the paper littered across the floor. “Now let’s pick up this mess. Boy I hope you numbered all these pages.”
Julie suddenly realized they were going to be okay and tears made way for laughter as she squeezed Nathan so hard he could barely breathe. That’s when the idea occurred. She would chronicle the death of the space program and the impact it would have on her life, her friends and her community.
“I could write about it couldn’t I,” she asked. “Posey said it may only be 6000 jobs lost at the Kennedy Space Center, but the true number was 30,000 more at the community level.”
“That’s true. Brevard County is going to get hit real hard. There will be many people, just like us, out of work and losing their homes,” Nathan said stopping to collect the pile of paper on the floor. “We will have to leave the area if I’m going to find work.”
A world of possibilities sat before her to document the long-term effects on the local economy. All for a partially funded train track between two metropolitan tourist areas for tourist who can’t afford to take a vacation anymore. Fifty years of medical and technological advancement spurred by the space program – replaced by a train for no one. She laughed at the irony of it all.
“You have to let me stay long enough to write about it,” she pleaded. “Promise me we will stay for a little while.”
“We’ll see. I can’t promise. I’m not going to let you stay if it is not safe. Crime is going to rise through the roof and I won’t put you in that situation for the sake of a story.”
Julie understood and pressed the issue no further. But suddenly found she had much to write about that only someone living the horror could do justice in telling.
She would tell the stories of the average space workers, once middle class taxpayers who would soon be the new wave of social program benefactors. They were soon to be unemployed, uninsured and unwillingly forced to ride the train of social and economic reform.
And if a few of their friends were lucky enough to get a job building that 60 minute express train from Tampa to Orlando over on the other side of the state, she would document their journey and their struggle to adjust from middle class to laborers.
Yes, Julie found something to write about and she opened her laptop recording and writing her ideas until dawn. As the sun rose, she opened a new work document and started to write tomorrow’s headline…
Billions in space funding leaves the U.S. for Russia—The mouse gets a ride to the gardens.
Julie smiled. She found her voice.
It is my belief the most important element in any writing is the author’s passion for the underlying theme.
To write a believable story the author must feel strongly about the theme. I believe that is where a writer will find their unique narrative voice. Most writers will agree that narrative voice can make or break a story no matter how well constructed.
Thinking in terms of theme can be somewhat elusive when writing fiction. Why? Because theme is not presented directly as in an essay; rather it’s shown through the characters and their actions. Theme itself is a hidden construct behind the novel.
Nevertheless, without theme, there is no bridge to build the arc of your story. I know when I strike a chord – some emotion or condition of life that I am passionate about – I write my best and most organized work. Writing becomes a bit simpler.
So how do you ignite that passion and discover those universal truths you hold so dearly in your heart?
Since writing is mostly subconscious, spend your freewriting and planning time focusing on the most memorable moments of your life–good and bad. Allow your mind to wander through the scene and discover why those moments are so important.
Here are a few examples:
Bring to the surface your beliefs, your gut instincts, and the causes for which you are willing to fight to the end. Let your protagonist become that hero. When you find that passion, your story can’t possibly fall flat. The honesty of the authors voice will shine through the character and create a believable story.
Here’s my challenge: Come up with as many themes as you can that you are passionate about. Remember theme is simple and usually identified by a cliche’ such as those mentioned above. Feel free to share your discoveries in the comments.
