From the Fiction Desk

Have you ever written a story and somehow all the characters sound like you? I know I have . . .more often than I care to admit. It is easy to do. We know our responses and our thought processes better than we know anyone else’s, so when our character may be facing some deadly trap or trying to seduce someone it is easy to fall back on our own responses as if we were the character. This might work for a character, but if you attempt it with an entire cast of characters the story will be boring and sound like everyone is a clone of everyone else.

A way to avoid this is to look to the science of psychology. My two theories of preference to use is Myers-Briggs model and Jung’s archetypes. Note: I said archetype, not stereotype. They are two different animals and stereotypes make for boring characters.

By understanding and combining the two theories, characters can be made interesting and understandable to any reader. In my next several entries, I will explore the combining of these ideas. I am not the first nor will I be the last to do this and I will provide references for the reader to review and explore on their own.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.

Sit around a campfire or the lunchroom of any place or the proverbial water cooler and you hear hundreds of stories in the course of a day. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone wants other people to hear it. How is this any different than writing a story? The answer is multifaceted, and the first important aspect is character growth. Many of the stories told in casual conversation are antidotal and often follows a typical pattern. A character does something, goes through some steps or overcomes an obstacle and then comes the conclusion that the event is over or to be continued at the next lunch, break, or campfire. Many times it is about children or parents, spouses or significant others—even pets may appear prominently. Would such stories make good fiction?

Many non-writers or want to be writers would answer yes. However, often the answer is no as they are told. They lack the character development that occurs in the fictional or non-fictional story. Joey sliding down a hill of snow and barely missing a tree, falling face first in the snow may be funny, but unless there was something Joey had to overcome, learn from, or somehow change things then the story dies at the table. It may have gotten a laugh from a friend or coworker, but the seed of the story dies with the end of the laughter. It did not change the character or have an impact on the listener of the story.

What if Joey had a fear of crashing into that tree? What if he had seen a friend who was “hotdoging” and had crashed into that same tree and was badly injured or killed? What if Joey was now being teased for not wanting to go sledding down the hill because of the tree? What if that teasing was from a parent who wanted Joey to overcome his fear? Or what if the parent didn’t know the reason for Joey’s fear? The asking of these questions and the exploration of them as Joey mounts his sled (after all, why is he even have on at the top of the hill if he is so afraid?) and as he sleds down the hill, watching as the tree looms in his path---why did he end up in the snow face first—all turn into the inner struggle of the character and the change or decision to avoid change like the rapidly approaching tree creates the true story that will sit with the listener or reader. This is what takes a common place event and turns it into a work of art under the hands of the storyteller.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.

I am an accidental poet. I learned how to write poetry as part of the normal all encompassing English classes in grade and high school and by paying attention to poets and song writers. When I was young, I didn’t take my poetry seriously. It was not until I was prodded and poked by some fellow writers to give it the attention it deserves. Because of this background, maybe I didn’t learn the mistakes that I hear at some open mics around St. Louis. Poetry, no matter its cause—no matter its structure—should be like a story in the sense of a theme and painting a portrait of an image or an emotion that has an opening, a middle, and a closing.

I do not know what is taught in colleges or universities about poetry, but I hear the mistakes mostly from “angry poets” who are still in school or have just graduated. Thankfully this is not the case with all poets or all such angry poets in the same boat. I have heard some of the most beautiful poetry from those who are still in high school and college whose pictures or emotions rival the great masters. I will also acknowledge that what we learn from a lesson or a class is solely the response of the learner more than the material that is taught.

What I hear that falls flat is the “shout at the world and let the words just flow, regardless if there is a connection between lines and stanzas.” These poems are often quickly forgotten as noise or are discussed as “can you believe that was poetry” type remarks. The image does not last, except as an irritation that fades quickly in time. The theme that the poet has poured their heart into dies stillborn in the listeners mind. While the good poet takes time to craft the stanzas and the lines to form the image. They keep the poem focused and express the theme powerfully without the shouting angrily at the world on because the world exists. The image that is painted sticks with the reader/listener as the poem ends and the poet moves on to another piece. It is talked about over coffee or other drinks the next day and the idea behind it is examined.

This blog entry may sound like I am setting myself up as an expert. I am no such thing. I am an accidental poet who listens and reads and discusses with the general public as well as fellow writers as to what works and why. I apply my fiction writing style to my poems, keeping the poem composed like a scene or a flash of an image. Not everything I write would be considered good, nor pleasing to the reader/listener. It is from my experiences and from those who sit and listen to the poems that are heard that I glean my stance that poetry and fiction writing have much in common that can be missed or forgotten by the anxious poet who wants to jump up to the mic.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.