There is a reason why this post is out slightly before
the midpoint of the month. The reason is directly related to the first item of
this newsletter:
1)
New
Short Story Published By Perihelion
If you’re a new reader, extending your curiosity beyond
that story and onto its author, that is myself, welcome! I hope you enjoyed “Natural
Eyes”—it was one of my favorite stories to conceptualize and construct. I’ve
got some more stuff under “Published Works” if you’re interested; a lot of those stories are shorter (and
often stranger) than the one you just read, so breezing through my online
anthology there shouldn’t take too long. Keep an eye out for more stories—and books,
hopefully—as my writing progresses!
If you’re one of my loyal blog readers who hasn’t read
the story as of yet…you need to get caught up on some homework. My latest story
should be online now at Perihelion. That link will take you
to the publication’s website, but you might have to poke around a bit to find the
actual story; as I’m writing this, Perihelion’s
latest update hasn’t been published yet. Rest assured, there will be a direct
link on the “Works Published” page very soon.
Alright, next item of business…
2)
Fellow
Writer’s Blog
A writer with whom I am acquainted has a blog of her
own, and I have shamefully neglected to mention its existence here until…now. Quills and Needles is produced by a
mysterious writer who never really mentions herself by name—so I shall refrain
from doing so here—and, in the blog, reviews books, writing things, and facets
of life in general, with bouts of blogger’s block. Basically what I do here, only better.
How well do I know this writer? She was one of the
contributors in the “Story of a Writing Prompt”; I forget if she’s the top hat person or the
$200,000 check person.
3)
All
Hail The Glow Cloud
So it’s Lent, and I’ve decided that I need a break from
time-and-laptop-burning computer games. On a recommendation from my girlfriend,
I’ve found something to listen to while I invent new ways of wasting time: the
YouTube series “Welcome to Nightvale”. What is “Welcome to Nightvale” exactly? Best I can
describe it, it’s a hopefully fictional radio channel for the bizarre little
town of Nightvale, reporting news and other mystical inexplicable happenings in
a sonorous voice. The stories it communicates are even stranger than the ideas
that I invent, or even the fact that I have a girlfriend. I highly recommend
checking it out, but for your own sake, you won’t want to be in a dark and
creepy place when you listen to it. Barring interdimensional malfunctions, the
episodes take about 20 minutes apiece.
4)
A
Writing Reflection
One of the college classes that I’m taking this year is
a course in creative writing technique; that writer friend from item #2 can
probably vouch for me. In a reading for that class, namely a section of the
book Method and Madness by Alice
LaPlante, the author advises that…
“Most of the time, you
should use the word ‘said.’ If you can, drop it. But don’t worry about it being
repetitive, as it is so much a part of fiction that it is virtually invisible.
Do not—repeat, do not—feel you need to use substitutes like…[list of substitute
words]”
By my reckoning, this is horrible advice. I’ve read a
few stories where the only quotational indicator (aside from the quotation
marks) was the word “said.” As a result, the scene feels pretty dry, like the
speaker’s expression and posture is hidden by a whiteboard with some un-nuanced
monologue upon it. Like a separate character in its own right, I like to know
what that quotation is trying to do. Is it an idle mention? A pointed remark? Does
it cut through the air? Is a variant of “said” even required—does the speaker’s
posture say it all (“Bert leaned up against the truck, snorting a cloud of
vapor. “Well, I think blah blah blah…”)?
Before you all start pointing out how many times I use
the word said in my own stories—right
now I’m too scared to go look for myself—I don’t mean to condemn all uses of “said.” The character had
better have a lot of color around him before you even consider using that word,
though; a decent amount of description, and “said” may even make the transition
to dialogue easier. If your story sounds like “Bert-said-and-then-Bob-said-and-then-Bert-said-and-then-Utnapishtim-said…”,
I’m just saying, you might need to demonstrate what sets their tones apart.
Tune in next time, when I shall have to come to the
defense of adverbs in writing. Carefully, tastefully, tactically, usefully, and
brilliantly placed, of course.
