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Yeah, I know it's all academic.... splices of fiction to come, I promise!

Flash fiction

q: How does the length change your reading experience?

q: How can I adapt to this length?

Creating a short piece of fiction can be a very challenging task.  The writer has to work quickly to grab the reader’s attention and select words and details efficiently enough to create movement, get the point across and resolved within a very short span.  There is less time in which to develop characters, and to pull the reader into the meat of the story.  Frequently, so many details are left out that the reader can be confused or left in a state of suspense, which might not necessarily be a bad thing if this outcome is intended.  For instance, in The Father, the reader is thrust into a group of women chattering about the resemblance of a newborn.  The characters are named, but the references are vague and confusing, and finally, as mention is made to the father, we realize he is without his own character.  The overall effect places the reader in the midst of the confusion, not being able to really make out what is happening between the enthusiasm of the relatives and the hesitation of the mother.  Perhaps in this way, we are to identify with the discomfort of the father, listening silently from another room.  Similarly, in Pumpkins, the writer jerks the reader on an impact journey of one event through four seemingly separate characters’ lives.  None of the scenarios are actually ever resolved, which culminate in the final character’s realization that some problems will never see closure.  

To write a short story, I would start by fleshing out an idea, brainstorming plot patterns, figuring out what might motivate a character, and doing the initial writing without consideration of length.  A lot of work can be done trimming out unnecessary parts and rewriting after the concepts are complete.  I think that even if the intended result is to expose the reader to an incomplete concept, the writer should still know the back-story.  This will allow the narrative to be written in such a way that the reader doesn’t get distracted by any unintended confusion.  Short fiction also allows for a very detailed account of a singular moment in time.

Topic 2: Discuss Interior Monologue and Subjective Narrative

Q: What does each point of view do for the writer, or allow the writer to do?

Q: How would you use each point of view?

1. As illustrated by the piece “I stand here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen, the interior monologue allows the writer to develop the internal context of the character.  This particular example illustrates how stream of consciousness style narrative can convey the psychology that defines the mother through her analysis of the daughter.  Subject narration, on the other hand, allows the reader to fill in the reactive details.  In the short story “Why, you reckon?” by Langston Hughes, the reader is only provided enough information about the narrative voice to make association.  By leaving out most of the dialogue and telling the story from an observer’s perspective, Hughes leaves just enough to allow the reader to identify themselves within the story, as though they are standing in the room watching the events unfold in person.

2. Each point of view is useful for carving out a very different role for the reader.  For instance, in the recounting of an everyday event (ie daily train commute) can be transformed from banal to fascinating by revealing the thoughts of a neurotic office worker, or by narrating little noticed details of a hidden ordeal seen by a quiet onlooker.  It would be interesting to lay out a plot using both tools to convey the duality of a situation, or, perhaps, even the duality of one person (but, of course, a most suspenseful twist like that would not be revealed until the end).

Topic 1: Identity. Who am I? What is my most fulfilling writing experience?

Define: Identity

Sameness of essential or generic character in different instances.

-Merriam-Webster.com

Define: Identity (SPEC)

Facts

Federal: Micaela Beth Haluko alias Micaela Beth Huebl. Female. b. September 10, 1979. Denver, Colorado. d.     Taxpayer ###-##-####. Married. Registered Voter Unaffiliated. Organ Donor. Corporate: Micaela B Haluko. SAMBH EID ####. Competitive Intelligence Coordinator. Assistant Supervisor - Clearing Operations. Series 6 and 63 certified. Outstanding rank. File terminated. Student: Micaela B Haluko. Mhuebl1. 900######. GPA 3.87. Industrial Design - BS. Image: Micaela Haluko. 5’6” 140 lbs. Hair, blonde, purple, green, pink, orange, blue. Eyes, Hazel, when happy... Cyber: Mhaluko. Mbhaluko. MVB19. Chaosfemme. at juno. at hotmail. at ricochet. at gmail. on google. on myspace. on facebook. on tumblr. on pandora. on blogspot. in the streets.

Define: Identity (REV)

We are facts. We are workers. Tax Payers. Sellers. Buyers. Consumers. Students. Teachers. Directors. Administrators. Brands. Free. Slaves. Family. Gender. Sex. Lovers. Watchers. We are watchers. We are watched. I am watched. I am seen. I see. I have eyes. I have hands. Legs. Limbs. Body. I am here. Mind. Soul. I am here, and I live. Music. Words. Pictures. Fare. I create. I publish. I create. I conceal. I create. I thrive. I create... with passion. I have passion. I am passion. Beyond facts. I am. Beyond facts. I live. Beyond Facts. I am. I am. I am. I: Micaela. girl. human.

going forward

I am taking a creative writing course that requires weekly responses to specific topics.  I will post them here.  Feel free to comment or post your own response to the same topics.

One-minute party

(in response to one-minute writer: You're going to create a new political party. Name it, and come up with a slogan to describe what the party stands for.)

Parties are supposed to be fun… the idea of politics seems to fly in exactly the opposite direction.  I would hesitate to come up with any rules or obligations, hesitate to make any promises (see resolution), because the nature of politics is to change in accordance to whatever will win you power.  I suppose that could be fun, if you are power-hungry.

Today's writing prompt: Resolution

(response to The One-Minute Writer)

Someone asked me the other night what my plans for a new years’ resolution were.  My answer was simple:  “I don’t make resolutions”.  For some reason, they didn’t ask why.  My only guess is because it’s a fairly predictable answer for me, the contrarian.  But the true reason is that resolution is shorthand for “lame promise that will inevitably be broken”

Getting started

Not sure why I feel the need to introduce my blogs, but I do... and will.... always.  For some reason, I feel like most of my efforts to explain myself need explanation.  These are frequent musings (I hesitate to say daily), typically taking on the form of response to a writing prompt.  Enjoy.  Or don't.