Looking for Meaning in Fiction Today

Dear readers and writers,

This week, I read an essay in an old magazine about short stories today.  It came to the conclusion that writers are constructing their stories with intellectual dimensions that make it fascinating to read them, but without the heart and deep meaning that used to be found in stories. The author thought it a loss, and said that probably the stories won't prove as memorable to the readers.

 I thought about the novels and short stories that we read in my Theories of Fiction class last semester, and what I remembered best was--Tobias Wolfe.  Not exactly contemporary.  Somewhat minimalist but with loads of feeling buried just beneath the surface.  Two of the class members twisted the professor's arm to get permission to use stories by Wolfe.  He had wanted only very contemporary work at first, but he couldn't turn down these stories.  I'm glad.  Each of them made an indelible impression on me.  I chose to present a story by Amy Hempel called "The Afterlife."  It was highly minimalist, but there was a ton of feeling, buried a bit deeper than in the Wolfe stories but there, I thought.  Some agreed with me about the Hempel story, some did not.  But probably most of the class would view the two Wolfe stories as highlights of the course.  So meaning still means something important to the rising writers of the next generation, I'm pleased to find. What do you think?

cheers,
Laura

Thanks to Mark Coggins and Creative Commons/Wikipedia for the photograph of Tobias Wolfe.

Robert Mezey Interview on Poetry International

Hi readers and writers,

Robert Mezey kindly took time out from his schedule to do an interview with me for my internship at Poetry International.  It has just been posted online and you can read it here (click or go to this address): http://pionline.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/an-interview-with-robert-mezey/

In addition to writing poetry and collecting the poems of major figures such as Thomas Hardy, Robert Mezey, along with his colleague in English and Comp Lit at Pomona College, Richard Barnes, translated Borges' poetry.  Some of the interview is about how he thinks about translation of poems.  It's very thought-provoking! It might be that the translator has to write a whole new poem.

Also, my friend Vicki selected some interesting quotations about Robert Mezey by famous authors.  Take a look, enjoy!

cheers,
Laura

Mayborn Conference for Nonfiction Writers

Hi readers and writers,
I just got on the mailing list for an interesting conference on nonfiction writing.  One of the organizers sent this handy summary so I thought I'd post it here for those looking for a good conference this summer.  Cheers, Laura

George Getschow

Got an essay or book manuscript gathering dust in your dresser drawer? Are you looking to find a publisher? Then come to the nationally-acclaimed Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. Now in its eighth year, the Mayborn Conference will explore the myriad ways in which storytellers crisscross the murky terrain between fiction, nonfiction and other genres. Speakers include Luis Alberto Urrea, a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist who has been published extensively in all genres, including poetry; Richard Rhodes, the Pulitizer Prize-winning author and editor of 26 works of fiction, history, biography and memoir; Isabel Wilkerson, the first black woman in the history of American journalism to win a Pulitzer Prize; Debby Applegate, a Pulitzer Prize winning biographer; Tom Junod, Writer-At-Large for Esquire; Jeanne Marie Laskas, a bestselling nonfiction author and journalist whose narratives in GQ, Esquire and other magazines capture the voice of her subjects more adroitly than a ventriloquist; Alisa Valdes, a former staff writer for the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times, who has become a bestselling novelist; Mark Sundeen, one of America’s most innovative writers of literary nonfiction, and many more nationally acclaimed storytellers.

The conference, held July 20-22 (Friday through Sunday) in Grapevine, TX, sponsors a national writing competition that awards $15,000 in cash prizes and publication in its award winning literary journal, “Ten Spurs,” for the best essays and reported narratives submitted to the conference. It also offers major cash awards for the three best book manuscripts submitted to the conference. The top book manuscript selected by jurists earns a publishing contract.

Deadline for submitting your book manuscripts, reported narratives and essays is June 18. Twenty people are selected for the manuscript workshops and 50 people are selected for the essay and reported narrative workshops. All workshops are conducted on Thursday, July 19, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. before the offical start of the conference on Friday.

For more information and to register, go to: http://journalism.unt.edu/maybornconference

Friday Fictioneers: Above the Clouds

Dear readers and writers:

I have caught the Friday Fictioneers bug.  Check out Madison Woods' blog and give it a try!  Today (Weds) she posted the picture below.  I've posted my 100 word response below the photo.  Cheers, Laura

“I don’t trust Brin.  Someone is after this list of our supporters,” said Miriam, scowling, oblivious to the cloudscape outside the blimp's windows.

“Calm yourself, enjoy the quiet up here,” growled Wulfram IV.  “We have enough problems without arguing. We need Brin with us, not with Rouxlan.” But he glanced uneasily at Cosima’s cast.  Gianni had been too badly burned destroying the first list to come along.

“She’s right, though,” said Alex, “Brin told someone.  It’s dangerous to try getting the list to him again.  I say, forget Brin.  He only has a small holding.”

There were nods all around, but everyone looked worried. There was a voice from the intercom.  "Pilot speaking.  Look down at 2 o'clock, armed troops on the march."   

Friday Fictioneers: Couriers in the High Peaks

Here's my 100 word response to the Friday Fictioneers photo of the week, Couriers in the High Peaks:

Into the icy wind, Gianna and I had to go.  We were almost out of food, and the snow had softened enough that we could pick our way through the scowling mountain peaks.  If we ran short of water we could melt snow, but so far it was no problem.  We bundled ourselves into our black hoodies, scoured the cave for tidbits, made sure we had the packet, started off when it was barely light.  Moving fast over the dark slopes warmed us up.  After we passed the dormant volcano, Gianna bent over a stream.  “Look, Cosima, fish!  We can eat!” she said. 

Check out Madison Woods' blog at the link above fmi.  Here is the photo we were responding to:

Small Writing vs. Big Writing

Hi readers and writers,

I need to work on a biography that is almost finished and a novel that is about 1/3 done, the latter being a requirement for my MFA program, due by next May in its entirety.  So why is it that my mind skips away to rewriting a travel essay so I can submit it to a contest, polishing up a story about a CO who worked in an insane asylum during WW II to submit to another contest, reformatting a third story to submit for a June 1 deadline?  These contests are fine, but they're just putting off what I really need to do.

Write these books.  Concentrate.  I put my tailbone to the chair and I open the computer and then, my mind plays hooky.  I am getting tired of it, but still, day after day, I don't get down to the jobs I really need to do.

Anyone out there faced this problem and found some great solutions you'd like to share?  I bet I'm not the only one who procrastinates by "pretending" to write, working on the non-urgent jobs and avoiding the important ones.  How can I point my errant brain to what I need it to work on?  My problem is, any time I get too logical, I can no longer write (or I go into science-writing-style, using passive, chronological, logical, simplified, direct, no dialog, no "i").  But this situation is very stressful.  I'd love to get some good, constructive suggestions!

cheers,
Laura

Vinegar and Salt

Hi readers and writers,

When I write my first drafts, definitely to Anne Lamott's prescribed degree of non-excellence, I often reread them and wonder, "Where's the beef?"  The thing I tend to leave out is the tension.  One of my friends from many years ago once made a dish called Slum Gullion, essentially Beef Stroganoff with burger substituted for the steak.  She forgot the vinegar and salt, and it was so bland we had decided never to use the recipe again until she reread it and realized what she had left out: the taste, the subtle items that make you want more so you can figure it out.  My first drafts can be that way.  The bones of the story are there, but the lines between them are all slack and there's nothing urgent about how things are connected.  Revision is where I actually put together the motivation, the tension, the stress and write them into the story.

Adding tension sounds like there's no way it could work.  Not true, though.  It's implied there already, but in the written part, it's not featured.  I just need to bring it out, show the dialog with subtext and conflicting desires, let the characters try to move the story towards their individual dreams.  I often cut out text that is over-the-top descriptive or contains information in excess and replace it with these elements that ratchet up the stakes for the characters.

What are your revision strategies?  Do you need to add tension, or do you concentrate on the beauty of the sentences, or do you add subplots?

cheers,
Laura
Image from Creative Commons/Wikipedia with thanks.