NARRATION AS A FICTION-WRITING MODE
Category: Writing and Poetry

Narration in written fiction today has a different role than it has played in the past. As a fiction-writing mode, narration has a much smaller part—and a shrinking one, at that.

As do so many words in the English language, narration has more than one meaning. In its broadest context, narration encompasses all written fiction. More narrowly, narration is the fiction-writing mode whereby the narrator communicates directly to the reader.

Along with exposition, argumentation, and description, narration (broadly defined) is one of four rhetorical modes of discourse. In the context of rhetorical modes, the purpose of narration is to tell a story or to narrate an event or series of events. Narrative may exist in a variety of forms: biographies, anecdotes, short stories, novels. In this context, all written fiction can be viewed as narration. Other than as a means of gaining wide perspective, this definition of narration is of limited value to fiction writers.

Some writing experts describe fiction as having two modes: dialogue and narrative. Such a broad view of narrative may be technically correct, but it ignores the opportunities and challenges presented by more specific fiction-writing modes.

Narrowly defined, narration is the fiction-writing mode whereby the narrator is communicating directly to the reader. But if the broad definition of narration includes all written fiction, and the narrow definition is limited merely to that which is directly communicated to the reader, then what comprises the rest of written fiction? The remainder of written fiction would be any of the other fiction-writing modes. Together with narration, there are eleven fiction-writing modes.

(Arranged in order of the anagram D-A-N-C-E S-I-S-T-E-R):

An appreciation of narration, as a fiction-writing mode, requires an understanding of the issues involved:

CHOICE OF NARRATOR

One of the most important decisions a fiction writer makes is the choice of narrator. According to Orson Scott Card, in Character & Viewpoint, "The story always has a narrator." Instead of the audience seeing events directly (as in plays and films), the story is unavoidably filtered through the perceptions of a narrator.

To understand the role of the narrator in written fiction, the writer must keep four mindsets in perspective.

An author's choice of narrator comes down to three alternatives:

Each is a valid choice for narrator, but few choices made by an author have more impact on how the reader will perceive the story and react to it.

POINT OF VIEW

Once the author has decided who will tell the story (the author himself, a character, or some assumed persona), then he must decide from whose viewpoint the story will be told. The choices are:

This may seem redundant, but:

Point of view is sometimes described from the perspective of a movie camera, but a better analogy is the media coverage of a professional football game.

PERSON

Regardless of whom the author selects to be the narrator, the story may be told in one of three persons, singular or plural:

Novels are rarely told in second person or plural, but an Internet search reveals plenty of examples in short fiction. For novel-length fiction, the choice is usually either first-person singular and third-person singular.

TENSE

The author also has three basic choices for tense:

As described by Orson Scott Card, in Character & Viewpoint, some writers have experimented with stories using subjective, superlative, or imperative tenses. An Internet search reveals examples of fiction written in the present and future tenses, but the vast majority of novels are written in past tense.

OBTRUSIVENESS

Obtrusiveness is a measure of how noticeable the narrator is. Very noticeable narrators are described as obtrusive, while barely noticeable narrators are described as unobtrusive.

The obtrusiveness of narrators may vary from story to story, even stories written by the same author. Obtrusiveness may also vary from one part of a story to another part of the same story.

Stories narrated by a character have an obtrusive narrator (the character, narrating in first person). Stories narrated by the author or by an assumed persona may range from very obtrusive to so unnoticeable there appears to be no narrator at all.

TONE

Through the narrator flows a story's tone, its mood. According to Nancy Kress, in Writer's Digest, July 2003, "A very general definition of tone is 'the way a story feels.'"

Tone, explains Kress, can range from literary (with its attention to diction, descriptive detail, slower pace, and loftiness) to straight forward (which is designed to tell the story with a faster pace, and without distractions).

Within the broad spectrum of tone are a multitude of attitudes which may be projected into the story through the narrator: playfulness, absurdity, mockery, humor, grittiness, jadedness, romance, lust, mystery, irony, satire, indignation, irreverence, dreaminess, seriousness, nostalgia, cynicism, horror. "This attitude," as stated by Kress, "is embodied in diction, pace, detail, characterization—almost everything on the page."

RELIABILITY

Usually the reader may rely upon the narrator to tell the truth, at least the truth as the narrator perceives it. But sometimes an author toys with the reader and causes the narrator to misstate the events or some perception of the story's truth. As observed by Les Edgerton, in Hooked, ". . . unreliable narrators almost always carry the promise of at least some fun (for the reader) in the story. It's just plain fun to figure out the truth of a character from the clues the author provides." And according to Orson Scott Card, in Characters & Viewpoint, "The use of an unreliable narrator can add a delicious element of uncertainty to a story . . . ."

DISGUISED NARRATION

Even though all written fiction is narrated and thus has a narrator, some stories, including entire novels, have no apparent narrator. The author has chosen to camouphlage narration, to make the narrator so unobtrusive that the narrator never addresses the reader directly. Instead of direct address, the author presents the entire story through a viewpoint character, converting direct narration to other fiction-writing modes: description, action, conversation, exposition, summarization, introspection, sensation, transition, emotion, or recollection.

DISTANCE

Also referred to as narrative distance, intimacy, or penetration, distance exists in three dimensions: time, space, and emotional intimacy. Distance comes into play in five areas:

As explained by Orson Scott Card, "The narrator, as a participant in the events, is telling about what happens in the past. He is looking backward. He is distant in time from the story itself."

The more an author attempts to self-narrate, the less distance there exists between the author and the narrator. The more an author narrates through a character or an assumed persona, the more distance between the author and the narrator.

Depending upon the technique and attitude used by the author, an obtrusive narrator may appear anywhere on a continuum from quite remote to downright chummy with the reader. On the other extreme, a very unobtrusive narrator may be virtually unnoticeable to the reader.

Distance between narrator and character may seem as pronounced as between a radio announcer in a broadcast booth and the players on the football field. Or it might be as close as a character on the field narrating the story with a microphone and helmet camera.

Distance between the reader and the character may be a far as a spectator watching the character from the nosebleed section of the stadium, or so close that the reader feels he has been transplanted into the body and mind of the character.

The diminishing role of direct narration is consistent with trends over the last two hundred years. Donald Maas, in Writing the Breakout Novel, notes that since the invention of the novel it has been transformed by a progressive narrowing of point of view: from the once-essential author's voice, to omniscient narration, to objective narration, to first- and third-person narration, and most recently to close third-person narration.

Narration as a rhetorical mode may include all written fiction, but as a fiction-writing mode in modern storytelling, it plays a shrinking role.

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Index to Articles and Reviews about Fiction-Writing
Category: Writing and Poetry

The more I learn about writing fiction, the more I realize how complicated and challenging it can be to tell an interesting story. A quote from Ernest Hemingway gives me some comfort, "We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." 

Most of what I've learned about writing has been by studying how-to books about fiction. I'm grateful to authors who have taken time to study the craft and then share their knowledge through fiction-writing seminars, articles, and books. I've reviewed many of the books I have studied over the years, and I've posted the reviews on my blog and at Helium.com.

I've noticed that, although most fiction-writing books offer useful insight into the craft, no one book has all the answers. Some books offer advice that conflicts with recommendations in others, and some advice is more confusing than helpful. In an effort to help others better understand the craft of fiction-writing, I've written a series of articles on the subject of fiction-writing and have posted them on my blog and at Helium.com.

Categories include:


Young-adult fiction

Fundamentals of fiction

Fiction-writing: a learning process

Reviews of books about writing fiction

To view a list of my articles and book reviews, see the "For Writers" page of my website: www.mikeklaassen.com/wst_page14.html

Happy Writing,

Mike Klaassen
     
 

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FICTION-WRITING: How to Portray Your Character’s Perception of the Senses
Category: Writing and Poetry

Sensation is the fiction-writing mode for portraying a character's perception of the senses. Authors are often encouraged to incorporate the five (or maybe even six) senses into their stories. Despite all the emphasis on utilizing the senses, sensation is not widely recognized as a distinct fiction-writing mode. Unfortunately, failure to treat sensation as a fiction-writing mode:

Some writing coaches lump thinking, emotion, and sensation into one category. Certainly, each of these is linked to the mind of the character, but thinking, emotion, and sensation are also quite different, in real life and in fiction. Given their importance and the differences in how they are conveyed, each warrants its own analysis and treatment.

Sometimes sensation is included in broader categories, such as narration, description, or summarization. Of course, sensation may be considered a subset of each of these writing modes under their broadest definitions. But lumping sensation into such wide topics does little to clarify its use; in fact, it adds to the confusion.

Fiction writers aren't limited to sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. In Description & Setting, Ron Rozelle describes a sixth sense—where a character suspects something, or senses that something is wrong, as in an intuition or a premonition.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION. Sensation contributes to each of the five fundamental elements of fiction: character, plot, setting, theme, and style. The most obvious role of sensation is in setting. According to Jessica Page Morrell in Between the Lines, "Writers create intricate settings because readers rely on visual and sensory references . . . . You breathe life into fiction by translating the senses onto the page, producing stories rooted in the physical world . . . that creates a tapestry, a galaxy of interwoven sensory ingredients." Also, as characters move about within the story, "using sensory clues in the new locale, especially sights and smells, will help readers adjust as they move . . . into new territory."

Regarding plot, sensation provides the vivid detail that helps bring action to life, creating verisimilitude. Morrell describes it as a "sensory surround," which when "coupled with drama tugs the reader into [the] story and forces him to keep reading." The old adage "Show, don't tell" means that you ". . . place [the reader] in the midst of the experience with unfolding action." "Showing requires that the writing be solid, not abstract, and this means that at least one of the senses must be involved to show a specific reality."

Sensation can also be a powerful tool for character development, especially regarding a character's reaction to particular sensations. In fact, sensation may directly stimulate an emotional response. For example, the sight of a puppy may generate a feeling of happiness, while the sight of a maggot or the touch of a spider may stimulate fear or revulsion. Sensation can encourage recollection, which may be useful as a trigger in transitioning to backstory for character development or for stimulating emotion indirectly.

Likewise, a character's reaction to sensations may provide a common thread for the development of one or more of a story's themes. And, of course, how and when sensation is utilized throughout a story and the skill with which sensation is presented are important aspects of an author's unique writing style.

CONVEYING SENSATION. According to Ron Rozelle, "The sensation of what something feels like is used to describe everything from sensual pleasure to pain and torture. It's a wide range, and your readers have actually experienced only some of those feelings. So your job is to either make them recall exactly what it feels like when something occurs in your story or, if they haven't experienced it, what it would feel like if they did."

How do fiction-writers do that? A quick review of dictionary definitions of sensation reveals a mixed bag of terms and phrases such as consciousness, stimulation of the body, mental functioning, bodily feeling, reaction, and perception. Not surprisingly then, the mechanics of effectively conveying sensation are also multifaceted. The variables include:

VERBS OF SENSATION. The basic verbs of sensation are see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. For any particular passage involving a character's perception of the senses, fiction-writers face the choice of whether or not to actually utilize the applicable verb of sensation.

Example using verbs of sensation (in italics):

As explained by Evan Marshall, in The Marshall Plan for Getting Published, "Though it's desirable to make use of your character's senses in your writing, it's rarely necessary to use the actual verbs of perception such as saw, heard, and smelled. Ironically, these words distance the reader from your viewpoint character because they remind the reader that he is not actually living the story through the character." In lieu of using the verbs of sensation, Marshall recommends that authors simply describe the sensation.

Example without verbs of sensation:

ACTION VERBS. Distinct from the verbs of sensation are the action verbs needed to either:

For example:

Example where action verbs (in italics) set the character up to experience the sensation:

If the basic verbs of sensation are see, hear, feel, smell, and taste, then the plain-vanilla action verbs of sensation are look, listen, touch, sniff, and eat. For each of the action verbs of sensation there are synonyms. The number of synonyms available depends upon the sense being employed. For example, Stephen Glazier's Word Menu software lists dozens of verbs of motion and dozens of verbs of sight, but none for hearing, touch, taste, or smell. Synonyms for look include observe, study, gaze, glance, peek, and many more. For touch there are caress, finger, handle, and so on. For taste, there are various synonyms for eat, including nibble, chew, lick, bite, chomp. The usable synonyms for listen and sniff are pretty limited: hearken? inhale?

Whether or not action verbs are needed or desirable to help the character experience the sensation depends on the situation. And sometimes action verbs are useful for other reasons, such as for dramatic effect, rhythm, or pacing.

MODIFIERS. As a fiction-writing mode, sensation is particularly vulnerable to the overuse of modifiers. Adjectives and adverbs tend to dilute the effectiveness of description; they tell rather than show. This is especially the case with adverbs ending in –ly.

Example using lots of adjectives and adverbs (in italics)

Example using fewer adjectives and adverbs

Sometimes a modifier adds just the right touch, sometimes it deadens the sensation. It's case by case, depending on a host of variables, including context, pacing, and tone.

ONOMATOPOEIA. Regarding the sensation of hearing, Rozelle suggests onomatopoeia as a means of letting the reader hear things. Does a fan merely spin, or does it whir? Does a skeleton merely shake, or does it rattle or clatter ? Onomatopoeia may function as either nouns or verbs. The duck quacked. The duck's quack echoed across the valley.

OTHER WORD CHOICES. Fortunately (even beyond verbs of sensation, action verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and onomatopoeia) there is a rich universe of words available to portray sensation. The choice of one word over another can make a difference in effectively conveying sensation. For example, does a lover touch—or caress? Should a particular smell be described as an aroma? A scent? An odor? A stench? Does the word generate a positive connotation or negative? How does a change of words alter the emotional response? Which emotions are stimulated by each word choice? Sometimes the differences are subtle; sometimes they're substantial.

COMPARISON. According to Rozelle, "Saying what something smelled like or tasted like or felt like is always telling." Similes and metaphors are important means of description in many forms of writing. Sensation lends itself to comparison, but sometimes a sensation may be best described through contrast. As in Rozelle's example of a tasteless stew, sometimes the most effective description is to describe what something doesn't taste like.

SYMBOLISM. Sometimes sensation can take on a greater meaning. According to Rozelle, ". . . using something seemingly small to enlarge or call attention to the bigger picture, will serve you well time after time." Subtle use of symbols can be an effective means of reinforcing themes. But, warns Rozelle, "The use of symbolism can be tricky business for a writer and can quickly go over the top. Modern-day readers aren't as a rule very tolerant of blatant symbolism . . . ."

CLICHÉS. The sensation mode of fiction-writing, to borrow a cliché, is a target-rich environment for clichés. As stated by Rozelle, when depicting sensation, "Avoid giving your reader the overused clichés that she's read time after time after time. Like a startled character being caught "like a deer in the headlights," or one gazing intently "staring daggers." Those have been done to death. But they are resurrected by far too many authors."

INTENSITY. Sensation has a range of intensity, from overwhelming, on one extreme, down to the absence of sensation. Think of movies where action scenes rumble with so much sound that it can shake your popcorn out of its box. But then the aftermath may be marked by softness, silence, or darkness. As explained by Rozelle, "There will be times when you will want to be loud." On the other hand, "Sometimes the absence of something is the most effective description of all."

CHARACTER EMOTION. Sensation can create emotion within a character, and that emotion may be used to channel the story in different directions. A character's attitude toward a sensation may reveal character. Emotion may be used to transition into backstory. Emotion may hint at a theme or help establish tone. Emotions (such as fear, curiosity, frustration, anger, lust) may advance plot by propelling the character into action.

READER EMOTION. As explained by Rozelle, "When using the sense of touch, you won't always be describing what a character feels. Sometime you'll be nudging your readers toward what you want them to feel when they read your fiction, so they can associate a feeling that they might never have experienced with one that they probably have."

Many times the reader's emotional response will mirror the character's emotions, but sometimes not. For example, a viewpoint character may enjoy torturing a victim, but the reader might be appalled. A character may enjoy a tender love scene, but the reader may be horrified because one of the characters is a serial killer.

PHYSICAL REACTION. Often the best way to communicate a sensation is to portray the character's reaction to it. According to Rozelle, especially "When its time to inflict a bit of pain and suffering in your fiction, put more emphasis on your character's reaction to it than on the actual description of it." Which sensations would make your character's mouth water or his skin crawl? Which sensations would make him gag? Jump? Duck? Cough? Hold his nose?

Traditionally, in real life and in fiction, stimulus precedes response: first there is action then there is a reaction. But according to Marshall, "To show a character's reaction to something shocking, break the action/result rule and show the reaction before describing what is being reacted to. This may seem backward, but what happens is ". . . a tiny moment of suspense is created between the horrified reaction and the description of what's being seen."

Example of action followed by reaction (stimulus then response):

Example of response preceding stimulus:

HIERARCHY OF SENSES. Not all of the senses were created equally; some are more powerful than others, depending on the situation. For example, as stated by Rozelle, "I heard or read somewhere that the sense of smell is the most nostalgic of the five senses." "The fact that your reader's olfactory memory is laden with treasures is reason enough for you to take full advantage of it. If this truly is the most nostalgic of the physical senses, then you should draw on it like a bank account, tapping it often to engage your readers more fully."

Also according to Rozelle, taste is perhaps the most reliable of all the senses. "The others can sometimes be deceptive, but what something tastes like is usually quite simply the pure essence of the thing." Think of cinnamon, pepper, sugar, salt.

According to Todd A. Stone in Novelist's Boot Camp, some senses are more intimate than others. He outlines a hierarchy of senses, ranging from least intimate to most: sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. Stone encourages writer's to build a connection between the reader and the story by using the more-intimate senses to make descriptions emotionally powerful.

CHOICE OF SENSATION. If you were a carpenter, you wouldn't build a cabinet using just one tool. You might use a saw, but you would probably also use hammers, chisels, planes, and routers; each in its most appropriate time and place. According to Rozelle, "Too many writers make the mistake of packing almost all of their description into showing what everything in the story looks like, bypassing more effective senses." Limiting portrayal of sensation to sight may also mean that the writer is overusing the least intimate of the sensations, and failing to take advantage of opportunities to utilize more intimacy.

To get a feel for the telescoping effect of intimacy in sensation, try this exercise:

Real life engages more than one sensation at a time; why shouldn't fiction?

NARRATIVE DISTANCE. Donald Maas, in Writing the Breakout Novel, notes that since the invention of the novel it has been transformed by a progressive narrowing of point of view: from the once-essential author's voice, to omniscient narration, to objective narration, to first- and third-person narration, and most recently to close third-person narration.

According to Maass, today's reader wants an authentic experience. Skillful inclusion of a character's sensory perception can go a long way toward adding verisimilitude to fiction, involving the reader, and making it seem more realistic.

According to Ron Rozelle in Description and Setting, ". . .the success of your story or novel will depend on many things, but the most crucial is your ability to bring your reader into it. And that reader will be most completely in when you deliver the actual sensations of the many things that comprise your story."

Renni Browne and Dave King, in Self-Editing for the Fiction Writer, observe that "One of the signs that you are writing from an intimate point of view is that the line between your descriptions and your interior monologue begins to blur. Readers move effortlessly from seeing the world through your character's eyes to seeing the world through your character's mind and back again." Although Browne and King were referring to internal monologue (introspection), the same could be said of sensation.

WRITING TIPS. Authors intentionally (for whatever reason) writing in a style that puts distance between the character and the reader have wide latitude in their choices for portraying sensation. But writers striving for an unobtrusive style that engages the reader should consider these guidelines:

Today's reader expects to live the story through the mind of the character, experiencing the story as if the reader is the character. Effective use of the sensation as a fiction-writing mode can go a long way toward making that experience a virtual reality.

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YOUNG-ADULT FICTION: What Makes a Great Novel for Boys?
Category: Writing and Poetry

What do the following novels have in common?

· Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
· Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J. K. Rowling
· Immortal:A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Novel, by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder
· Holes, by Louis Sachar
· Eragon, by Christopher Paolini

Even though these five novels vary significantly, they have one large common denominator: each is a great story that adolescent boys can enjoy. Great stories share common traits, and those traits coincide with the five fundamental elements of fiction (character, plot, setting, theme, and style).

CHARACTER. According to Donald Maass, in Writing the Breakout Novel, great stories " . . . involve characters whom you cannot forget. . . they are larger than life . . . they act, speak, and think in ways you or I . . . do not." Each of these five novels has at least one unforgettable character. In young-adult novels, that often means characters who are intriguing and complicated; they grow or mature; they emerge from the story as changed people.

In four of the five novels listed above, the protagonist is a boy. That's not a coincidence. Just as girls are more likely to identify with a female character, boys are more likely to enjoy a male protagonist. But Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows that an intriguing female character can also hold a guy's reading attention.

PLOT. The characters must do something important. According to Maass, in great novels "what happens to the characters in the course of the story is unusual, dramatic, and meaningful. A great story involves great events."

In the novels listed above, the respective protagonist:
· Wages intergalactic war against aliens
· Uses magic to battle evil wizards
· Fights and kills the undead threatening her hometown
· Searches for buried treasure in a juvenile-detention camp
· Rides a dragon into battle to defend the oppressed

SETTING. Characters don't perform on an empty stage. As outlined by Maass, your favorite novels "probably . . . whisked you into their worlds, transported you to other times or places, and held you captive there." That means setting is more than just a stage. It incorporates a milieu, a broader sense of culture and environment, so integrated into the story that setting almost becomes another character.

In the novels listed above, the settings include:
· A space-station training facility
· A school for young wizards
· A town infested with vampires
· A juvenile-detention facility on a dry lake bed inhabited by poisonous lizards
· A medieval world ruled by an ruthless sorcerer

THEME. A great novel is more than just entertainment. According to Maass, another aspect of great stories is that they alter the reader's way of seeing the world. Ideally, a great young-adult novel leaves the reader better able to cope with whatever real-world challenges he may face. In each of the novels listed above, a young protagonist overcomes incredible obstacles and emerges as a stronger, wiser person.

STYLE. Style is the "how" of fiction, reflecting a myriad of choices made by the author, from individual word choice to establishing the tone. Although the novels listed above differ significantly in various aspects of style, they share one overall trait: they are each told in an accessible, straight-forward style.

In capsule form, the cornerstones of a great novel for young-adult males are:
· An intriguing, complicated, larger-than-life character
· A dramatic, meaningful plot
· A captivating setting
· An appropriate theme
· An accessible, straight-forward style
When these traits are combined into one story, the reader is hooked from the beginning, keeps turning the pages, and at the end is left hungry for more.

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Review of HOOKED: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Go
Category: Writing and Poetry

Book Review

By Les Edgerton

Writer's Digest Books, 2007

THE BOOK ABOUT BEGINNINGS

Books about fiction-writing tend to fall into one of three categories:

Hooked, by Les Edgerton, focuses on one aspect of fiction-writing: beginnings. In general, readers should expect a narrow-focus book to:

Les Edgerton has accomplished all of these in Hooked.

Why a whole book about beginnings? As explained by Edgerton, "The simple truth is, if your beginning doesn't do the job it needs to, the rest of the story most likely won't be read by the agent or editor or publisher you submit it to."

Edgerton addresses misinformation and out-of-date practices from a historical perspective and as they relate to literary fiction. Whenever an author sheds new light on a subject, there is a risk that someone will be offended: no exception here. Writers, of any genre, in the habit of beginning stories with hefty servings of backstory or description get an earful.

Those who believe that studying the classics is the key to understanding fiction may be turned off by Edgerton's take on beginnings: ". . . many of the great books from the past aren't practical structure models for today's market, particularly in the way some of those books begin." And, "Beginnings have changed more than any other part of story structure."

Likewise, fans of literary fiction may take exception to some of Edgerton's observations. "Bookscan has revealed the decline of what is usually referred to as literary fiction. This category of fiction may be dying because it has stuck with the story structure model of yesteryear much more so than any other category."

To Edgerton's credit, Hooked goes beyond a mere regurgitation and reorganization of the subject of beginnings. A cornerstone of Edgerton's lesson is the distinction between what he refers to as the initial surface problem and the story-worthy problem. Edgerton also breaks new ground by introducing the concepts of:

As with any new concept, time will tell whether these will be accepted by the writing community and incorporated into the body of knowledge surrounding the craft of fiction-writing.

One of the challenges of any narrow-focus book is to take a subject (which is typically addressed in a magazine article or as a single chapter of a book) and fill a book-sized manuscript without resorting to repetition, filler, and padding. Although though some points are belabored and some of the examples are a bit tedious, there is plenty of valuable information and insight in Hooked.

Critics of the book may note that some of the examples are overly literary and fall flat for writers of other genres, but Edgerton more than makes up for this shortfall with examples from popular movies. Although Edgerton pays homage to the use of scene and sequel, he doesn't adequately explain either, or how they may be used to construct beginnings. More information about fiction-writing modes would have been helpful. Maybe future editions of Hooked will address these issues.

Hooked is organized into eleven chapters:

Although the book doesn't provide a recap or exercises at end of chapters, it does offer an index at the end for easy reference.

Hooked is a must for the bookshelf of serious students of fiction. It's the book about beginnings.

The last chapter is structured as questions and answers from agents and publishers. For example, from agent Jodie Rhodes: " . . . the more modest the writer, the better the writing. That's because good writers know how much they still have to learn."

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MECHANICS OF THE INTROSPECTION FICTION-WRITING MODE
Category: Writing and Poetry

Introspection, the fiction-writing mode used to convey a character's thoughts, may appear to be simple in published fiction, but the issues facing an author during the writing process are numerous:

PUNCTUATION. Over the years, various forms of punctuation have been used to delineate introspection. From time to time, writers use quotation marks to identify a character's thoughts. This practice causes confusion, especially since quotation marks are the accepted means of identifying dialogue. As stated by Renni Browne and Dave King, in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, "Never, ever use quotes with your interior monologue. It is not merely poor style; it is, by today's standards, ungrammatical. Thoughts are thought, not spoken."

More commonly, introspection is denoted with italics. But this practice is losing ground to presenting thought in plain type. According to Evan Marshall, in The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, "Don't use italics or quotation marks for thoughts. However, if a character is recalling dialogue, put the recalled dialogue in italics."

ATTRIBUTION TAGS. Just as dialogue is tagged, where necessary, to identify the speaker, introspection may be tagged with a clause to make clear who is doing the thinking. For example:

But as stated by Browne and King, "Whenever you're writing from a single point of view—as you will be ninety percent of the time—you can simply jettison thinker attributions. Your readers will know who's doing the thinking."

Then again, there are times when a passage just doesn't flow right without a tag to provide rhythm and pace.

Also regarding tags, Nancy Kress in Dynamic Characters writes, "And, of course, I don't have to tell you not to write, 'He thought to himself.' Except for telepaths, there is no other possibility."

TENSE. A character's thoughts may be narrated in either present tense or past tense. Combined with the choices of first-, second-, or third-person narration, they offer a mind-boggling array of choices, with advantages and disadvantages to each. As a practical matter, though, most stories are written in past tense using either first person or third. However, even when a story is narrated in third person and past tense, introspection may be presented in first person present tense. For example:

PERSON. Narration may be written in any of the three persons. In the rare situations when second person is used to tell a story, any introspection would also be in second person; so that isn't an issue. And when a story is presented in first person, any introspection would also be in first person; so that too is not an issue.

But authors writing in third person are faced with a choice for each line of introspection: third person or first, each with advantages and disadvantages. Switching to first person allows the use of the character's exact words, but it also creates a narrative shift that may confuse and annoy the reader. Staying within third person for introspection may not allow for the use of the thinker's exact words, but retains narrative consistency. As stated by Browne and King, ". . . unless you are deliberately writing with narrative distance, there is no reason to cast your interior monologue in first person."

According to Kress, the use of third person and past tense "is a more seamless, less intrusive way to handle thoughts, because you switch neither person nor tense. It's true that the third-person thought will feel slightly less immediate—more reported to us than directly overheard by us—but the difference will be slight. And the gain in readability should offset that."

DIRECT VS. INDIRECT INTROSPECTION. According to Evan Marshall, direct introspection uses the character's exact words. Indirect introspection summarizes or paraphrases the thinker's words. For example:

As stated by Evan Marshall, in The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published, "To convey a character's thoughts, use the indirect method whenever possible. But use the direct method to convey a character's thoughts when you feel the exact inner words of thought will have greater impact."

VERBS OF THOUGHT. Verbs of thought may be used in attribution tags or within the introspection itself. Examples of thinking verbs include: think, hope, wonder, reason, realize, decide. These plain-vanilla verbs have the advantage of being nearly as unobtrusive as the dialogue attribution "said." There are, of course, many synonyms for these verbs, but other verbs of thought (such as surmised or ruminated) may distract or annoy the reader and are best avoided.

NARRATIVE DISTANCE. According to Brown and King, ". . . how you handle your interior monologue depends almost entirely on your narrative distance." As stated by Nancy Kress, "Distance is the measure of how far you, the author, are standing from your character as you tell the story."

Narrative distance ranges on a continuum from:

Regarding introspection, the more distant the narrator is from the character, the more necessary are devices (such as attribution tags, italics, and thought verbs) to delineate the passages as thoughts and who is doing the thinking.

PARAGRAPH TREATMENT. Introspection is often embedded within a paragraph that also includes action or dialogue, but sometimes introspection warrants its own paragraph. As stated by Browne and King, "Where you have a longer passage of interior monologue and are still writing with some narrative distance, it sometimes helps to set it off in its own paragraph, especially when the passage signals a change of mood."

CONSISTENCY. With so many choices available to present a character's thoughts, there is a real risk of confusion. According to Kress, "Whatever presentation you choose for character's thoughts, use it consistently so that your reader, once she's caught on, doesn't have to make mental adjustments for mechanics. That will only distract her from more important things."

Introspection may seem complicated—that's because it is, especially if you are willing (at the risk of alienating readers) to allow distance between the reader and the character. There are lots of moving parts. Lots of choices. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that complicated.

In Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Maas notes that today's reader is in search of authentic experience. He also states ". . . it seems that nowadays readers' preferred routes into a novel are through it characters, especially the protagonist."

We experience a story through a character's senses, but also through his thoughts. Unfortunately, the craft of presenting a character's thoughts (the fiction-writing mode of introspection) is barely, if at all, addressed in many "how-to" texts. No wonder—effectively presented introspection is so unobtrusive, the casual reader may not even notice it. And far from being the simplest of fiction-writing modes, introspection is fraught with nuances and choices.

All written fiction is narrated, and introspection is no exception. But the author's choice of narrative distance largely determines the methods needed to effectively present a character's thinking. "Distance," states Kress, "affects many things in fiction, among them the choice of format for the character's thoughts."

In general, the greater the distance between the narrator and the character (as with omniscient narration) the more need for narrative tools, such as italics, introspection tags, and verbs of thought to help the reader understand which parts of the text are introspection and who is doing the thinking. But the use of such devices inserts a little distance between the reader and the character. And there is a potential price for creating distance between the character and a reader—alienation.

Donald Maas also notes that since the invention of the novel it has been transformed by a progressive narrowing of point of view: from the once-essential author's voice, to omniscient narration, to objective narration, to first- and third-person narration, and most recently to close third-person narration.

Renni Browne and Dave King, in Self-Editing for the Fiction Writer, observe that "One of the signs that you are writing from an intimate point of view is that the line between your descriptions and your interior monologue begins to blur. Readers move effortlessly from seeing the world through your character's eyes to seeing the world through your character's mind and back again." Also note Browne and King, "As with dialogue mechanics, the sterling value is unobtrusiveness."

Authors seeking intimate, unobtrusive introspection should consider these guidelines:

Effective use of a character's thoughts in fiction requires a thorough understanding of the mechanics of introspection. But the benefits of skillfully delivered introspection far outweigh the cost of avoiding its use or presenting it poorly.

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INTROSPECTION: The Thinking Mode of Fiction-Writing
Category: Writing and Poetry

Introspection is the fiction-writing mode used to convey a character's thoughts. According to Renni Browne and Dave King, in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, "One of the great gifts of literature is that it allows for the expression of unexpressed thoughts . . . ." As a means of developing character, plot, and theme, introspection is potentially one of the most powerful of fiction-writing modes.

But of all the fiction-writing modes, introspection also appears to be one of the least understood. Even a casual review of fiction-writing books and articles reveals a confusing mix of terminology and issues regarding introspection, if the subject is addressed at all.

Sometimes a character's thinking is referred to as internal dialogue, interior monologue, or even self-talk. Such terms are inappropriate since thinking and speaking are distinctly different acts. Furthermore, the writing conventions for dialogue and thinking are quite different.

Some writing coaches lump thinking, emotions, and sensation into one category. Certainly, each is linked to the mind of the character, but thinking, emotions, and sensation are also quite different, in real life and in fiction. Given their importance and the differences in how they are conveyed, each warrants its own analysis and treatment.

Sometimes introspection is included in broader categories, such as narration, description, or summary. Of course, introspection could be considered a subset of these writing modes when they are defined in their broadest terms. But lumping introspection into such wide topics does little to clarify its use; in fact, it adds to the confusion.

The dictionary definitions of introspection refer to an examination of one's own thoughts, a self-study. The author of a story, on the other hand, looks within his fictional character to examine and then convey that person's thoughts.

Other arguments can be made as to what introspection should include and which label should be applied to it, but writers profess to value specific words. For writing and instructional purposes, the most appropriate term for the fiction-writing mode used to convey a character's thoughts is introspection.

As a fiction-writing mode, introspection is a powerful tool for adding depth and texture to a story. Nancy Kress, in Writer's Digest of August 2003, states "There are times when telling us a character's thoughts can greatly enhance a story. It can deepen characterization, increase tension, and widen the scope of the story." In each of the five elements of a story (character, plot, setting, theme, style), a character's thinking can make major contributions.

CHARACTERIZATION. Nancy Kress has obviously put a lot of thought into this subject. In Dynamic Characters, she observes that "What your character thinks about helps to create his personality for the reader. So does how he thinks: in what words, with what sentence structure, with what level of grammatical correctness." Kress also notes that "You can even extend this technique to include reproducing regional or ethnic dialect in a character's thoughts, not just in her dialogue." And "Your character thinks about certain things, in a certain way, because of who he is." This includes attitudes and beliefs.

According to Kress, in Writer's Digest, August 2003, "To deepen your characters, ask yourself what your character is likely to think about whatever he is doing or whatever is going on around him. Then include those thoughts whenever you want to sharpen your reader's awareness of what this person is really like."

Repetition throughout the story of what the character thinks and how he thinks and solves problems confirms the character and provides consistency of characterization. Observes Kress in Writer's Digest of March 2005, "Throughout your story, you need to keep in mind how your character sees the world and translate that point of view consistently . . . ."

Introspection may also be used to validate a character change that occurs within the story. According to Kress, "One good way to convey this is to have your character talk to himself differently after his change than he did before it."

PLOT. Introspection may occur anywhere in a story, from action scenes to quiet reflection. A scene may include lots of physical fireworks, but it may also include much more. First of all, for a scene to be believable, the character must be properly motivated. And what better means of understanding a character's motivation than through his own thoughts?

The smallest structural component of plot is stimulus and effect. Action leads to reaction. But as Jack M. Bickham explains in Scene & Structure, "If you stop to think about it, even the most obvious stimulus-response transaction requires some internal messaging in the mind and body of the receiver of the stimulus." Except in the most knee-jerk reactions, stimulus is followed by an act of mental processing, or internalization. Often a character's reaction is immediate and apparently without thought. But in other situations, even in the heat of battle, the character can and should think before acting. As stated by Bickham, ". . . the internalization process always takes place, and when things are complicated, you may need to remember that the pattern of every stimulus-response transaction—in deepest reality—is STIMULUS—INTERNALIZATION—RESPONSE."

Introspection may also be used to increase tension. As stated by Nancy Kress in Writer's Digest, August 2003, "It does this when the thoughts you depict directly contrast with that character's actions or dialogue. The two pull in opposite directions. We then wonder which will ultimately prevail . . . and read on to find out." In fact, as explained by Kress, " Without her thoughts, we would not be so aware of her internal conflict, and her subsequent action might seem murky or unmotivated."

Kress also notes that "Another way that thoughts can up the tension is by letting readers learn something that the protagonist doesn't know. This only works for multiple points of view, but it can be very potent."

While scenes are mainly physical and external to the character, sequels are mostly internal, in the head. As outlined by Bickham, a sequel consists of the following phases:

Each phase provides ample opportunity for the use of introspection. In fact, sequels written without introspection fall far below their potential.

SETTING. We often learn about the world around the character through the narrator's description or through the character's sensory perception. But the character's thoughts about the setting are also important. What a character thinks about the world around him adds depth and texture to the story.

THEME. Peter Selgin, in By Cunning & Craft, describes a story's theme as ". . . an organizing principle, something to bind its disparate parts together, a central notion or idea." Nancy Kress, in Writer's Digest, August 2003, recommends that thoughts be confined to two types:

She also notes that ". . . letting us in on your character's thoughts can widen the scope of your story, adding complexity and depth." And "What expands the scope of the book, gives it purpose and coherence and fervor . . . ."

STYLE The style of a story is the sum of the multitude of choices made by the author, either consciously or subconsciously, as he composes a story. Style is a reflection of the author's personality and attitudes, as well as the craft applied. An important aspect of fiction-writing style is the skill with which an author presents the introspection of his character.

Failure to adequately utilize introspection in fiction almost certainly guarantees the story hasn't been developed to its potential. On the other hand, full and skillful use of introspection provides a great opportunity to enhance the reader's experience.

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SUMMARIZATION: An Unfairly Maligned Fiction-Writing Mode
Category: Writing and Poetry

If the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield had been a fiction-writing mode, it would have been summarization. As illustrated by the old writing maxim "Show—Don't Tell," summarization gets no respect.

Summarization is the fiction-writing mode whereby story events are condensed. As described by Evan Marshall in The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, in summary mode "You tell the reader what happens rather than show it . . . ." According to Marshall, summary is the opposite of action. Action shows events in detail, blow by blow, in real story time. Summary merely tells about an event.

For example, a gunfight might be portrayed either in the action mode or in summarization.

As outlined by Marshall, summary mode has four primary uses:

According to Renne Browne and Dave King in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers:

As with each of the other ten fiction-writing modes, summarization has both advantages and disadvantages. Where action intimately involves the reader, summarization distances the reader. Action is exciting, while too much summary can be boring. But summarization offers a distinct advantage over the action mode: brevity. As stated by Peter Selgin in By Cunning & Craft, ". . . the main advantage of summary being that it (usually) takes less space."

For any particular passage of fiction, the challenge is to use whichever mode is most appropriate. According to Orson Scott Card in Character and Viewpoint, "'showing' is so terribly time consuming" that it is to be used only for dramatic scenes. The objective is to get the right balance of telling versus showing, action versus summarization.

"Show—Don't Tell" is misleading. It should be replaced with "Show when appropriate; and tell when appropriate." As stated by Card, "Either could be right; either could be wrong. Factors like rhythm, pace, and tone come into play . . . ."

The amount and placement of action and summarization will vary, depending on the needs of the story and the style of the author.

One reason summarization is not better understood is the terminology used to describe it. Besides telling, summarization is often referred to as summary, narration, or narrative summary. Under the broadest definition of narration, summarization could certainly be classified as a subset, but so could the other fiction-writing modes. After all, according to Card, "How can you show anything in fiction? Fiction always has a narrator. Instead of the audience seeing events directly, they are unavoidably filtered through the perceptions of the narrator." As a writing and instructional tool, the narrow concept of summarization is more specific and, therefore, more useful.

Summarization deserves more respect as a fiction-writing mode. Without summarization, fiction would be tedious and disjointed.

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Review of BY CUNNING & CRAFT, by Peter Selgin
Category: Writing and Poetry

Peter Selgin's BY CUNNING & CRAFT offers plenty for those interested in understanding fiction and how it is developed. The book is a pleasure to read, and it's beautifully bound. The cover and each chapter include a black-and-white illustration reminiscent of the old fairy tales.

By Cunning & Craft is organized with ten lessons, or chapters:

The strongest chapters are those that deal with theme, voice, and style. But the chapters addressing plot and scene are disappointing. Fiction-writing modes were not adequately addressed. Maybe future editions of By Cunning & Craft will fill in some of the gaps.

Many of the examples offered throughout the text are of literary fiction and may fall flat for writers interested in other genres.

Although there are no exercises presented and no summaries at the end of the chapters, an index is provided for easy reference. Selgin also includes a bibliography of books on craft.

Ideally, a newly issued concept-to-publication text about how to write fiction should:

Although By Cunning & Craft offers valuable information on many of the subjects addressed, it falls short of achieving each of these benchmarks.

One of the keys to learning from how-to books is not to dwell too much on what is missing or misleading, but to focus on extracting whatever valuable information is there. Most how-to books offer nuggets of wisdom and technique that are well worth the effort of digging them out, and this book provides plenty. No doubt, readers and writer's of fiction will be studying and quoting from By Cunning & Craft for many years.

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Review of How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, by Janet Evanovich
Category: Writing and Poetry

A BLAST OF A READ

How I Write, by Janet Evanovich (with Ina Yalof and Alex Evanovich) is a perky read filled with practical writing tips from a bestselling author. You don't have to be a dedicated Evanovich fan to enjoy this one, but her breezy style might tempt you to give the Stephanie Plum mystery series a try.

As the author states up front, "I haven't attempted to produce the definitive book on creative novel writing. I'm simply passing on what works for me. This is how I write. And these are the answers to the questions I've been asked for years." Writers who have studied other fiction-writing books won't find much new in this one, but it's worth reading because of the unique perspective of this very successful writer.

How I Write is organized in nine parts:

The author's breezy, entertaining style shines through the entire book, and it's filled with examples from her Stephanie Plum series. Also included are practical tips about the business and process of writing and getting published, including sample query letters for both a fiction manuscript and a nonfiction manuscript.

Whether you are an Evonovich fan wanting more from a favorite author, a beginning writer looking for tips, or an experienced writer trying to fill in the gaps, give this one a try. It's a blast of a read.

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