Some of the wisdom I shared from William Berhardt in my last post came from part of his presentation he called "10 Wrongs That Don't Make A Writer". These don'ts are some commonly quoted beliefs about writing. A few of them I'm not going to comment on because to me they seem like things only amateurs or non-writers would think.
Among the notable ideas he refuted were: "There is a difference between Literary and Genre fiction", "Men can't write woman characters and women can't write men characters", "Fiction is not autobiographical", and "Writing is an art and can't be learned".
I agree with the simple way Bernhardt addressed the first one. He said, "Literary fiction is a Genre." This is true and while some people will argue that there is a difference between literary and commercial fiction, I think literary can also be seen as a kind of commercial fiction.
Bernhardt gave several examples of great writers in every genre who created characters that were the opposite gender of themselves very successfully. I think it simply depends on how well the writer can relate to their characters of either gender. I write my Fragments of Daylight stories from the perspectives of various characters in my series; some of them male, some female, some animal.
On the subject of what part of fiction is autobiographical, Bernhardt said all writing, including all genres of fiction and non-fiction, are in some way autobiographical, because all aspects are "filtered through the mind" of the writer. This includes the bad stuff and the evil villains. How things are presented tells the reader a lot about the writer.
According to Bernhardt and I'm sure many other people, writing is an art, but it is also a craft and craft can be learned. I personally believe that some art can be learned. Don't artists take classes and lessons on how to create certain works? They learn about different mediums, perspective, and how to use light and shade. This could be described as the "craft" part of art, but I feel it's much the same thing.
If you get a chance to view a video of William Bernhardt's seminar, I highly recommend it. We can never stop learning how to improve our writing.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
Showing posts with label fiction genres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction genres. Show all posts
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
More Thoughts On Character Vs. Plot Driven Fiction
I just finished reading Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars and I'm one of those people who always reads the acknowlegements, dedications and forwards/afterwords. (This is especially fun when you like the writer and such things are written in the author's style or voice.) I've mentioned I am a huge fan of SK and think he is an amazingly talented writer but I can't read a lot of his work because I am squeamish.
In his afterword of Full Dark, No Stars he said something that got my attention. "I have no quarrel with Literary Fiction, which usually concerns itself with extraordinary people in ordinary situations, but as both a reader and a writer, I am much more interested by ordinary people in extraordinary situations." This statement doesn't mention the words "plot" or "character", but is certainly a comment about which of them drives a story.
I am not a fan of literary fiction on the grounds that it is very realistic and therefore depressing. If I want to read about people in difficult, unfair or hopeless situations, I can read the newspaper. Where I disagree with SK is that I feel literary fiction concerns itself with ordinary people in ordinary situations; or while not everyday, common situations, ones that could easily exist . This is not uninteresting - even ordinary people are facinating in the ways they act, think and feel in many circumstances.
Even with that difference in opinion about the types of characters in literary fiction, SK and I would both agree that literary fiction is character driven and that his work is plot driven. I find that interesting and now want to explore the idea in relation to other genres, particularly Urban Fantasy and Paranormal, in my next post.
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
www.jennifermballard.com
In his afterword of Full Dark, No Stars he said something that got my attention. "I have no quarrel with Literary Fiction, which usually concerns itself with extraordinary people in ordinary situations, but as both a reader and a writer, I am much more interested by ordinary people in extraordinary situations." This statement doesn't mention the words "plot" or "character", but is certainly a comment about which of them drives a story.
I am not a fan of literary fiction on the grounds that it is very realistic and therefore depressing. If I want to read about people in difficult, unfair or hopeless situations, I can read the newspaper. Where I disagree with SK is that I feel literary fiction concerns itself with ordinary people in ordinary situations; or while not everyday, common situations, ones that could easily exist . This is not uninteresting - even ordinary people are facinating in the ways they act, think and feel in many circumstances.
Even with that difference in opinion about the types of characters in literary fiction, SK and I would both agree that literary fiction is character driven and that his work is plot driven. I find that interesting and now want to explore the idea in relation to other genres, particularly Urban Fantasy and Paranormal, in my next post.
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
www.jennifermballard.com
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
My Two Cents On: Character Driven Vs. Plot Driven
Recently I did some brief research on the concept of character driven as opposed to plot (also know as action) driven fiction. One article I came across claimed that plot or action driven fiction describes fantasy and historical and that character driven refers to romance.
Really? Are those the only three genres that exist? Where do mystery and horror fit in? Literary fiction? Westerns? I believe plays/drama are a kind of fiction as well. So, all in all, the above definition is simplistic at least. Another idea suggested for distinguishing the difference was to ask if the hero was making choices or was the action forcing him to go/be somewhere or do something.
I find this to be another ridiculous idea. I am a believer in the phrase, "It doesn't matter what happens to you in life; what matters is how you handle it." Are there any situations where a person, fictional or otherwise has only one option? I can't think of any, except for maybe unavoidable death.
I heard or read somewhere once that there are only 7 plots in the world (I plan to investigate that concept in a future blog post). If that is true, then it is compelling characters that make each story different from any other.
The most ordinary circumstance can become intriguing if an unusual main character does something unexpected. Alternately, the most facinating setting or plot can become utterly boring if the original concept is paired with characters who only do mundane things and allow circumstances to push them around in completely predictable ways.
My personal feeling is that whatever the plot, all fiction can be described as character driven. The situation or action gives the hero more interesting choices in what to do or say, but what he or she chooses ultimately affects what happens in the story.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
Really? Are those the only three genres that exist? Where do mystery and horror fit in? Literary fiction? Westerns? I believe plays/drama are a kind of fiction as well. So, all in all, the above definition is simplistic at least. Another idea suggested for distinguishing the difference was to ask if the hero was making choices or was the action forcing him to go/be somewhere or do something.
I find this to be another ridiculous idea. I am a believer in the phrase, "It doesn't matter what happens to you in life; what matters is how you handle it." Are there any situations where a person, fictional or otherwise has only one option? I can't think of any, except for maybe unavoidable death.
I heard or read somewhere once that there are only 7 plots in the world (I plan to investigate that concept in a future blog post). If that is true, then it is compelling characters that make each story different from any other.
The most ordinary circumstance can become intriguing if an unusual main character does something unexpected. Alternately, the most facinating setting or plot can become utterly boring if the original concept is paired with characters who only do mundane things and allow circumstances to push them around in completely predictable ways.
My personal feeling is that whatever the plot, all fiction can be described as character driven. The situation or action gives the hero more interesting choices in what to do or say, but what he or she chooses ultimately affects what happens in the story.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Writers Are Readers
There's something you didn't know. Well, I have been told that not all writers are rabid - I mean avid - readers, but I've never met a writer that wasn't a book lover. Some people in the industry advise writing what you like to read. Others say not to do that because you may unintentionally copy the work of writers you like.
Since most writers are bibliophiles who will and do read anything and everything, like me, they probably like to read different types of books. I like mysteries and claim to write them (however else others might classify my writing). But I also like paranormal, biographies, humor, fantasy, historical fiction, travel, memoir...
I believe what a writer reads and which authors they like says something about them, if not about their writing, so I want to share who some of my favorite authors are.
The best, most amazing, wonderful mystery novel writer ever is Dick Francis. Stephen King is also an incredible novelist, but much of what he writes is stuff I can't read, so I can't enjoy his work properly.
My other writing idol is Charlaine Harris. (See "What We Can Learn From Our Idols).
Authors I love whose new books I await impatiently for months and then read in a matter of hours: Janet Evanovich, Tim Dorsey, Mary Janice Davidson, Jim Butcher, Rick Riordan.
Writers I like and have read many, but not all of their books: Robert B. Parker, Dean Koontz, Elizabeth Peters, Harlan Coban.
Classics I read over and over are those of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Mary Roberts Rhinehart. (All mystery writers, notice.)
Being a children's librarian there are also YA authors I read and love, including Sharon Creech and Robert Newton Peck, as well as certain kids books I like, such as the Henry and Mudge, Encyclopedia Brown and Nate the Great books.
I'm sure there are others in all these categories that I'm not thinking of right now. There are a few authors whose work I've read avidly and then lost interest in, but I won't mention them here.
All of this says something about me as a writer. I plan to explore and share soon what it is about these authors that I most enjoy and admire.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
Since most writers are bibliophiles who will and do read anything and everything, like me, they probably like to read different types of books. I like mysteries and claim to write them (however else others might classify my writing). But I also like paranormal, biographies, humor, fantasy, historical fiction, travel, memoir...
I believe what a writer reads and which authors they like says something about them, if not about their writing, so I want to share who some of my favorite authors are.
The best, most amazing, wonderful mystery novel writer ever is Dick Francis. Stephen King is also an incredible novelist, but much of what he writes is stuff I can't read, so I can't enjoy his work properly.
My other writing idol is Charlaine Harris. (See "What We Can Learn From Our Idols).
Authors I love whose new books I await impatiently for months and then read in a matter of hours: Janet Evanovich, Tim Dorsey, Mary Janice Davidson, Jim Butcher, Rick Riordan.
Writers I like and have read many, but not all of their books: Robert B. Parker, Dean Koontz, Elizabeth Peters, Harlan Coban.
Classics I read over and over are those of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Mary Roberts Rhinehart. (All mystery writers, notice.)
Being a children's librarian there are also YA authors I read and love, including Sharon Creech and Robert Newton Peck, as well as certain kids books I like, such as the Henry and Mudge, Encyclopedia Brown and Nate the Great books.
I'm sure there are others in all these categories that I'm not thinking of right now. There are a few authors whose work I've read avidly and then lost interest in, but I won't mention them here.
All of this says something about me as a writer. I plan to explore and share soon what it is about these authors that I most enjoy and admire.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Identity Crisis?
When people ask me what I write I say, "Mysteries, mostly."
When my mother tells people her daughter is a writer, she says, "She writes about vampires." Members of my writer's group, The Living Writers Collective, have also been known to say that.
According to "the industry", my latest books and stories are not mysteries. Depending on the source you consult, my current writing is "urban fantasy" or "speculative" or "paranormal". I am not opposed to some of my writing being called paranormal mysteries. However, I also write mysteries about horses and other perfectly ordinary animals.
It's possible I call my books and stories mysteries because that makes them more mainstream. Maybe I don't want to be pigeonholed.(If that isn't a word it should be).
Many writers, beginners to bestsellers, write more than one kind of book. In the past, publishers have made writers choose psudonyms under which to publish books other than the ones they are best known for. I think it's good that the industry is moving away from that, but it does get confusing for bookstores and patrons. Do you look for Charlaine Harris books under "Paranormal/Urban Fantasy" or "Mystery"?
The first book in my series, Daylight's End, features a vampire and the fact that he is a vampire is central to the plot. But it also includes a mystery that is completely unrelated to the vampire character.
In my second book, Before Daylight (sequel to the first), there is another vampire, who is central to one part of the plot, but again, there's a mystery that has nothing to do with the supernatural. Beyond Daylight (working title of book 3) will feature yet another vampire and a sorcerer. Book 4, will also feature more vampires and probably another non-human or two.
I have written many stories about the characters from my novels. I must admit, while many of them can be called mysteries, some cannot. And in my Daylight stories, all plots as well as most characters, involve supernatural elements. These stories also feature characters from books 3 and 4, both novels which are yet-to-be-completed works in progress. And I'm certain characters introduced in some of the stories will turn up in later novels.
So, is my writing mystery or paranomal?
Yes.
When my mother tells people her daughter is a writer, she says, "She writes about vampires." Members of my writer's group, The Living Writers Collective, have also been known to say that.
According to "the industry", my latest books and stories are not mysteries. Depending on the source you consult, my current writing is "urban fantasy" or "speculative" or "paranormal". I am not opposed to some of my writing being called paranormal mysteries. However, I also write mysteries about horses and other perfectly ordinary animals.
It's possible I call my books and stories mysteries because that makes them more mainstream. Maybe I don't want to be pigeonholed.(If that isn't a word it should be).
Many writers, beginners to bestsellers, write more than one kind of book. In the past, publishers have made writers choose psudonyms under which to publish books other than the ones they are best known for. I think it's good that the industry is moving away from that, but it does get confusing for bookstores and patrons. Do you look for Charlaine Harris books under "Paranormal/Urban Fantasy" or "Mystery"?
The first book in my series, Daylight's End, features a vampire and the fact that he is a vampire is central to the plot. But it also includes a mystery that is completely unrelated to the vampire character.
In my second book, Before Daylight (sequel to the first), there is another vampire, who is central to one part of the plot, but again, there's a mystery that has nothing to do with the supernatural. Beyond Daylight (working title of book 3) will feature yet another vampire and a sorcerer. Book 4, will also feature more vampires and probably another non-human or two.
I have written many stories about the characters from my novels. I must admit, while many of them can be called mysteries, some cannot. And in my Daylight stories, all plots as well as most characters, involve supernatural elements. These stories also feature characters from books 3 and 4, both novels which are yet-to-be-completed works in progress. And I'm certain characters introduced in some of the stories will turn up in later novels.
So, is my writing mystery or paranomal?
Yes.
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