The countdown to the Call to Pens deadline has begun! There's only a little more than 3 weeks left until February 1, and it goes by faster than you think. Entries have begun to filter in, and I'm very excited to see what you all come up with.
Over the next few weeks you can expect several things from us:
1. More frequent guest posts on the blog. We are working with a number of excellent contributors to post on topics from story-theory to literature to how to craft a good tale.
2. More answers to your questions on the Frequently Asked Questions page. That repository is slowly growing, and if you have a question that's not on there, feel free to leave a comment or email us at shortstory@phc.edu.
3. Contest updates. After the deadline has passed, I'll be posting periodic updates on the judging process to let you know how things are going. Be on the lookout for the announcement of the winning stories in April!
Blessings,
Alicia
Monday, January 9, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
A Writer's New Year's Resolution
Writers write.
It's a simple cliche, but you'd be surprised how few people do it. When I was growing up, I'd scour the non-fiction section of my library and come out laden with how-to books on writing. I'd read The Elements of Style and Writer's Inc. from cover to cover and daydream about how wonderfully I'd write, as soon as I got that next great idea. I'd discover 50 fixes for my fiction and 40 ways to plan a plot. I'd attempt to create vivid characters by filling out questionnaires with everything from my character's blood type to her favorite childhood memory (regardless of whether such things played a part in my tale, of course). I'd read reams of manuals on how to make that manuscript stand out when it reaches a publisher's desk.
While I'm sure such pursuits were valuable to a point, I discovered I couldn't substitute reading about writing for the real thing. It's like driving a car: you can read endlessly about how to start the car, how to follow traffic laws, how to be a safe driver. You can watch videos in driver's ed and even sit in the passenger seat and observe a veteran navigate traffic. But until you get behind the wheel yourself, you won't know how driving feels. You won't know practical things, like how to judge the distance between cars or how far you have to turn the wheel on a right turn without taking a curb. While you might benefit from your theoretical knowledge, you won't be a good driver until you practice.
If you want to be a good writer, write. Don't be discouraged if your plots form holes the size of Saturn or your characters sound as stilted as the actors in a B movie. You're a new driver; you're going to take a few curbs your first time out. But do write consistently.
To write consistently, you need somewhere to collect all your ideas. Good writers are "pack rats." They save most everything they write, even if it seems like garbage. Who knows, even if something is badly written, you could come back to it in a couple years and rework the idea into something worth reading. One of the benefits of living in the 21st century is that you can be a digital pack rat-- it's a lot less messy, and your parents and siblings will appreciate being able to see your bedroom floor (we hope).
Start a writer's folder on your computer that you can fill with all your half-baked ideas and random ramblings. Or, if you want more accountability, start a blog. There are a number of free blogging platforms out there: Blogspot.com, Wordpress.com, and Tumblr.com, just to name a few. The benefits to blogging are numerous:
Discipline yourself to write a blog post or something to stick in your folder at least once a week. The more you write, the better you'll get at writing. Like most good things in life (an education, physical fitness, or your relationship with Christ), there are no shortcuts to becoming a better writer.
This year, if you want to be a better writer, you've got to put in time and good, old-fashioned hard work. But that's one resolution that will be worth keeping.
-Alicia
It's a simple cliche, but you'd be surprised how few people do it. When I was growing up, I'd scour the non-fiction section of my library and come out laden with how-to books on writing. I'd read The Elements of Style and Writer's Inc. from cover to cover and daydream about how wonderfully I'd write, as soon as I got that next great idea. I'd discover 50 fixes for my fiction and 40 ways to plan a plot. I'd attempt to create vivid characters by filling out questionnaires with everything from my character's blood type to her favorite childhood memory (regardless of whether such things played a part in my tale, of course). I'd read reams of manuals on how to make that manuscript stand out when it reaches a publisher's desk.
While I'm sure such pursuits were valuable to a point, I discovered I couldn't substitute reading about writing for the real thing. It's like driving a car: you can read endlessly about how to start the car, how to follow traffic laws, how to be a safe driver. You can watch videos in driver's ed and even sit in the passenger seat and observe a veteran navigate traffic. But until you get behind the wheel yourself, you won't know how driving feels. You won't know practical things, like how to judge the distance between cars or how far you have to turn the wheel on a right turn without taking a curb. While you might benefit from your theoretical knowledge, you won't be a good driver until you practice.
If you want to be a good writer, write. Don't be discouraged if your plots form holes the size of Saturn or your characters sound as stilted as the actors in a B movie. You're a new driver; you're going to take a few curbs your first time out. But do write consistently.
To write consistently, you need somewhere to collect all your ideas. Good writers are "pack rats." They save most everything they write, even if it seems like garbage. Who knows, even if something is badly written, you could come back to it in a couple years and rework the idea into something worth reading. One of the benefits of living in the 21st century is that you can be a digital pack rat-- it's a lot less messy, and your parents and siblings will appreciate being able to see your bedroom floor (we hope).
Start a writer's folder on your computer that you can fill with all your half-baked ideas and random ramblings. Or, if you want more accountability, start a blog. There are a number of free blogging platforms out there: Blogspot.com, Wordpress.com, and Tumblr.com, just to name a few. The benefits to blogging are numerous:
- The satisfaction of instant publication.
- The opportunity to cultivate a unique audience. Because anyone can start a blog, the best content is bound to rise to the top. If you post quality writing consistently, you'll begin to develop a group of faithful readers over time.
- The ability to keep track of just how often you're writing. With Wordpress's "Calendar" widget, for example, you can see how many days you've posted each month.
Discipline yourself to write a blog post or something to stick in your folder at least once a week. The more you write, the better you'll get at writing. Like most good things in life (an education, physical fitness, or your relationship with Christ), there are no shortcuts to becoming a better writer.
This year, if you want to be a better writer, you've got to put in time and good, old-fashioned hard work. But that's one resolution that will be worth keeping.
-Alicia
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Christian Writer's Dilemma
The author of this week's guest post is John Ehrett, a long-time devotee of the written word who is currently majoring in International Politics and Policy at Patrick Henry College. His favorite books include Les Miserables, Atlas Shrugged, The Odyssey, and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. To read more of his writing on modern literature and culture, you can visit his personal blog, Literary Analysis.
Any Christian who wants to write realistically will eventually face one question: how do we deal with the dark stuff? It doesn’t take much to recognize that the world is a pretty grim, sordid place sometimes…is there a way Christians can address it honestly?
When it comes to Christians writing about the unsavory parts of life, there are a lot of different opinions. Some take a very conservative approach, censoring anything that even hints of sexuality, strong violence, or profanity (most Christian fantasy novels fall into this category). Others have a no-holds-barred approach to writing, incorporating dark content as part of a deeply redemptive story (Ted Dekker is particularly known for this). What’s a Christian writer to do?
The following is my view. I don’t profess to speak for all Christians, but simply offer the way I’ve sought to resolve this dilemma. The Bible doesn’t directly address this question, but it does so obliquely: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak….When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.” 1 Corinthians 8:9, 12-13 (NIV). The appropriate question to ask is not “can I put this in my story?” but “will this be a stumbling block to someone?”
This raises two important issues: style and context. Although it’s subtle, there’s a difference between describing an act in clinical terms and describing it in gratuitous detail. In a film like The Passion of the Christ, the focus is not on the violent acts themselves: it is on the crucified Savior and His sacrifice for us. In many modern movies (particularly the works of Quentin Tarantino), violence is portrayed as a sort of exploitative art form, appealing to an individual’s basest instincts. The same principle holds true in writing. For the sake of authenticity, a realistic story about warfare may require the inclusion of some traditionally “problematic” material. This material, however, need not be described in pornographic detail. There may be a place for stark realism, but this is by no means a license to exploit.
This also raises the issue of context. What may be inappropriate in a particular work may be integral to another, depending on both the story and the audience. Most Christian fiction is written to edify existing believers, not win new converts. As a result, the writers of Christian fiction must keep this end of “edification” in mind when writing. This rules out including content that does not serve this end. For example, an individual looking for spiritual nourishment may be horrified by the description of a gangland shootout in a “Christian” work…though such a scene may be justified in a work targeting a secular audience.
In works written by Christians for secular audiences, a subtler apologetic tone is required. Far too much Christian fiction takes a ham-fisted approach to evangelism, which severely undermines its effectiveness in reaching the lost. Some of the finest literature of our time -- The Brothers Karamazov, Les Miserables, Moby-Dick, and The Road, among others -- deal with deeply spiritual material, yet never take a blindly didactic approach. Sometimes, as in the aforementioned works, there may be a place for merciless imagery as the most powerful foil of all to the saving Light of the Gospel.
That Light doesn’t always need to be communicated explicitly. It can come through an act of compassion, an undeserved sacrifice, or a whispered prayer in the midst of deep darkness. Flannery O’Connor was a master of this, communicating powerful themes of grace and hope against a backdrop of the macabre. In the end, the motivations of individual Christian writers are between themselves and God. Perhaps, however, considering the style and context will offer a reasonable solution to questions of content.
Any Christian who wants to write realistically will eventually face one question: how do we deal with the dark stuff? It doesn’t take much to recognize that the world is a pretty grim, sordid place sometimes…is there a way Christians can address it honestly?
When it comes to Christians writing about the unsavory parts of life, there are a lot of different opinions. Some take a very conservative approach, censoring anything that even hints of sexuality, strong violence, or profanity (most Christian fantasy novels fall into this category). Others have a no-holds-barred approach to writing, incorporating dark content as part of a deeply redemptive story (Ted Dekker is particularly known for this). What’s a Christian writer to do?
The following is my view. I don’t profess to speak for all Christians, but simply offer the way I’ve sought to resolve this dilemma. The Bible doesn’t directly address this question, but it does so obliquely: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak….When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.” 1 Corinthians 8:9, 12-13 (NIV). The appropriate question to ask is not “can I put this in my story?” but “will this be a stumbling block to someone?”
This raises two important issues: style and context. Although it’s subtle, there’s a difference between describing an act in clinical terms and describing it in gratuitous detail. In a film like The Passion of the Christ, the focus is not on the violent acts themselves: it is on the crucified Savior and His sacrifice for us. In many modern movies (particularly the works of Quentin Tarantino), violence is portrayed as a sort of exploitative art form, appealing to an individual’s basest instincts. The same principle holds true in writing. For the sake of authenticity, a realistic story about warfare may require the inclusion of some traditionally “problematic” material. This material, however, need not be described in pornographic detail. There may be a place for stark realism, but this is by no means a license to exploit.
This also raises the issue of context. What may be inappropriate in a particular work may be integral to another, depending on both the story and the audience. Most Christian fiction is written to edify existing believers, not win new converts. As a result, the writers of Christian fiction must keep this end of “edification” in mind when writing. This rules out including content that does not serve this end. For example, an individual looking for spiritual nourishment may be horrified by the description of a gangland shootout in a “Christian” work…though such a scene may be justified in a work targeting a secular audience.
In works written by Christians for secular audiences, a subtler apologetic tone is required. Far too much Christian fiction takes a ham-fisted approach to evangelism, which severely undermines its effectiveness in reaching the lost. Some of the finest literature of our time -- The Brothers Karamazov, Les Miserables, Moby-Dick, and The Road, among others -- deal with deeply spiritual material, yet never take a blindly didactic approach. Sometimes, as in the aforementioned works, there may be a place for merciless imagery as the most powerful foil of all to the saving Light of the Gospel.
That Light doesn’t always need to be communicated explicitly. It can come through an act of compassion, an undeserved sacrifice, or a whispered prayer in the midst of deep darkness. Flannery O’Connor was a master of this, communicating powerful themes of grace and hope against a backdrop of the macabre. In the end, the motivations of individual Christian writers are between themselves and God. Perhaps, however, considering the style and context will offer a reasonable solution to questions of content.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Stories to Tell
Today's guest post is written by Alison O'Leary, a junior Literature major at Patrick Henry College. I thought this post was a fitting inspiration to kick off our series of guest posts this year, on topics from story theory to excellent literature to writing's nuts and bolts. I hope this post inspires you to find and write the story only you can tell.
“Whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills, as I have found out long ago."– C. S. LewisMy Dad called them “marshmallow books.” My Mom was always trying to get me to read biographies instead. So how did their daughter end up studying literature and desiring to write fiction for a living? I’m not sure…but I think God enjoys paradoxes.
I once heard someone tell me you know you’ve found your vocation when you would do it even if no one paid you. That’s how writing is for me. The stories in my brain are just itching to get onto paper. If I didn’t write them down, I’d probably go crazy.
This got me thinking…why do we like to write stories? What makes us want to sit down and start scratching out characters that are a bit, just a bit, like someone we know and plot lines that suddenly form holes without warning us in advance? I think it’s because we all have stories to tell, but we like to tell them in different ways.
My parents' lives have been full of one amazing adventure after another, yet neither of them write fiction. They would rather tell their stories face to face and read stories of people who really lived.
I also love telling stories. But I like to use characters to convey things I’ve experienced without having to be utterly personal about them. (I also like to write about things I’ve never done. Please do let me know if you happen to see a dragon one day; I should very much like to meet one.)
Maybe that’s why authors started writing fiction. They had problems, they saw problems, they were problems, and they wanted to fix problems. And maybe, just like me, they didn’t prefer to say, “And (insert name here) went and bludgeoned poor Lizaveta to death.” Okay, so Dostoevsky didn’t kill anyone, but he recognized the twisted sin nature in himself and others, the desire to have power over people. The best way he could capture what he was thinking was to write about a murderer-- a story which became Crime and Punishment.
In a similar way, I had a difficult time talking about some familial issues that rocked my world two years ago. I couldn’t write the pain I felt, but I could write about two brothers who had difficulty reconciling after one went away to war. So I did. Sure, I’ve never been deployed or had anyone close to me go away to fight, but I could imagine the hurt and pain they felt was similar to mine. And it helped my own heart recover.
"I’ve been there,” characters tell us. Suddenly, we know we’re not alone because someone out there gets it. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be so drawn to fictional characters. They speak to us because, in their own made-up world, they wrestle with the same real issues of love, despair, anger, and joy. If we convey those universal emotions in a compelling story, we can hope someone will read our words and find hope. I make a point of reading one of my favorite books, The Outsiders, at least once every year and I think the author, S.E. Hinton, captures what I’m trying to say.
I could picture hundreds and hundreds of boys living on the wrong sides of cities, boys with black eyes who jumped at their own shadows. Hundreds of boys who maybe watched sunsets and looked at stars and ached for something better. I could see boys going down under street lights because they’re mean and tough and hated the world, and it was too late to tell them that there was still good in it, and they wouldn’t believe you if you did. It was too vast a problem to be just a personal thing.
It isn’t just a personal thing. People are aching all around the world. As writers, we have the opportunity to reach them and say, “I understand.” As Christians, we have a message of genuine hope.
But first we have to understand the problems. Sometimes there aren’t easy answers. Sometimes you get hurt and there’s no pat way to fix it. We can’t just slap a story around the Christian Gospel. Everyone can see what you’re trying to do and that’s poor craftsmanship.
Instead, find a story close to your heart. Something you want to say. Maybe everything doesn’t get neatly tied up in the end, but that’s all right. Our own story hasn’t been neatly tied up yet. Offer hope. Let people know you understand, but there’s more to this world than pain. For, as Tolkien would say, “Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.”
Author Bio: Ali was born not too long along and will probably die sometime... most
likely by lightening. In her brief span of life, she hopes to write some
stories that may or may not be good, make lots of friends, and "seize
the adventure" that God has sent her.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Announcing: A Call to Pens 2011!
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| {Photo Credit: sxc.hu} |
Pick up your pens, grab your laptops, sharpen your number two pencils and start your coffee grinders.
I'm very excited to announce the fourth annual Patrick Henry College "A Call to Pens" short story competition!
I hope this year's themes will inspire you to strive for literary excellence. The themes are:
The First Division
Theme: An Unexpected Adventure
Age group: 12-15
Word limit: 1,500
The Second Division
Theme: Redemption
Age group: 16-18
Word limit: 2,500
Contest deadline is February 1, 2012.
About the blog: Like last year, this blog will continue to be a repository of information on the Christian writer's calling, literary excellence, good books on writing, and tips from the pros (PHC professors and some of our most exceptional student writers). I hope this blog will generate some discussion as we encourage each other in our writing endeavors.
A little about me: My name is Alicia Constant. I'm a junior Classical Liberal Arts Journalism major at Patrick Henry College, and I will be coordinating the contest this year. When I served as a judge last year, I enjoyed reading your works of fiction so much that I decided to get more involved this year.
I'm a journalist at heart-- which means that I mostly deal in non-fiction these days-- but I'm also a poet, a voracious reader, a puttering librarian, and a some-time scribbler. I believe that good stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, communicate truth by challenging and delighting the soul.
I hope this blog is not only your chance to hear from me but also to learn from the colleagues and mentors that have taught me many things about the literary craft. Please leave comments with your suggestions for topics you'd like to see on the blog.
Also, you can contact me at shortstory@phc.edu with any questions about the blog or the competition.
In Christ,
Alicia Constant
2011 Call to Pens Contest Coordinator
Friday, February 18, 2011
the craft and business of writing: essential tools for writing success
The Craft and Business of Writing: Essential Tools for Writing Success, by the Editors of Writer’s Digest books
I recently discovered a real “page-turner” I couldn’t put down—and unfortunately, couldn’t afford. Happily, my school library recently acquired it, and it’s sitting beside me now, as I type this. (And no, it’s not a novel.)
If you’re interested in writing as a career, or even in just publishing a few stories every now and then, this is a book you may definitely want to check out at your library or the nearest bookstore. I haven’t read it front to back, but the portions I have perused are chock-full of sound advice and practical, “here’s how to do it and here’s how not to do it” instruction. I especially appreciate how the editors work to spark your interest through questions, suggestions, and anecdotes, in addition to both positive and negative examples of whatever topic they are addressing. Overall, it gives a good understanding of both business aspects of writing and the building blocks of writing itself.
Here’s just a bit of what this book offers (quoted from the back):
For more than eighty years, the Writer’s Market series has provided the timeless advice and detailed instruction writers have come to depend on to achieve their goals. The Craft & Business of Writing offers the best of that instruction from award-winning writers such as M.J. Rose, Lee K. Abbott, Alyce Miller, Fred Marchant, Jennifer Cruisie, Megan McCafferty, Gary Provost, Monica Wood, and Deborah Hopkinson.
In this book, writers, agents, and editors offer their insights into every genre and facet of the publishing industry, so whether you write fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, or poetry—or a little of everything—this essential all-in-one reference includes everything you need to start and maintain your writing career.
To hone your craft and increase your skill as a writer, you’ll find solid advice on how to:
- Craft intricate plots and nuanced characters
- Improve the pace and veracity of your dialogue
- Write in rhyme, or with appropriate meter
To successfully market yourself and sell your work, you’ll learn how to:
- Find and work with an agent
- Negotiate contracts and collaborate with editors
- Test and submit article ideas
No matter what your skill level or area of creative interest, The Craft & Business of Writing is an invaluable addition to your reference library.
Interested? Check it out on Amazon and peruse a few chapters for free!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
a writer's resources - part 2
Today our guest blogger is Peter Forbes, an ’09 graduate of Patrick Henry College who is currently writing a novel based upon the movie Come What May. You can check out his blog here to read about his on-going experiences in film and novel-writing--which I would definitely recommend. :-)
Name: Peter Forbes
Class: '09 Graduate
Hometown: Dinosaur, CO
Major/Degree: Literature
Favorite book: Hard to pick a favorite, but Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis would be worthy of this position.
What encouraged you to start writing fiction in the first place? Fiction got me out of writing "serious" stuff in school. Jot off a story for fun or sweat through an essay? It was an easy choice.
What technical books or resources (essays, articles, lectures, journals, etc.) have most enabled you to improve your writing skills?
Two excellent resources off the top of my head:
An essay called "On Three Ways of Writing for Children" from Of Other Worlds by C. S. Lewis. Lewis describes three (surprise!) kinds of children's literature. Lewis describes how a good children's story should be just as enjoyable to adults as to children. He also gives an interesting side note to the place of morals in a story, any story, and whether or not it is wise to start out with a moral in mind. Because I'm interested in writing children's fiction, this is an invaluable reference, and Lewis is a master.
The book Story Craft by John Erickson. Many homeschoolers know Erickson through his character Hank, from the Hank the Cowdog series. Erickson is also a Christian and a philosopher, and he offers some valuable advice on what an author should do for readers through fiction. Erickson is a contemporary author who writes for the general market. He has loads of insight, and this book distills much of it winsomely.
Which works of literature have most encouraged you, inspired you, and/or taught you how to write? (Please briefly describe 3-6 such books, individually, demonstrating how/why/what you learned from them and why you would recommend reading it.)
A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay--
A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay is a sci-fi/fantasy written in 1920, though it's really a story about a man's journey through many different philosophies. It's not a "Christian" book, but C. S. Lewis appreciated it so much that it was an influence on his own work. The main character, Maskull, must journey to find what is true. It's a bit of a dense read and must be evaluated critically, but definitely worthwhile. It showed me how to intertwine philosophy effectively into a fantasy.
Phantastes by George MacDonald--
George MacDonald's Phantastes is similar to Arcturus in many ways: it's a fantasy about a man who goes on a journey through strange lands, and C. S. Lewis cites it as a major factor in his own life (especially in his conversion to Christianity). Phantastes is filled to the brim with near dreams and images of other worlds, accompanied by themes that are universally true. George MacDonald is a prime example of an author who can take the things that seem "normal" and defamiliarize them so that they are fresh and new.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevesky--
Fyodor Dostoevesky left a profound impression on me with his Crime and Punishment. The story is riveting, and the psychology he explores in his main character is dead-on insightful. It's a powerful work of guilt, repentance, and redemption. Perhaps what I left the novel with most is the idea of a story structure that may be capable of reflecting more truth than almost any other kind of story structure. Mankind is guilty and must repent and be forgiven to be redeemed. I think there is a huge potential for stories written in the vein of Crime and Punishment.
Earthboy Jacobus by Doug TenNapel
Graphic novels (basically big comic books) are gaining traction and readership today, and because they marry the visual, visceral element of a film with the intimacy of a book, the kind of emotional impact they can have is hard to underestimate. Doug TenNapel is one of my favorite writers/artists in the genre, and his book Earthboy Jacobus is a great example of a graphic novel. It's a fantastical story about the life of a man with mysterious powers that parallels much of the Book of Jonah. TenNapel's Christian faith is evident in much of his work, and his creativity has inspired me to write graphic novels myself.
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis--
"All joy . . . emphasizes our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best havings are wantings." - C. S. Lewis
Till We Have Faces has marks of a man who longed for heaven intensely, and through his book, readers were given a taste of that longing for themselves. If I can do to that in my own work, I'll have achieved more than I could have hoped for.
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