So far, I have been able to
share with you what I would call an overview of writing. How to
set up your environment, some tips on how to get the ideas flowing, and
things of that nature. Now we need to start discussing some of the
nuts and bolts of writing. This is where we get to break down what
we're writing and identify what it is that we're doing and then we'll be
able to make some decisions as to whether it is effective or not.
I used to argue with a teacher of mine about knowing what things are
called, because if I was writing correctly, why did I need to know what
it was I was doing? Actually, what I was really asking was why we
had to study things that were so BORING. I'll try to keep
the boring parts to a minimum. The reason it is important for you
to know what you are doing or what is correct, is when you want to
change it or deliberately break the rules for effect or simply try
different mechanisms to see which works the best. Let's get
started with an examination of narrative mode.
So, what do I mean by narrative mode? Narrative means
a story or account of events, experiences, or
the like, whether true or fictitious and mode is
a manner of acting or doing; method; way.
So a narrative mode is simply the method or way in which we tell a
story. There are five methods to telling a fictitious story:
dialogue (the conversation between characters
in a novel, drama, etc.), description (a
statement, picture in words, or account that describes),
action (description in motion; an event or
series of events), thoughts (the act
or process of thinking; cogitation), and exposition (writing
or speech primarily intended to convey information or to explain).
Usually, during the course of a novel, most, if not all five, of the
methods listed above will be used. Your characters will have
dialogue, you'll describe some of the scenery, there will be passages
full of actions, you'll take the reader into the thoughts of the
character(s), and sometimes you will simply explain what is happening.
This will happen most of the time in a natural way. So why is it
important for us to be able to identify which method is being used?
I've mentioned before that your opening is the most important and when
you start writing, you will be using predominantly one of the above five
modes. But, which one really works the best to get the attention of the
reader? That will vary from story to story. You might need
to try writing an opening using each of the five modes to see which one
works best for your story.
How would that work? Let's take Misfit McCabe as an
example. In the actual book, I used dialogue as the predominant
narrative mode to get the story started.
"You know I'll swear
it was all my idea."
"But, Katie, it
was all your idea." Tim reached
behind his back and pulled out a flask.
"Except for this."
"Are you getting
sly on me, Timmy Lawrence?" He never
tried anything without checking it out with me first.
"What's in it?"
Other than something to get us both into trouble.
He shrugged one shoulder and leaned back against the
side of the shed. "Oh, nothing much. Just a
little rum to go with the cokes I brought."
He cracked open a can and handed it to me.
"Drink some out, so I can spice it up for
you."
Swallowing as much as I could in a mouthful, I passed
the can back to him. "What made you
think of this?" A new Timmy was
emerging, and I didn't know exactly how to handle him.
He grinned as he concentrated on pouring the rum into
the coke. "I just figured that if we
were going to start smoking, we might as well mark the occasion with a
drink of celebration." He doctored
his drink and set the flask on the ground. "Anyway,
you're always saying that I never come up with my own ideas. So I did."
"I'll say. And what an idea."
I could see the faint flush of pride on Tim's
cheeks.
While the above passage has dialogue, Katie's thoughts, and things that
describe what Katie and Tim are both doing (action), the bulk of the
opening is dialogue. This helps to draw the reader in and jump
start the action of the story.
What if we were to start Misfit McCabe with the description mode
rather than dialogue? The first beginning that I had for the book
did open with a descriptive passage.
The bus rattled and
bumped its way down the road, the seats creaked, and the sides seemed to
groan more with every mile. The windows didn't stay shut, so my
mouth felt as dry as cotton from the dust that poured in, and the heat
of the day made the bus feel like the inside of an oven. I felt
cranky from lack of sleep, and my eyes felt gritty and burned from the
dust.
At least I had the seat to myself, and could sit
through the long ride without someone interrupting my thoughts.
What a sight I must be for the other passengers, my arms folded across
my chest, a scowl for an expression, and my long, blonde hair hanging in
my face. I crouched down low in the seat and thrust my knees
against the back of the seat in front of me. I didn't want to make
this trip, and didn't care what anyone else thought about me either.
How could Daddy send me away from him, especially when he was sick?
What if he didn't get better? I had to push that thought out of my
mind. I didn't even want to think about that possibility. He
had to get better, he just had to. The motion of the bus, along
with my sleepless night, soon lulled me to sleep.
What this accomplishes is to establish Katie on a bus leaving home as
well as some of her features and attitudes. How does this compare
to the actual beginning of the book? Let's look at how a
descriptive beginning would look starting it in the shed.
Although the afternoon
sun shone brightly, the inside of the shed remained dark. The only
light filtered through the cracks in the walls. We kept the light
off in order to keep from attracting any attention, not that we would.
Even with the lights on and the door open, the shed was hidden from the
house and people were used to seeing me on the property because I helped
Mr. Pickford with the care of his animals. In the dim interior of
the shed, I could see Timmy's skinny silhouette sitting on a bale of hay
waiting for me to join him. It was definitely cooler inside than
out in the dry heat of the afternoon. As I sat down, Tim reached
behind his back and pulled out a flask, a sly smile crossing his face.
He cracked open a can of soda and I could hear the fizzing bubbles as he
handed it to me. Brushing my blonde hair away from my face, I
tipped my head back and swallowed as much as I could in one mouthful and
handed back the can for him to spice it up for me. Tim doctored
his own drink and set the flask down on the ground.
Timmy grinned at me.
"I figured if we were going to start smoking, we might as well mark the
occasion with a drink of celebration." Excellent. At least
we would have tried a few things by the time we started high school next
week.
This essentially covers the same part of the story line of the opening
paragraphs of Misfit McCabe but does it through description of
the scene rather than dialogue. If we wanted to start the book
with the narrative mode being predominantly action, then we need to
start a little farther into the story in order to help make the story
start more dramatically.
I heard a crackling
sound behind me. As Tim turned to look at me his eyes got big and
all of a sudden I could smell smoke overpowering the smell of the
cigarettes. The dry hay had caught fire. It must have
started from the match I thought had gone out, and the flames were
starting to rage. Grabbing Timmy's hand, I followed my instincts and
ran.
Running as fast as I could, I wanted to get as far away
as possible. I noticed that somehow I lost Tim. Turning
around, I saw him looking back at the shed. "Timmy! Come on!
We have got to get out of here." Tim refused to run away because
if we didn't try to put it out, the fire could spread rapidly.
Sending Timmy for help, I turned around and faced the
burning shed once more trying to determine if there was anything I could
do while waiting for help to come. At least I couldn't see the
flames outside yet. Running over to a young tree, I broke off a
long, leafy branch. I placed my hands on the outside of the shed
door to feel for heat. It was still cool. Stepping to one
side of the door, I balanced on one foot and kicked the door in. I
jumped back. No flames came shooting out. That was a good
sign. I looked inside. Almost the entire floor was engulfed
in flames. I started beating those closest to me.
Sweating from the intense heat, I kept beating the
flames in a losing battle. My eyes and throat stung from the smoke
and I felt like help would never come. After I singed the first
branch completely, I ran back and got another branch and continued
beating the flames the best I could.
Notice that with the action beginning, you spend less time describing
the scenery or characters and more focus is spent describing the events
that are occurring. How would you start Misfit McCabe using
the thought mode? In this case, because the story is written in
first person, it is not possible to shift from one person's thoughts to
another, so it will all be from Katie's point of view. Plus, when
writing, you want to make sure that you have clear, concise changes in
view point. Unless your aim is to cause your reader some
confusion, you want to make sure it is clear which characters' thoughts
you are following.
As I walked into the
shed to join Timmy, it came over me all of a sudden how much he meant to
me. He was always there for me. Skinny, tousled hair, and
clothes that had always seen better days. I'd known him my whole
life, or as long as I could remember, and he was as close to a brother
as I would ever have. We had both grown up in this small town and
were both restless and aching to try something new, something that we
had not experienced before. Our bond was formed early because
neither one of us had a mother, mine because she had been killed in a
car accident and his just up and left.
Timmy wanted things to change between us, for us to be
boyfriend and girlfriend, and I wasn't sure that I wanted things to
change. I loved him more than myself, but he was too familiar, too
close to me. As I sat down next to him, he surprised me by pulling
a flask from behind his back. A new Timmy was definitely emerging.
Tim, I had to remember to call him Tim. It was hard because I'd
always called him Timmy. He wanted to start high school as Tim
Lawrence, and while I understood, my tongue slipped on the name all the
time. I used to be able to read his thoughts like an open book,
but that was changing too.
Now let's take a look at what the beginning would look like using the
narrative mode of exposition. You may recognize the style as similar to
the fairy tales that were read to you as you were young.
Once upon a time, in a
small, isolated town, lived a fourteen year old girl named, Katie
McCabe. Katie lived with her father, who was the county sheriff.
She lost her mother when she was a small child when her mother was hit
by a car. Katie's best friend in the whole town was a boy her own
age, named Tim Lawrence. Katie and Timmy did everything together.
It seemed to her Daddy that the thing that they did the most together
was get into trouble. Katie was getting restless with life in a
small town and was wanting to go out and experience more of life.
Unbeknownst to her, her Daddy was beginning to think that he should send
her to live with his older brother. He was not well and Katie was
getting to be too much of a handful.
Exposition is where you, as the author, take the time to set up the
story by explaining things to the reader up front.
Now that we have explored all five of the narrative mode types, you
should be able to try writing a story, or the opening to a story using
one of the five methods. Sometimes, the best way to find out which
type of narrative mode should be used to help you create a strong
beginning is to try writing the beginning in each of the five styles and
see which one works the best for you and your story.
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