Joyce Carol Oates on writing characters

Subplots and organization

I'm going to admit that I haven't spent a lot of time on the novel lately, but I am anxious about getting back to it, as I am constantly thinking up ideas.

One thing I've realized is that there HAS to be a series of subplots -- something that is making the job of writing a little harder because I've realized that you can't just concentrate on the main storyline. Basically, there just wouldn't be the depth that I believe a novel requires.

My novel -- right now titled "The Father's Forgiveness" -- deals with several mainstream issues, including the death penalty (I'm intrigued right now with the Supreme Court's decision to hear a case about a guy who is scheduled to die for raping a child), as well as several religious issues which pit Catholic views against other ideologies. I grew up Catholic, and while I still hold dear to many of the Church's teachings, my thoughts on various issues (including the death penalty) differ greatly. Since one of the main characters is a priest, this is making for some great discussion in the book and has prompted a lot of soul searching on my part.

Anyway -- getting back to subplots and organization. I am considering using a tool that I learned about in a screenwriting course. I think I'm going to use 3x5 index cards to write out scenes, and then I will use those cards as puzzle pieces to create the best possible story I can imagine.

Have any of you used this technique in your writing? (I don't get a lot of comments here, but I like to pose questions in case someone stumbles upon this blog and decides to contribute.)

Sinclair Lewis

OK...I know little to nothing about Sinclair Lewis, but I DO know that he changed my life.

How's that, you say?

Glad you asked.

As some of you might know, I am a former newspaper reporter. Back in 2001, while working for the Springfield News-Leader, I had the pleasure of working for an executive editor named David Ledford. I don't think that I impressed him much as a writer, but he took a chance and devoted a lot of time to me. When I struggled with a story, he'd sit with me until the early morning hours to make sure I got it right. When I needed a push, he was there to give it. He's a gruff fellow, and not everyone enjoyed his approach to editing, but he knew how to motivate me.

Ledford encouraged his reporters to let the readers "see" what we were seeing as reporters. He drilled into us the importance of narrative writing. He held workshops, sent us to seminars, etc.

One day, he called me into his office and he asked, "Have you ever read Sinclair Lewis' Main Street?"

"Um, no."

"Read that and you'll know how to write."

That was the first time I'd ever heard an editor or any instructor of journalism say that reporters should read literature to become better news writers! What a novel idea!

So, to keep up my good standing with my boss, I went to the library and checked out Main Street. I read the first dozen pages and caught on to what he was talking about -- but that was as far as I'd ever been with that book. However, I did decide, at that point, to concentrate on my storytelling, to become the best writer I could possibly be. I got away from "just the facts ma'am" reporting and became a storyteller -- trying to let the readers "see" what I was seeing. And since then, I've taken a new approach to all writing -- whether it's a news article, press release, magazine feature, etc.

All this to say that I've finally gotten around to picking up my copy of Main Street and I'm devoted to reading it this winter. It's a pretty good book so far, and I'm excited to get lost in Gopher Prairie.

Have any of you read this book?

P.S. I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile (I know that's a cardinal sin with blogging), but I've been busy with "end-of-semester" things like papers and a linguistics final -- and, of course, making arrangements to finish my thesis. By the way, I received an A in my linguistics course, so all I have left are comprehensive exams and this thesis! Keep me in your prayers.

A great mystery is dialogue, hmm?

My 4-year-old son has been watching the original three Star Wars movies for the past few months. Not too long ago (and not too far far away), he came up to me and said, "Love you I do" in his best Yoda voice. It was hilarious!

I am taking a pretty confusing linguistics theory class at the moment -- my fault, not the professor's -- so I used the prompt from my son to write my final paper on "Yoda-speak" and the Jedi Master's use of sentence inversion in The Empire Strikes Back.

What I realized while writing this paper is that Yoda's lexicon defines him as much as his green skin, diminutive size or his masterful use of The Force.

That made me analyze the dialogue in my novel, as well as pose some other dialogue-related questions:

1. Does my dialogue help define my characters?
2. Have I fallen into any dialogue traps? (using useless words, writing dialogue when I could paraphrase, etc.?
3. Can individual lexicons be over-used? (Personally, I think Yoda's has been overdone in subsequent films)
4. What are some good examples of great dialogue? Some Mark Twain and To Kill a Mockingbird comes to mind.
5. Are there any good dialogue resources out there?

Thanks for listening...er, reading.

Things I'm learning along the way

This blog is actually working...

No, there are not very many comments coming in (yet), but by writing my occasional posts, I have been motivated to work on my book and to seek out resources that I didn't know existed before I started this (Wicked Wordsmith, Crimespace, etc). As of today, my book is at 22 pages and I'm well into chapter 2! This is exciting for me because I have a definite direction for this work -- and that is a huge accomplishment for me, as I've started many things that just kind of fell flat.

Some things that I'm learning along the way:

1. The characters really do drive themselves. Yes, I have a conclusion in mind, but my protagonist has a life of his own. I often find myself saying things like: "He'd do this instead of that" or I'll go back and make significant changes because I'd have Tommy doing something that was totally out of character.

2. I read somewhere that you shouldn't introduce secondary characters without having them reappear again with some significance. That makes a lot of sense, when I think about it. I've actually introduced some characters for flavor, but coming across that advice, I need to figure out how they'll reappear. I'm actually very excited about this and have some ideas.

3. I need to write when I don't want to write. The other night, my wife and I were lounging on the couch and flipping channels. I told her: "I hate nights like this when you feel like you've just wasted an entire evening." She said "Why don't you go write?" At first, I felt like saying "I'm tired" or "I just don't have it in me tonight." Instead, I got up and dragged myself to the computer and pounded out three pages or so. I started to get tired and wanted to quit midway through a scene, but I continued to write -- just to finish the scene and "turn the corner." Before I went to bed, I had revised the first chapter (again) and was well on my way into Chapter 2 (It might even be time to move to Chapter 3). I was tired the next morning, but something had been accomplished -- which is the point, right?

4. Do chapters have to be similar in length? At this point, I'm deciding they don't because my second chapter ends naturally at about half the length of the first. Is this appropriate, or is there some rule regarding chapter length?

Looking forward to some comments!!

A few questions

What's in a name?

Do you ever have trouble naming your characters? My protagonist is Thomas "Tommy" Richter. I wanted a good German name, but now I'm re-thinking my choice -- Is the name "Tommy" appropriate for a 30-something? My thinking is that he's "Tommy" to the people in his neighborhood and "Thomas" in the workplace. Is that too distracting? Are there any really good resources out there for character naming?

Using real places?

Are there any dangers having your characters going to real places, like real universities? Right now, I have Tommy as a graduate of St. Louis University, but it's basically a place-holder until I can do some more research. Tommy is a journalist, but I haven't checked to see if SLU has a journalism program. I went to a Missouri school with a journalism program, but it's not in St. Louis. I want Tommy to go to a school in St. Louis. Does "creating" a university -- even if it's just a brief mention -- give the story less credibility?

Any good examples out there of dream sequences?

I'm looking for a creative way to insert a dream -- in real time -- into my story. Do you know of any good examples?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

My novel

I've actually completed a fair amount of work with this project already. No, I haven't written a hundered pages. But I have a pretty nice outline, character biographies, plot points, etc. I've also written a rough first chapter.

I have an interesting organization. The story takes place over a period of two weeks. Each chapter is a day building up to the final day. I have some interesting characters. The protagonist, Thomas Richter (good German name) is a St. Louis newspaper reporter (write what you know, right?). He's facing a huge challenge that will alter his life forever, blah, blah, blah....Actually, it's a pretty good story. But, right now, the majority is only in my mind.

Time to get it on paper, right? So what am I doing taking up time writing here? Maybe it's the exercise of hitting the keyboard with a purpose -- sitting here, at night, when the kids are asleep and I could be vegging out watching a CSI rerun.

And what's up with that? The new season of CSI is less than a month old and they're already playing repeats? I don't watch too many television shows anymore, but I do flip channels like a mad man.

Should get to writing...