Help. All my stories are written by Kilgore Trout.
kidc
go with them. I have all these interesting ideas that would be great as one
of Vonnegut's summaries of a Kilgore Trout story but that's about it. I
really think that Vonnegut wrote those because he liked the ideas but didn't
know where to go with them. What is the problem here? Is it perhaps that
I'm not starting with a character with a problem? Any ideas appreciated.
Michael Higgins
getting blasted for saying anything on the 'net) but it seems to me that if
you don't have a character AND a problem, you don't have a story. If you
have a problem but no one to react to it, then you have an entry in the
encyclopedia. If you have a character and nothing for him/her to do, you
have a "still life watercolour," as that famous line goes.
The problem does not have to be the character's at first but at some point
they have to intersect. Perhaps his girlfriend has an abusive father?
Perhaps the avatar of a magical lama has been kidnapped by an evil demon?
(well, no; that was a bad movie I saw last week with Eddie Murphy) Perhaps a
king, who is really the character's father, sends his unknowing offspring on
a quest that will hopefully end his life? (Ooops, greek myth)
My point is, it doesn't matter what you try; in order to have a "story" you
have to have a character and a problem. The story is "what happens then..."
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TELL NO TALES...an SF/Thriller
sample chapters available at
http://www.huigin.com/tnt.html
ReMoore
I remember there was a passage in Breakfast of Champions where M.
Vonnegut's protagonist was simply idly looking around, and from out of
the blue the character began a paragraph-long flight of fancy,
creating a backstory and a little imaginary conflict for a woman
walking by with a dog.
I suppose I remember it principally because it was a whimsy, a bit of
prose thrown in for lagniappe; it sort of stuck out for me. It was as
though the writer said to herself at a certain point, "Hmm. Writing
is a lot of work, and I think I'll take a short break. I know
everyone in the world loves me, and I know my readers will love me
more if I suddenly sweep them off their feet, catch their attention
completely and utterly in the rich tapestry of the life of a totally
random person for the space of one paragraph, and then with only the
tiniest of ripples set them down again in a smooth flow of narrative."
The point of my gentle, rambling rant is this: a writer's job
(shudder) has *got* to the be hardest one in the world. She not only
has to pay attention to what an editor wants and what the characters
and story want, but also has to try to balance these with what she
herself desires.
Hmm. If you're not writing, maybe you're not writing what you desire
to write, in some way? Conversely, you'll know you're on the right
track when the characters and story start to get out of control. Then
(I've read) the fun part starts, e.g.,
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"Damn it, Barclay, you're just an imaginary meat-puppet. You don't
even have a real name, and if you don't get *over* to point B *right
now,* you never will!"
"And what, pray, is that to me? The instrument has not yet been
devised that could measure the degree of my indifference to whether
you imagine me or not. I can remain at point A forever, or move
smoothly about this so-far-unlocalized 'place.' I could even
eventually move over to point B, if I feel like it. Of course,
*you're* the one who decides. By the way, where would 'point B' be?
And how about some cartoon appendages?"
"Stop *hoouunding* me! Listen. I'm writing this for one purpose, and
one purpose only."
"Why am I not surprised. You're so predictable."
"Am not!" "Am so." "Am not!" "Am not." "Am so!" "Am not."
"Am so! I'm soooo predictable! You have *no* idea how predictable I
am."
"You're right. As usual."
"Well, I think I've made your point for me."
"I couldn't have done it without you."
"Go away with your blarney."
Barclay snickered, unable as always to resist having the last word.
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(As if. :)
Rachelle Moore
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