Fiction And It's Purposes

Amid the busy Christmas holiday season, I began to think about purposes and the evolution of story. In the beginning stories were word of mouth, told by a person and carried along through the years. Families' histories were told that way--grandparents telling their grandchildren--and thus the stories traveled through time and lived. From the time of the printing press, history left the pens of the scribes and were put into the press to make even a large impact on more people.

For years we've taken books for granted, and now they are moving from paper to cyberspace in digital format. Exciting and scary too. Yet no matter how the story is delivered, fiction brings with it a number of purposes that, as writers, we should remember and use them to serve the telling of our story as well as the receiving by our readers.

First fiction is to entertain. Fiction takes us away from our everyday lives, lifts us from the mundane and allows us to walk paths we might never have experienced. It captures us and lightens the burdens of our individual struggles. It becomes a playground for our mind and refreshes us.

Next fiction helps us connect with others. Through stories, we experience emotions and face new adventures. We realize that we are not alone in our trials or in our joys. Many others have the same feelings, the same issues, the same problems. The novel strips apart our troubles, and we can sit back and watch others resolve issues we've dealt with for years. In reader mail, I've heard from many who have indicated that one of my novels provided the reader with a road map to begin their own resolves. That message makes all the work worthwhile for a novelist.

Third fiction helps us understand our world. Whether historical or contemporary fiction, patterns emerge: the seasons, life to death, sorrow to joy, hopeless to hope. We can look at history and realize how it affects us today. We can look at issues today and see how it was also part of our history. Our past makes us who we are today. We can look at prejudice and bias, economic turmoil and financial security, the impossible to the possible, and we grow in seeing our world and our history for what it is.

Finally fiction offers us a new look at life. We can learn how to face differences and change. One time years ago, Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984 were novels that were considered science fiction. Today we face many truths that those stories offered. Big brother is watching you.  Today we know that our government and individuals have their fingers on our pulse through data gathered in cyberspace. What we thought was impossible is not only possible but now passe.

Fiction serves a purpose for all readers to broaden our scope to the world, to others, to our emotions and trials, and to our abilities to deal with change and differences, but first of all, fiction is to entertain.  We can never forget that.

Plotting Online Course beginning in January

Since you are all writers, I wanted to tell you about an inexpensive online course I will be teaching for three weeks in January sponsored by Outreach International Romance Writers, a chapter of RWA. Even if you are not a romance writer, this course is focused on plotting. Plotting and pacing work hand in hand, and when pacing is bad plotting begins to plod.


The course beginning on January 4 and will cover these topics:

Part I will define story and explore how story connects with the reader. Styles of plotting will be explained, then Plotting and Pacing will be defined with explanation on layering the plot and showing growth and change of the characters. Looking at plotting as a Three-Act Play, the Act I will be as to the purpose it serves, proper use of backstory and hooking the reader and ending Act .

Part II will explore what the author must accomplish in Act II. It will cover reader expectation, purpose, conflicts, deepening the stakes, and emphasis on pacing by using scene and sequel and positioning plot points. Plot hooks will also be covered.

Part III will cover techniques to avoid the sagging middle in Act II and the major setback. Act III will cover the purpose this act and resolving all major issues with tips on ways to leave the reader with a memorable story.

For more information, go to:  http://www.oirw.net/campus/currentcourselist.htm

I hope to see some of you there.

Looking Again At Setting And Its Many Uses

I was asked to do an article for the ACFW Newsletter. The article is concise and covers things I've talked about before. Setting is sometimes the neglected element that's used for sense of place alone and not always used in a creative way that will add so much more to your novel.  Check out this article provdes much information consolidated in one place.

It will be the third article on the newsletter - http://www.acfw.com/ezine