JASON HALF : writer
  • Home
  • Full-length Plays
    • The Community Play
    • Kate and Comet
    • Sundial
    • Tulip Brothers
  • Short Plays
    • Among the Oats
    • Holly and Mr. Ivy
    • Locked Room Misery
  • Screenplays
    • The Ballad of Faith Divine
    • My Advice
    • Finders
  • Fiction
  • Blog

WRITING - What I've learned about the craft

6/20/2015

0 Comments

 
For my inaugural blog post, I thought it would be useful and encouraging to share some realizations I have accumulated over the years about the craft and art of writing. While some of the points might seem obvious, it took me lots of trial and error to recognize the importance of these basic ideas. And I still remind myself of them every time I write!
  • Writing becomes resonant when it has something to say. The trick lies in understanding and accepting that there are no new ideas for an artist to state, only new ways to present them. If you can sum up your piece in a thematic message—pessimism only breeds negativity, or celebrity culture is disconnected from reality, for example—then your chances of writing something that's both more personal and more powerful increase. Defining a theme and putting the idea into words forces the author to articulate the purpose of the story, and that's a good thing. How many times have you read a story or watched a play and found your attention wandering because the scene devolved into rudderless conversation? Chances are the writer lost his or her theme. If you're not saying something (that's almost assuredly already been said) about the human condition, then I'm not sure why as an audience member I'm giving up time to go on the journey.  A clear theme will also strengthen both character actions and goals.

  • Understand plot structure as it is taught, but don't let it hamstring you if you're trying out a stylistic idea or non-linear approach. Experiment when you want to rather than writing in a traditional form, provided you can define what the new approach accomplishes. The adage of knowing the rule you're breaking before you break it is a good one; if you can't explain why you are choosing a particular atypical style, then you need to think carefully before using it. If you can justify why using backwards chronology enhances the breakup story you are writing (and define what it adds to your piece), then definitely keep going. If you have no better reason than "It looks cool," then you might want to revisit what you're trying to say.

  • Brevity. Repeated beats in my stage writing are a big weakness of mine. Go through and see if people are arguing the same thing and merely saying it with different words. If they are, cut it. While you're looking for brevity, also track escalation of conflict. If it feels like just a back-and-forth argument, you need to think about one character breaking that cycle by introducing a new tactic: have her stab the other person with a fork or have a nervous breakdown or get deadly quiet and say, "Okay, but you know what I'll do to Sandy." Especially if Sandy hasn't been brought up or used as a tactic before; it's a safe bet to say that this will make the audience perk up. Why? You're no longer repeating a familiar beat. Suddenly you're in new, interesting territory.

  • Work from your landing point (aka: embrace the outline). To me, it's the ending and final image that informs what the play or story is about. That should be both common-sense and universal, but for many writers, we lose sight of the power of conclusion. I spend a lot of time figuring out where I want the protagonist to end up. Yes, I'm all for having the characters speak and act as one writes, and although I use an outline, it's an open one with enough room for characters to chart their own way. But if I know where I want to go, it helps me define what I want to say (the thematic message, discussed earlier). I've witnessed some colleagues write several drafts of a story, completely changing structure and plot with each multi-page new pass. Foreknowledge means you're not as apt to lose time going blindly down a creative alley that isn't the right one if you know the neighborhood where you ultimately want to wind up. For that reason, I am very much a pro-outline writer. My characters still surprise me, and I still let them speak and act independently. But with an outline, they're also in service of what I feel I really want to say through their journey. And if that theme changes, then both characters and writer can discover it together.

    Those are some of my thoughts gained from personal experience. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    BLOG

    Lots of book reviews and discussion of classic and contemporary mystery fiction. I welcome comments and continuing conversation.

    Subscribe below to receive updates!

    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    19th Century Novels
    Andrew Garve
    Anne Morice
    Anthologies
    Anthony Boucher
    Appalachian Authors
    Bill James
    Book Review
    Catherine Dilts
    C. Daly King
    Craig Rice
    David Goodis
    E.C.R. Lorac / Carol Carnac
    Erle Stanley Gardner
    E.R. Punshon
    Freeman Wills Crofts
    French Authors
    George Bellairs
    George Milner
    Gladys Mitchell
    Golden Age Mystery
    Gregory McDonald
    Hardboiled Detectives
    Helen McCloy
    Helen Simpson
    Henry Wade
    Herbert Adams
    Hugh Austin
    James Corbett
    J. Jefferson Farjeon
    John Bude
    John Rhode/Miles Burton
    Leo Bruce
    Maj Sjowall / Per Wahloo
    Margery Allingham
    Martin Edwards
    Michael Gilbert
    Michael Innes
    Mignon G. Eberhart
    Milward Kennedy
    Mitchell Mystery Reading Group
    New Fiction
    New Mystery
    Nicholas Blake
    Nicolas Freeling
    Noir
    Philip MacDonald
    Play Review
    Q. Patrick / Patrick Quentin
    Rex Stout
    Richard Hull
    Ross MacDonald
    Russian Authors
    Science Fiction
    Vernon Loder
    Vladimir Nabokov
    William L. DeAndrea
    Winifred Blazey
    Writing

    Mystery Fiction Sites
    -- all recommended ! --
    Ahsweetmysteryblog
    The Art of Words
    Beneath the Stains of Time
    Bitter Tea and Mystery
    Catherine Dilts - author
    Countdown John's Christie Journal
    Classic Mysteries
    Clothes in Books
    ​A Crime is Afoot
    Crossexaminingcrime
    Gladys Mitchell Tribute
    Grandest Game in the World
    Happiness Is a Book
    In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
    The Invisible Event
    Martin Edwards' Crime Writing Blog
    Murder at the Manse
    Mysteries Ahoy!
    Noirish
    The Passing Tramp
    Past Offences
    Pretty Sinister Books
    Tipping My Fedora
    To the Manor Born
    Witness to the Crime
    

    Archives

    December 2024
    November 2024
    September 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    January 2024
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    RSS Feed

Unless otherwise stated, all text content on this site is
​copyright Jason Half, 2024.