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Guest post by Carol Fisher Saller
Writing Eddie’s War, which consists of 76 prose-poem vignettes, wasn’t easy. I’ve chronicled elsewhere the trouble I got myself into by writing the scenes every which-way in random order without first outlining a plot or getting to know my characters. I’d think of a scene and write it—mostly little slices of life. Here’s a short one:
May 1939
Sarah Mulberry
In the first grade
she was Sam,
not even all that much
a girl.
Smile as wide as her feet were long,
feet made for puddle-jumping,
fence-hopping,
running from boys.
She could bat a ball and fling a cob
with the rest of us.
In junior high, though,
she became Sarah,
still flashing that smile,
but avoiding the cob fights.
Unless she was
provoked.
Sometimes I’d think of a new character and write a scene for him or her. Sometimes I’d build a scene around something that happened in the 1930s or 1940s, like the crash of the Hindenburg, or the invasion of Poland, or the movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
This is a terrible way to write a book. But I did have a few characters who kept coming back to me, and two or three story lines that began to emerge. The character of Eddie started speaking in the first person. And I at least had some historical facts in the background that forced a measure of chronology.
And that’s when my group came up with the sentences. (Actually, as I remember it, I was the one who thought it up, and since I’m the one blogging here today, I’m sticking to that.)
Plot with summary sentences.
The idea is to write a single sentence for each scene or chapter in your book. Include the main plot point and the name of every character who appears in a memorable way:
January 1934, Eddie learns to read newspapers at the library.
May 1937, Eddie and Thomas find some baby foxes and Dad tells them to kill them.
July 1938, Eddie and Gabe argue a moral point.
July 1938, Gabe becomes a hero when Curtis Ray falls out of the tree fort.
September 1938, Dad tells a story about an early experience with a shotgun.
September 1938, Eddie remembers Grampa Rob in the duck blind.
(and so forth)
My list took a couple of pages. Then, in order to see the organization more clearly, I used a different color to highlight each character’s name. (I didn’t color Eddie, since he’s in every scene.)
Standing back a little to look at one color/character at a time, I could see where there were gaps if a character had been away too long. To fix it, I could either move the scenes around or write ne
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Wow! What a wonderful story of how the pearls became a necklace. And don't knock this procedure - it produced something wonderful!
I have read a number of articles regarding the proper way to write a book. This is the first one that instucted me how not to proceed with one. When I wrote Hardsrabble Hill, I did it the same way I put together the kids bikes at Christmas. I tried to muddle through on my own, and then I read the instructions. Apparently, I did the whole thing wrong. I didn't write a outline. I didn't do any character studies. And I didn't identify the narrator; which, I guess, is a huge no-no. I didn't even write the book I intended to write. I just put a girl on a shore and wondered what she would do. I wrote it on the porch; looking at that shore, and the story just wrote itself. I couldn't get it published (because I did it all wrong), but I self-published. I've sold 150 in a year. I've had nothing but good reviews, and one lady wrote and said that when she is in a pickle, she will ask herself, "What would Adele do?". Not bad for a guy who got it wrong.
Jeff, Thanks for stopping by to share your personal writing journey! Best wishes to you with your current title and with your future projects!
Claudia dear, a necklace of pearls is like a strand of good friends just waiting to be connected, isn't it? Thanks for all your book pearls,too!
I know Carol, but had never heard this full story before today! All writing is different and this story may have needed this tangled web to become what it did. I can't wait to read it!
Hi Shannon, Thanks for your thoughtful comment and for joining us on Carol's Book Birthday!
I'll be looking for your book. What a story! Congrats!
Thanks for joining the BOOK CELEBRATION, Stephanie! Carol's story is inspiring, isn't it?
"So here’s the main way I made trouble for myself: I wrote the scenes in no particular order, as they popped into my head." YES! That's me, me, me.
Carol, I could jump through my screen and hug you! That is exactly where I am. I have all these puzzle pieces I'm trying to fit together. Thank you, Clara, for hosting. And Carol, your snippets are beautiful. Looking forward to what sounds like a great read.
Kristin, Your heartfelt comment brought tears to my eyes! Write on!
Carol, I was there with you at Stephen's workshop in '09 (1 of the 4). I watched you struggle with your insecurities & witnessed the true birth of your book. I'm so glad to see the results you achieved from that. Best of luck with it. Can't wait to read it.
Kathy Cannon Wiechman
Hi Kathy, I'm thrilled that you and Carol are connected through the Highlights Foundation Workshop! That is so cool. Thanks for sharing that and for celebrating Carol's book birthday with us!
This was a fascinating account of the construction and deconstruction of a novel.
Carol--Thanks for allowing us to get inside your head. Breaking down the writing process for others to study is always interesting.
And Clara--Thank you for sharing Carol with the rest of us. It's incredibly powerful when a tangled mess gets unknotted and becomes something beautiful when it's born...
Sioux, What a beautiful and thoughtful comment! Thank you so much. Carol's words offer us so much solace and encouragement!
Clara, you have such amazing and thoughtful readers--I'm blown away by the comments. Kathy, it's so great to meet you again here!
It's interesting that some of the rest of you have found yourselves working in the same way. If you can take the pieces and start putting them together, maybe you'll find it's really the best method for you.
If you get stuck, a workshop might help. Writing groups, too--my own group had a huge influence on the shaping of my book. I have over 20,000 emails in my Writing Group folder!
I guess it takes a village of one kind or other to write a book.
Carol--Your BOOK BIRTHDAY has also become a celebration of the writing community!Isn't that exciting?
Indeed! It's one of the privileges of living in the age we do, that writers can commune so easily. The image of a writer suffering in isolation belongs to the romantic past.
Carol, Congratulations and Happy Book Birthday to you! Your book journey was very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I am so happy you were able to get all the parts working together as a whole. I can't wait to read it!
Hi Lorrie, Thank you for joining the BOOK BIRTHDAY! It is great when the parts come together as a whole!
Sent by JOYCE HOSTETTER--"Loved hearing your journey. In some ways I am doing the same thing. Writing lots of vignettes in no particular order for a story that is still taking shape. So I am thinking about this a lot. So glad you could work with Stephen Roxburgh. I haven't attended one of his workshops but he was my publisher for a short while so I know what a great soul he is. I really do want to read Eddie's War. I want to win it too. So Clara dear, enter me into the contest, please."
Dear Joyce, I cut and pasted your comment for you. I'm so sorry to learn that you aren't able to post comments on a lot of blogs. But THANK YOU SO MUCH for letting me know about your distressing dilemma. I've missed you!
This writing process of yours is fascinating to me, and I love the line about the pearls and the necklace. Congratulations on your success! :) I love to hear stories like yours.
Margo
http://margodill.com/blog/
Margo, Thanks so much for joining the Celebration for Carol!