Fiction Writing

Lamott Packet Character

Pg. 8

For the Lamott Polaroids packet I read on page 8 about characters.  The excerpt explained that as a writer you should not have the knowledge of your main character all down.  You should not be able to see what your character is going to be like in the future.  It was said that "You avoid forcing your characters to march too steadily to the drumbeat to your artistic purpose."  You should let your character develop as it should and not as you want all the time.  Treat your character like it is a real person, you would like to have this person one way but from his/her past experiences he/she became another way.  I don't think that the author should not be in control of his characters but not to be in absolute control.  If the author is in complete control the story won't be as enjoyable to go along.  When you let your character develop as you go it will be as much as a surprise to create your characters actions as the viewer reading your characters actions. This is especially for fiction writers.  As you go along you must leave room for your characters to develop on their own (metaphorically speaking) there have to be room for potential side characters to eventually branch out to become main characters too of the story too.  I have seen this in many shows I've watched and even heard the writers said that they do not even expect to see what their characters are going to do.  It is a basic thing to do as a writer so you can enjoy your story as much as your readers.

Short Story Reaction 2

Fiction Packet 2: Prairie

From the sound of the story, it seems like it took place on a ship of some sort.  I get that interpretation from the term "Captain" being used frequently.  I could be wrong about this but it gives me a feeling of a ship at sea.  When I read this story I can see a crew of people who encountered a person who was severely injured.  It was said in the story that this person had pieces of skin flayed off his back.  This could be that he was tortured, I am only guessing though.  In the start of the second paragraph of the story there was a word that was unfamiliar to me.  That word was "paroch."  I looked up the word to see that it was a abbreviated form of parochial which is a religious term of relating to a church parish.  Then there was a assortment of words pertain to religion like: "baptizing, church, scrolls, Jesus and sainthood." This made me believe that this was more of a religious story than my first theory.  If so then it explains why I really cannot understand this story.  The beginning of this story really attracted me because of the description of the man with the rips and tears on his back.  Once I read that I wanted to keep reading more.  Truthfully I couldn't interpret the setting or the plot of the story, so I just made assumptions from what knowledge I could gather from it.

Short Story Reaction 1

Walking the Baby to the Liquor Store

This story was a tale of a man who takes his daughter to the store everyday.  The man was a writer and was to be told that he was very busy and had a lot on his plate but instead of getting work done in the morning he would take his daughter to the liquor store.  He said she enjoyed the journey there every time and he enjoyed seeing her happy.  With that being said he put everything aside to keep her happy and take her to the store.  It is a story that tells the tale of fatherhood and and to never put anything over your son or daughter's happiness.

I was attracted to this story because it reminded me of my memories of store trips I had.   The whole plot reminds me of multiple trips to the store I had with my 2 nieces. My nieces lived at the corner house right before the liquor store.  I remember every time I go to the liquor store they would be outside.  As soon as they saw me they would ask to go with me.  Since I can not say no to them I give in every time they ask.  Every trip we take I'm out of 20 dollars.  It came to the point where I used to sneak and go to the store by walking around the corner.  It also reminds me of a friend of mine who does not live in the state anymore.  He moved a while ago but when he comes back he takes his son to the store everyday around 3pm.  He did this because he believed that his son enjoyed  going to the store with him.  He did this faithfully until he went back to home.

City Eclogue: Words For It Poem

Nature

Flowers blooming on a grassy plain

Birds flying in the blue sky

Take a rest in the tall trees

Such a beautiful sight

But here come trucks filled with men

Wonder what do they want?

After a couple of chops the trees go down

Men with shovels kill all the flowers

Cement covering the dead fields

This is the graveyard for nature

Buried under what’s known as a city