story Archives - Page 2 of 2

January 13, 2016January 12, 2016

Remington Roundup: Links to Story, Craft, and Class

We’re still in the early weeks of a new year, so it feels right to kick-start a new series on the blog: the Remington Roundup.

Imagine that’s me in the picture on the right, minus the polkadot shirt but, yeah, with the bun. I really do own a Remington (thanks to a good friend). Imagine me compiling a list of links to articles, videos, and resources for you. But instead of ripping the page from the paper bail and sending it slow-post, I’m giving it to you here. Easy access. Good times.

Daily, I filter through emails and Facebook posts and tweets worthy of bookmarking, so let’s make a monthly date of sharing them. Look for the Remington Roundup the first or second week of each month, and feel free to share links to your favorite finds in the comments. This month: links to story, craft, & class.

#Story

Go watch this really cool video interview with George Saunders (discovered via Austin Kleon). Saunders talks about the magic of stories, with insight into how and why we write.

“The idea I love is that a story is kind of a black box. And, you’re gonna put the reader in there…with this thing that you have made. And when she comes out, what’s gonna have happened to her in there is something kind of astonishing.”

This interview plays out like a story itself. Even if you’re not a writer, you’ll enjoy it; it’s bother entertaining and educational.

#Craft

Pamela Hodge’s 19 tips on writing memoir, culled from Marion Roach Smith’s The Memoir Project.

“9. Write one scene at a time. Put each scene on an index card. On the front of the card write the theme, and on the back of the index card write down little details–dialogue, smells you remember.”

I’m not writing memoir, but many of these tips can be useful when tackling any kind of story.

#Class

I’ve been posting about online learning opportunities for the last few weeks. As a follow-up, here’s a link to my Flash Nonfiction Online Course, which is open for registration.

“Christi Craig’s Flash Nonfiction Online Course packed a wealth of resources and prompts into four weeks and gave me a needed motivational push to strengthen the writing habit.” ~ Lisa Rivero, past student

The course runs four weeks beginning mid-February, and is a great opportunity to learn about storytelling within the constraints of a small wordcount. You’ll put a few techniques into practice, walk away with new essays, and meet other writers. Join us!

October 14, 2015October 13, 2015

Focus on Story: Intrigue on Page One

I am terribly introspective most days, but there are moments–plenty–when my attention span runs short. Too much coffee, too many things to do, too short on time for all that “doing,” I have to force myself to slow down.
Take a breath.
Focus.

I don’t want to make myself focus, though, when it comes to reading. I want to dive into story. It’s true that a good book is worth the wait through a slow opening or a few introductory chapters. But a great story, as Lisa Cron says in her book Wired for Story, is marked by a compelling hook from the very beginning:

[W]hat draws us into a story and keeps us there is the firing of our dopamine neurons, signaling that intriguing information is on its way. This means that whether it’s an actual event unfolding, or we meet the protagonist in the midst of an internal quandary, or there’s merely a hint that something’s slightly “off,” on the first page, there has to be a ball already in play. Not the preamble to the ball. The ball itself. . . . and it has to have our complete attention.

Now, I’m not an action-packed kind of reader. If you look through my author interviews, you’ll see I prefer a slow build, a quiet novel. Still, a slow building story doesn’t mean slow-to-intrigue; first lines in these quiet stories can be just as intriguing as in a plot-driven novel. Here are a few of my favorite first lines from past and recent reads:

“It was bitter cold, the air electric with all that had not happened yet.” ~ from A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick.

Have you read this book? Oooh, really good stuff (okay, worst book review ever–“really good stuff”–but suffice it to say this is one of my “I want to write like that some day” books).

“Mama left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road.”
~ from Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (you can read my interview with Beth HERE).

Another one of my all-time favorites from the first line through the first scene and beyond.

“Daily, men descended into the earth, going where no man belonged, taking more than men deserved, their faces wracked with indifference, their hands dirtied with soot from the depths of the mountain.” ~ from American Copper by Shann Ray.

I received an advanced copy of this book, and I knew immediately from this line that I would absolutely love it. Everything about this story is woven into that first line: industry and power, the harm a man may cause, and the scars he leaves behind.

We’ll talk a more about Lisa Cron’s book and story structure in my upcoming online class, Principles & Prompts. Join us if you can. And, consider picking up Wired for Story or one of the three novels mentioned above. American Copper doesn’t come out until November 2015, but it’s definitely a book to claim for your shelves.

What’s your sign of a good story?

August 5, 2015August 5, 2015

All you need is one tiny seed.

Flipping through old notes of research for my novel, I came upon these fine tidbits:

Wind blowing from northeast
Hair vigor
A mourning lesson
Storm & Mr. Tamura
“Nasty is the only adjective….”

Still wondering about that last one.

Where did your story begin?