The Good Writer
Whether writing poetry or the very short story, the good writer turns the mundane into the meaningful.
My writing students at the University of Pittsburgh (2004-2006) were always searching high and low for good short story ideas. They tried to squeeze world changing events into 500 to 800 words of a flash fiction story. They wanted to save the world. The thing about saving the world in 800 words is that it never rings true. Now, saving a friendship…
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My students were keenly aware that the content of their flash fiction stories had something to do with keeping the interest of the reader. The bigger the splash, the more interesting the story would be. Well, they got it half right.
Since flash fiction was my niche, I used the form of the very short story as an example of how to turn a small event into a meaningful event. Part of the course I taught also dealt with poetry. Much poetry also works on the principle of turning the mundane into the meaningful.
In all of our lives there are big events: birth, death, marriage, the end of a relationship and so on; but for my students to better understand how much of flash fiction and poetry works I wanted them to realize they could write about the more quiet moments in life that are significant. After all, for most of us the quiet moments out number the big moments by far.
Much flash fiction and poetry are about these quiet moments; and since few of my students had saved the world they had to learn to write about the quiet moments. A quiet moment can be any realization that a character might have; like when a young man kisses a young woman for the first time and she realizes that yes he really does like her.
That would make a great flash fiction story.
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Tags: content, death, Example, Flash fiction, friendship, Good, ideas, KISS, Life, Man, marriage, poetry, relationship, short story, students, University of Pittsburgh, woman, writer, Writing
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August 29th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I completly agree with you on this one!! Check out some of my poems and you will agree!! Thanks for the share!! Great Job!
August 29th, 2009 at 11:04 am
And is also the topic for many, many longer works.
That young love first kiss covers a lot of territory. I know a lot about making the mundane interesting. My poetry fairly well proves that.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:06 am
very interesting article, thanks for sharing!
August 29th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Quoting you, “the bigger the splash, the more interesting the story would be” that is such a brilliant quotation! *applauds* I mean one quotation could teach writers a lot! Good article and you speak so honestly!
August 29th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I agree with your thoughts Guy, they are very true, and I still love all your articles!
August 29th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
alc, flash fiction and poetry have a lot in common. Presenting a significant quiet moment in time is one of them.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Daisy, well written flash fiction is probably closer to the poem than it is to the short story. Or maybe we should consider flash fiction the bridge between the poem and the short story.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Hi, Beth: I’m glad you liked the article. I could write all day about flash fiction. It’s a wonderful art form.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Hi, Atikin: Well, the big splash is nice but if you have only 500 words to work with the big splash should probably be replaced by the little rain drop.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Thank you, Buma. I try to write articles with useful information in them. I think “The Good Writer” turned out okay.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Love it!, this is so true.
August 29th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I strongly agree about the quiet moments… now if I could only apply it myself. LOL!
August 29th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
“The Good Writer” figured this would be your autobiography. Good stuff as always, bro.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
This is absolutely great advice not just for stories and poem’s but for articles as well.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Indeed, I agree with you in the significance of the quiet moments. It is when we can listen to our self, our mind, and our heart. So much can be written creatively. Thanks for this encouraging write up.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:54 am
I agree with you, this is a great advice, you have great thoughts guy, thanks for sharing.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Marie, the lesson of the mundane significant moment as art was brought home to me by the short fiction of Raymond Carver. Many of his stories captured a small significant moment of working class people down on their luck. He made art out of the lives of people like me.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Mary, good luck. It becomes easier the more often you do it. Some of my students got so good they could make a significant moment out of almost anything.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
BeauX, thanks. This article turned out pretty good. You never know how a piece will turn out when you first start.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Hi, Martie: When I write an article like this it also helps to remind me of the basics of being a good writer.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Hello, Athena: The quiet moments are sometimes more telling and authentic then many big moments. Big moments tend to distort things.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
giftarist, I’m glad you found the information in the article useful. It has gotten a nice response.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Flash fiction looks so interesting. I never write flash fiction before. I think I will try it. Thanks for sharing!
August 31st, 2009 at 8:43 am
Avaxier, flash fiction is a wonderful art form and it’s perfect for the Internet. Editors and publishers like it and readers like it, too.
August 31st, 2009 at 8:59 am
I couldn’t agree with you more. A story needs not necessarily be a attention-grabbing-bombastic-filled plot that may sometimes be over done or just trying too hard. Sometimes, writing about the little things in life seem to be a better option since people can relate to them better. Compare that to a singer who is so well-versed in his singing techniques that his song turns out to be just another sweet icing on a cake. Another singer sings a simple song with raw emotions that pull at the heartstrings of the audience. I think I would prefer the latter. Anyway, good article you have written. Definitely inspirational for the avid writer!
August 31st, 2009 at 6:41 pm
nightcharmer, I see you understand exactly what I’m saying. And the quiet moments seem far more realistic. It makes you feel that the writer not only knows about writing but also knows about life.
September 1st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
cool..
September 4th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Guy,
Loved your article. There is so much chaos going on in the world, it makes writing about a quieter time more important. Its those quiet moment we must all savor and the best way to do that, is through our writing.
Randy
September 5th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Randy, for most of us the quiet moments far out number the big moments; but the quiet moments can have importance too. It’s the writer’s job to capture those important quiet moments.