I think we can take as a given that the story we appear to be
telling is just the vehicle for the “real” story we tell. Many people have said
the same. This secret is the story’s engine: Your character’s hidden flaw, an
ideal that drives her, some event which she must acknowledge, resolve or deny.
telling is just the vehicle for the “real” story we tell. Many people have said
the same. This secret is the story’s engine: Your character’s hidden flaw, an
ideal that drives her, some event which she must acknowledge, resolve or deny.
Stories ration out this secret or “bottom” story, repeatedly
salting the plot with clues. For me, this balancing act is one of the most
difficult things about writing fiction. Nancy Zafris echoes this, saying, “It’s
a kind of dance—how much to reveal, when you are saying too much.” One thing is
for sure, by the end of the story, it’s all about the secret. The
what-happens-next more or less falls away.
salting the plot with clues. For me, this balancing act is one of the most
difficult things about writing fiction. Nancy Zafris echoes this, saying, “It’s
a kind of dance—how much to reveal, when you are saying too much.” One thing is
for sure, by the end of the story, it’s all about the secret. The
what-happens-next more or less falls away.
Lead is turned to gold. The alchemists understood the
transformative power of objects; we writers should as well. This may be an
old-fashioned way to look at crafting stories, but objects are both the
catalyst for and markers of this change.
transformative power of objects; we writers should as well. This may be an
old-fashioned way to look at crafting stories, but objects are both the
catalyst for and markers of this change.
It could be a physical object. A wooden leg, say. A father’s
ghost. A white whale. A child’s sled.
ghost. A white whale. A child’s sled.
It could be a process. I once wrote a story about a woman who
sees her life as a mathematical equation that needs solving.
sees her life as a mathematical equation that needs solving.
It could be a place we are returning to. Our childhood home. The
Cracks of Doom.
Cracks of Doom.
A journey. Riding horseback into Mexico after your parents die.
Making a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Rafting the Mississippi.
Making a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Rafting the Mississippi.
An event. Witnessing a rape and falsely identifying the
assailant.
assailant.
Whatever it is, the telling object bridges the plot, the seeming
story, with the secret story our character must resolve or refuse. They do that
because they exist both in the material plane where we situate our stories and
the emotional world where our characters live. We humans attach to objects
because they elicit feelings in us.
story, with the secret story our character must resolve or refuse. They do that
because they exist both in the material plane where we situate our stories and
the emotional world where our characters live. We humans attach to objects
because they elicit feelings in us.
Objects in fiction are more than simple metaphorical equations.
There are a host of emotions triggered by them. Proust bites into a plump
little cake and seven volumes of reminiscences ensue.
There are a host of emotions triggered by them. Proust bites into a plump
little cake and seven volumes of reminiscences ensue.
T. S. Eliot put it like this, “The only way of expressing emotion in
the form of art is by finding … a set of objects, a situation, a chain of
events … such that when the external facts … are given, the emotion is
immediately evoked.” It is the way we’re hardwired.
the form of art is by finding … a set of objects, a situation, a chain of
events … such that when the external facts … are given, the emotion is
immediately evoked.” It is the way we’re hardwired.
Because of this, there’s a marvelous economy telling a story
through objects. They can say things words only hint at. Through it the bottom
story leaps off the page and strikes the reader or, in the case of movies, the
viewer, resolving everything, explaining nothing.
through objects. They can say things words only hint at. Through it the bottom
story leaps off the page and strikes the reader or, in the case of movies, the
viewer, resolving everything, explaining nothing.
Ironic spoiler alert! When we arrive at that image of the sled at
the end of the film “Citizen Kane,” we understand Charles Foster Kane;
everything that came before makes sense in a can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it
kind of way. The power of an effective object in storytelling lies in its
unexpectedness. And its inevitability. When we understand the sled’s power over
Kane, we can’t imagine his sad story going any other way.
the end of the film “Citizen Kane,” we understand Charles Foster Kane;
everything that came before makes sense in a can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it
kind of way. The power of an effective object in storytelling lies in its
unexpectedness. And its inevitability. When we understand the sled’s power over
Kane, we can’t imagine his sad story going any other way.
You can’t plan a character’s object. You might get away with
planning her disposition, her looks, her manner of speaking, but I’ve found the
object to be slippery. It must be earned. It isn’t some hackneyed Hallmark
equivalency.
planning her disposition, her looks, her manner of speaking, but I’ve found the
object to be slippery. It must be earned. It isn’t some hackneyed Hallmark
equivalency.
As I whack my way through the what-happens-next, it isn’t very
clear to me what the story is about. The protagonist (I’m mostly talking about
the protagonist here, although other characters should have their telling
objects too) is shifting and the object along with her. In that story I wrote
about the woman who thinks of her life as math, for a long while the object
wasn’t a formula, but Mission figs, then mud pies. After more than a year, I
think I finally got it right, though I still have some doubts.
clear to me what the story is about. The protagonist (I’m mostly talking about
the protagonist here, although other characters should have their telling
objects too) is shifting and the object along with her. In that story I wrote
about the woman who thinks of her life as math, for a long while the object
wasn’t a formula, but Mission figs, then mud pies. After more than a year, I
think I finally got it right, though I still have some doubts.
Try using the power of objects. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Write a complete (beginning/middle/end) story using an object
in 300 words. If you need a place to start, use exercises 3 and 4 from my last post. Then try
writing that story at the same word count, but without the object. Which version was more powerful?
in 300 words. If you need a place to start, use exercises 3 and 4 from my last post. Then try
writing that story at the same word count, but without the object. Which version was more powerful?
2. Try sketching a character: features, backstory, temperament.
(You could also use a character from one your own stories.) Come up with a list
of possible objects that match. How would each object direct a story you might
tell? How might the stories differ?
(You could also use a character from one your own stories.) Come up with a list
of possible objects that match. How would each object direct a story you might
tell? How might the stories differ?
3. Re-read
Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People.” Analyze each character’s
object. Can you sketch out this story without them? Imagine how you’d tell
Joy’s story without her wooden leg. After you do this, you might want to read
what Flannery O’Connor said about the wooden leg and how the telling object
differs from a symbol.
Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People.” Analyze each character’s
object. Can you sketch out this story without them? Imagine how you’d tell
Joy’s story without her wooden leg. After you do this, you might want to read
what Flannery O’Connor said about the wooden leg and how the telling object
differs from a symbol.
If you want to read more about the use of objects in fiction, try
Catherine Brady’s difficult, but rewarding, “Story Logic and the Craft of Fiction.” Thanks
to Deb Vanasse for recommending the book. Thanks to Nancy Zafris for
introducing me to these concepts.
Catherine Brady’s difficult, but rewarding, “Story Logic and the Craft of Fiction.” Thanks
to Deb Vanasse for recommending the book. Thanks to Nancy Zafris for
introducing me to these concepts.
Lucian Childs lives in Anchorage, Alaska where he makes his
living as a graphic designer. He was a finalist in Glimmer Train’s April 2012 Family Matters competition. His work has
appeared or is forthcoming in Cirque,
Compass Rose, Quiddity, Sanskrit and Rougarou.
living as a graphic designer. He was a finalist in Glimmer Train’s April 2012 Family Matters competition. His work has
appeared or is forthcoming in Cirque,
Compass Rose, Quiddity, Sanskrit and Rougarou.
As soon as you said, "A child's sled," I got it. Thanks for explaining a sophisticated topic so well. 🙂
Nicely done, Lucian! An insightful and useful post. The idea of a resonant object is one common to all forms of creative writing, indeed it may help define it.