A Fieldtrip, in the Name of Fiction
I’ve been in a bit of a funk this week, and the only thing it’s truly impacted is this blog. Meaning: I usually brainstorm ideas ahead of time, make a little map of what topics to write for which weeks, and posts get written days before they go live. Not the case here. This is comin’ to you from a post-church, post-French toast brunch kinda morning—because I finally decided what it is I’d like to share on here today.
And what is it? Why, a quest for the week ahead! A fieldtrip, if you will.
I’m probably more in need of this than you are due to that aforementioned funk, but who doesn’t love a good, productive outing? I promise it’s writing related, too. So, here’s the details.
While I was wracking my brain every day this past week to settle on a blog post idea, my good friend, Gotham Writers’ Workshop Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York’s Acclaimed Creative Writing School (Steele, 2003), came to my aid. It’s a nonfiction piece I had to obtain for a creative writing class I took spring of my sophomore year at the University of Maine with the wonderful Katie Lattari. Katie, who I was fortunate enough to be mentored by my senior year when she became my Honors thesis advisor and supported me through writing my very first novel. Katie, who, by the way, has a chilling, dark academia thriller set in Maine and is a perfect autumnal read, if you’re looking for that for the coming months; it’s titled Dark Things I Adore, and it spooked the heck out of me.
Anyway, Writing Fiction sits with a handful of other books where I look at its bright yellow spine daily because it shares space with my jewelry box and all my get-ready-for-the-day items. I remember, at the time of the class I read it for, really enjoying the advice this book contained, and, even more, I liked the writing exercises sprinkled throughout the chapters. The content is what you would expect it to be with chapters concerning plot, POV, description, dialogue, etc. Each topic then has multiple writing exercises so that you can really have guided practice and prompts to get you engaging with what they’re trying to teach you. It’s a fantastic tool to have on my shelves.
My one burst of inspiration this week was to pick it up and say, “Hm, maybe I should flip through here and see which exercises jump out to me.” The idea being, of course, then I could write about it, reflect on it, share it on here, and voila. A blog post!
In some ways, that’s what you’re getting, but, in another way, it won’t be complete until next week, actually. Because we gotta spend this week getting out into the world and doing what we’re prompted.
The exercise I landed on is from Chapter 2, which is all about Character. When creating characters and carrying them along through a plot, you’re really asking yourself a lot of questions. There are the obvious ones that have to do with surface-level identity: name, gender, career, what role they fill in their immediate family, I could go on and on. Then there are more, of course, that deepen that identity and establish points of interest that a reader should pay attention to or become invested in. Those are things like a chief desire or a debilitating fear or a complicated obstacle they’re navigating. You, as the author, are always going to have to answer a vast number of questions about your characters, whether those answers end up in the story or otherwise.
So, this week we’re doing that—seeking information about a character—in a way that isn’t necessarily just you, a writer, alone at your computer doing your own thing. Another person will be involved, and here’s how:
Go out into the world and find a character. Observe someone you don’t know, like a fellow diner in a restaurant, or someone you know only a little, like the bank cashier you see once a week. Talk to him or her, if you like, though you don’t have to. Make some notes, mental or written. Then fill in the unknown blanks of this person by answering all or most of the suggested questions [provided below]…You’ll be making up most of the details, but that’s okay. This is fiction (39-40).
There are so many options for where to go to observe people just out and about or in a setting where you can choose from a variety of strangers, letting your imagination wonder what might be going on in their life. What problems or celebrations may be cropping up for them that lend themselves to a compelling tale. You pick where you wanna go and see who you find.
If ever there was a time to use a Commonplace book, too, this is it. Because the point of this exercise isn’t to sit at the coffee shop and whip up a whole short story about the person camped out in the corner. You just need to jot down enough to get your creativity engaged, to have specific points you can refer back to later, when you’re fleshing out more of an idea. The practice of Commonplace is, I think, absolutely necessary to being a writer because inspiration and sparks of ideas are all around us everyday, and our memories are not infallible. It’s a practice that can also be incredibly simple. You don’t have to have a multi-journal ecosystem, if that’s not your thing. I carry a pen and a 3×5-inch little Moleskin in my purse, and that’s all I need. Because it’s little bites you’re grabbing. It’s the small bursts you don’t want to let fade away.
For instance, one of the notes I’ve left for myself is CHARACTER NAME: JUDD FROST. I was out in a nearby town with my husband and mom, just walking around and checking out different boutiques, and there was a suit shop named Judd Frost Clothiers. The three of us agreed that would make a great name for a cowboy or a sheriff or something. I don’t have a story, yet, in which to use it, but I have it for when I do.
So, consider this your nudge to starting Commonplacing, if you needed one.
And, as for the questions the writing exercise refers to, here are those:
What is your character’s name? Does the character have a nickname?
What is your character’s hair color? Eye color?
What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have? Does your character have a birthmark? Where is it? What about scars? How did he get them?
Who are your character’s friends and family? Who does she surround herself with? Who are the people your character is closest to? Who does he wish he were closest to?
Where was your character born? Where has she lived since then? Where does she call home?
Where does your character go when he’s angry?
What is her biggest fear? Who has she told this to? Who would she never tell this to? Why?
Does she have a secret?
What makes your character laugh out loud?
When has your character been in love? Had a broken heart?
What is in your character’s refrigerator right now? On her bedroom floor? On her nightstand? In her garbage can?
Look at your character’s feet. Describe what you see there. Does he wear dress shoes, gym shoes, or none at all? Is he in socks that are ratty and full of holes? Or is he wearing a pair of blue-and-gold slippers knitted by his grandmother?
When your character thinks of her childhood kitchen, what smell does she associate with it? Sauerkraut? Oatmeal cookies? Paint? Why is that smell so resonate for her?
Your character is doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for her to throw out? What is difficult for her to part with? Why?
It’s Saturday at noon. What is your character doing? Give details. If he’s eating breakfast, what exactly does he eat? If she’s stretching out in her backyard to sun, what kind of blanket or towel does she lie on?
What is one strong memory that has stuck with your character from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?
Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where is she going? What does she wear? Who will she be with?
This is just the tip of the iceberg of all the questions you could be asking to really build out a character, so take these and run with them or go in a different direction you feel led in. Totally up to you.
The last thing I’ll say as we head into this fieldtrip challenge is this: Don’t overthink things. Write down the initial, immediate responses that pop into your head. Don’t second guess yourself or wonder if a response is silly or stupid. Spitting out answers without a self-conscious doubt attached to them is the best way to just get the gears of creativity turning. You can always go back and edit or tweak something to your liking. Besides, this is you-facing. You don’t have to show this to anyone, and you’re not tying yourself down to your next story. Let this be as low-stakes as you need it to be for it to be doable and enjoyable.
And then I’ll catch ya back here next week with my own character findings and development. I’m not yet sure where I’ll take myself, but we’re gonna go, we’re gonna shake off this funk, and we’re gonna do some writing while we’re at it!