  Short Stories
This week: Edited by: Mavis Moog  
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3. Letter from the Editor
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This month's newsletter from Mavis Moog inc. deals with writing about trauma. There is so much poor quality tragedy writing, it is easy to dismiss it all as self-indulgent and pointless, but believe me, good emotional writing does exist.
I try to explain the difference between writing about tragedy in a meaningful way and writing which only has therapeutic value for the author.
The Editor's Picks this month are all good quality stories drawn from my short story contest.
Mavis Moog |
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Triumph and Disaster
"If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
..........you'll be a man, my son."
From the poem, If, by Rudyard Kipling.
As I read the 60 or so stories I need to read each month in order to make a selection for Editor's Picks, I find many dealing with tragedy and disaster. Writing about the traumas of life may be a therapy for some writers, but as I've said elsewhere, great care must be taken in deciding whether this writing has any value beyond that therapy. Is a story about unremitting abuse, heart-break or self-loathing really going to entertain, inform or enlighten readers?
Most adults have experienced one or two disappointments in life. Bereavements, relationship break-ups and periods of gloom are sadly fairly universal experiences. Some people seem to have worse luck than others, but actually if we sit down and catalogue all the bad events in our life most of us are close to the average (what a surprise). For those who feel they are missing something, and their life is too happy, let me assure you, it won't be long before you too can feel the misery.
I remember feeling inadequate when my husband went through a very difficult time around the anniversary of his father's death. I never knew his father, who had died just a year before I married his son. When I accidentally knocked a clock, which had been a present from his father, into a sink full of water, my husband was distraught. I tried to comfort him, but felt totally unmatched to the job, because I didn't truly understand his grief. I had never experienced it at that stage of my life. As he sat in the kitchen weeping, cradling the broken clock, I removed myself to the living-room and found myself wishing I knew how he felt.
Just a couple of months later, I found out.
How I regretted my stupid wish. The tearing, shredding experience of grief was mine in all its horror, and I wanted so much to put it back on the shelf. I thought I would drown, air-gasping, in panic. The initial crash of grief has all the terror of being involved in a fatal accident. The inevitability of the damage can be seen, one knows there is no escape, nothing to do but grip on tight and let it happen.
Since then, I've experienced grief a few more times, but none were as shocking and completely debilitating as that first, carelessly wished for, emotional pile-up.
I find it tedious then to read inept, sentimental drivel purporting to be stories about loss. Grief may be a fairly universal experience, but not all of us are particularly good at writing about it. As with all tragedy, limited writing skills, make a flimsy rag of it. It is a mistake to think that, because something was devastating, that one can reproduce those feelings, without extremely close attention to the art in ones writing.
There are two solutions to this problem, as I see it.
The first is to not offer such writing for public consumption. The benefit one gains from writing down the horrors of ones existence might be all the benefit available. Offering our excretions up to cold light may not be a useful activity.
Alternatively, one can treat the exercise as an altruistic act. If serious attention is paid to the power and honesty of the writing, and some conclusion is reached, then maybe others can gain from our disaster. I have read many stories about situations I know nothing about. I particularly enjoy stories set in unfamiliar landscapes and cultures. What attracts me to these tales is vivid imagery which can transport me, making me feel I am experiencing everything the author writes about. I gain vicarious experience, and that is desirable and valuable. These same techniques must be used when writing about an emotional landscape, if the reader is to share the experience. Tired old phrases, about hearts being torn in two, to use a tired old phrase, simply do not cut the mustard.
I ride horses, and the feeling I get when I sit back in the saddle and my body becomes part of the powerful anatomy of the horse, is similar to the feeling I get when I am writing. I become enmeshed in the time, place and emotions of the memory I am drawing upon. I may have to wait for the full image to present itself, but as long as I'm sitting properly, and my mind is right in the moment, the image comes, closely followed by the words. Imagine you are describing these powerful ideas to someone who has never experienced them. You will need to use metaphor. Rhythm will add depth and texture. Listen to the music of the words and use it as the backing track for the scene. With sentence length and phrasing these are the multi-sensory aids, which will make the experience real for the reader.
Don't be tempted to over-state the situation. Hyperbole is useful in comedy writing but in sincere expression of tragedy or emotional distress, it is misplaced, and makes the writing seem shallow. Be as completely honest as you can be. Trim and shape the words, so that nothing is wasted.
Once you are happy that you have encapsulated the emotion, and you are sobbing on your keyboard, think about how it should be woven into your story. The ancient Greek Tragedy writers understood the importance of dramatic relief, climax and resolution. Don't abandon your reader to abject misery. Carefully cradle him and take him somewhere meaningful before you gently set him down. What can be drawn from the experience of disaster? As a writer, it's your job to consider this very carefully. Like gratuitous violence, vulgarity and explicit sex, gratuitous disaster is crass. There should be a point, something more than simply wanting to depress your reader.
Amongst my Editor's Picks this month, I have included some stories which contain great examples of emotional writing. Please read them and see if you can feel the difference.
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This month's picks are drawn from the entries for my new monthly contest.
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I had 40 eligible stories to read, and most of them were of a respectable to high standard. This contest will run each month, and all stories which gain an honourable mention or above will be featured on this newsletter. I hope readers will find time to send reviews to the authors. If you think you can do better, enter the contest.
October's Winners
The First Prize winner is by an author I have never read before. The emotional writing in this story is exceptional and I think it illustrates the points made in my article above. This story also has a satisfying plot.
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The Second Prize winning story charmed me with vivid description. There's a lot of emotion in this examination of the relationship between a man, who's going through the break-up of his marriage, and his father. At no point, though, is it over-wrought or sentimental. Great writing.
Honourable Mentions
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In 1927, a girl travels by train to live with her aunt. Could there be trouble?
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There are more honourable mention winners, but as they are humorous stories, they are featured on the current Comedy Newsletter. |
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Here's a thank you from the member who wanted to know how to develop a discipline for regular writing.
Strange Wulf
Thanks for the advice, though I don't know if I'll read Hemmingway. =P His stories are a bit too depressing for me, and I disagree with his views on God. I'm pretty sure there's Someone up there, even if it ain't Jesus.
Still, I appreciate the attention my problem received. As I thought, it's mostly one of asking myself how badly I want it.
Hmm... perhaps I'd best listen to that song again... ^_^ Country is so fun to listen to sometimes.
*walks off singing* Robert Johnson went to the crossroads/So the legend goes/He left with his guitar/And the devil took his soul/The devil took his soul...
This Month's Question
What's the difference between popular writing and literary writing? Can a women's magazine story be good literature? Or is quality writing destined to languish on dusty bookshop shelves?
Please send your answers, observations and opinions to this newsletter, using the feedback form. Head your responses with, 'Mavis.'
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Short Stories: October 18, 2006 Issue [#1318]
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