 Short Stories: November 03, 2010 Issue [#4056] |
  Short Stories
This week: Writing Stories to be Read Aloud Edited by: Ben Langhinrichs  
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Greetings! I am one of the editors for the Short Stories Newsletter, and I hope to share some of my thoughts on writing short stories, and perhaps about writing in general. I suggest you treat these not as pearls of wisdom dropped from on high, but rather musings of a fellow writer, written to inspire, provoke or stimulate your personal muse. I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions.
~ Ben Langhinrichs
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Writing Stories to be Read Aloud
The first stories we hear are children's stories, often read from a book by a parent or grandparent or sibling, sometimes made up out of a pastiche of family lore and imagination. For many of us, it was those warm memories of listening and snuggling that led us to a love of reading, and eventually to writing our own stories.
Yet, for many of us, the temptation is to write stories that appeal to us, now, with the interests and style that we prefer. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but there is also something wonderful about sharing your love of reading, and eventually writing, with your children and everybody else's.
Children's stories are still stories, with all the requirements for character, plot, setting and so forth. They often involve animals or fantasy creatures, but can equally well be written with people doing ordinary things. The differences are often in the rhythm and flow of a story.
Like a story for older children and adults, a read aloud story is often made up of a series of increasingly difficult situations, each solved with some sort of a pattern as the characters learn and grow. But in a read aloud story, the rhythm of the language and the rhythm of the story go hand in hand. Almost like a song, the incidents or situations ebb and flow, growing in a harmonic progression. This is most easily seen in picture books, but even in books for older children, the story needs to ease the child into states of greater tension/resolution, then finally ease them back down.
A story for children, especially young children, doesn't usually start in the middle of the action the way stories for adults often do. The child needs a bit of time to get to know the character, sometimes with foreshadowing mini-incidents that both help the child to know the strengths and weaknesses of the character, and to get involved. Once the incidents start, they should have some parallels between them, not just be different dangers to overcome. As Aaron Shepard wrote for the SCBWI Bulletin several years ago:
Different story ideas require different plot structures, but those with appealing rhythms often follow the folktale’s “rule of three.” For instance, a simple plot might consist of three central incidents—perhaps of parallel construction—framed by an introduction and a conclusion. Sets of three usually work well rhythmically because they satisfy without becoming wearisome.
Experience with poetry, especially rhyming poetry, can be helpful in developing an ear for rhythmic language, but the most important step is reading it aloud. Read it to yourself, read it to your spouse or a friend, and when it sounds right, read it to a child. Watch for their fidgets, as they may be clues to the story's weak spots (or it may be too close to Halloween to judge).
Writing short stories for children isn't easy, but then good writing is seldom easy. A bonus is that the lessons you learn while writing for children may help you write better for adults. The rhythms of language and plot used for children may be simplified and more regular, but even stories written for adults should have a rhythm and flow. Instead of a Brahms lullaby, it may be a Beethoven symphony, but they are both musically rich and expressive.
Reference: Rhythm and the Read-Aloud by Aaron Shepard
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Feedback from readers
The newsletter these readers were responding to is
"Those in Front of the Curtain" by Ben Langhinrichs
Ignore your audience at your peril. (Short Stories Newsletter - October 6, 2010)
Coolhand  You did an excellent job on "Pay attention to those in front of the curtain", Ben. Sizing up the audience is often overlooked and can lead to a lukewarm reception.
saraiv Interesting Newsletter. You've made me rethink many of my stories.
Zeke  Sometimes the view through the curtain is a little fuzzy, and the audience we think we're targeting is quite different.
Zeke
NickiD89  Interesting topic on knowing your audience, Ben. I think people like to read about characters "like" themselves, but I also think people read to escape their lives. Reading about people much different then they are transports them to another world, a place they can both fantasize about and compare themselves against. I think that's why soap operas were so popular in their day, and reality TV now. Our voyeur instincts meld with the ability to see that as bad or good as we have it, someone has it worse or better than we. A good book, I think, is appreciated for its ability to do the same. Great and thought-provoking NL, as always!
A.S. Hendra [Job-Searching] A very helpful newsletter! I'm currently doing "October Novel Prep Challenge" , and one of the challenges is exactly what you're writing here!
As a matter of fact, I'm quite confused with the idea of "intended audience". I'm planning to write a novel for children this November, yet I'm sure to what extent they might be interested, what they expect to find, and so on. I would appreciate any help I can get for this problem .
Kris D'Amato offers The Matchstick Boy with the comment: A short story that I wrote recently which you might like to have a look at. Would love to see it listed. Thanks!
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