We discuss story craft in Junot Diaz’s short story “Fiesta, 1980” at this week’s writers book club on the Story Works Round Table podcast.
SWRT 281 | Bookends
This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida and Kathryn discuss bookending a story, drawing on our recent discussion of Ethan Frome. Edith Wharton masterfully uses prologues and epilogues to frame the story and provide meaning. We analyze how the framing devices are essential to understanding the themes and events. Then explore examples of other books that also use framing devices well to provide narrative distance and allow readers to understand the story’s significance.
SWRT 044 | World Building in Dystopian & Post Apocalyptic Fiction
How should you approach world-building in dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction? What do you do when your science doesn’t hold up? And what do your readers expect? How should you display your world-building on the page? And where are all those balance points?
SWRT 043 | Balancing Character & World Building
Does world building or character development paralyze your first drafts? How should you address this in pre-writing? How do you identify whether or not something is integral to your story? When it is, how do you make sure you get it right? And how should you approach research?
SWRT 042 | Dystopian & Post Apocalyptic Fiction with J Thorn
How do you define Horror, Post-Apocalyptic and Dystopian fiction? What are the differences in genre conventions? How does it prey on the fears of our society? What are the differences between a good and a great book in these genres? And how and where should you innovate?
SWRT 041 | Climaxes
What is the difference between an inciting incident and a climax? And can you stack large climaxes throughout your story? How do you know what a climactic moment is? Readers expect variety! Climactic moments should be as varies as the characters, subplots and plot points of your story.
SWRT 040 | Character Relationships
Are you supporting characters always supportive? How can you use character conflicts and relationships to up the stakes and tension in your work? Don’t forget: no one exists in a vacuum! And characters are defined by how they interact with others!
SWRT 039 | Tropes
What is the actual definition of a trope? And how should you use one? Why do we conflate it with so many other things? And how can you use them artistically without falling into cliche’s or heavy handed writing?
SWRT 038 | The Bechdel-Wallace Test
What is the Bechdel-Wallace test and why is it important? Should we know more about it? And are we just products of our culture? How can you apply this test to your fiction? And what is our responsibility as writers and creators to change the worldview around us? Is there a male counterpart to the Bechdel-Wallace test? Should there be? It all comes down to character development, so make sure you are looking at them from all angles!
SWRT 037 | Revision
Revision – love it? Hate it? How do we approach it? What should your mindset be when you approach revision? And how long does it take us? Revision is just a part of the process and a necessary one! So learn to enjoy it!
SWRT 036 | First Drafts
How do we draft our first drafts? And how do you handle problems that come up while you are drafting? What tools do we use? And remember, it’s your first draft for a reason!