From the Fiction Desk

Sit around a campfire or the lunchroom of any place or the proverbial water cooler and you hear hundreds of stories in the course of a day. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone wants other people to hear it. How is this any different than writing a story? The answer is multifaceted, and the first important aspect is character growth. Many of the stories told in casual conversation are antidotal and often follows a typical pattern. A character does something, goes through some steps or overcomes an obstacle and then comes the conclusion that the event is over or to be continued at the next lunch, break, or campfire. Many times it is about children or parents, spouses or significant others—even pets may appear prominently. Would such stories make good fiction?

Many non-writers or want to be writers would answer yes. However, often the answer is no as they are told. They lack the character development that occurs in the fictional or non-fictional story. Joey sliding down a hill of snow and barely missing a tree, falling face first in the snow may be funny, but unless there was something Joey had to overcome, learn from, or somehow change things then the story dies at the table. It may have gotten a laugh from a friend or coworker, but the seed of the story dies with the end of the laughter. It did not change the character or have an impact on the listener of the story.

What if Joey had a fear of crashing into that tree? What if he had seen a friend who was “hotdoging” and had crashed into that same tree and was badly injured or killed? What if Joey was now being teased for not wanting to go sledding down the hill because of the tree? What if that teasing was from a parent who wanted Joey to overcome his fear? Or what if the parent didn’t know the reason for Joey’s fear? The asking of these questions and the exploration of them as Joey mounts his sled (after all, why is he even have on at the top of the hill if he is so afraid?) and as he sleds down the hill, watching as the tree looms in his path---why did he end up in the snow face first—all turn into the inner struggle of the character and the change or decision to avoid change like the rapidly approaching tree creates the true story that will sit with the listener or reader. This is what takes a common place event and turns it into a work of art under the hands of the storyteller.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.