|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Please respond: a short fiction piece
I'll be responding again tomorr with what turns out to be the final submission copy.
I don't think the ambiguity of setting matters to the theme of the story. That said, writername is correct in what I was personally thinking writing it. Rushmore, I don't think I was trying to be overly clever. I wasn't trying to pull a huge veil over their heads to mislead them entirely. I just simply said that the room would hear it, so naturally, the reader assumes Jackson did too. Then I hint at the contrary two sentences later. It isn't like I set the reader up and then 200 pages later say "it was all a dream" or something too crazy. I just wanted a small bit of something to add substance to it (which I really think it does add). But obviously a piece of literature likely won't please everyone, and certainly not something constrained to 200 words. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Please respond: a short fiction piece
F#$&*$*(@&@)@()*T@*^T)J*Y,
They moved the deadline to May 18. This means I will inevitably write something else now (to have higher odds of getting published) and agonize over that for a couple weeks like I have this one. Haha. Splendid! |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Please respond: a short fiction piece
um, no you're not. ducy?
|
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Please respond: a short fiction piece
[ QUOTE ]
I'll be responding again tomorr with what turns out to be the final submission copy. I don't think the ambiguity of setting matters to the theme of the story. That said, writername is correct in what I was personally thinking writing it. Rushmore, I don't think I was trying to be overly clever. I wasn't trying to pull a huge veil over their heads to mislead them entirely. I just simply said that the room would hear it, so naturally, the reader assumes Jackson did too. Then I hint at the contrary two sentences later. It isn't like I set the reader up and then 200 pages later say "it was all a dream" or something too crazy. I just wanted a small bit of something to add substance to it (which I really think it does add). But obviously a piece of literature likely won't please everyone, and certainly not something constrained to 200 words. [/ QUOTE ] In retrospect, what I think I probably meant to say was that the most effective and artistic writing (particularly short story writing) that I have read doesn't use any sort of device whatsoever. Again, i'll bring up Carver, because he is such a fine example of what I'm saying. His craft is so finely honed that aside from flat-out brilliance with the language, there is a poingnancy to the tales he tells as well. That said, I guess it's funny that I mentioned Fight Club here, which has one of the most definitive "clever devices" I can think of. Excuse me..."of which I can think." |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Please respond: a short fiction piece
Rushmore, I don't disagree with what you're saying entirely or anything. I will remind you of one simple fact, in addition to my defensive response above (). I am not Carver, nor am I flat-out brilliant with language. So, of course, I may fall victim to needing to rely on some sleight of hand (even though I still contend it is the reader's doing mostly).
Multiple entries allowed, yes. There is no way I would scrap this one after what has gone into it. The workshop forum has been incredibly useful (and much better than the one I had in creative writing class). For everything called into question, I realize that either (a) I can improve on it and make it better or (b) I am forced to consider the reason that I chose to do what I chose to do and then I gain a better understanding of my writing and what I am trying to accomplish. Additionally, Rushmore, I just wanted to add in one quick snippet. Some of the best short fiction I have read makes the reader want to reread the story to get something they didn't get the time before. That is what I was going for, and in this case, I relied on that "a-ha moment" to try and get the reader to want to read again. So in some ways, it might be difference in what type of short story you and I find appealing that we see the "trick" idea differently. Obbbbbbviously, we can't get it to work all the time, but ah well. Haha. |
|
|