Yes, You Can Write!

And here’s how . . .

Vincent H. O’Neilwww.vincenthoneil.com

Writing is nothing more than telling a story.

And if you’ve ever told a joke at a party and held your listeners’ attention, then you can tell a story.

A Guy Walks Into a Bar . . .

If you think about it, a piece of writing is the same thing as a story someone told to a group of listeners—just written down

If You Can Talk, You Can Write

If you were telling an anecdote, using an introduction, development, and a conclusion, and someone wrote down what you were saying, that would be a written story

And if you wrote it down yourself, you’d be a writer

Elements of a Story

Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

No surprise, right?

The Beginning

There are many ways to start telling a story, but the one thing to remember is that you have to get your audience’s attention

The Introduction (or “the Hook”)

Here are a few opening lines from a spoken story that would probably get attention:

• “You are not going to believe what just happened to me.”

• “I really shouldn't be telling you this . . .”

• “Ever have one of those days?”

Written Introductions

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .

--Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

This opening is an excellent hook because it promises the reader a wide range of experiences, from joy to sorrow, involving everything from success to disaster.

Written Introductions (cont’d)

Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.

--Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five

This opening intrigues the reader because we don’t know who Billy Pilgrim is, or how anyone could become ‘unstuck’ in time. Notice how the word ‘listen’ implies a spoken story instead of a written one.

Written Introductions (cont’d)

Tom glanced behind him and saw the man coming out of the Green Cage, coming his way. Tom walked faster. There was no doubt the man was after him. Tom had noticed him five minutes ago, eyeing him carefully from a table, as if he weren’t quite sure, but almost. He had looked sure enough for Tom to down his drink in a hurry, pay and get out.

--Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr. Ripley

This opening starts with action, putting the reader right into the story. It identifies the main character Tom and hints that he has reason to fear being followed.

The Beginning -- concluded

Once you’ve got the readers’ attention, you have to keep it.

We often have a pretty good idea of the beginning and end of the story, and so the challenge is to keep the readers reading through the middle portion.

In the following slides we’ll use the tale of “Jack and Jill” as an example.

The Middle: Developing the Story

Don’t just fill the space between Beginning and End.Develop the story, but keep it interesting

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water

Jack fell down

Jack and Jill went up the hill

Beginning: Developed idea:

Jack fell down and broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after

Why were they goingup the hill?

What happened when Jack fell down?

We’ve lost track of Jill;What did she do?

End:

You can do a lot with the middle part of a story, from adding plotlines to developing characters

Monday Morning Monday Afternoon

Monday Evening

Jack Asked Jill if she would go with him to fetch a pail of water

Went up the hill with Jill. Fell and hurt himself

In the hospital

Jill Agreed to go with Jack

Tripped while running for help

Explained what happened

Doctor Seeing routine patients

Summoned by Jill Treated Jack

Characters

Time

The Middle: Adding Depth

Developing the Story

Throughout the writing process, from initial brainstorming to final editing, ask:

“What if?”

• What if this happened?

• What if this character performed this action instead of that one?

• What if we added a new character, motivation, or action?

This is also a good opportunity to play around with different events, explore motivations, and add more characters – see the changes below

Monday Morning Monday Afternoon

Monday Evening

Jack Invited Jill because he wants to ask her out

Went up the hill with Jill. Fell and hurt himself

In the hospital, concerned Jill thinks he’s uncool

Jill Agreed to go with Jack but already has a boyfriend

Tripped while running for help

Visits Jack in the hospital to show concern

Jill’s

Boyfriend

Unaware Jill is meeting Jack

Learns where Jill was and is angry

Heads to hospital to accuse Jack

Characters

Time

The Middle: Adding Depth

The Middle and the Conclusion

• The entire story leads to the conclusion, but the middle sets it up

• In many cases it helps build toward a climactic moment or event

• The middle can contain many big moments and memorable scenes, but these aren’t supposed to cast a shadow over the story’s climax

The Conclusion

“Wow them in the end, and you’ve got a hit.” – Brian Cox in the movie Adaptation

• This doesn’t mean you need a car chase, a death, or an explosion

BUT

• The conclusion is the payoff of the whole story, so it doesn’t hurt to have the readers say “Wow!” or “Ah . . .” or laugh out loud

The Conclusion Provide resolution without overdoing the

explanations:

• Answer the readers’ unanswered questions—don’t leave them hanging

BUT

• Don’t be afraid to leave some loose ends; the readers are able to figure out a lot of things, and you may want to write a sequel someday

Getting Started

Always remember you’re not writing—you’re telling a story

• Start small. Remember a story you once told successfully, and try to write that

• Identify the ways you got your listeners’ attention, held it, and made them react at the end

Example

Ever lock your keys in your car? Well I did it while the car was still running. Luckily I was at home at the time, so I went inside and got my spare keys. I was in a rush, so I was fumbling with them as I walked, and the next thing I knew I dropped them straight into a rain gutter. So there I was, looking down at my spare keys through a heavy metal grate and wondering when my car was going to run out of gas. Never thought I’d hear myself saying this, but thank God for nosy neighbors who can fish things out of rain gutters using nothing but a wire hanger.

Introduction

Ever lock your keys in your car? Well I did it while the car was still running.

• A question can be an excellent introductory sentence

• The experience of locking the keys in the car connects with the readers, and the added difficulty of the running engine makes them wonder how this will end

BodyLuckily I was at home at the time, so I went inside and got my spare keys. I was in a rush, so I was fumbling with them as I walked, and the next thing I knew I dropped them straight into a rain gutter. So there I was, looking down at my spare keys through a heavy metal grate and wondering when my car was going to run out of gas.

• Develops the story while holding the readers’ interest; doesn’t just fill the space between the Introduction and the Conclusion

• Pulls the readers even further into the experience and has them asking, “How would I get out of this?”

Conclusion

Never thought I’d hear myself saying this, but thank God for nosy neighbors who can fish things out of rain gutters using nothing but a wire hanger.

• Provides a resolution

• Doesn’t spoon-feed the reader

• Leaves some loose ends such as “Who was the neighbor?” and “Why were you in a hurry?”

Finally

You’re not a writer—you’re a story-teller

So if you ever get stuck, imagine an audience is listening to your tale

Imagine what you’d say next, and write that

When all else fails, tell the story

About the Author

Vincent H. O’Neil is the Malice Award-winning author of the Frank Cole mystery series (Murder in Exile, Reduced Circumstances, Exile Trust, and Contest of Wills) as well as the theater-themed mystery Death Troupe. Described as “a mystery for writers”, Death Troupe is loaded with murder, betrayal, romance, and the creative process.

For links and sample chapters please see his website, www.vincenthoneil.com

In the Adirondack town of Schuyler Mills, playwright Jack Glynn may just be writing

the script to his own murder . . .

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