10 Branches of Narrative's Tree

image courtesy of sxc.hu

“If in the first chapter a hurricane is going to blow down an oak tree which falls through the kitchen roof, there's no need to first describe the kitchen.”— James Thayer

Narrative, simply put, is story--the trunk of the writer's work. For some reason, I got to thinking about this word the other day and decided to check it out--explore the word's roots and see where such an adventure might take me. I found myself climbing branch to branch, ten in all:

1. Narrate: to tell the story of (from the Latin narrare relate).

2. Narration: the act of telling a story.

3. Narrator: a person who tells a story.

4. Narrative Arc: the structure of story. This is often described as that of a three-act play--a beginning, a middle, and an end. Narrative arc is also often pictured as a bell curve: "It starts at a point on the lower left hand side of a graph, rises in a curve to a peak, and then drops back down again." (Robb Grindstaff). In this image the story is shown progressing from introduction and setting of the stage (beginning) through conflict and complications (middle) to the story's climax, denouement, and resolution. This is also referred to as narrative structure.

5. Narrative Authority: grounding the character in authenticity and context. Nancy Lamb in her book, The Art and Craft of Storytelling, calls this anchoring. Anchor your character in time and place, she says, otherwise they won't be able to come to life. Research for authenticity. Employ the use of all five senses. Know your setting. Things like that.

6. Narrative Continuity: orienting the reader in time and space. Lamb addresses this as well: "Whatever strategy you use to increase suspense, always remember to maintain the narrative continuity of your story by orienting the reader in time and space. When you reconnect with the main plot, include a prompt about where you are." Lamb's example is a character named Lia who is on a ladder. While there she has a flashback. But the author doesn't leave her there. Lia then "grips" the ladder, bringing her back to the reader's present.

7. Narrative Threads: the storyline or, in other words, plot threads. "A narrative thread (Wikipedia) refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters. The narrative threads experienced by different but specific characters are those seen in the eyes of those characters...each thread of which is woven together by the writer to create a work." Lamb weighs in here, too. "If yours is a book," she says, "that has required lots of research, make certain your story doesn't take a back seat to the facts and figures you include. Otherwise your narrative threads will be overwhelmed by details and your story will be lost along with your reader."

8. Narrative Voice: your natural tendencies in storytelling. This definition comes from Joseph Bates in his book The Nighttime Novelist, quoted by Roseann Biederman in the Writer's Digest article, "How to Find Your Narrative Voice." In the article Biederman says, "A strong narrative voice gives your fiction a distinctive flavor and makes it stand out in a slush pile. But many beginning novelists struggle with finding their narrative voice." She continues by quoting Bates, "You may already have an understanding of your natural tendencies in storytelling; if so, wonderful. But if not, let me reassure you that those tendencies are there, that your own voice is waiting, and wanting, to emerge...(but) it's a process of trial and error. Write without overthinking what happens, and take note of what patterns you see emerge in your work that might suggest your natural strengths in voice."

9. Narrative Clutter: too much detail resulting in confusion for the reader. Ansen Dibell in his book Plot makes some good points on this subject. For example, "Don't mention the names of any characters who aren't vital to the scene or to the scene immediately following. Develop or introduce extra characters later, when the context calls for them and they have something to do. Don't have your entire cast of characters, and all their relationships, cluttering the narrative at the beginning."

10. Narrative Roots: writing from what you know, from where you come, and what you feel. "It is by the nature of itself that fiction is all bound up in the local," said Eudora Welty. "The internal reason for that is surely that feelings are bound up in place...Fiction depends for its life on place."

I'm sure there are many branches of Narrative's Tree I missed. Are there any you've explored, any you've swung from--or fallen out of? (!)

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A Story's Roots

Photo: sxc.hu

"All of literature comes out of the family--Oedipus, Hamlet--even Genesis is a family story. Storytellers always revert to the family--the people we're born from and the people born to us. It's impossible to exhaust." --Irwin Shaw

I can think of a few families whose life's journey would make a good story, can you?

Do you agree that all of literature comes out of the family? Or might there be other story roots?

Just wonderin'...

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Beneath the Iceberg: Story

"Conversations are like icebergs--only the very tops are visible. Most of their weight, their mass, their meanings are under the surface. Make your readers feel the tension between what is above and what's below, and you'll have a story." --Jerry Stern

Dipping into conversations this week to search for what lies beneath. Chipping away at dialogue icebergs to uncover tension. Digging deeper in the ocean of words to discover more story below the surface. How about you?

photo: sxc.hu

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Word for the Week: Story

"People tend to forget that the word 'history' contains the word 'story'." --Ken Burns

The word for the week over my way is: story. As in querying my story, and immersing myself in others' stories in preparation for my next historical fiction book now in the plotting stages.

Story is also a fitting word as we commemorate Memorial Day.

Memorial day was originally set aside as a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. From Memorial Day History: "Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery...Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all."

Think of the stories embedded in all the Memorial Days down through history. There wouldn't be enough history books to hold them.

From Wikipedia: "Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not."

More stories, passed on generation to generation. Beautiful stories, sad stories. Courageous stories. Hopeful stories. Stories of endurance, love, adventure, sacrifice. Multiplied over and over again. Story is a word that speaks of humanity, and of living life.

Story:

• "You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story." --Anthony de Mello
• "There have been great societies that did not use the wheel,but there have been no societies that did not tell stories." --Ursula K. LeGuin
• "Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact." --Robert McKee

 Story happens to be my word. What's your word for the week?

*photo courtesy of  sxc.hu/

Books on the Brain

"A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend." --Author Unknown

Lately I've found that I have books on the brain more so than ever. Along with finishing revisions (I'm this close--yea!), researching for the next project, and trying to make headway with the piles of books around the house yet-to-be-read, I'm excited by the variety of titles that have popped up on some of the family's wish lists for Christmas. Shhhh, don't give it away, but I've already hidden some away that are waiting to be wrapped. I also took a day to sort through groaning shelves for some gently-used books I could bear to part with, and headed  to Half Price Books to resell them (ahem, 65 books and magazines!) to make room for all those books I've put on my list.

And then recently I was entertained by a unique idea that popped up on other blogs--that of making a story out of book titles we find on our shelves. Christina Lee at Write-Brained called it "Titles that Tell a Story." Tahereh at T.H. Mafi called it "A Poem of Novels." And Jen at Unedited worked her magic with "A Story Out of Novels." And so I revisited my shelves and the titled friends that reside there, to try my hand at the exercise. (Thanks, girls, for the idea!)

So, although I'm a little late to the party, I came up with this:

THE LITTLE PRINCE finds himself on COLD MOUNTAIN, ACROSS FIVE APRILS and MISSING MAY until, like FEATHERS that are GONE WITH THE WIND, he learns that ONLY ANGELS CAN WING IT.

That was fun--want to give it a try? What story do you find in the titles on your book shelf?

"TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book." --Author Unknown

TMI

Historical fiction is one of my loves--I guess that's why my first children's book is in the genre. I've always loaded up on stories about history at the library or in bookstores--starting in childhood with Little Women, the Little House books, Caddie Woodlawn and the like-- and the pattern has carried over to writing.

But here's the problem--at least my problem--in writing historical fiction: TMI.

Yes, TMI as in "too much information." Not  too much in relation to research, getting the facts straight, being true to the period, representing life as it was in the particular era--that's the first thing historical fiction writers will address. You've got to know who your character is, where she fits in to her time frame, where she comes from. But most of what has been researched, catalogued, stuffed in the brain--if used--will be an overload. What we're looking for here is story--a good one. Not a history lesson. So I'm open to inspiration in dealing with the problem. Here are a few words on the subject:

"The best research doesn't do any good if you can't tell a great story--gripping for children, who are often interested in things that we aren't, and bored by things that we think are cool...you have...to keep them reading."--Jennifer Jensen, Suite 101

"When we convey dialect, we should use a light touch to keep the text readable and so as not to parody our characters. In historical work, the dialog shouldn't be too historical-- a few thees and thous go a long way." --Paula Fleming, writing-world.com 

"The good historical novel is the wise selection of the right fact for the right effect. It doesn't surfeit the reader by too much information, it doesn't starve them with too little." --Caro Clarke, caroclarke.com

And perhaps the most helpful words of all come from Ann Rinaldi, author of over 40 historical books including The Second Bend in the River and Nine Days a Queen:

"...and so it is that historical fiction writers build on facts and take the leap of imagination..."

Yes--imagination! The big key. I'm so ready to drop my TMI overload and take the leap.

Wanna' go with me?

Characters and Story

As a child, I had dolls, my own little rocking chair--and books. And I loved my books. I'm told I thought I could "read" at two years old--except that, as I parroted the story, I held the book...upside down.

Later I'd happily skip off to school with a bit of money Mom gave me for the Scholastic book fair. And my grandmother contributed by way of a membership in a children's book-of-the-month club--some of which I still have. In the early teen years, friend Kathy and I frequented the town library and toted numerous books back and forth.

Some of my favorites when I was little? The Secret Garden, Heidi, Little Women. As I got older I loved Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, Catherine Marshall's Christy, and a title from my grandmother's shelf, The Edge of Time, by Loula Grace Erdman.

As I begin the journey into my next book, I'm anxious to get to know my main character. Who is she? What does she need/want? What conflicts will rise up to block her way? What's her story? I have a couple of ideas, but not enough yet.

And so I'm revisiting some of my favorite books and reacquainting myself with "old friends," seeking the threads as to why their stories have endured. I continue to read new titles, and explore their threads--to glean and grow and go forward.

What about you--who are some of your childhood book "friends," and why?

I've always sort of believed that these people inside me--these characters--know who they are and what they're about and what happens, and they need me to help get it down on paper because they don't type. --Anne Lamott