Mining Family History for Fiction and Creative Nonfiction

Mine your history for stories

Everyone has family of one sort or another, and most people can mine their family history for stories. But developing a story for fiction is different than you may think.

Going through personal or family history for story ideas doesn't have to mean an arduous search of archives. To select a unique idea worth developing, ask yourself these questions:

• What person in my family (including me) do I find most interesting, and why?
• What turning point occurred in this person's life that forever changed it?
• What pivotal incident led to the event — the one without which the turning point wouldn't have happened?
• What was the main outcome of the event?
• What was the most important consequence of the event, especially for that individual?

To fictionalize this story and elevate it to a more literary level, ask yourself these questions:

• What if the person was of a different race, ethnic background and/or gender?
• What if the turning point occurred at an earlier or a later stage of the person's life?
• What if the pivotal incident occurred in a different setting, or was a different incident altogether?
• What if the main the main outcome of the event was the opposite or vastly different from what happened?

 Making these changes will change the story and its ending, enabling it to become uniquely yours. The key to this approach is having some affinity for and/or experience in how you answer the questions. For example, if you change the setting, do you have some knowledge of the new locale? Truth is, after all, still stranger than fiction.

Tip: To add spice to your story, consider this adage from John Updike. There's the story you're afraid to tell others and the story you're afraid to tell yourself. That's the one to write. What aspect of your story are you afraid to tell?

Happy writing!

Reveal Your Story With Symbolism and Motif

Symbols and motif deepen writing

If you've heard it once, you've heard it countless times: Show; don't tell. Fiction writers usually accomplish this through dialogue and scene, conveying what's in their characters by what they say and how they respond to situations. This approach works well for characters, but what about theme and storyline?

One way to reveal the story and theme of a piece is through symbolism and motif. First, a few definitions: 

• Theme: The writer's main concept, subject or topic (e.g., bad things happen to good people)
• Symbolism: An action, idea or object that means more than what's on the surface (e.g., a doorway can signify change, death or birth)
• Motif: A recurring element of symbolic significance (e.g., a door, doorway, foyer or entrance — all possibly pointing to change)

Let's say, for example, that yours is the story of a child who's ill and may die. What words in this mini-scene convey more than their literal meaning?

Colin stood in the doorway of his son's hospital room, watching the small, sleeping form lying so still in the bed. The lights on the monitor blinked intermittently. Should he call the nurse again? he wondered. He hated to do it, but this was his only son.

Which words stand out as freighted with potential? Look at those in bold to see if you agree:

Colin stood in the doorway of his son's hospital room, watching the small, sleeping form lying so still in the bed. The lights on the monitor blinked intermittently. Should he call the nurse again? he wondered. He hated to do it, but this was his only son.

Depending on whether the boy in this story will live, here are other words and concepts to tinker with: Collin's name, the son's name, the name of the hospital and the nurse's name. The more specific the wording, the more likely the son will live. Using specificity in this way, that's what the writer indirectly conveys to the reader.

The best time to address symbolism and motif is in the second draft. These generally aren't techniques to impose on a work as you're creating it, but gems already in the piece that you polish to reflect the story once you know where it's going.

What are you working on that could benefit from wise use of motif and symbolism?

Happy writing!

For more tips, visi Word for Words, or visit Adele's blog.

Take It on Faith, Belief and Unbelief in Writing

Belief matters in writing

In writing and matters of faith, it's easy to go to one extreme or the other: be heavy handed, or avoid the subject. Yet, what characters believe about the workings of their daily lives is a reality, so why not consciously address this spiritual aspect? It's a great way layer their personalities and deepen your writing.

One way to explore the spiritual dimension of your characters is get at the "why" of their decisions. Each day, people make choices that range from whether to stay married to a cheating spouse to which way to walk to the pharmacy. The man married to the cheating spouse may stay with her because he believes divorce is wrong, or because she's the breadwinner. The elderly woman who walks to the corner pharmacy a different way each day may believe it's bad luck to use the same route twice in a row.

Of course, other factors such as finances, age and culture enter into decisions, but so does what characters believe and why they believe it. So take the advice of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa: "To be an artist means never to avert your eyes." Don't be afraid to go there.

Tip: Consider a story you're writing where the main character must make a major decision or a minor that will change the course of his or her life and the story. Explore the underlying reasons for his or her choice.

For more on spirituality and writing, visit Adele's Blog, and "A Writer's Unexpected Emotional Journey."

Happy writing!

Finding the Right Words to Improve Your Writing

The right words improve wour writing



Becoming a better writer is like moving to a new city. Acclimating yourself to an unfamiliar neighborhood takes time, but once you know the streets and landmarks, you find your way with greater ease.

One of the hardest things for me when I began freelancing was finding the right words. I wrote long, cumbersome sentences not because I was esoteric, but because I didn't know better. It took two years to feel comfortable enough with newspaper writing to venture into a more creative approach, and to find one precise word to do the work of a phrase.

If you're a comparatively new writer, or if you want to take your work up a notch, read and write well and widely. in all genres and styles, to all manner of length restrictions and deadlines. That includes poetry, which is richest in imagery and precision. But above all, write, write, write.

Here are helpful resources:
The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual
The Careful Writer
The Chicago Manual of Style
The Elements of Style
Webster's New World College Dictionary
Words Into Type 

Happy writing!

Consider a Cross-Genre Critique Group

When people ask about critique groups for writers, I generally steer them away from those that don't address their genre. Yet, cross-genre sometimes works best.

MFA on Enders Island

I recently took a cross-genre workshop on spirituality in writing through Fairfield University's low-residency MFA program. I was privileged to work with award-winning poet Baron Wormser, acclaimed author Marita Golden, and writer Father Paul Fitzgerald. And that was the key to why the group worked — great faculty who didn't just manage the workshop, but also taught it. Each brought his or her genre expertise to the table, and kept us on track when we strayed.

Also a plus was the fabulous class of talented writers who gave astute, respectful and constructive observations instrumental in taking us from one writing level to the next.

Looking to broaden your field of vision? Consider a cross-genre workshop with these attributes:

• Seek a structured critique environment with experienced authors who respect each other's work.
• Look for a group with the level of talent and experience that will bring your work to the next level.
• Visit the group for a firsthand sense of the dynamic, and to see if the feedback is constructive.
• Look for a group that includes poets.

For questions about cross-genre critique groups, contact Word for Words.

Happy writing!

Finding the Flash in Short Fiction



Find the flash in your short fiction



As e-readers and devices get smaller and time gets shorter, here's how to edit short fiction to reveal the flash:

• Remove all unnecessary words.
• Replace ambiguous and long phrases with one precise word.
• Delete repetitious images and concepts.

Now that you've pared the verbiage:

• Use one image to replace descriptive narrative.
• Use one scene to represent the story.
• Pare dialogue to the essentials.
• Incorporate characters' thoughts in the dialogue.

Repeat the entire process. Now flash your audience.

Tip: This is also a great way to force yourself to edit your work to the essentials.

Resource: For more on flash, visit the Writers Digest article "What Is Flash Fiction."

Happy writing!

For more writing tips, visit the Word for Words Online Workshop, and Adele's blog.

Why Story Titles Are Important for Writers and Readers

A colleague recently asked me to read the first draft of a captivating personal essay, but something was missing — the right title and the real story. A third of the way into the piece I found both. Interestingly, the discovery of the title brought the discovery of the real story.

A story's title reveals its heart

Titles are important because they're like rudders, guiding writer and reader along the story's path to its heart.

Here's how to find your title (and possibly your real story):

• As you reread your work, what word or phrase stands out, and why?
• Does it capture what is or should be the essence of the piece?
• If so, how?
• Does the story change with the new title?
• If so, in what way(s)?
• Is the title original without being flashy and detracting from the story instead of substantiating it?
• Does the title reveal the heart of the work without giving too much away?

Titles are important because they keep the writer and reader on track.

What story are you working on whose title you're unsure of?

Happy writing!

For more tips, visit my online workshop, Word for Words.

If Writer's Block Exists How You Do Break It

Break writer's block by writing

Writers who say they can't write often mean they're afraid to write. Reasons include not knowing where to start, what to say or how to say it. As to the issue of time, the real fear there is of loss. If I write, the writer reasons, what will I miss — a lovely day, an outing with friends, family?

Regardless of the fear, the only way to break writer's block is to write.

But there are ways to ease the fear, and ease into the task:

• Leave work undone: Ernest Hemingway stopped at a point where he knew what would happen. That way, when he returned, he'd have something to say.
• Edit your work: A great way to stoke the writing fires is to edit a section of your story, preferably one you're currently working on, although editing something else works, too.
• Make notes on the next scene: One of the hardest tasks is coming to the work cold, having little or no idea what the next scene should look like. To avoid this pitfall, make notes on the scene the day before, and give yourself time at the next sitting to let your imagination run with the ideas before diving in.

Tip: Always edit your work the night before. Food cooks better in a preheated oven. Your writing process will be better for it, too.

What does your writer's block look like?

Happy writing!

For more tips, visit Word for Words, or visit Adele's blog. Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor and instructor who is working on a novel and series of short stories set in Italy. Visit her at Adele M. Annesi.