by Paula Gail Benson
In “Getting to Know You,” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, Mrs. Anna tells her
class that students teach their teachers. Similarly, readers can give authors
important insight about their stories.
Writers
are cautioned to show rather than tell. Nevertheless, the way a writer
creates his stories often reveals something of his personality, background, or beliefs—even
if the writer diligently tries to keep himself out of the narrative.
Sometimes
I’m surprised by what readers tell me—not only about a particular story, but
also about my writing in general. At other times, their comments lead me toward
a new story idea. It’s especially nice to know I’ve achieved a particular
effect or result.
Last
year, my mystery “Only the Sacrifice Knows” was published in the California
online magazine Kings River Life. It
involved a family entertaining a Thanksgiving guest who had dated one brother, then
became engaged to his twin.
As
the story unfolds, information is gradually disclosed about the family’s unique
holiday tradition. The focus remains on how the guest, and the reader, will react
when the secret ritual is fully explained. Kings River Life provides an
opportunity for readers to comment. I was very grateful that Earl Staggs, a
short story writer I admire, left the following remark: “I had several ideas as
to how it would end. All of them wrong. I love it when that happens.” Me, too.
At
my day job, I do a different type of writing. After reading “Ghost of a
Chance,” my pirate story in A Tall Ship,
A Star and Plunder (Dark Oak Press and Media, 2014), a co-worker expressed
surprise that I could write so “sensually.” I didn’t think of it that way while
writing it. I simply tried to convey the emotions of the main character—a first
mate who had been stolen into the pirate trade as a boy, survived the
treacherous lifestyle, yet still yearned for the family life he had lost.
Other
folks have told me that my writing has a spooky quality. That surprised me
until I thought about some story circumstances—the odd Thanksgiving tradition;
the pirate’s encounter with a ghost ship; a New Year’s Eve spa visit where the
client’s wish unexpectedly comes true; and a interplanetary mediator who realizes
her own ancestors consumed the ancestors of one of her clients. I guess my
writing does have a few creepy elements.
For
my church drama ministry, I write and direct our shows. I’m used to helping the actors incorporate the ideas they have about their characters into their performance. Dialogue
gives the basic information to move the story, but an actor’s imagination
develops the complete person being portrayed.
One
year, our play was about a mountain family who takes in travelers stranded by a
Christmas Eve rockslide. The actress who portrayed the mother came to rehearsal
wearing a bandana scarf and long peasant skirt. She told me she thought her
character had been interested in the
Peace Corps and doing for others, but returned to the mountain to help care for
her family. None of that information was in the dialogue, and it wasn’t what I
imagined when I wrote the character; however, the more I thought about it, I
realized it perfectly explained the woman’s motivation. We used that backstory
to help select costumes and props that showed the family’s lifestyle.
Perhaps
the nicest feedback I’ve received came from “Confidence in the Family” in
Buddhapuss Ink’s Mystery Times Ten
(2013). I went to dinner with a friend who had just read the story. As we were
finishing, she asked, “Don’t you think you have something more to tell about
those characters?” She wanted to know when she could read their next story.
What a wonderful gift for a writer! Now to get the words on the page . . .
©2014 Paula Gail Benson
A
legislative attorney and former law librarian, Paula Gail Benson’s short
stories have been published in Kings
River Life (http://kingsriverlife.com/), the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable (http://bwgwritersroundtable.com/), Mystery Times Ten 2013 (Buddhapuss Ink), and A Tall Ship, a Star, and Plunder (Dark Oak Press and Media, 2014).
She regularly blogs with others at http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com. Her personal
blog is Little Sources of Joy, at http://littlesourcesofjoy.blogspot.com, and her website
is http://paulagailbenson.com.
We hope you've enjoyed today's #WW Writer's Wednesday. Be sure to follow our blog so you don't miss a single issue in this series. Next week, author Cecilia Dominic, joins us with her #WW piece, Critiquing Without Scars.
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