What if? : writing exercises for fiction writers by Bernays Anne;Painter Pamela & Painter Pamela

Author:Bernays, Anne;Painter, Pamela & Painter, Pamela [Bernays, Anne;Painter, Pamela & Painter, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: English language, Fiction, Creative writing
ISBN: 0673990028
Publisher: New York, NY : HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1990-06-19T19:00:00+00:00

"Sure did," I said, smiling and turning back to the paper.Go away, I thought. Go back to bed. Leave me to my Sunday.The phone rang, and shirtless Stan twisted to pick it up.

"Good morning," he said. "Oh. . . . It's for you," he said,handing me the phone.

"Her mother," Abby said. "Every Sunday. Kind of likechurch, I guess."

"No, Mom," I whispered into the phone that I'd draggedout into the hall. "No, Mom. That was not my boyfriend. . . .No, he's not a burglar. . . . No, I don't know who he is. . . . No,I don't let strange men into my apartment at all hours." Andon it went. My head throbbed.

When I got off the phone, I went back into the kitchen.Stan was sitting in my chair. Abby was sitting on Stan's laptwirling his chest hairs.

"Hey, gorgeous," Abby said. "We're going to grab a bageland then go to the planetarium. Half-price on Sundays. Wantto come?"

"Better than sitting around here moping," Stan said."Ouch. Stop pulling my hairs." He slapped Abby's hand away.

Hester Kaplan

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38

FIVE DIFFERENT VERSIONS:AND NOT ONE IS A LIE

We tell STORIES EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES. BUT HOW WE TELL THE

Story is often determined by who we are telling the story to.Think of the range of people in one's life—parents, spouse,children, friends, lovers, priests, rabbis, in-laws, social work-ers, parole officers (come on—use your imagination), doctors,claims adjusters, lawyers, judges, juries, therapists, talk-showhosts, astrologers—the list goes on and on. And as we tell thesepeople our story, we add or subtract, exaggerate or play down,tolerate or condemn, depending on the identity of the personto whom we are telling our tale.

THE EXERCISE

Here is the situation: You have just come out of the movietheater around seven in the evening and you are mugged—aperson asks for your money, then knocks you to the groundbefore running away. Or make up your own situation.

Next, pretend you are telling the account of this event tofive different people:

you mother

your best friend

your girlfriend or boyfriend (or wife or husband)

a therapist

a police officer

THE OBJECTIVE

To become conscious of how we shape and shade the storiesthat we tell to each other according to the listener. Your char-acters also tell stories to each other and make selections about

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STORY ELEMENTS AS A GIVEN

content according to whom they are telling the story, the effectthey want the story to have, and the response they want toelicit from the listener. A lot of dialogue in fiction, in real life,is story telling—and there is always the story listener who isas important to the tale as the tale itself.

STUDENT EXAMPLE

Telling my mother

So I'd been to the bathroom 'cause I knew I wouldn't get togo before I made it home and no, I wasn't wearing my blackmini! You don't wear leather in early autumn. Anyway, I'dasked this guy—some kid from school—what time it was andhe told me 7:10. Don't worry. He wasn't the mugger—I did notask the mugger the time. It was Johnny Something Or Otherfrom my morning Lit. 121. Anyway, I'm just walking down thesidewalk, heading for the car and it happened.

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