tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321311974284039882.post209367205735332118..comments2023-08-11T07:47:56.143-04:00Comments on On The Premises: Why Fiction Based on Real Life Often FailsTarl Kudrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00148307216903708071noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321311974284039882.post-10697396682631563582012-12-28T19:56:30.810-05:002012-12-28T19:56:30.810-05:00Ahhh! Just reminds me I did the same thing!
Good t...Ahhh! Just reminds me I did the same thing!<br />Good thing I didn't send it in!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321311974284039882.post-10600384765868114402012-08-09T19:23:51.605-04:002012-08-09T19:23:51.605-04:00Here's a way to figure out what background inf...Here's a way to figure out what background information you need. Leave all of it out, then have a couple of people read that version of the story. Whatever they say they didn't understand is what you need to explain or show somehow... and that's probably *all* you need to explain or show.<br /><br />For getting protagonists to stop using "your" voice, try making protagonists who talk like famous fictional characters who are nothing like you. In other words, try fan fiction, and try making the characters talk like the characters do in the source material. I think the reason your protagonists talk in your own voice is, you may not know your protagonists well enough to figure out what their voice sounds like.Tarl Kudrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148307216903708071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321311974284039882.post-26890445638475754492012-08-08T22:04:02.358-04:002012-08-08T22:04:02.358-04:00I think you make an excellent point about fictiona...I think you make an excellent point about fictionalizing real people in stories. I do that a lot and there are many times that I forget the reader isn’t privy to the background story I take for granted.<br /><br />When I force myself to stay aware of this; I run into a second problem: How much background info does the reader need to know to make the story work? I don’t want my short story to become a novella.<br /><br />In addition, there are stories I write that provide the reader with adequate background, however, if my story has too many words and goes over the maximum number allowed in a submission: guess where I unconsciously focus my editing? As I'm doing this I'm saying to myself, The readers don’t really need to know all this; do they?<br /><br />The final writing habit on this topic, that I can’t seem to break, is that the protagonist always ends up using ‘my voice’. I rationalize this by saying that it’s ‘my style’ and if the story works; who’s going to know anyway?<br /><br />I really got a lot out of this blog entry. Kudos to you Tarl.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com