This week, I bring you the next episode in
“R. A. Nelson vs. Stephen King: A Showdown for the Ages!”
This isn’t really a showdown, I guess, unless a novice trying to learn from a master without losing her identity within the master’s counts as a showdown. As I discussed in episode one, Hail to the King: Stephen King on Writing Right, I am reading through Stephen King’s On Writing and finding it both illuminating and enjoyable. Yet, I am also discovering that my methods are quite different from his.
An example? I was hoping you’d ask:
“Good fiction always begins with story and progresses to theme; it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story.” ~ Stephen King, On Writing
Mr. King is not “anti-theme” by any means. He just believes you always, always, ALWAYS start with the story – the situation, not the plot – and figure out the rest as you go along. Once you’ve “excavated” the story via your first draft, you then read back through it to discern the theme. In other words, you don’t realize what the story is about (the simplest definition of theme) until after you’ve written the story. The second draft is your chance to highlight that theme, making any changes necessary to clarify the story’s purpose.
Stephen King is an excellent writer. This method has served him well, and I can recognize the validity of it.
It’s just the opposite of the way I do things.
Not quite the opposite; I do start with the story, and I do try to discover it as I go, instead of forcing it into a predetermined plot structure. But the revelation of the theme – what the story is fundamentally about – usually comes hard on the heels of the first story-idea, close to the beginning of the process. I would not feel comfortable proceeding very far without it. It is the light guiding me through the uncharted tunnels of the story, helping me discover which path the story is taking.
Stephen King compares theme to a magnifying glass in one’s “story excavation” kit. I would go one step further and call it a divining rod or a metal detector; without it, I would not always know where to look for the pieces of story buried beneath the sand.
Furthermore, I had an experience while writing this week that confirmed my thematic methods:
I am well into the first draft of my new book (huzzah!!!), so I spend the better part of each afternoon staring into space and then scribbling frantically in my notebook – over, and over, and over. That day, I was working on the “back story” chapter – that necessary part of every fantasy book wherein the reader learns what sort of place this other world is, and where it came from, and how it works. Since this is not just a stand-alone novel, but instead the first in a series of five books, I realized I was laying a rather significant foundation.
And, as I was reflecting on the major themes I want to explore throughout these books – letting the theme guide my hand to the next piece of the story – I had it: a startlingly clear, beautifully simple revelation of a major story point from the end of the fifth book.
The climax of the whole series, basically – and it was theme that led me there.
You better believe there was some frantic scribbling after THAT.
If you’re curious about what some of the major themes for this new series are, and what this new R. A. Nelson tale is shaping up to be, stay tuned! I’ll be giving some tidbits – with musical accompaniments – in the weeks ahead.
Till then, dear reader, take care – and keep your eyes open for theme treasures buried in the sands of your life story, waiting to bring unifying clarity!
Okay . . . Salivating here to know more!!!
Wow, you know the end of book five and have not yet finished the first. Amazing. Ready for more!
It’s interesting to me to see these two different approaches. For me, it varies based on what I am writing. Non-fiction – outline and sketch out then fill in the gaps. The theme and who point is figured out during the framework or skeleton. The flesh then is attached to give meat to the bones. Fiction – sometimes the first draft is a meandering path of discovery, other times it is writing towards a goal or – in many cases for me – writing towards a picture. My first novel started with a picture and ended with a picture. I wrote from picture to picture. Now, during the course of writing furious scribbling occurred for future stories in the same world. Those files exist in my notes folder waiting the full picture to come – eventually.
You are an interesting woman, Ruth. Anxious to see what you serve up next.
I love that authors take to pen to share their stories, and have multiple methods to get to the end result! Tis part of the artform I would say 🙂 love it! Can’t wait to hear more about this new adventure!