Susan Minot's Lust

I just finished reading Susan Minot's Lust. It's a beautiful story. It captures the feelings of a fragile young girl through her sexual explorations. It strikes me as a type of confession. Not a confession of a sin, but a confession of a secret, the type of confession you would find in a teenage girl's diary. On another level it's a list of boys, and these boys are defined by the sexual encounters she shares with them. I really love this character. I love her innocence, fragility and sadness. Though her confessions are those of a deviant, her intentions are not. She is merely looking for love and meaning, but just happens to be looking in the wrong spots. She is an excellent character and it is so easy for the reader to understand her pain and empathize with her. We feel sorry for her and hope she finds happiness. We know who she is by her thoughts and actions, yet the story doesn't need to spell it out for us. We can clearly see her young mind struggling with the complex relationships adults face. Susan Minot definitely created a strong character.

Chuck Palahniuk writing tips

One of my favorite authors is Chuck Palahniuk. He is the freakin man and I'm sure you have heard of Fight Club, his most famous novel. Although I love all his work, the one that I recommend is Rant. Anyway, he used to post a lot of advice and work-shopping ideas on his website. I believe they have been moved to LitReactor, but I was able to find one by searching google. He has posted 13 writing tips that seem to be very insightful. After reading this, I can see that even a published author, even one of my favorite ones, can have a hard time writing. This is a very encouraging concept because we tend to think of our idols as more than human and somehow untouchable. After reading this I was like, "Oh yeah that sounds like a good idea!" and "Wait just a minute! You're telling me that Chuck Palahniuk had a hard time ending Fight Club???" I always like reading stuff like this from my favorite authors, because it seems to give me more drive to write which can sometimes be very tough.
Sometimes I find myself not wanting to include something in my stories or poems that might give something away about myself that I am not comfortable with anyone knowing. Conversely, I am sometimes afraid of writing something that is truly fiction but might raise people's eyebrows or cause them to believe that there is something wrong with me. Maybe they might think that if I write something too taboo, or too disturbing that it is a reflection of myself and there must be something wrong with me. In either case, whether it be true or fiction I find that if I want to put it down on paper, then it should be put down on paper. You have to be honest in your writing because otherwise it shines through and the reader can smell your B.S., it's the same way in life. You have to put yourself on the line. In Invisible Monsters there is an appropriate quote: "The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open."

Story Beginnings

     I just finished reading A Temporary Matter and though I am not a huge fan of the story a can appreciate the irony of the title and the opening paragraph. My interpretation of the title does not only apply to that the "temporary matter" of the electricity being out for an hour each day, but to the confessions they share during this time, the happiness of Shoba's pregnancy, their happiness as a couple and their marriage as a whole. I thought that the ending was a bit ambiguous as it is not entirely clear what the implications of their crying at the table means. Perhaps now they will try to rebuild their relationship based on the knowledge they now know? If so I suppose that would indicate yet another "temporary matter". Anyway, with this being said, let's talk about story beginnings.
     After Googling "different types of story beginnings" the first result that comes up is The 7 Types of Short Story Opening, and How to Decide Which is Right for Your Story. This seems to come from a Sci-Fi website, but I think it can be applicable to any type of fiction writing (plus the pictures of old Sci-Fi magazines are awesome). Going by the different types on this page I would say that I like using "The Quotation" a lot, and you will see that in my first story. I am a fan of opening the story in the middle of something, throwing the reader right into the action. However, writing this way can be difficult because you have to make sure that you can keep it interesting until you can illustrate exactly what is going on. I am not one to start out with a setting. That is not to say that I think that it is the wrong way to start a story, just that it can get boring and lose the reader's attention and I haven't found the right way to pull it off yet.
     Coincidentally, in my Sci-Fi and Fantasy Literature class, we are reading a book that has a really great opening. Old Man's War by John Scalzi opens like this,
"I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army."
As a class we all agreed that this was a pretty sweet opening. It's a real "What the *@$#!" moment where you want to know what the hell is going on, and what the book is about. Anyhoo, I think that's all I have to say for story beginnings.