reading author tips while enjoying sushi & green tea
When I signed up for a short fiction class, I thought it would be a great way to improve my writing skills. I need to begin my dissertation soon, and thought creative writing may be helpful. I was wrong. This is a graduate level course, and it is meant for serious fiction writers. My first short fiction story was due on Monday. While I did manage to turn it in, it’s probably not my best work. I quickly realized I suck at creating plots! I’m not sure why I thought it would be easy – writing is never easy. I assumed that since I am such an avid reader, that a plot would come easy.
My fear now is that I’ll offend my professor and classmates with my poorly written story. I did pay attention to detail in some parts, but I’m not sure if that makes up for story as a whole. The fact that the fiction is based off of something that really happen doesn’t help. I took a moment that happen last summer, changed a few details and tried to make it work. During the World Cup last summer, my friends and I met this guy. Well, they wanted me to chase him down; they thought he would be a good match for me. How a guy that lives in Germany, while I’m in Texas is a good match – I’ll never know. I changed the details that he was here 6 months instead of a week and that he and the main character (aka me) hit it off. The story includes a couple of scenes, but I’m not sure the read will feel involved or invested into the world I tried to create. My friends seemed to enjoy for the most part.
I’ve learned that the key to writing short fiction is creating a believable world, which means lots of detail. I have no idea when my second story but I do need to begin working on it now. I need something that won’t make me look like I’m a child.