(How To Books Ltd) Creative Writing

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away, hemadehimself apot oftea. Whileit brewedonthe
kitchen table hewalked down to his shed and brought back
his scrapbooks.
At first sight, this scene portrays a contented man relaxing in
his home on a Saturday morning. By this stage in the book,
however, the reader is painfully aware of the horrific images
that George s scrapbooks contain.
Now compare the lengths of both thewords and the sentences
in the above extract with the following passage from the same
book:
The two small boys walked fast. Driving rain was pelting
into their faces. The smaller of the two had red-rimmed
eyes and had obviously been crying. A large clap of thun-
der boomed overhead, followed by a flash of lightning that
lit up the sky.
(The Ladykiller, Martina Cole, Hodder Headline)
80 / CREATI VE WRI TI NG
The pace of the second passage is much faster than the first. In
both cases the reader is in no doubt that something very
unpleasant is about to happen but in the first example,
the character is content and this is reflected in the vocabulary
used. In the second extract, the characters are clearly
unhappy and the vocabulary is short, sharp and threatening.
FLASHING BACK AND FORTH IN TIME
Flashback is one of the most useful tools a writer can use. It:
provides an insight into your characters personalities and
pasts
gives background information
describes the characters and adds substance to the plot
moves the story forward
offers hints or signposts that history is about to repeat
itself.
Flashing information
Whilst the length of a flashback varies considerably from one
short phrase to a complete chapter, the technique works best
if you simply flash to a significant incident in the past, then
bring your character straight back to the present as soon as
you have imparted the relevant information.
For example, if the reader is to understand why our TV
presenter, Sally Blake, behaves in a certain way, we need
to give them a few hints about the background to the
story. The flashbacks in the following scene are marked
in italics:
SHOWI NG NOT TELLI NG / 81
I m sorry Mark, Sally fought back the tears which
threatened to overwhelm her resolve, It s over. I m leaving
you. I shouldn t have believed your lies about leaving your
wife and children.
Hugging her knees to her chin, she rocked childishly to
and fro for comfort, waiting in vain for his response, Did
you hear what I said?
Oh, yes, I heard you.
Sally felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end
as she unclasped her legs and lifted her head to meet his
furious gaze. The last timehe dusedthat tone, theviolence
that had followed had landed her in hospital. Furtively, she
slid sideways across the bed, increasing the distance
between them.
Flashbacks should provide a series of revelations about the
characters which give just enough information to keep the
reader wanting to know more but at the same time, reveal
something the reader didn t know before.
In the above example, the first flashback informs us that
Mark is a married man, the second that he is violent. From
these two snippets of information, we know the background
to their relationship and can predict a negative reaction to
Sally s desire to end it.
Key phrases
Listed below are some key phrases designed to lead you
smoothly into flashback:
That summer had been almost perfect.
There had been a time when things were different.
As a child, he had been nervous and shy.
82 / C R E A T I V E W R I T I N G
Filling a whole chapter
Whilst it is possible to write whole chapters in flashback, this
can be counter-productive. As always, in the hands of a skilled
author, lengthy flashback of this type can be very effective.
However, for it to work well, the content must be completely
riveting and integral to the main plot. Even then, it can
sometimes be difficult to pull the reader back to the present.
It is usually better to stick to brief, rapid flashes to keep your
story moving smoothly and at a good pace.
Moving forward in time
It can be surprisingly difficult to move your characters for-
ward from one place and time to the next.
For example, when getting them from work to home, unless it
is vital to the plot, there is no point in having them walk out of
the building, get into their car and giving a blow by blow
account of the drive home.
Nor is there any need, once they are home, to follow their
progressthrough eating their evening meal, going to bed, then
getting up in the morning, leaving the house and driving back
to work again.
How, therefore, do you get your characters from A to B and
from one day to the next without slowing the pace?
Stopping and starting
The solution is relatively easy. You simply stop at the end of
one piece of action and start up again at the next. For
example:
SHOWI NG NOT TELLI NG / 83
She picked up her handbag and walked briskly to the
door, See you tomorrow then, she nodded curtly in my
direction, I ll see myself out.
She arrived promptly at nine the next morning.
Once again, there are key phrases that are helpful in moving
the action forward.
It wasn t until much later that . . .
It was to be years, not days, before they would meet again.
Less than an hour had passed before . . .
CHECKLIST
1. Are you confident that your characters actions and atti-
tudes are clearly conveyed through their reactions to their
surroundings?
2. Do your characters interact realistically with one another
through a combination of dialogue and action?
3. Would cutting the amount of description and narrative
improve the pace of your story?
4. Do you know how their past governs their present
behaviour?
5. Do they fight for their principles?
6. Are you using sentence length and emotive vocabulary to
vary the pace and style of your story?
7. Are your flashbacks short and effective?
8. Does each scene move smoothly into the next?
84 / CREATI VE WRI TI NG
ASSIGNMENT
Write a scene in which a wife is trying to conceal a murder
weapon immediately after killing her husband. The scene
should contain the following information:
the wife s appearance, including height, hair style, age and
build
the time of day
the season
the room she is in
how the room is furnished
why she killed him.
6
Writing Realistic Dialogue
DEVELOPING A GOOD EAR
Dialogue is the bearer of information, plot and character-
isation. It performs a number of vital functions for the fiction
writer:
delineates character
moves the story forward
creates conflict, tension and suspense
explains what happened in the past
conveys emotion
conveys the thoughts of the characters. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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