By M. Graae

Once the writer understands, with her heart and soul and entire being, that writing is a craft that requires certain skills, her next step is to commit herself to learning those skills.

Right about now, the skeptics in the audience are probably saying, “Wait! You’re not talking about rules, are you? Writing doesn’t have any rules. The writer is free to write what he wants and to express himself with impunity. When Samuel Richardson sat down to write Pamela, recognized as the first novel in the English language (circa 1698), he wasn’t worried about rules. He was telling his story in a free and untrammeled manner, unfettered by arbitrary restraints.”

Rest easy, skeptics. The skills involved in writing and the techniques used in effective writing are not rules. Call them guidelines, if you wish. They are fluid and flexible, and meant to be curved, twisted, altered, and even broken. There is only one rule in fiction writing, and it is very, very simple: Does what you have written work? If an impartial, experienced writer or editor thinks your writing works, then you’re on the bullet-train to writing something good. But, if your writing doesn’t “work” – if it’s clumsy, confusing, woefully disorganized, trite, hard to understand, pretentious, or overwritten – then it’s time to go back to the word processor and study the basics of fiction writing.

The basics come in two parts, elements and conventions. (Don’t worry, skeptics! There is plenty of room for self-expression and original thinking within the traditional guidelines of fiction writing. Very few of us are born knowing how to write!) Each of these parts is necessary but not sufficient to the making of good fiction. Think of the elements as the fresh, certified organic ingredients for a four-course dinner. Now think of the conventions as the skills that an award-winning chef uses to convert those excellent ingredients into delicious, healthful cuisine. The best meat, vegetables and grains in the world, with the best color, taste and nutrition, will not make a very good dinner if they are poorly prepared. And even the most experienced chef with highly-acclaimed skills will have a hard time preparing an excellent meal from low-grade ingredients that are not fresh.

The elements of fiction writing, mentioned in an earlier article, are:

• A well-developed (or “rounded”) main character (protagonist);
• Well-organized plots and subplots;
• Setting (place and time);
• Theme, voice and tone (“The Intangibles”)

Learning, and ultimately mastering, the use of these elements is a huge step you have to
take (I believe there is simply no way around it!) if you hope to “be all you can be” as a novelist, let alone become a published novelist. Even if you wish to write experimental fiction, you should have a good idea of what guidelines you are breaking.
Now, there are several ways you can go about learning the elements of fiction writing:

• Take classes at a local college or community college. Better yet – an expensive route but well worth the price – earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree in fiction writing. The latter will definitely test your commitment to the writing life!
• Join a trustworthy writers group and go to every meeting. Listen to the critiques your work receives and consider them carefully. Writing workshops are also offered by schools and other organizations in many areas, and usually have the “plus” of being led by an experienced writer.
• Inside and outside of classes and workshops, talk to other writers, especially writers whose work you admire. Meet up with other writers on an informal basis and find out how they would approach difficulties in their own work.
• Read excellent books on writing fiction. Ann Lamont’s Bird by Bird is one; Rusty Hill’s Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular is another. Yet another: The Art of the Novel by John Gardner.
• Read the best of traditional and contemporary literature. Ask yourself what makes the writing “work.” Try to identify the elements of fiction in each of the works you read.

Here’s a brief look at the elements and the basic meaning of each, as well as some terms associated with them, to get you started on your studies. How well does your writing take these concepts into account?

1 – Characterization refers to the specific methods of creating a protagonist or other major character. A developed character, who is usually the protagonist of the novel or story, almost always changes and grows over the course of the plot as he reacts to events in the plot. Secondary characters are major characters who serve to develop the protagonist and plot; these characters may be fairly well developed in terms of personality and background, but they rarely change. Stock, or type, characters are shallow, undeveloped characters that are basically caricatures or stereotypes of a certain personality trait, race or position. The prostitute with a heart of gold is a stock character; so is the pushy or arrogant salesperson.

2 – Plot refers to the main story line of a piece of fiction. Basically, the plot consists of the events that take place during the story, each falling at a particular point in the story. The way in which a plot is organized to ensure the development of the character and the plot is called “plot structure.” One excellent way to begin a plot is with a “compelling event,” that is, an event that the protagonist must react to, either by taking action, making a decision, or refusing to act; of ten the response to the compelling event propels the beginning of the plot forward. To keep the plot advancing, the author must create conflict; this is the continuing tension or pressure arising from the compelling event and intensified (and complicated) by other events in the story. The conflict is confronted and resolved during the climax. For example, after 600 pages of searching, Ahab encounters Moby Dick, with disastrous consequences for himself and his crew. Ishmael’s rescue at sea provides the denouement, or declining action, of the novel.

A novel may also have subplots, that is, minor or secondary storylines that enhance the protagonist’s development or the major plot line. These should never get in the way of the major conflict.

3 – Setting, in fiction, refers to both place and time. The place in which a novel “happens” is its locale, and a novel may have many locales. These can be both broad (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and narrow (Jake’s Diner in the Herron Hill section of Pittsburgh, on the corner of Pride and Soledad.) The time in which a novel takes place is both its historical period (Anglo-Saxon England, The Great Depression) and the movement of time (chronological order and sequence…or non-linear sequence).

4 – Theme refers to the central idea behind the story, as well as the insight about life that the story imparts to the reader. A theme should be an organic part of the story, not tacked on or forced onto it. Voice is the distinct style or manner in which the protagonist or other character expresses herself. Voice is most obvious in a first-person narrator. Tone is the distinct style or manner in which the author subtly expresses himself through his writing in order to convey feelings or themes. Tone is most obvious in third-person narrative passages. Tone should not be confused with authorial intrusion, a flaw.

1. Recognizing That Writing is a Craft

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