Jason K Chapman

Sights, sites, cites, and writes

Here's a list of suggested reading material for the modern fiction writer. Taken together, it touches on story structure, process, word choice, lifestyle, and dealing with that other world that keeps intruding on the fictional worlds you're trying to create.

Aristotle's Poetics

This is the foundation on which story is built. If you want a clear understanding of the fundamentals of comedy, tragedy, and story telling in general, this is the book to read.

Sol Stein's Masterpiece

Stein on Writing
by Sol Stein

If you think literature and popular fiction are incompatible, think again!

Sol Stein clearly details key elements that separate enduring prose from forgettable texts and details just how to apply those elements to your writing.

Byte Meets Write

We have to mention it, don't we? This is where Jason's creative side and his technical side come together—in his involvement with Poets & Writers.

Aside from producing an outstanding magazine, the organization does a lot of great work for the literary community and for emerging writers.

Life as a Creative

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
by Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan

Though the spiritual aspect of this book can be a bit thick at times, it offers excellent advice on dealing with your own creative nature.

Creatives are different. Because of this, they often have trouble dealing with the world around them. This book offers excellent advice on nurturing your creative spirit and protecting it from the things that can stifle it.

A Different Approach

Starting From Scratch
by Rita Mae Brown

A brilliant, funny, and highly entertaining book, this is another one that deals more with the writing life than with technique.

 

Myth as Story

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler

An ingenious analysis of the basic structure and elements of myth and their application to modern fiction. This book clearly demonstrates the timelessness of fiction and the importance of story structure.

An Essay in Response to a Discussion Group Question

by Jason K. Chapman

Q: When I've tried my hand at fiction, I've always failed for one of two reasons: if I start from a great "hook" and try to let the characters show me the way to a believable ending, I run out of steam and the piece gets abandoned; if I create the ending and try to work backwards, I end up with the literary equivalent of Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs..." ...only less coherent...

This seems to be a fairly common problem. I wonder if it stems from not starting with a consistent theme in mind. In everything I write, I begin with an idea, a thought to express. It acts as the glue that bonds character, plot, and voice together into some kind of organized whole.

It works on a level above the individual elements, and affects details even as small as word choice in descriptive scenes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily talking about moralizing, here, though the difference may be small. I'm simply talking about a single idea--a one-sentence answer to the question "What am I trying to say, here?"

Since I used Les Miserables earlier, I'll use it again. It's theme might be summed up as "Dignity is a requirement for human life." This unifies the actions, and the fates, of Valjean, Javert, Fontine, and Cosette.

Valjean changes his life when he realizes that the priest has treated him with dignity in spite of Valjean's stealing from him. Javert, whose every action is bent on destroying human dignity, goes so far in his aim that he destroys his own, and himself. Fontine gives up on the very idea of dignity, by sacrificing her own in a failed attempt to win it for Cosette.

It is this kind of coherence that helps bring me back on track when I lose sight of where the story's going. Those of you who start with a good hook and characters, but can't find your way to the end might want to try it. Once you have the story's theme, you can combine it with who the characters are and what the setting is. At that point, the ending of the story becomes much clearer.

--Jason K. Chapman

(Originally appeared in alt.skunks 9/98)