Writing Great Fiction
Professor James Hynes
March 25, 2017
Lecture 1
Starting the writing process
Without thinking too hard about it, try to recall a vivid image you may have seen recently, in real life or on television, and see if you can imagine a story to explain it. You can start with the Faulkner technique: Simply describe the image, such as a mother yelling at her child in the supermarket, then branch off from there, explaining why the mother is so exasperated or why the child is being so difficult. Then try Fitzgerald’s technique with the same image: Outline the life of the mother so far— her girlhood, her courtship, the birth of her child—and work up to the moment in the supermarket. See which approach works best for you.
My image-
Amor Eterno by Simon Silva
Faulkner method-
A simple man, a weary man, an any man returns home from a long time away, is embraced by his loving family. Theirs is the life of a squid- A tangle of arms and hearts, yet only one soul-theirs. Theirs is a squid of love. One family, one love, many loving arms, searching to purchase a bit of the time they lost together. Groping for the touch of the very person that makes their lives rich, secure, meaningful, and for the man who sacrifices his time away from all this love, this is his reward. The warm and familiar embrace of the Squid of Love.
He ventures out, far away from home in search of a way to provide for his family. He lives to make sure they are taken care of. He works hard for months at a time without word from his family, who are too poor for a phone, but every week he sends his money and his love back to his family so they may have food and a place to live. This is how he sees his return, and he works hard every day to make sure that one day, this vision comes true.
Fitzgerald’s technique-
He was born in a poor town in central Mexico. His grade school education and the small community he grew up in did not afford him very many career opportunities, but his home life was rich and full of love and family. He lived in a three room house with his parents, grandparents, three brothers and four sisters. Love was everywhere, even though money was not. As he grew up he began to see the family struggles. One by one they burst his childhood innocence, and when he met Maria, he knew what he must do. He knew the sacrifices he would make for his own family in order for them to not have to worry about money or rent or security. He knew he had the one thing that would make his life, and that of his families lives better than most who lived in his village- a fearless resolve to do whatever it took to provide for his family.
This man, Juan, grew up, worked hard and listened to a few of his neighbors who knew where and how to go north and find work, how to send money home, and when to come home and enjoy the fruits of his labor, so that one day, he, too, would take the trip north and provide for his own family,. When he finally grows up and marries his childhood sweetheart, Maria, they start their family knowing the sacrifices he will make to ensure their survival. Every time Juan returns home, his family showers him with love and squeezes him tightly to release the pent up love they had saved for him. It is this rich embrace that makes his sacrifices worth it, fuels his next return north and sustain him through all the lonely trials and tribulations that await him every time.