Experience Vs. Ideas

If I said, Francesca was uncomfortable in her marriage especially when it came to sex, it might get your attention, but only because you'd want to know more. If that statement, that idea, were as far as it went, it wouldn't be very satisfying because it's an idea about her marriage and not the experience of it. If I wanted to give you the experience of her and her marriage, I would have to put it in Francesca's personal terms, give you her specific experience, which is what every successful story must do. Here's how one of my students did it:

Big Daddy

Sex had never been Francesca's forte. In fact, she had to admit to her rather drab reflection in the bathroom mirror as she stood brushing her teeth, sex wasn't even her mediumte — if there were such a word. No. She paused in her brushing, listening for the sound of Jack's snoring, hoping for the snoring, waiting for the snoring.

No snoring.

Francesca began brushing again. No. The fact was she wasn't good at sex at all. Never had been. And, as she looked again at her reflection — gray hair mixed freely with the brown, lines fanning out from the corners of her eyes, the sag underneath her chin-she realized now that she was 43, she was never going to get good at it. She spit in the sink and listened again for the sound of snoring. In vain.

It wasn't that she wanted to be this way.

And hadn't she enjoyed Jack — his kisses, the warm feel of his body in bed, the simple touch of his hand with the swirled scar from the time he went over the handle bars of his bike at 12 and landed with a stick piercing his palm?

Yes, she had enjoyed Jack, at one time at least. But that had been, what? A year ago? Two? Maybe two and a half.

Maybe she just needed to adjust her attitude.

"Hey, what's going on in there? Did you drown yourself?" Jack called.

Yes, adjust her attitude — be positive. Maybe sex would be…nice for a change.

"Did you flush yourself down the toilet?" Jack called again. "I sure hope not 'cause big daddy is out here waiting for you."

Positive attitude. Francesca smiled to the mirror, flicked off the bathroom lights, and stepped into the bedroom.

"There you are," he said, looking up from the Outdoor Sportsman magazine he had in his hand.

"Here I am." Francesca kept smiling. He had already pushed all the covers down to the foot of the bed — the way she hated — and was lying on top of the top sheet in nothing but his boxers and round-framed glasses.

"Big daddy's ready for some fun." He smiled and wiggled his thin hips on the bed.

"I've told you I don't like it when you say that."

"Say what?" he grinned.

"That."

"What?" He patted the side of the bed next to him.

"Big daddy," Francesca said through her teeth. "It's really not a turn on." She walked around his scattered clothes — shirt, pants, half curled-up belt — on the floor.

"Big daddy," he said, smiling.

by A. C. Paterson

There you have it. Which hits home, the idea or the experience? (Notice also that there's conflict throughout.) Being able to create an experience in this way is another of the several essential tools you must master to succeed as a writer. All of them are at the heart of The Writers' Loft.

FINAL WORDS: The most important thing to keep in mind is: You can do this. Storytelling is an acquired skill and not an inborn talent. You don't have to be brilliant or write a brilliant story. You just have to master enough craft to tell a good enough story. Plenty of writers of average intelligence are making lots of money writing mediocre stories. Look around. They're not hard to find. Unlike the other arts (music, painting, dance, etc.) where you must have an inborn ability, to be a successful storyteller, you have what you need already. You don't have to know how to play the piano or paint a portrait to get along in the world, but you'd better understand yourself, how people work, how the world works if you're going to make it in this life. In fact, if you've survived this long, you have at least 10 novels in you. You have a full set of emotions and plenty of dramatic, painful, and exciting experience to draw on. That doesn't mean you have to write about yourself. Even if you're creating Martians, it all comes from your imagination. They're your Martians and your Martians are unlike all others.

You have what you need already, but you must learn how to use it. That means developing the skills to get in touch with your imagination and to bring it to life on the page. So, it's not what you have, but learning how to use it. All you need is the desire. The Writers' Loft gives you everything else.

Classes are now forming. To register or for more information please email me at jerry@immediatefiction.com or call 773-348-4116.