Before I Begin

Before I read any specific books or articles about writing, I want to capture some of my thoughts, and work through a few things myself.

Question 1: Why write a: novel, novella, short story, flash piece?

Question 2: How can a reader learn about the characters (plot): Consume, Infer, Deduce, Discover

The reason for Question 1: I have an idea for a story. I tend to think very, very big, so I naturally assume that the story has to be a novel. Yet, that is not necessary; I've recently read a few short stories which cover huge amounts of time, with very interesting characters who undergo considerable growth. In fact, I'm about to read a story by Kornbluth where the writer of the introduction says that the themes in this 5000-word tale are the same as in the entire Foundation Trilogy, with more interesting characters. I'll see if I agree, but the point is the same. A large story can be short, and characters we only know for 5000 words can be substantial.

Lately, I've taken to writing very short works (for Indeterminacy or in my own blog, or just on my own) which Mike has called "Flash fiction." Both Mike and Indie have commented on my ability to pack quite a lot into a small space. If that's true, then perhaps my best chance at successfully telling the story is in distilling my ideas to their core and writing a series of Flash Scenes.

Well, if I decide to try that, then I need to think about how to get the important information to my readers -- both about character and plot. Thus, Question 2.

I can write facts about the characters (plot). Then the readers consume them. Except in rare instances, the story paradigm leads readers to believe that facts presented by authors are truth, so those facts lay the framework for the story.

Merely giving information is not interesting, however, and is inefficient if I'm to build a character and engage the readers with the story and the characters. So I can write things that imply, and then allow readers to infer. I should do this if the information being inferred is not particularly critical to the plot, or if I'm going to contradict it later and want the shock value. For example, in the first few paragraphs of my story "Mirror's" I have the captain interacting with the helmsman in a way which would get a reader to infer masculinity, only to reveal the captain as a woman, to drive home the point.

Then there are things that I want the readers to deduce. For my part, when I'm reading, I enjoy piecing together the characters and plot, deducing the next step as it unfolds. I love the feeling of "Oh, that makes so much sense now!" And, again, it's more efficient than just laying out all the facts.

Finally, there are some things that I should let the readers discover. As in the example above, it might be casting away an assumption, but it also might be a key piece of information that must be withheld until a crucial point, in order to allow that "Aha!" moment.

So, the story I outlined in the car yesterday started out as a Trilogy of novels. Now, perhaps it's a three-story cycle, or a three-act story. It's too big for a single "Flash Fiction" but maybe I can write it as a series of them.