I have a whole bunch of interesting premises for short stories that I never end up developing because I have no idea where to take them. They would make good summaries for Kilgore Trout stories for a Vonnegut novel but that’s about it. I think Vonnegut often used Kilgore Trout as an avenue to express interesting premises that he had no idea how to develop. Here is an example:
I’m interested in writing a story about a “Scar Parlour” - a place where people can come to have scars cut into their skin for whatever reason - to look tough, to evoke sympathy, to get chicks, to get out of gym class. Then there is the pretty girl who comes in to look on the outside how she feels on the inside (too cliche?). The person I want to make a story out of is someone who has been through a lot but has nothing on the outside to show for it - and wants a scar as a sort of purple heart. I was considering telling the story from the viewpoint of one of the scar artists so he could explain the origins of the scar parlor, discuss the motivations of the other artists, and the stories of the people he has scarred and their reasons for getting scarred.
Problem is, I don’t know where to take it. Once I write about the above I suppose I need someone to come in with a completely new reason for getting a scar - one that changes the perspective of the scar artist. But my only reason for doing this is to create a story out the idea that many people would like to have some sort of outward indication of what they’ve been through internally.
I really have no idea about how to go about ending a story that is, at this point, really just a vehicle for a theme/idea. I’m not looking for people to write my story for me but to point me in the direction of how to think about ending the story based on what I’ve written. Thanks.
What always works best for me when I get stuck is to ask myself “what if” questions about the situation…for example,
What if the artist refused to scar this girl? Why would he do that?
What if she doesn’t like the scar? How would she handle it?
What if the other clients question her reasons? How will she explain them? Would she lie?
How will the people in her life react to the scar? Will their reactions change how she feels about it?
What if her reasons for the scarring are based on a lie, which she doesn’t discover until after she has it done? How will that affect her?
and so on…
Usually, I’ll come across some question in particular that really intrigues me, and suggests a whole scenario I can then work from. Also, especially in short stories, I try not to worry too much about getting a pat ending. What’s wrong with just a snapshot of this moment in time in this girls life, that leaves the scar artist just as curious about her as the readers will be? Sometimes the unanswered questions are the most interesting, IMO.
Good luck, I really like your premise, and want to call dibs on reading the completed version if you’re a sharing type.
You mean like a slice of life? (cough cough) That is really how I wanted to approach it because I thought any attempt at making a complication/resolution type thingy would be inauthentic (Can you tell I don’t write for a living?)
Now I’m considering making the father of the “scartist” a plastic surgeon who specializes in scar revision which creates a new conflict. Maybe send someone who doesn’t like their scar to the father to have it removed. I really hate this writing stuff. I think one of the problems i’m having is whether or not I need to make a value judgement on the idea of aesthetic scarring in order to write the story.
You made me think of something else. Some of the questions you mentioned are from the point of view of the person getting scarred. One of the reasons Im having trouble writing this is that while I feel I need to write from the pov of the scartist so that I can provide all the interesting exposition, the person who I really identify with is the “scaree.”
I hate to sound like an undergrad writing teacher here, but the reason you don’t know where to go with it is because you don’t know who is in it. Action flows from character.
One of the reasons science fiction is notorious for shallow character development is because usually the stories start with the Big Idea (“What if we went to Mars?”, “What if we could build a space elevator?”) and build from there. The characters, therefore, are just people things happen to to make a point. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing for science fiction. Indeed, that’s the reason most people read science fiction, to see the really keen Big Idea played out. But I would like to point out that the really enduring science fiction stories are populated with compelling characters.
Now, in your case you’ve got the set up and it sounds like a good one. Now you’ve got to figure out 1) what kind of a person works at a scar parlor, 2) what kind of a person pays money to get a scar, and 3) what kind of person violates the rules of #2 enough to change your protagonist’s view of his job. Don’t worry about making some kind of sociological point–that’ll come by itself, and you probably won’t even be aware of it until it’s already happened. Your first priority right now is getting to know your protagonist and the person who changes his viewpoint. Once you understand who they are and what they want, they will tell you what to do.
My advice to you is to avoid any mention of your underlying themes of inside/outside, blah blah. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice that they’re there, but if you write out your story having them in mind but not consciously adding them in, they should get there in a much more subtle way.
I am 1/3 of the way through my second novel. My first was a memoir. Anyway, they way I do it is start by writing an outline. You have a premise but do you know where you want the story to go? I would suggest writing an outline for the first scene and the last scene (no need to actually write the whole thing yet) and then fill in everything you want in the middle to get to that scene logically.
I shared my writing experiences here. I give the characters a premise/personality and allow themselves to write themselves while following the basic outline of the story. I have had to add 1 chapter in so far to tie up some loose ends. I also set this story up for a sequel but I will likely make it into a trilogy since fantasy series tend to be more marketable that way.
Oh, most of your other questions would be solved if you did an outline beforehand.
Just from this thread I would follow a line something like the following:
I. Main Character and premise introduced
A. Include background on how scars function
B. Talk about how the scarless girl sticks out in the area
II. Girl meets artist
A. They talk he refuses to scar her
B. Include artists motivation
C. Artist suggests she try earning one on her own.
III. Girl finally gets a scar
A. She doesn’t like it.
B. Talk about her conflicted desire.
IV. Girl Trys to remove the scar in an operation.
A. The operation is botched ruining her previous scar
1. The girl realizes that she liked the original scar afterall.
B. The girl realizes that the scar that the symbolicness of the scar is futile and she should have been happy on her own.
The end. That would have made up 4 chapters in a novel. The outline can be as detailed as you want. I make sure to include major plot points in the outline that should be included somewhere. Also, any character development that is integral to happen in the plot (character has an epiphone of some sort) should be included so you don’t forget to leave it out. Use the outline more as a guide afterwards since you can change it. I try to leave character development fairly open ended in the outline unless I am making a point. That way new chapters can be formed into the story to tie up the loose ends that the character’s personalities create while still following the general guidelines about what should be happening.
I can do your number 1 and number 2. The problem I’m having i deciding who is the protagonist. I identify with the person getting the scar. Someone who appears on the surface to have it together trying to show people that he really doesn’t but goes about it in a completely neurotic way. I just don’t want to take this person’s pov for fear it will degrade into a histrionic whine. “Oh I just need people to see on the outside how I FEEL on the inside. Woe is me.” I don’t see how the exposition can be delivered by anyone other than the “scartist” to get the anger and cynicism that I think it requires but I don’t relate to this person. Maybe I don’t have too. I suppose I could relate if I made his motivation to be a scartist coming from his desire to do the opposite of what his plastic surgeon father does but then the whole story changes. (Not that that’s a bad thing). Perhaps that’s a way to take the focus of the histrionics of those getting the scar but having the idea in the story anyway?
KidC, if you identify more with the girl I’d strongly suggest writing it from her POV. You can then have the Scartist (great word, BTW!) present his views and opinions on the whole scene through dialogue. Maybe he’s a real chatty type, and likes to talk about his previous clients with his new ones. I’d give him a very strong personality, with a basic underlying philosophy on life that you can sum up in one sentence. You seem to want to paint him as cynical and world-weary, so clarify that for yourself and then let that outlook shine through in the way he talks about and interacts with his clients.
Perhaps your girl could be an grunt in the shop (or live in the apartment above it, or works in the newsstand outside, etc.) who overhears all of his outlandish stories and sees these people coming in day after day for their own scars and gradually begins to feel that she needs one of her own. And I wouldn’t worry too much about infusing her insecurities and reasonings into the storyline. Maybe include a scene or memory where she’s treated dismissively and feels almost invisible. Don’t underestimate the intelligence of your reader, if the characters are strong and consistent–the story will tell itself without a lot of detailed explanations of who does what and why.
And also remember that you need to know more about these characters than they know about themselves. The Scartist probably puts on a tough guy front (like the stereotypical tattoo artist) and his first person narration will show that. The girl just brings the stuff (which you have already identified in your previous post) he’s trying to supress to the surface.
Third person omniscient (sp?) point of view would work for this story. Begin with someone showing off his/her scars to a group of friends. Make it seem as tho it’s as common place as ear piercing or blue jeans.
Then, cut to the girl leaving alone and enter her thoughts and memories. Like losing her parents in a fire that she escaped, losing boyfriend after boyfriend in horrible accidents, accidentally causing a major catastrophe while trying to avoid a minor one.
High light how persecuted and alone she feels.
Then, she overhears a conv aboout a contraversial (maybe even illegal) scar parlour and she becomes obsessed with that. The artist who refuses to scar her falls in love with her, and after many agonizing self doubts and fears, she allows herself to fall for him, too, accepting his viewpoint on remaining scarless.
You guessed it, she causes HIS death, too. Gives him wrong medication, or calls out “I Love You” to him, causing him to stop, turn around and get run over by a bus.
Then, YOU reveal yourself (3rd person omniscient, remember) as Satan or Loki or some twisted human (maybe another scarless girl) who was given special powers by unearthly entities, who has chosen this girl to be the object of your attention. Be totally heartless as you describe the next set up…
Speaking as one who’s got a novel up in another window that I’m supposed to be being revising right now, certainly the first priority is . . . write. More writing, less deliberating. Less SDMB.
belladonna provided ideas of the sort I use when deciding what to write next. (Or whether what’s been written is “correct”.)
Not being a Stephen King fan, I’d still recommend his “On Writing” regarding a writer’s mindset.
There’s also a book on writing problems, that I started and have been saving for an unproductive day. I just spent 20 minutes looking for it. That’s productive! It’s very useful for advanced problems, such as "there’s something wrong with this scene, but I don’t know what it is. “Screenwriting” is in the title, and the author has written a couple books, won awards, rave reviews, etc. It would be on the shelf of a bookstore that had a dozen other screenwriting titles.
For more background and possible character motivation, you might try researching tribal ritual scarification. Knowledge of actual ceremonial practices and their symbolic meanings may open up some insight.
You might even get some practical tips for your Scartist. Elephant dung is very useful, I hear.
Main character decides he wants the scar. Through a fluke, he gets the wrong address–a veterans’ hospital, for example, or an outpatient annex of some kind, whose patients commonly have burn scars; and clueless people in charge fail to grasp what the character wants. Meanwhile, he is so shocked at what scarring he sees there he abandons the idea of getting a scar on purpose.
Young man in the Navy stands out from his buddies, who go to tattoo parlors around the world. He gets his scar as he wants to, but his family misinterprets the situation and, by the time the story ends, they go through a long session of soul-searching, analyzing their attitudes toward him, and his toward them, before accepting his choice.
Ugly scene in courtroom; defendant accused of assault and disfigurement. In his defense he says he is a scar artist, working in a scar parlor, and is able to muster several satisfied customers as character and material witnesses. Compassionate closing statement by attorney, deliberation a la 12 Angry Men by jury.
Scar artist and tattoo artist, whose shops are next door or on opposite sides of the street, get into an angry feud. Story line hinges on attitudes of townsfolk (including, perhaps, a prudish fundie who opposes both characters’ avocations).
Is this a legal, professionally run scar parlour, or is it an underground organisation catering to a niche market with plenty of money to spend on unusual aesthetics?
Sounds like a Chuck Paluhniuk novel to me. Have the scar parlour as the front for a secret organisation of space monkeys. They want the scars because they prefer self destruction to self improvement. And they want to destroy society. Or you could not do this.
Funny you should say that because I’m just finishing up “Survivor” now. In high school I won an award for a short story that my CW teacher ended up submitting for me. She said I wrote like Kurt Vonnegut. I told her she was confusing his purposeful economy with my inability to create compound sentences. I got all pissed reading “Survivor” thinking, “I could write this stuff!” Hence the post.
Funny you should say that because I’m just finishing up “Survivor” now. In high school I won an award for a short story that my Creative Writing teacher ended up submitting for me. She said I wrote like Kurt Vonnegut. I told her she was confusing his purposeful economy with my inability to create compound sentences. Vonnegut reminds me of Pahuniuk reminds me of what my writing teacher said (had to rip that off). I got all pissed reading “Survivor” thinking, “I could write this stuff!” Hence the post.
