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Many have wondered how I write stories - or so I assume from the
looks on many a bewildered face. To answer these questions - but
mainly to provide the necessary text to provide the photos of ShowCase
'97 - I present the following story.
The first thing that any good writer must do when developing a
story is to think of a thesis.
The first thing I do is to think of a joke or concept that I want
to write about. Put off writing about it until the night before
it is due. Further put it of till almost midnight, when I finally
sit down and write freely for an hour or so. Then I try to find
its thesis. When I do, I have to rewrite the story. Sometimes this
form of subtle masochism actually works.
While titles are usually the last thing that I create, they (if
they are well written) can also double as the thesis.
There are a number of ways that titles are created. The one that
most of us are familiar with is the straight-cut, run of the mill
bore: "Showcase Happened," "Directors Showcase Shows"
(do you feel the excitement?) or my favorite "Showcase was
in Howard this past Week" (if a headline like that doesn't
jump out and grab you, I don't know what will).
If more time is devoted a funny headline can be crafted. "The
Show ... 'case you missed it" Don't laugh some people are desperate
enough to use such headlines.
The headline should also reflect the style of the story. "The
Case of the Missed Show" was the title of my initial story.
I thought of writing this story as an investigation into the realms
of DTF (See sidebar far left).
The story quickly hit obstacles, floundered, and sank. The first
obstacle was that the story was stupid and lame. The second was
very similar to the first.
"Life with no laugh track" is the title for a thankfully
unwritten reflective story. This story would have tried to dig up
hidden truisms from the plays and my experience directing one of
them.
"Life, like any good drama, is composed of the unexpected,
the unusual, the uneventful and the unabomber." "Once
a decision is made it must be followed." "If at first
you don't succeed, audit."
It would also have included some inane observations that would
have been cut had it been edited sufficiently. "What I thought
would be punch lines in my play died horrible violent deaths of
silence. And what I thought were just segues turned into some of
the biggest laughs"
The next phase is research and development. But since I can only
write about what I know, I'll bypass this stage.
Now for the actual review of Showcase '97 (See
sidebar).
After presenting the story in some semblance of logical order,
it is time for a well-shaped conclusion. In my opinion the author
shouldn't know what his thesis is until after he writes the conclusion.
For what he sets out to write and what he actually writes are usually
very different. Of course, if my English 305 grade is any indication
you would do best to ignore my opinion.
There are many conclusions that a writer can use. The following
are just a sampling.
Motivational: "Win one for the Gipper!"
Enigmatic: "The Gipper is; therefore I think."
Boring: "Gipper dies, Team wins, Crowd claps."
Educational: "Gipper, like Trout, if basted in mustard and
basil sauce makes fine hors d'oeuvre." and of course
Totally Unconnected: "The Kansas City Chiefs Win the Superbowl!"
No prize as to guessing which one I prefer.
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