Storyline Interactive: A Guided Tour of the Fiction Writing Process
© Roxianne Moore
Numerous books and software programs exist for fiction writers. Many are helpful, in a linear sort of way. Newer software programs make use of hypertext to let the writer wander through essays and exercises that pertain to her particular needs. Storyline Interactive is one of these. A freeware program, it covers only the bare essentials, but is a good introduction to fiction writing techniques and problem solutions.
- Essays by Nancy Kress, previously published in Writer's Digest magazine, form the core of the program. Most are brief and well-organized, leading the writer through several possible solutions. For example:
- "Fiction has five ways of presenting information called narrative modes: dialogue, description, action, character's thoughts and exposition. The opening of a piece of fiction is often characterized by the predominance of one mode." She goes on to show one useful technique: write several short openings to the same piece until one of them creates a "zing" (that feeling of rightness and eagerness) in your mind. Call it the "Zing Effect." One useful suggestion is to rewrite your beginning using each of the five narrative modes until you find one that feels right.
The format covers all the basics:
- Strong Opening Scenes
- How to Keep an Editor Reading
- Arranging Scene Order
- Middles: Getting Unstuck
- Structures for Novels
- Right Story Endings
After you've read all the essays, or when you're ready for something meatier, move on to the other menu bar. Quick Studies, Examples, Exercises, My Notes and Q&A go into more detail, and include some hands-on work on beginnings.
- Since I happen to be stuck revising the middle of my novel, I jumped to that section. Right away, I saw how well it pertained to my problem. And got the reassurance I wasn't the only one who suffered from middle-phobia:
- "There are writers who find writing the middle parts of their stories exciting. These writers feel that the hard part is now out of the way. ... Middles, the trade winds of writing, exhilarate them. I don't know any of these people."
Kress identifies several problems writers have with middles:
- Fear of Failure: The Tolstoy Syndrome
- Fear of Success: The Neverending Story
- Literary Fogginess: What's Supposed to Happen Next?
- Wrong Direction: I Left My Heart in Chapter Three
After reading this essay, I decided my novel suffers from the Wrong Direction problem. After meeting my self-imposed deadline to finish the first draft, I felt dissatisfied with the whole thing. Now I'm faced with going back and revising the whole thing to fit the way the characters have developed rather than the way I outlined the story before I started. I do wish this program focused on middles rather than beginnings in the Learning Lab section. I guess I'll have to take a look at The Writer's Software Companion to learn what I need to get unstuck. This is a longer, more comprehensive program covering all aspects of novel writing.
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