Story ideas to spark your creativity

Short Story Writing with Elizabeth Sims

1/7/2023

Photo by Tom Bender

I had the good fortune to attend a webinar with Elizabeth Sims on Short Story Writing for Publication.
Elizabeth is the author of one of my favorite how-to writing guides, You’ve Got a Book in You: A Stress-free Guide to Writing the Book of Your Dreams.

The class was hosted by Jane Friedman, who offers insightful blog posts as well as reasonably priced ($25) online classes of interest to writers.

What I learned:

To be an effective writer, it can help to analyze other people’s work you read.
Write freely and without restriction: If it didn’t have to be pretty, what would you write?
To free up your writing, you must be willing to dwell in uncomfortable territory.
If your first draft isn’t crummy, you haven’t thrown your all into it.
Dump the perfectionism.
The key to plot development is to ask questions (What if …? Yes, and . . .). This will open your story like a flower.
Agents (and editors) want STRONG, BOND-PROOF CHARACTER MOTIVATION.
Characters in a dilemma are fascinating, because we wonder what we’d do in the same situation.
Agents (and editors) like the hero’s adventure because readers respond to it.
Instead of just one main problem, give your character(s) two to enrich the story.
Don’t rush your ending. Let the reader understand the final and complete story.
Economy is crucial in a short story: few characters and minimal plot.
Polish your story and make it bright.
Don’t shy away from deep themes in a short story (death, loss, betrayal).

I found this class useful and enjoyable. Elizabeth and Jane made a great team.

Of MICE and Ken: Conflict in SFF

12/10/2022

Ken Liu introduced the M.I.C.E. concept in his recent webinar intensive Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing from Gotham Writers.
Ken attributes MICE to Mary Robinette Kowal, who explains the concept in this lecture on Youtube.

In my understanding, story conflict can be described as:

Milieu (focused on the setting)
Inquiry (answering a question or solving a mystery)
Character (inner conflict or transformation)
Event (external catastrophe threatening the world)

Many stories contain more than one conflict element:
In The Wizard of Oz, a tornado upends Kansas (Event) sending Dorothy to the Milieu of Oz.

Stories are often structured by presenting then resolving each MICE element in turn: in Star Wars,

Luke Skywalker hates his life (inner Character conflict)
He’s curious about how to use the mysterious Force (Inquiry)
The Death Star threatens the galaxy (external Event)
Luke & company are captured by the Death Star (Milieu)
They escape the Death Star with the princess (Milieu resolved)
Luke uses the Force to destroy the Death Star (Event + Inquiry resolved)
Luke is the hero of the galaxy (inner Character angst resolved)

Ken also gave us a helpful equation to help guesstimate the appropriate length of a story based on the number of characters, settings, and MICE elements:
((# of characters + # of locations) x number of MICE elements x 750 words)/ 1.5
A story with 2 characters in one location with one MICE conflict would be:
((2+1) x1 x750)=2250/1.5=1500 words.
A story with five characters, eight locations, and four MICE elements:
((5+8) x4 x750)=39,000/1.5=26,000 words. Not a short story!
For novels, each major plot braid can have its own MICE equation.
Ken was clear that this equation is a guideline meant to demonstrate that the more complicated the story (in terms of characters, setting, and types of conflict), the more words it takes to tell. A very helpful tip for writers like myself who tend to overcomplicate with a large cast and multiple subplots!

Power of Practice

12/2/2022

In his recent newsletter, Matt Bell had insightful comments about the practice of writing:

There is no failure, only practice.
You become the writer who can write the book you want to write by writing the book you want to write.
Make your writing practice a source of serious joy and serious play and you will have all the sustenance you need for the long road ahead.

Part of the practice of writing is rewriting. Matt Bell on the revision process:

Revision is one of the ways you stay inside a book long enough to manifest yourself upon the page not once or twice but dozens or hundreds of times
[The] "genius" books we all love really are better than what any one of us could write on any individual day, but that's not how they were written: they were written one small step at a time, just like our books will be.
As we fill our hours and days with the work of rewriting, our fictions become not written by any one self but by the spectrum of selves we're always becoming, even as the novel is becoming alongside us.
In the end, if all goes well, your final book will be smarter and more insightful and more poignant than you are on any given day.

More gems from Matt Bell in his book on writing craft, Refuse to Be Done.

Is all practice equal?

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers, says it takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials, like playing the violin. But that ‘s not the whole story.

The research of Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, suggests someone could practice thousands of hours and still not be a master performer: the key is practicing with the guidance of an expert teacher (deliberate practice).
“This distinction between deliberate practice aimed at a particular goal and generic practice is crucial, because not every type of practice leads to improved ability. You don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal.”

Hence the importance of critique groups and writing classes/workshops from experts in the field.
Favorite instructors I’ve studied with: Mark Spencer (Writer’s Digest University), Richard Thomas (Storyville), Ken Liu (Gotham Writers), Jane Friedman (Jane Friedman Media), and the crew at Writing the Other.

Gender and Sexuality in Science Fiction and Fantasy

10/28/2022

Jamie Krakover, Diana Morgan, Debbie Manber Kupfe, Lyri Ahnam

New friends at Archon

I recently had the honor of moderating a panel on Gender Identity and Sexuality in Science Fiction/Fantasy at Archon 45 with fellow authors Jamie Krakover, Diana Morgan, and Debbie Manber Kupfe.
Science fiction and fantasy are uniquely suited to explore gender identity and sexuality--to deepen characterization, enrich worldbuilding, and as a way of expanding our understanding of possibilities in our own world.
I like to tweak gender expectations in my own writing to texture my stories, and had a ball exploring this topic with the other panelists.
A number of creative works came up during our panel, including (but not limited to):
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin (early attempt to write nonbinary characters)
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold (an all-male planet that grows new members in incubators)
Recent iterations of Star Trek, a television series created by Gene Roddenberry
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (third gender with xe/xir pronouns)
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (f/f romance and a female implanted with a male's memories)
Black Water Sister by Jen Cho (a lesbian struggling with traditional Malay culture)
“Love May be Too Strong a Word” by Charlie Jane Anders (short story with multiple genders & pronouns)
Spear by Niccola Griffith (retelling of the Percival myth with a trans man)

Resource List for "Arch Magic"

8/10/2022

Researching Baton Bob, LGBTQ history, Racism in St. Louis, 1904 World's Fair, and the Gateway Arch

My essay, “Arch Magic,” written for the St. Louis Writers Guild anthology Where Rivers Meet, was my most emotionally challenging writing project to date.
The beautiful Gateway Arch and the 1904 World’s Fair are sources of civic--and personal--pride. Uncovering the actual ugly history behind these icons was gut-deep painful. Yet only by embracing truth can we grow into a just and equitable democracy--a cause I support wholeheartedly.
The following resources guided me in my writing journey.
I offer them to anyone interested in exploring the issues raised in my essay, and anyone passionate about Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Equity.
Writers of Dystopian Literature, Urban Fantasy, and Heroic Fantasy will find plenty of story sparks.
May these resources spark a creation of your own.

Baton Bob

“Best Poster Boy for the First Amendment: Bob Jamerson.” The Riverfront Times, September 29, 2004.
“Best St. Louison of 2002: Bob Jamerson.” The Riverfront Times, September 25, 2002.
Brown Jr., Sylvester. “Shabby treatment here has quashed Baton Bob’s mirth.” St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 8, 2004.
Murphy, Patrick. “Baton Bob.” Living St. Louis, on Nine PBS. Video accessed August 10, 2022.
Ratcliffe, Heather. “Police are accused of manhandling Baton Bob.” St. Louis Post Dispatch, July 9, 2004.

LGBTQ+ history

Brawly, Steven. “Looking Forward, Looking Back: LGBTQ History in St. Louis.” Out In STL, June 28, 2019.
“LGBT Rights in Missouri.” Wikipedia. Accessed August 10. 2022.
“Timeline.” St. Louis LGBT History Project. 1800s through 2000s, accessed August 10, 2022.

Racism in St. Louis

“The African American Experience,” Section 8 of A Preservation Plan for St. Louis: Part 1. Accessed August 10, 2022.
Cooperman, Jeanette. “The story of segregation in St. Louis.” St. Louis Magazine, October 17, 2014.
“Death by the State: Police Killings and Jail Deaths in St. Louis.” ArchCity Defenders. January 2021.
Hill, Randall. “St. Louis Arch a Symbol of ‘Negro Removal’?” Court Issues (blog), July 14, 2018.
Johnson, Walter. The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States. New York: Basic Books, 2020 and "No Rights Which the White Man is Bound to Respect." Boston Review, September 27, 2017.
Kaplan, Fred. “The Twisted History of the Gateway Arch.” Smithsonian Magazine. October 2015.
Murphy, M.J. “STL Arch So White.” Medium blog, July 4, 2018.
Ruff, Corinne. “30,000 St. Louis properties have racial covenants in their deeds. Your home could be one.” St. Louis Public Radio. November 18, 2021.

1904 World’s Fair

Allen, Gregg. “ ‘Living Exhibits’ at 1904 World’s Fair Revisited.” NPR Morning Edition. May 31, 2004.
Johnson, Walter. The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States. New York: Basic Books, 2020 and “The Largest Human Zoo in World History.” Lapham’s Quarterly, April 14, 2020.
"Hisory of Ragtime." Library of Congress. Access August 10, 2022.

Activists
Carrie Smith (Funsten Nut strike), Indigo Hann (MO Ho), Jae Shepherd (closetheworkhouse.org), Jamala Rogers (organizer and author), Jay-Marie Hill (activist, musician, and educator), Jordan Braxton (advocate and educator), Lois D. Conley (curator and educator), Ora Lee Malone (organizer and activist), Percy Green (civil rights activist), and Sylvester Brown, Jr. (journalist and change agent).

Cosmonaut Cockroach Sex!

6/10/2022

Research on Cockroach gender, social structure, and sexuality.

Twilight of the Cockroaches movie poster

Here's what I discovered about cockroaches when researching a science fiction short story now out for submission:
Nadezhda was a cockroach “cosmonaut” sent into space in 2007 by Russian scientists. She successfully produced 33 offspring on Earth after completing her historic mission.

Further curiosities:

Female roaches generally initiate cockroach courtship, attracting males by emitting chemical pheromones.
Some gender-bending roaches emit both male and female pheromones.
Female cockroachs are capable of reproducing by parthenogenesis (without male sperm).
Most cockroaches lay eggs, but some give birth to live young.
Cockroaches are social insects, aggregating in response to pheromones, which they smell through their antennae.
Despite their reputations as “filthy” pests, roaches are naturally fastidious, obsessively grooming both their antennae and feet.

Sign up for my email newsletter and I’ll keep you posted when I sell my short story incorporating cockroach science!
Meanwhile, watch Twilight of the Cockroaches, a fun anime chronicling the end of a cockroach Gilded Age in a bachelor pad. Enjoy!

Plant-Animal hybrids

12/22/2021

Elysia sea slug

Science fiction is rarely as inventive as our natural world.

For example:
The Eastern Emerald Elysia sea slug ingests chloroplasts from algae. After a single meal, they're able to consistently process these chloroplasts independently and use them for photosynthesis like any plant.

This beautiful leaf-shaped creature lives in shallow pools off the Atlantic coast of North America.