“I’ve often cautioned against going in with a machete before you’ve figured out what the story is truly about. Once you do that, you may make cuts, but you will have trimmed a story that now knows the reason for its existence.”
For someone who's thinking of sharing fiction in addition to my other stuff, this was such a helpful and encouraging article! My stories tend to develop a mind of their own and run away from me at times, but I've found that it takes letting go of control to find what the heart of the story really is. Thanks for your insights!
The idea of meandering reminded me of a passage from an essay by Jane Hirshfield ["Poetry and the Art of Concentration"]:
Difficulty . . . is not a hindrance to an artist. Sartre called genius “not a gift, but a way a person invents in desperate circumstances.” Just as geological pressure transforms ocean sediment to limestone, the pressure of an artist’s concentration goes into the making of any fully realized work. Much of beauty, in art and in life, is a balancing of the lines of forward-flowing de-sire with those of resistance—a gnarled tree, the flow of a statue’s draped cloth.
I love The Art of Meandering. Rather than flying straight as a sparrow, be a hummingbird free to change in any direction or suspend movement in the air.
Kathy! First let me say, I'm so happy you offered a subscription option! It sprinkles creative acknowledgement all around...because writers deserve to be paid for their work. Yay! And thanks so much for this post and the story links. I was particularly captivated by Alligator...loved the structure and the pacing...and the use of that repeating line creates a sound memory in my mind that gathers all the threads of the story into a visual wholeness. In my own writing, I have recently noticed how curtailing my own natural tendency to meander has often resulted in shooting myself in my artistic foot. Especially in early drafts. I love the puzzle and adrenalin rush of time constrained flash competitions, but when I receive helpful feedback about how the story might be expanded, I'm left with an empty jar! I can't find my way in to the story again because I've squeezed it so tight. Note to self...let those shiny distractions go for a while and sit tight with the meandering spirals!
Yes, this is it exactly, Katie! So often I see even published flash that might have benefited from more time and expansion before going in with the red pen. I really appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks so much!
Hi, I'm Rick, a young writer from India (16). Can I get a little help from you? I'm trying to improve my writing and I recently wrote a piece of flash fiction. Can you provide some feedback on it?
Hi Rick! I don't do critiques on individual stories, but you might google some of these folks who do: Beth Gilstrap, Chloe Clark, Matt Kendrick, and Tommy Dean, for starters. Thanks so much for subscribing to this newsletter and best of luck with your flash writing!
Oh, this is so good, Kathy. I'm putting the final touches to the draft of my book and the feedback I'm getting is that the reader wants me to meander more in places, especially when I'm writing memoir-style passages, and the reader wants me to digress less! Conflicting or what?! I have to figure it out and do my best to please the reader as well as taking those risks you refer to. Thanks for this post, it has given me courage. And I love Calvino!
Yasmin, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! Ha, yes, how to meander without digressing too much. That is the question. Best of luck with your book!
“I’ve often cautioned against going in with a machete before you’ve figured out what the story is truly about. Once you do that, you may make cuts, but you will have trimmed a story that now knows the reason for its existence.”
Yes 🙌 🙌🙌
Thanks, Michael!
For someone who's thinking of sharing fiction in addition to my other stuff, this was such a helpful and encouraging article! My stories tend to develop a mind of their own and run away from me at times, but I've found that it takes letting go of control to find what the heart of the story really is. Thanks for your insights!
I agree! Mine do the same, but the essence of the story comes to light.
Exactly! Thanks so much for reading, Macy!
The idea of meandering reminded me of a passage from an essay by Jane Hirshfield ["Poetry and the Art of Concentration"]:
Difficulty . . . is not a hindrance to an artist. Sartre called genius “not a gift, but a way a person invents in desperate circumstances.” Just as geological pressure transforms ocean sediment to limestone, the pressure of an artist’s concentration goes into the making of any fully realized work. Much of beauty, in art and in life, is a balancing of the lines of forward-flowing de-sire with those of resistance—a gnarled tree, the flow of a statue’s draped cloth.
Oh how I love Jane HIrshfield! Love the quote, David. Thanks so much for sharing this!
I love The Art of Meandering. Rather than flying straight as a sparrow, be a hummingbird free to change in any direction or suspend movement in the air.
That's a beautiful way to put it, Meredyth! Thanks so much for subscribing!
You are an inspiration!
An Alligator too!
Haha, thanks!
Kathy! First let me say, I'm so happy you offered a subscription option! It sprinkles creative acknowledgement all around...because writers deserve to be paid for their work. Yay! And thanks so much for this post and the story links. I was particularly captivated by Alligator...loved the structure and the pacing...and the use of that repeating line creates a sound memory in my mind that gathers all the threads of the story into a visual wholeness. In my own writing, I have recently noticed how curtailing my own natural tendency to meander has often resulted in shooting myself in my artistic foot. Especially in early drafts. I love the puzzle and adrenalin rush of time constrained flash competitions, but when I receive helpful feedback about how the story might be expanded, I'm left with an empty jar! I can't find my way in to the story again because I've squeezed it so tight. Note to self...let those shiny distractions go for a while and sit tight with the meandering spirals!
Yes, this is it exactly, Katie! So often I see even published flash that might have benefited from more time and expansion before going in with the red pen. I really appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks so much!
Hi, I'm Rick, a young writer from India (16). Can I get a little help from you? I'm trying to improve my writing and I recently wrote a piece of flash fiction. Can you provide some feedback on it?
https://rickbarooah.substack.com/p/me-and-the-beggars
I'm struggling with my writing and your help means a lot to me. Thanks.
Hi Rick! I don't do critiques on individual stories, but you might google some of these folks who do: Beth Gilstrap, Chloe Clark, Matt Kendrick, and Tommy Dean, for starters. Thanks so much for subscribing to this newsletter and best of luck with your flash writing!
A really insightful article, Kathy. Thank you.
PS: Really loved ‘Chicago’ with its meander, and its strong moral framework, without the need to directly moralise, or overstate.
Thanks so much for reading and leaving a comment here, Merrie! I really appreciate it.
Oh, this is so good, Kathy. I'm putting the final touches to the draft of my book and the feedback I'm getting is that the reader wants me to meander more in places, especially when I'm writing memoir-style passages, and the reader wants me to digress less! Conflicting or what?! I have to figure it out and do my best to please the reader as well as taking those risks you refer to. Thanks for this post, it has given me courage. And I love Calvino!
Yasmin, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts! Ha, yes, how to meander without digressing too much. That is the question. Best of luck with your book!