Fiction First Aid

by Obstfeld, Raymond

• ISBN13: 9781582970509
• ISBN10: 1582970505
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: F & W Media Inc

Summary

Every writer struggles with spots that "just aren't working"in their manuscript. No other book on the market approaches works like Fiction First Aid does, which quickly shows how seemingly fatal errors can become both manageable and fixable. Novice and more experienced writers alike will appreciate the book's techniques for identifying and revising weaknesses in their work. Fiction First Aid shows how to repair those wounded manuscripts through easy-to-follow steps, patterned after those found in your typical first-aid manual: 1) Diagnose the problem 2) Suggest specific remedies 3) Prescribe therapies to avoid the problem in the future It couldn't be any easier! Raymond Obstfeld is the author of 27 novels in a variety of genres, including mysteries, suspense thrillers, and mainstream novels and The Novelist's Essential Guide to Creating Scenes. He has also sold ten screenplays, thirteen books of nonfiction, numerous short stories, poems, and nonfiction articles. He resides in Tustin, California, and heads the writing program at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

Author Biography

Raymond Obstfeld is the author of twenty-seven novels in a variety of genres, including mysteries, suspense thrillers and mainstream novels

Table of Contents

Plot	1	(64)
Symptom: ``Writer's block''
Common Ailment
The Flypaper Effect. Overwhelmed by all the plot possibilities, the writer is stuck, unsure what should happen next	2	(12)
Case Study: Plot-Driven vs. Character-Driven Stories	14	(4)
Case Study: Chinatown's Ending	18	(6)
Symptom: Predictable plots
Common Ailments
Rushing. Where do you come up with your ideas so quickly? From the thousands of story plots filed in your head from every other story you've seen or read	24	(2)
Underexposure. We distinguish bad writing from good by comparing it to other works in the same genre. The more works you're exposed to, the better idea you have about the quality of your work	26	(1)
Overly Mechanical Plots (Joseph Campbell Syndrome) Connect-the-dots plots that are just as predictable and dull as if they'd been stolen from Plots `R' Us	27	(7)
Case Study: Fresh Plotting, State Plotting	34	(2)
Symptom: Ho-hum suspense
Common Ailments
Uninvolving characters. Characters don't have to be likable to be involving, but they do need to generate empathy in the reader. To do that, readers need to know why characters are the way they are	36	(1)
Low Stakes. Readers don't care sufficiently about the characters or see the events as important enough to read on	37	(15)
Symptom: Flat payoff scenes
Common Ailments
Promising Too Much. When the plot promises more than can reasonably be delivered, the reader feels let down	52	(3)
Paying Off Too Little. The key payoff scenes of the story do not meet readers' expectations either in emotional intensity, plot clarity or thematic development	55	(10)
Characterization	65	(50)
Symptom: Contrived pivotal action
Common Ailment
Insufficient Character Motivation. Character's motivations are not defined enough to make actions believable	66	(7)
Symptom: Flat scenes, predictable traits
Common Ailment
Cardboard Minor Characters. Minor characters are too thinly developed	73	(16)
Symptom: Low stakes, bland personality
Common Ailment
Uninvolving Protagonist. Protagonist isn't likable or compelling enough	89	(11)
Symptom: One-dimensional antagonist, overly evil antagonist
Common Ailment
Stereotypical Antagonist/Villain. Everything the character does or says is predictable	100	(15)
Setting	115	(24)
Symptom: Underdescription/overdescription
Common Ailment
Wallpaper Settings. Misused setting that is either	116	(13)
(1) bland wallpaper that just lies passively in the back-ground, not actively contributing to the story; or
(2) gaudy wallpaper that screams for attention and distracts the reader from the story
Symptom: Description overload
Common Ailment
Clumping. Chunks of description thrown into a scene slow readers down and detract from the overall effect. Readers may skip these sections to get back into the story	129	(3)
Symptom: Low-impact settings, off-beat pacing
Common Ailment
Wrong-Address Settings. Settings that aren't the best possible choice to heighten all the elements of that particular scene. Conventional, predictable scenes qualify too	132	(7)
Style	139	(32)
Symptom: Bland phrasing; writing that echoes published writers but is less effective
Common Ailments
No Style. Writer is not experienced enough to have developed a style	140	(3)
Cliched or Imitative Style. Writer lacks voice to distinguish his style	143	(3)
Symptoms: Monotonous phrasing; overwritten and confusing passages; muddled details
Common Ailment
Inappropriate Style. Style is inappropriate for the effect it's supposed to achieve	146	(12)
Symptoms: Oversimplified, emotionally shallow characters; major cross-gender characters who seem minor; inaccurate gender-specific details
Common Ailment
Unconvincing Cross-Gender POVs. Difficulty capturing the voice of characters who are not the same gender as the author	158	(13)
Theme	171	(61)
Symptoms: Melodrama; narrow, plot-centered focus
Common Ailment
Insufficient Intellectual Involvement. Writer focuses on emotionally involving personal characters at the expense of intellectual involvement, which allows readers to contemplate universal truths and connections to their own lives	174	(3)
Symptom: Noticeable lack, or overbearing use, of symbols
Common Ailment
Crash Symbols. The writer ignores symbols completely, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions (and leaving other thematic elements to pick up the slack), or puts them on center stage as the concert percussionist crashes the cymbals	177	(4)
Symptom: Imitative theme
Common Ailment
The Photocopy Effect. Story has no substance. It seems imitative, like a pale photocopy of better stories	181	(16)
Case Study: Groundhog Day	197	(13)
Case Study: What Makes ``A&P'' Naturalist	210	(22)
The Writer's Life	232	(46)
How can I find more time to write?	232	(6)
How can I tell if what I'm writing is good?	238	(3)
How much outlining do I have to do?	241	(5)
How can I get the most out of a writing workshop?	246	(9)
What is the best way to revise my manuscript?	255	(23)
How can I improve my own writing by reading fiction?	278