ThomasLitchford

(Indulge me.)

I assume all writers go through this, the Million Questions. What kind of story am I going to write? What style, what tone, what perspective? Who’s the main character? What’s the setting?

It goes on and on and on.

But if there’s a hierarchy, the question at the top is Who are the characters? Then, What is their story? Then, How should I tell their story? Is it a comedy, a tragedy, a drama, a thriller? Is it ironic or earnest? Is it realistic, absurd, or fantastic?

(This is how I answer these questions for myself.)

The temptation is to start out by asking yourself what kind of story you want to write. If you start there, your story will probably not be very good. Or you will find midway through that you’re writing a different kind of story than you set out to write, which is OK. A lot of things are liable to change from start to finish.

(But I have a problem; I’m severely prejudiced against overly ironic and/or absurd fiction. I don’t think those styles/techniques depict our reality. [OK, I get it: our universe is confusing and our existence seemingly pointless. Our institutions have been proven fallible. Religion has failed to tell us why we are here. Et cetera.] Irony and absurdity revel in the chaos and shine a spotlight on it, but they provide nothing new, no ‘next step.’)

This is all about finding your way into the story, finding your voice. I’m still working on it.