Something I feel about writing is that "writing for other people" or "writing a story with the intention of doing ___" and "writing it to mean something" is fine as a starting block, but at a certain point you really just have to stop writing for this or for that, and just write the darn story
From critiquing quite a few EE2 MW's and various creative writing pieces, I can always tell the stories where the author let it flow and build organically, and the ones that literally "constructed" their works with a certain goal in mind. Now, this isn't to say that structuralism or post structuralism or any sort of "chunky" story format is instantly bad just because it is, but when you start worrying too much about "I have to get my meaning across" and "I want to delve into this aspect of blahblahblahism" is suicide. It's like trying to put a cast-iron roof on a house that basically has no foundations.
Basic fundamental things like plot, tone and flow are your best friends. DO NOT FORGET THESE. If they don't work, you can bet your boots that any sort of "grand themes" and "grand meanings" you had aren't going to work because they're built on air. And air is boring, as a sustained piece
Sometimes, taking the work too seriously can be your downfall.
All good works are built on good stories.
blamethesystem said:
i hate a massive chunk of it for being to cliched. im struggling to write the report without having done the actual MW
everyone who reads it is like 'its good.. but i dont get it' problem is im struggling to make it mean something too
*I had a big cliche bit in my MW at some point too (actually that's a lie, I didn't. But I did have a massive section that looked like it should be something from DANCE Australia, so I had a hunch it might not be appropriate
). If the direction is totally wrong, pintsy little edits aren't going to fix it. Cut it off at the root! Copy and paste it to another file. Name it something random so it gets lost and you can never find it again. Then, have a READ (yes, reading your work is good to keep everything in perspective) of your work up to that point, and write WHAT FEELS NATURAL. Listen to your gut instinct. Your personal style and personal taste got you this far - if you continue listening to it, it will tell you where to go next. :uhhuh:
*When you say not finished, do you mean "haven't hit the workcount yet" or "I actually don't think this is anything like the final product I'm aiming for"? If the earlier, pretend you have finished. For the latter, I'd work with what you have (you don't have to justify what you've done, you're just analysing and whatnot. Pretend someone else wrote it, if it helps
).
*
Little Seeds
This is something I got caught up on in my own major work. So the story goes - YOU HAVE A THEME. Your story has MEANING! Dun dun duun! etc etc. If you have been writing in "chunks" all year then chances are you have developments in one section that kinda come out of the blue (ie when the next chunk starts). The solution to this is relatively easy - sit yourself down and write a chronological plot list. If it helps, write a second list on the side that talks about what the audience is supposed to think at which point - ie "everything is fine now"/ "oh no, main character is in trouble!"/"audience is given clues about a hidden past"/"audience thinks that jacktheripper is a murderer"/"audience finds out that jacktheripper is in fact a dog looking for a home in the local newspaper" etc etc.
Get a grip on what's happening. Then, plant the 'little seeds' to make sure that everything actually
works as a whole. Without focussing to hard on any grand theme of meaing you have in your MW, it will only really come across if the entire work reinforces it and builds up to it in some way. Think about Aesop's Fables, if you will.
