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*In this issue... **No Surprises - in Fiction*
============================================================
*No Surprises - in Fiction*
by Bruce L. Cook
While writing fiction I never “revise as I go” by revising grammar and
expression as I pen the first draft. However, I am meticulous when it
comes to “No Surprises”.
What’s this all about? Think of the military general talking to a
younger officer, giving basic guidance so the young recruit knows
exactly what the general expects. “No surprises,” says the senior
officer. “I don’t care what you do, but I do care about one thing - I
want no surprises!”
In practical terms, this means that any time the young leader’s unit
screws up, the general wants to know immediately so the general can
prepare an explanation for the future when other leaders will call the
general himself on the carpet about the problem.
For example, when the protagonist pulls a flashlight from his pack in
the dark of the night, a meticulous writer will have already mentioned
the flashlight earlier in the story. And, if the flashlight is to
become especially instrumental in resolving a problem in the story, it
would be good to have a vivid mention of the object early in the
story.
In fiction, the reader is like a general. Any significant detail that
arises during the story needs to have an antecedent in which the
detail is introduced.
Here is an example:
Pulling the oak door open, he stepped into the night, feeling his way
down the well-worn path to his shelter. Rushing, he tripped on a small
rock and regained his balance. Looking ahead, he saw nothing but
darkness and he resolved to stop and adjust his eyes to the black
night. He felt in his back for his new flashlight with four D size
batteries but it was not there. Gritting his teeth, he rushed back to
the shelter to fetch it.
“Wilson rushed from the room, grabbing his backpack as he gazed out
the doorway with trepidation. It was pitch dark already, and he had
the entire 5-mile trek ahead of him. Why or why, he asked himself. Why
did I allow myself to sleep so long?
Against this backdrop. The reader is fully prepared for Wilson to
extract the flashlight as a weapon later in the story.
True, it would be enough to just mention that he had a flashlight when
the object was needed. However, in well-crafted fiction, the reader is
always prepared. That’s because the writer, like the general, has
prepared him for … “No surpises!”
*
- Bruce L. Cook*
========================================
*Strategies for Peace, by Bruce L. Cook and Maria Cristina Azcona
(eds.) <http://www.strategiesforpeace.com/>
Print: $19.99
BRUCE L. COOK AND MARIA CRISTINA AZCONA - Full Index. I join Maria
Cristina Azcona in offering this collection of viewpoints on peace
making. She and I joined Ernest Kahan in 2014 to establish the
Worldwide Peace Organization in Argentina. Here we identify a
startling variety of facets on the crystal which represents peace.
Virtually everyone claims to want world peace. Only a few take
measures to promote it. Each writer who seeks peace suggests a unique
dimension. It's our hope that this volume will encourage students,
professors, and peacemakers to consider this comprehensive look at ten
strategy perspectives which, if taken seriously in private and public
life, might lead to our shared objective - worldwide peace in our
time. * Leadership * Language and Leadership * Interspiritual * World
Citizenship * Family Relations * Role of Women * Education * Medical
Actions * The Arts * Conflict Resolution*
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We have developed a world peace website: www.wwpo.org
Publishing New Writers,
January, 2017 (no. 1801)
Publisher:
Dr. Bruce L. Cook
1407 Getzelman Drive
Elgin, IL 60123
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