Well, I’ve gotten that off my chest so it’s time to talk about writing and the meeting last Wednesday. It was a great meeting attended by fourteen writers. We opened the meeting with the usual ten minutes of meeting stuff and launched a discussion. We talked about editing, a continuance of a previous discussion, but it drew lots of feedback. That’s great! With the topic of backstory on the agenda, we looked at how some of our authors handle this sensitive subject. I read an article noting some ways writers use backstory. It’s a tricky issue and what seems to be proper in the beginning often changes as the story progresses. When you stop and look at the story, it will tell you how to handle backstory. A mystery story is seldom a biography of an individual. Mentioning an experience or situation from the past may work if the writer doesn’t dwell too long on the subject. A short clip of the incident may well suffice to tell the reader why a character reacts or doesn't react to different stimuli. This differs if writing in other genre's. For instance, a historical novel is mostly backstory.
Use your head, don’t get carried away with backstory, if it’s that interesting, write a standalone story about your character, his biography if you will. Maybe it will be as good as the story you’re working on in the first place.
Still excited about the discussion, we moved into the reading phase of the meeting. Our old friend and longtime member of the group Ed Ellis unlimbered a story somewhat out of the ordinary. It appears there may be Alien life forms living in South Beach. An attractive young woman, a scientist en route to a remote outpost, has a layover in Miami. With an evening and the rest of the night to kill, she embarks on a night of frolic in South Beach. Meeting a young man who she finds attractive, she accepts his invitation to dance. They dance several times and each dance becomes more suggestive and passionate. As the evening wanes, they enter into a temporary liaison. The tryst ends in a chilling twist and her scientific mind is shocked.
Another adventure in Zululand comes from the pen of Peter Frickel. We heard a version of this story some time ago, it now resurfaces with some changes and a few changes in word choice. How can you cure a broken heart? A South African Witch Doctor helps a man grow a second heart to cure one broken by a lost love. Potions, incantations, and strategically placed bones begin a process which takes many visits, but after a time, the beat of a second heart fills the chest.
It’s 311 AD and a gypsy fortune teller entices a Roman Tribune to visit her camp. Dinner and entertainment fill the evening ending only when a promise of information is fulfilled. Ernie Ovitz spins a tale of Roman power struggles twixt three competing Ceasars, each wanting to be named Augustus of all Rome. Will the information obtained by the Tribune Basisus tilt the balance in favor of Constantine.
An escaping murder suspect leads Yale Larsson on a merry chase in Doug Sahlin’s latest tale. Ignoring the doubts of local police, Yale follows the suspect across the waters of Sarasota and Tampa Bays to Egmont Key. Acting on Yale’s information the Coast Guard, Sarasota Police and Sheriff’s deputies from three counties corner the killer on an abandoned gun emplacement of historic importance. Do killers ever surrender quietly?
Do you think something as simple as a blade of grass could inspire a story? Well, this simple item inspired two flash fiction stories by Bruce Haedrich. In the first story, Townies and Country Kids compete in life around a small Pennsylvania town. The Country kids devise a warning signal, a whistle. By holding a grass blade stretched tight between the thumbs and heels of both hands and blowing a stream of air over the taut blade, a sharp whistle fills the air. One boy, Henry, is exceptionally adept with the blade-whistle. Unfortunately, Henry's life is cut short. Years later, while camping in a park outside the old hometown, a whistle which could only emanate from such an instrument warns a family to take cover as police apprehend a band of escaped convicts lurking in the family’s campsite.
The second story concerns an errant blade of grass which refuses to be cut by a lawnmower. When plucking the blade by hand, the mower operator discovers a diamond ring encircling the stubborn sprout. It lies below the level of the mower’s blades and is undamaged. The ring returns to its rightful owner after a little investigation.
Poetry is inspiring and heartwarming for most of us, but sometimes it’s also heartwrenching. Scott Anderson’s masterful work causes emotion to swirl in the room as he reads. This week’s entry, Martini Kisses, was no different. I hope to see Scott’s poems in an anthology soon.
Well, better late than never, or something like that. I hope we will see you at the next meeting, May 1st. Until then, keep writing and writing and writing.
Oh, by the way; we received this by email this week.
Sarasota Writers Group does not recommend or solicit entries for any contest. This is for information only.
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