Where the White Rabbit Leads: Thoughts on Metafiction

As I've explored various stories through writing and reading, I realized I enjoy metafiction quite a lot. If you don't know what metafiction is, here's a quick definition from wikipedia:

Metafiction is a literary device used self-consciously and systematically to draw attention to a work's status as an artifact. It poses questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually using irony and self-reflection. It... forces readers to be aware that they are reading a fictional work.



I am familiar with the term "meta" since there is a whole class of gamers called metagamers. Another quick definition from wikipedia:

Metagaming is the use of out-of-game information or resources to affect one's in-game decisions.

As an avid gamer, I make use of metagaming quite often through the use of various resources my characters would not have access to such as walkthroughs, character builds, etc. There are some gamers who do not use these types of things, preferring instead to experience the game without any knowledge beyond what they experience in the game.

Both ways of playing are perfectly fine. There are times I don't metagame at all because I want to experience the story of a game without worrying about the mechanics, but other times I want to know what my character doesn't so I can make the best use of my character's time, resources, and decisions. In short, I don't want my game to be sunk by a poor choice early on.



In some books, the best way to make use of the story's elements is to also think outside-the-page and use metafiction. In the story I created that got me my agent, I wrote about a book that is too tired to tell a story. The first page is a letter to the reader asking them to come back later.

The story immediately jumps into metafiction, but will the intended audience (kids!) really think that way? Some, maybe, but the wonderful thing about children readers is they don't limit there thinking to "meta" or normal. They are much more accepting of all possibilities... even a book writing a letter to them.



Maybe I like metafiction so much because it stretches the imagination of young readers, while respecting the intelligence and experience of older ones.

As a child, my first experience with meta-fiction was The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone. It's a story that stuck with me from an early age and one I've shared with my niece and nephew, who also enjoy it immensely (along with The Book with No Pictures, and other metafiction stories). Why do all three of us enjoy these types of tales?

The humor is probably the biggest draw and interactivity is another. Many metafiction books engage the funny bone and/or involve the reader in some way in the story. They draw us into their blatantly fictional worlds and make us part of them. They help us suspend our disbelief by shattering the fourth-wall between us and the story. They draw us down the rabbit hole... into a Wonderland where anything is possible... a tale about a monster who worries about the monster at the end of the book, a picture book without any pictures in it, or even a book that is too tired to tell a story.



So, has the white rabbit lead you to any good metafiction books lately? If so, then share them here as I'm always looking for more to read.

One Stop Poetry Shoppe for Writers and Lovers of Words

In case you didn't know, April is National Poetry Month.



As an academic librarian, I'm often asked to hunt down good resources for patrons. So to save you some legwork and celebrate National Poetry Month I've gathered twenty of my favorite poetry resources for you to enjoy.

Organizations
Academy of American Poets
Poetry Foundation
Poetry Society of America

Poets and Poems
Famous Poets and Poems
Favorite Poem Project
Poetry Magazine

Ebooks and Databases
American Verse Project
Bartleby Verse Collection
Project Gutenberg Poetry Page

Reference and Resources
Library of Congress, Poetry Resources Guide
Modern American Poetry Guide
Poetry & Literature, Library of Congress
Rhyme Zone (Rhyming Dictionary)
Scansion: The Basics
Understanding and Explicating Poetry

Writing Poetry
How to Write Funny Poetry
Rhymes and Misdemeanors
Rhyme Weaver
Writing Stories in Rhythm and Rhyme

Whether you want to find out more about poetry organizations, hang out with your favorite poets, explore poetry collections, learn how to properly scan poems, or even write them there is a link on this page for you. So I hope you'll make use of these resources to grow your appreciation for poetry and/or improve your writing craft.

And now... for a random dance party!

Why? Because there weren't enough emotes in this post.

Oh, and one more thing... a silly poem for writers.

Stories are read, poems are too.

Writing is sweat, but worth the dew!

You may commence with the throwing of things at the screen.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Writer: Success Isn't Just Personal

As my manuscript nears the point of being submitted to publishing houses, I thought I'd take time to reflect on how the act of writing might be solitary, but the bettering of a book is (at least for me) a communal act.

Like the wave at a ballgame, it is a chain of individuals working together to create something special.



Without my critique partners and agent (and her lovely assistant!), I would be a much worse writer. They constantly give me new perspectives on my own writing and I learn from them each and every day. The coolest thing is that I learn from my critique partners not just when they comment on my stories, but also when I critique theirs.

Sometimes a critique partner's comment leads to a bolt of inspiration.




Other times pondering another person's story gives me unexpected insights into my own writing, where I'm strong or weak and how I can improve. Even beyond improving my craft is the fact that I'm helping the others to improve, too.

With a good group, you can watch as slowly, but surely, everyone in the group grows. Then, one day, one of the members announces getting an agent or a book deal and you know you helped get them to that point in some small... or even big way... just with a few comments. An hour or so out of your day.

Having others in your writing life also helps when times are tough. Life likes to catch us up in whirlwinds great and small.



It can whack us over the head with rejection, personal problems, life changing events.



Our critique partners and agents can help us through these rough patches. They can give us the reassurance and support we need to overcome our doubts, fears, and anxieties. Their cheers can drown out the jeers we might be hearing from others or from ourselves.



So for me, I really do believe it's important to have a good group of supporters in my writing life. Without them, I'd be lost, but with them, I can leap over the hurdles in the way of my writing and sail the stormy seas of life with the knowledge that there are people right there with me... buoying me up when I'm in need. People I can do the same for and together, some day, we'll find our publishing paradises and enjoy the fruits of all our labors.



So to everyone who's helped me become a better writer, critiquer, and human being, I say:

The Suspension Bridge We All Must Cross: Why Fiction Needs to Be Truer Than Life

I recently one of my critique partners was having trouble with a story and I ended up giving her this piece of writing wisdom:

"The problem with fiction is it needs to be truer than life or people with think 'that's convenient!'"

The suspension of disbelief is an important aspect of any work of fiction. It is required by nearly every story told, seen, or read, except maybe those that like to break the fourth wall.



or are purposefully nonsens-icle, like rabbits with pancakes on their heads



This means, unlike life, we can't have coincidences or apparent coincidences show up on the page or we risk the reader seeing behind the curtain and realizing we are not wizards of words, but charlatans selling them deus ex machina snake oil with a side order of lazy writing. And if we do this, then we can't blame our readers if they decide to take out the pitchforks and roast our books with flaming hot reviews.



So, what can we do to encourage our readers to suspend their disbelief? First, everything on the page needs to be truer than life. There needs to be a cause and effect. There needs to be foreshadowing. If there is a reveal in the story or a twist, then the reader needs to have enough clues leading up to it that they have a chance to figure it out on their own.

If you have one character  another character, you can't just do it for fun or slap stick humor. There needs to be some reason for the act that the reader can see and understand. Nothing should come out of left field unless you've shown the reader left field and given them some kind of hint that they should pay attention to left field. Oh, look! There is the guy our main character kicked earlier... with a steamroller!!!



You might notice the kick doesn't have as much impact as the steamroller... this isn't just because the steamroller is bigger and squishier, but also because we have a context. One character was kicked by another and this sets up the motive for revenge... with a steamroller!!! Overkill, yes, but at least there is a setup that explains the action. There is reason to suspend our disbelief and accept that there is a possibility of someone running another person over with a steamroller.

We could set this scene up even better by mentioning the steamroller earlier in the story, having the character who gets kicked be the driver of the steamroller, or any number of other pieces of foreshadowing. The key is to make sure the reader can sense something coming. Even if they don't anticipate exactly what it is completely.

So, just remember, setup is an important aspect of helping your readers suspend their disbelief. So, don't forget it! Whether it's a steamroller or a shark. We need to see it coming... unlike this ninja...

Write (and Illustrate) What You Can Imagine!

Most writers have heard the old adage to "Write what you know."



It's a great piece of advice for writers, old and new. It reminds us that even though we are writing fiction, there is plenty of material in the real world we can draw from. We can use our experiences, relationships, and knowledge as a foundation to build our stories upon.



Personally, I know a lot about living in Detroit and its suburbs, in Texas, especially the DFW area, and even a little about Europe. I've visited a ton of different places as a kid and grown up. These are ready-made settings I can use whenever I want to.

I know what it's like to be an adopted child (my mother is my biological mom, while my father adopted me when he married her). I know how it feels to never know my biological father.  I know what it feels like to leave everything behind and go to a place I've never been before and build a new life.

 +   +  = Leap of faith!

I know what it means to return home after being gone for many years to find somethings the same and other completely changed. I know what it is like to deal with many things (both good and bad) because of my relationships with others.

I've learned a lot about various subjects through studying and living. I know what it's like to be a youth minister, a librarian, a writer, and much more through my work-experiences.

However, these aren't the only things I feel comfortable writing about. I love to read and write fantasy (and sometimes science fiction). This is where the old adage doesn't always go far enough. My imagination wants to write about more than just "what I know." It likes to ask "what if this or that." It strives to create something original and unique and I do, too.

This is why I want to expand upon the old adage. If I was to re-write it for me it would be:

"Write what you can imagine!"

 flowers that bloom into hearts!

 dancing broccoli!

bunnies wearing pancakes!

All of these came not from writing (or illustrating) what their creators knew, but from imaging something new!

So don't be limited to writing (or illustrating) just what you know, but strive to stretch those brain cells to imagine something no one else has. Try to see the world around you not only through the lenses of your real-life experiences, but also through those what ifs that have never happened to you, might never happen to you. Go to the places you can only visit in your head and find those wondrous settings you need for you story. Go out and explore the uncharted places of your own mind and find something special only you can bring to life because only you have imagined it.

So, what have you imagined today?

We Interrupted This Blog for Snow, Gaming, and Anime

So, it's been a little bit longer than I anticipated between blog posts. I blame three things: snow (we're getting more today!?), gaming, and anime.

Yes, I'm playing the blame game, but hey, I needed to do something for a blog post and this was the first thing to pop into my head.

Distractions happen all the time in life. Some are out of our control, such as snow storms, sickness, etc. Others are caused by ourselves and our lack of discipline. We can't really do much in regards to the first category, but we can do a lot when it comes to our man-made distractions.

As I mentioned last week, not all distractions are bad. Sometimes our brains need them to recharge or give ourselves editorial distance. Gaming is great for this! Some distractions, like anime, can actually improve our writing by learning from what others do with their characters, plots, and dialogue. For example, yesterday I watched the second season of Noragami (Aragato). The script for this show elevated and deepened each character and was full of action and tension.

That being said, I didn't get any writing done yesterday because of how good the story was. I originally was going to watch an episode or two and then hop into my writing, but the story was so engrossing I couldn't stop binge-watching.

 

So, even good distractions can become bad for our writing. Hopefully, the next time I decide to watch "one episode" before writing... I'll think twice about what that might actually result in: a day of writing lost. 

Of course, there is a way to use distractions to help our writing. Use them as rewards! Make those temptations work for us! So next time I get the itch to watch anime or play games before I write, I'll make a point to tell myself, "Not until you finish this chapter or write for X hours." That way, I can use those potential distractions as carrots that lead me to more writing and not less.

 = more writing!

Anyway, here's hoping you have a productive day of writing yourself.

A Wild Bucking Horse Named the Writing Habit

So, it's been quiet here for a week or so. There are a few reasons for that.

First, I got called into work on my day off and so I lost a day of writing. Second, I was working on my marketing plan for the picture book idea that's almost ready for submission. Lastly, I was creating an author's website.

You can see the results of my labor on the later here:

http://www.josephdmmiller.com/

Now that I'm through this busy patch, I hope to be posting regularly again.

However, this is a good time to talk about the habit of writing (or blogging). Just like any good habit, writing is something we have to keep doing as often as possible or we'll get lazy about it. I know I go through spurts of very active writing and then downturns of minimal writing.

Sort of like this



and this



These "breaks" can be good. They can give editorial distance on a story and allow you to see it in a new light. They can also allow your brain to explore other story ideas.

The downside to breaks is they get you out of the habit of writing. You lose momentum and find yourself not writing at all for long periods of time.

To be a writer (and eventually a published author), we need to strengthen our writing habits as much as possible. We need to exercise them on a daily or almost daily basis. This builds up our writing muscles and gives the the endurance we need to sit butt in chair and write even when we don't always feel like it.



So, the next time you get knocked out of your writing habit by distractions, emergencies, work, or other things, just remember that the best thing about any lost habit is it can be found again.

We just have to put in the effort to get ourselves back in the saddle and ride the wild, bucking horse that is writing!



Best Wishes,
Joseph

PS: Does anyone see the change I made to this blog?