Scribd
Upload
50 views1 page

MIT Lecture Note 3

This document discusses where story ideas come from and how stories are constructed. It notes that stories are built from layers of compressed ideas, not just one single idea. While one idea acts as the starting point and central energy, a single idea is never enough to make a full story. The document recommends keeping a file of interesting ideas, such as characters, conversations, places, or plot points, that can be rearranged and built upon. It prompts the reader to ask questions that lead up to the "now moment" in order to flesh out backstory and context. Observing the world through activities like reading newspapers can provide additional ideas for one's idea file.

Uploaded by

deep_red_rosie
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
50 views1 page

MIT Lecture Note 3

This document discusses where story ideas come from and how stories are constructed. It notes that stories are built from layers of compressed ideas, not just one single idea. While one idea acts as the starting point and central energy, a single idea is never enough to make a full story. The document recommends keeping a file of interesting ideas, such as characters, conversations, places, or plot points, that can be rearranged and built upon. It prompts the reader to ask questions that lead up to the "now moment" in order to flesh out backstory and context. Observing the world through activities like reading newspapers can provide additional ideas for one's idea file.

Uploaded by

deep_red_rosie
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

21W.

755, Writing and Reading Short Stories (Fall 2006) Shariann Lewitt Session 3: The Seeds of Story

Where does STORY come from? Stories are not ONE idea, they are constructed from layers of ideas compressed together. It is a mistake to think a story comes from a single place (tell about A Real Girl). This notion that one gets a single idea for a story is a central fallacy about how stories are written and is misleading. One idea is the starting point, the central energy for the story, and perhaps the now moment. One way to make a story is keep a file of ideas. ONE idea is never enough for a story, but if you keep a general file of ideas that strike youan interesting character, a snippet of conversation, an evocative place, a piece of plotthen you can take them out, look at them and rearrange them. Some will remain in the folder, but maybe one or two will strike you to work with what new ideas struck for a new story. Look at the now moment and ask about it. What brought the person to this change? What happened? Why? Who was involved? Where? Why did it matter? How did that happen? What did the person/character WANT? What was in the way of them getting what they wanted? What were they willing to do to overcome that obstacle? Keep asking questions that lead up to the now moment. Usually ideas come from all over. WATCH the world. Observe. Read the newspaper and clip articles that strike your interest. Or turn them into something for your idea folder. * As we discuss (and read more stories) continue to be aware of the layers of ideas list out the ideas (like following a single connection/wire in a system.) (Read the essay by Porter about how she wrote her story and think about the various experiences that she combinedsome reading, someone elses experience, her own experienceto create the story.) Exercise Think about an event early in your life that is still powerful for you that made you cry, or afraid, or angry, or triumphant with revenge. Sketch it out focus on the emotional power. Now make it fiction. Change something. Change character, change ages, change place, gender see how this changes the center of the story.

You might also like