Workshop Reflections - Parts 3 & 4

Today marked the conclusion of my weekend workshop. It was my first experience at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and it left me better informed and inspired to write the story that has occupied my thoughts for many years.

In class today we deconstructed the novella Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson. As a homework assignment we were asked to look at several aspects of the story and track/note them throughout the book. Then, we worked in groups on one specific category and charted them on the classroom wall with sticky notes:

Each color sticky note stood for a different category. I don't recall which color was which, but these were the categories were were tracking:

1. Character introductions and deaths
2. Symbolism (dogs in Train Dreams)
3. Instigating action - the event that sets the story in motion (also referred to as the inciting incident)
4. Protagonist's desires/goals/wants
5. Setbacks/reversals the protagonist faced
6. Mirror moments - times when the protagonist self-reflects
7. Time - including flashbacks

Charting time for the novel Train Dreams was very interesting, since the author does not follow a linear pattern. Instead he writes with multiple flashbacks, sometimes putting several in one chapter.

This activity is one that I intend to use with both my 5th and 6th grade reading classes this year, however each will chart something different. My 5th grade classes will read as readers, looking for specific story elements throughout the book. My 6th grade classes will read as writers, just as I did in this workshop. Taking apart the novel through the lens of a writer will prepare them to write their own stories for NaNoWriMo in the fall.

The second part of my workshop today focused on developing a description of our own novels. As readers we are tempted to answer the question, "What is your book about?" with an answer centered around big meaningful themes. However my instructor kept reminding us that theme is not a story.

A story is a character in conflict. It is the people and what happens to them.

She had a clever activity that enabled us to quickly put a few sentences together about our work. She gave us sentence frames to fill in and only 3 minutes to do so. Then we went back and added 2 more sentences about achievements and reversals, then another about the protagonist's mirror moment.

This was a very beneficial activity for me. I've often struggled with how to describe my novel, wondering if I was trying to incorporate too many things that just didn't fit together. This exercise helped me to flush out what my novel is essentially about. I realized that there were some things I needed to leave out, perhaps save for another story at another time.

I'm not quite ready to share my description with the world just yet, but I do feel more confident about my work and inspired to keep writing!