Young Adult Fiction

One Writer’s Writing Secret 7: What is a Story?

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

            Thus far I have tried to confine my tips to tips not readily available in the open market.  I have tried to write about writing in a way that can’t be read in every issue of Writer’s Digest or in every book on the subject at Barnes and Noble.  But here, I have to talk about something more concrete, and I blame my loving wife.  You see, she does not like conflict.  She won’t read or watch all of that science fiction and fantasy stuff because it is all full of monsters and blood and evil, awful things and, she says I have ruined the boys. 

            “Especially that Doctor Who with those Exterminate things.”

            I smile (friendly-like).  “But if all you have are fluffy bunnies bouncing around in the land of happy-happy, I would say you haven’t got a story.  Stories, even the weird ones I read, are about real life in the sense that a person’s character is not proved by how they behave in the good times, but rather by how they confront troubles and the difficulties that are common to us all.  People can relate to such things, even if it’s on other worlds.”

            “I thought you were talking about stories, not characters.”

            “Quite right.  Character belongs in another blog.  But what I mean is a story only happens when a person finds themselves or is taken out of their comfort zone.  The story is about how the person deals with that, whether they go home again, find a new comfortable place, or fail utterly along the way, it depends on how the storyteller tries to resolve things.”

            “So, story is about getting out of your comfort zone.  Do you mean like on Dancing with the Stars or the Apprentice or the Bachelor?”

            I keep smiling.  (And she thinks my shows are full of strange, alien creatures)!  “Not the examples I would have chosen, but fine.  I suppose there is some discomfort there, but I was thinking more like big troubles to which we can all relate, like the death of a parent or things that we dare not imagine, like the death of a child.  There are big things like wars or natural disasters or plagues, and middle things like murder or theft or little Timmy falling down a well.  “Go get help, Lassie!” and little things like the loss of a horseshoe nail.  What was it in Its a wonderful life?  Oh, yes, “Shame and bankruptcy and scandal!” My wife’s nose is beginning to turn up, so I have to think fast.  “Or Romance.  It doesn’t have to be a bad trouble, just something to shake the status quo.  Boy meets girl and they either fall into a relationship or at least first consider a relationship; but without some attraction when boy meets girl to shake the comfort zones, there isn’t a story.”

            “So a story has to be stressful?”

            “No, not exactly; though we do feel stress when our world is shaken, and so that could work.  Plenty of stories have been penned on stress, like going to a new school, starting a new job or moving to a new home.”

            “So, you moving us 12 times in 20 years was just grist for your writing?”

            “No.”

            “Forget it.  I don’t like stress any more than conflict.”  And there I was!  I was thinking how clever and proud I was not to have used the word conflict!

            “How about a story about a person winning the lottery?”  I suggest.  “Lots of Rich Uncle stories need to be recycled.  You know, the Count of Monte Christo digs again!”

            “You could have won the lottery once in those 20 years, you know.”

            I shake my head.  “No good.  They make you buy a ticket.”

            “What’s the matter, protecting your comfort zone?”  I nod.  “Me too.  I’m going to see if Wipeout is on.  Anything but those disgusting looking alien things you like.”

            Mud covered Daleks at the punching wall?  It was just a passing thought.

 

Writing Tip 7:

At the core of any (every) story, something has shaken things up and the people or, as the case may be, the fluffy bunnies have to figure out and decide what to do about it.  The story is in the deciding and doing which invariably leads to the resolve:  win or lose, right or wrong, live or die.

Series: Tales of the Other Earth Tale: Halloween Story part 16 M/F Story

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

            In the hallway on the east side of the auditorium, the four guards posted to the hall were granted an interesting sight.  Four rather large men said “break!” clapped their hands, and jogged to the end of the hall, facing them.  Three got down to rest on one hand, the middle one, who stood a little behind the others, appeared to have a ball of some sort in his hands.

            “Ready.  Set!”  The man standing behind the others spoke.  “Blue, thirty-two.  Blue thirty-two.”  He shouted, “Hut!”  And everything happened rather quickly. 

            The linebacker was the quickest, but he had to duck beneath a sword to tackle his man.  Ducking was not hard.  His reflexes were more than up to the job.  The tackled man went down hard, of course, and he did not get back up for a while.  The linebacker, on the other hand, got right up and danced a little dance.

            The center was naturally slower than the others, but he slammed his man into the wall with such force, he busted one of the man’s ribs through the chain mail and the man slid to the floor completely unconscious. 

            The defensive end had the hardest time of it.  His man saw the bruiser headed right toward him and dropped his sword and ran for his life.  Fortunately, the defensive end was well practiced at running down quarterbacks.  He caught the smaller man just before the man was able to turn the corner, and he smothered him under three hundred pounds of bone, muscle and meat.

            The quarterback actually struck his man first.  The football slammed perfectly into the man’s face.  The man dropped his blade and became completely discombobulated.  By the time he pulled himself together, the quarterback was on him.  Tyler was not much in the tackling department, but he was a back-up kicker since the eighth grade.  The man looked up as the quarterback kicked him hard enough to send him through the uprights.

                                                ————

            “Now.”  Captain Aaron said as he led his team down the other hall.  They moved in military fashion, Missy and the Captain with pistols drawn, and the two marines with their rifles.  They halted several feet from the Truscan soldiers who had drawn their swords and looked ready to fight.  “Please hold your shield out for a moment.”  Captain Aaron said.

            The Truscans looked at each other in bewilderment, but the one on the end complied with the strange request.

            “Ricky, put a hole in the shield.”  Captain Aaron ordered, but Ricky had already raised his rifle in anticipation and fired, giving the poor Truscans a start.  When the Truscan pulled his shield back, he showed the big hole to the others.

            “That could have been your chest.”  Captain Aaron said, calmly.  “Please put down your weapons and surrender.  We have no wish for anyone to be harmed.  Three complied immediately, but one turned to run.  Captain Aaron fired, catching the man in the leg, and the man went down.  He moaned and held his leg like it was coming off.

            “Pick him up.”  The Captain waved to two of the Truscans, and they retrieved their comrade, supporting him with his arms around their shoulders.  “Missy.  Gather the Truscan weapons.”

            “Aye-Aye, Skipper.”  Missy said.  She couldn’t help it.  Captain Aaron waved the prisoners back toward the gym, though he brought them through the hall that went around the gym to the cafeteria.  He kept his gun on the free soldier while the marines, Ricky and Tamika brought up the rear.  They were still mumbling.

            “Captain Ahab made that too easy.”  Ricky complained.

            “You mean the Gorton Fisherman.”  Tamika responded.

                                                            ————

            The fight in the auditorium went about like one would expect.  Three superheroes, all former seventh graders, broke in from both sides, now that the halls were clear.  One knocked the lights out of one guard, and caught two more in his traps.  One took two out before they hardly noticed him.  The third also clocked her pair, but the other six soldiers, the wizard, the Count and the Queen made it out of the side door around her preoccupation; and the Wicked Witch of the West went with them.

            “Should we follow?”  The first asked and the woman wanted to follow as well, but the other superhero shook his head.  Auditorium’s clear.  They were driven out and we have prisoners to return to base.  They won’t go far.  The superhero carried one unconscious man on each shoulder, as did the other man.  The woman only carried one, but that was so she could keep a blade ready for the two that had been caught in the traps.  They went to the east hall, out the door opposite the one the Queen had taken. 

            Meanwhile, the Queen screamed once more.  How could she have been taken by surprise like that?  She slapped the wizard on the back of the head and slugged the Count in the arm.  At least the Count had the decency to say, “Ouch!”  They went to the office, only to run into Lila and her crew.  Several things happened then before the parties separated.

            The Queen touched the scarecrow’s arm as they bumped into one another.  It was not intended, but the Queen’s anger at that point was hot enough to set the straw on fire.  Lila panicked.

            “Grampy!  Grampy!”  She yelled, swirling around the poor scarecrow’s head almost too fast to see.  Princess Ashanti watched for a second until it made her dizzy.  While the Queen backed away, some look of distress on her face, Lila shot up to the ceiling and set off the sprinklers.  As the water fell, Ginger let out a sound that was almost a meow of complaint, and she darted down the hallway, looking for a dry spot.  The Wicked Witch of the West also ran off for fear that she might melt.

            Somehow, the wizard’s crystal in a box ended up in the hands of the pirates.  Perhaps that was inevitable.  What was less anticipated, was finding a semi-conscious Count Severas in the hands of an elf and a ninja.

            While the Princess helped put out the scarecrow’s arm, the scarecrow shouted at Lila to turn the sprinklers off.  She did, eventually.

            “Now the fire department will come.”  The scarecrow commented.  Thus far, the town had not been infected by the invasion of armed and dangerous soldiers.  It would be better for all not to open that can of worms.  “I’ll square it with Bob when he comes.”  The scarecrow thought, but then, perhaps Bob might not take the word of a scarecrow.

            “But Grampy.  Are you all right?”  Lila was very worried.

            “Yes, dear.”  The Scarecrow said.  “There is some fresh straw back in the gym.  I’ll just restuff and be as good as new.”

            Meanwhile, all but two of the prisoners taken in the office, escaped with the Queen.  Then Princess Ashanti screamed.  Red Rayder had an arrow in the back and he wasn’t moving.  Peter the ninja and Jennifer the elf handed the stunned Count to the pirates, caught Red Rayder up and carried him along.  They brought him through the gym, raising the eyebrows of more than one dancer as they did.  Luckily, though, people were dancing again, now that the internal rain shower had ended, and so most did not notice, or at least they did not realize exactly what they were seeing.  They got Red Rayder to the cafeteria as quick as they could, and people made way to lay him on a table.  Doctor George was just prepared to extract the bullet from a soldier’s thigh when they called him straight to the fallen young man.

            “Who is this?”  Doctor George asked as he looked closely.

            “Eddie Bricker.”  Lila said, without the least bit of fairy cuteness in her voice.

Series: Tales of the Other Earth Tale: Halloween Story part 15 M/F Story

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

            “If you start in with that bubble, bubble business, you will be driven from my kitchen.”  Chef Brian was serious.

            “Never fear, great Lord.”  Brittany, the witch spoke for the three.  “We are just making a tonic for our majesty, Queen Jessica.  Her nerves, you know.  All of these events are quite beyond her.  Her subjects are in rebellion.”

            “Ha!  Nothing of the kind.”  Chef Brian responded.  “I say, though, I am a bit put off about the idea of you finding everything you need for your witches’ brew in my kitchen.”

            “Alas, not everything, great Lord.”  Brittany said, sadly.  “But some.  Indeed some.”  She looked back to where Nichole and Molly were dancing around the biggest pot they could find, adding whatever they could to the water, which was boiling, it must be said, without the benefit of a fire beneath it.

            People were coming regularly now in and out of the cafeteria.  The dancing was great, but one did get hot and tired, and Chef Brian’s reputation was growing.  Maria, the waitress would have been overwhelmed with customers if the stewardess had not volunteered to pitch in.  Then also, some came to have their fortunes told.  Colonel Nate was presently hovering over a seated Karen who was trying hard to keep her hoops from shooting up into the gypsy’s face and upsetting the fortune.  And, of course, the geisha had her hands full with those who preferred tea.  Truscan soldiers were mingling freely with the rest, though to be sure, the karate champions and the officers of the law were keeping their watchful eyes open.

            “Doctor.  Doctor George, come quick.”  Snow White was yelling from the kitchen door.  Doctor George and Nurse Shirley got up slowly.  Ethan the Dentist came along, too, just in case there was trouble.

            “What is it, Ms White?”  The Doctor asked.  Snow White hushed him and brought him to a storage room by the back door of the kitchen while Chef Brian complained.  “There are too many improper persons in here, contaminating the food!  How can an artist create with so many interruptions!”

            There was a nun hiding in the closet and she was holding her belly and moaning.

            “So she’s pregnant.”  Doctor George said without the least emotion.  Nurse Shirley smiled.

            “But it hurts.”  The nun said.  “I feel like something is kicking me right here.”  Nurse Shirley hid her smile while the Doctor got his stethoscope and checked.

            “Yes.”  The doctor said.  “That would be the baby.”  He put the nun’s hand to feel for herself.  Then the Doctor had a thought.  “Elizabeth, isn’t it?”  The Doctor asked and the nun nodded.

                                                            ————

            In the hall between the cafeteria and the gym, Bobby and Donna the homeless hobos were collecting a crowd as well.  It was all “This Land is Your Land,” and “Blowing in the Wind,” but people loved it as a change of pace.  Donna was on the guitar and Bobby was on his harmonica.  Everybody sang, but even with all of those off key voices, it was a relatively quiet break from the music in the gym.

                                                            ————

            “Are you prepared for the onslaught?”  The Space Gladiator asked.  Everyone nodded.

            “Piece of cake.”  Quarterback Tyler said.  He and his three football players were each as big as the Gladiator, who was no small person.  Captain Aaron nodded for his crew, the ones that used to be the eighth grade color guard.  They walked to the hall that ran down the west side of the auditorium and waited while Aaron checked his watch.  The marines, Ricky and Tamika, were in the back checking on their rifles. They were making jokes.

            “Captain looks like Captain Ahab.”  Ricky insisted.

            “More like the Gorton fisherman.”  Tamika disagreed. 

            “Quiet.”  Captain Aaron hushed them.

            “Aye-aye, Skipper.”  Missy said with a salute.

            Aaron frowned.  “So now you’re Gilligan?”  Missy looked momentarily surprised and appeared flustered by the question.  Ricky and Tamika tried not to laugh.  “Ready.”  Captain Aaron said, and at once, they got serious.  Four things were going to happen at more or less the same time.

                                                            ————

            The Queen was becoming frustrated.  These adults appeared to be confused about who they were, not to mention who the children were.  None of them could help her find the girl.  It was as if they never heard of Lila.  She had left the dark skinned man alone, and berated Count Severas for drawing blood when the man merely tried to escape.  Surely he could have been stopped without having to be cut.

            “Barten-Cur!”  The Queen yelled in a tone of voice to make everyone in the room duck.  She was out of patience.  She struck the custodian with a surge of power, but Barten-Cur resisted.  He was not going to talk.  “Wizard!”  The Queen commanded, and the wizard stepped up to hold the Queen’s hand.  With the first touch, the force being exerted on Barten-Cur doubled.  The Queen’s green stream of magic turned a muddy green color with the addition of the wizard’s cherry colored magic.  Barten-Cur began to mumble.

            “Muba-muba-muba.”

            “Count.  Count Severas!”  The Queen commanded in a sharp, quick voice as if she hated to expend the energy needed to mouth the words.  Count Severas took her other hand, and again, the magic redoubled, now turning an oak brown color as the Count’s deep brown, almost black magic was added on.

            “MUBA-MUBA-MUBA.”  Barten-Cur merely increased in volume.

            “Oh!”  The Queen yelled and threw both hands away at once.  The magic immediately ceased.  Magic was generally good for manipulating matter and energy, but it had limits against the mind and heart.

            “I could make a potion of truth if I had the ingredients.”  The wizard suggested.  It would have been more effective than trying to force the issue, but, unfortunately, the ingredients were not available.

            In the balcony, Tom kept Rachel in her seat that whole time.  There was far too much magic down below for a couple of mere vampires to deal with.  Rachel complained all the same.

            “But I am really, really hungry.”  She said.  Tom was too.

                                                            ————

            Lila drew the layout of the offices in mid air.  The Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t there.  They had just missed her.  The Queen had been one step ahead of them and came to fetch her and take her off to the auditorium; but the other teachers were all still there, such as they were.

            “Jane Austin has the Principal baby in her arms over here, next to Mister Johnson with the bandage on his arm.  Ms Duncan and Mister Gross are in the back getting all kissy-face.”  Lila turned up her nose at the thought.

            “I thought they were married.”  Sir Chris said, checking his broadsword for the tenth time.

            “They are.”  The scarecrow nodded.  “Unfortunately, not to each other.”

            “Eww.”  Lila said, and she almost wiggled enough to disrupt the mid-air map she was carefully trying to draw out of fairy dust.  Ginger let out a low growl and licked her paw.

            “Anyone seen Max and Maxamillian?”  Jordan the pirate interrupted.

            Red Rayder and the Princess nodded.  “They fell off the roof back near the cafeteria door.”  Red said.  Jennifer rolled her elfin eyes, but the ninja and the pirates all snickered.

            “Quiet!”  Lila stomped her foot again.  Snap!  It sounded like a cap pistol even if she was only stomping on air.  “Be quiet, before I forget.  The rest, that’s the flamenco dancer, Ms. Finster the beautiful young flower child, Coach Beemer, alias the Masked Marvel, and Mozart are all in this area by the coke machine.”

            “They got a coke machine in the office?”  Sir Chris did not know this.

            Lila ignored the interruption.  “There are six guards.  Two by the inside door, two by the outside door and two between the two groups of teachers.”  There.  She got through it all.  Now it was time to act.

            “Away we go.”  Red Rayder said, and before anyone could stop him, he ran and jumped through the access door, falling right through the ceiling tile below.  The others were obliged to follow, with Lila complaining.

            “Why did I bother to scout and make a map?”

            By the time she and her scarecrow got to the room below, everything was settled.  Sir Chris and Red had the two by the outside door at sword point.  The pirates Morgan and Jordan had the two in the center surrendered, with their hands high in the air.  The growling jaguar helped convince the soldiers to keep their hands up.  The two by the inside door were stuck to the walls, one having wet himself. 

            “Only counts as one.”  Peter the ninja said while elf Jennifer stuck her tongue out at the man.  She retrieved her four arrows that had pinned her man at the shoulders and collar a foot off the ground.  Not a drop of blood was spilled, but the man would not be fighting again for a time.  He fell to the floor, shivering.  Meanwhile, Peter retrieved his ninja stars.  His man was not a foot off the ground like the other man, but he was just as effectively pinned to the wall.  There was a little blood in one shoulder and that got a razz from the elf.

            “Finished already?”  Lila protested with another snap! of her foot.  She missed it all!