Objective Correlatives and a White Belt

Last fall I wrote several blog posts about the Plot & Structure class I took with the Center for Writing Excellence. You may remember the concept of objective correlatives which enables authors to "show, not tell."

I have fallen in love with the idea. 

In her lesson about objective correlatives, my instructor Bethany Nuckolls, wrote: 

"This is an object in the scene, which correlates with the narrative subtext, thus displacing the need for a narrator's explanation. Sometimes referred to as 'reading between the lines,' subtext is everything that is not being said or shown, but is nonetheless present such as a husband and wife sitting down to a silent dinner. Neither one says, 'I am angry at you,' but that anger can be felt nonetheless….Just as actors need props to hold on stage, scenes need objective correlatives for characters to channel their thoughts and emotions through."

Now as I read, I'm on the lookout for phrases and objects that might be objective correlatives; words which provide the reader with subtext about the scene. As Nuckolls concludes in this section, "Rarely does the author need to spell things out for the reader via explanation."

For your instruction (and mine!) here are some examples.

From Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman:

Blankman first describes Gretchen's brother as "a column of darkness." (p.8) This image foreshadows his character and the troubles he will bring in to Gretchen's life. 

Later, the reader sees Gretchen as she leaves her school, "As she walked down the narrow hallway, she wished life could be simple and straightforward. She wanted to be so many different puzzle pieces--Uncle Dolf's sunshine, the martyr's daughter, the serious student, the future physician." (p. 30)  Blankman shows how Gretchen is trying to figure out where and how she fits in by using the objective correlative of a puzzle piece. 

Here's an example from Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd. 
The protagonist, Juliet, is on board a ship traveling to a Pacific island hoping to determine if her father is a monster or a misunderstood genius. Shepherd writes, "I wasn't sure I was ready to learn what types of boundaries my father might have crossed out there in the dark, silent sea." (p. 61)  The play on the word "boundaries" hints at what Juliet is truly thinking. The "dark, silent sea" symbolizes the unknown. 

In Lisa Williams Kline's book, Summer of the Wolves, stepsisters Stephanie and Diana are having a hard time getting used to their new family. In a dramatic moment, they must climb a steep path in order to free the penned-up wolves. Although she is reluctant to help her ill-prepared sister, Diana succeeds in pulling her sister up the rock face. This is a turning point in their relationship; the scene echoes the struggles they have had to gain equal footing.  

Here is an example from my WIP, Half-Truths. After I wrote it I realized I'd successfully used several objective correlatives. In this scene Kate, who has just moved from  Cheraw, SC, is getting reacquainted with her Myers Park friends. 

"A funny look twisted Shirley’s face. She laughed nervously. 'Well, you have to admit, Kate, a Cheraw hoedown is a far cry from a Myers Park cotillion.'

Kate almost choked on her sandwich. She loved square dancing with her 4-H buddies, but she still dreamt of pink tulle dresses and open toe high heels. Did Shirley think she was just a yokel?"

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So what do all these objective correlatives have to do with a white belt?

Here's how. A month ago I impulsively decided to enroll in a Tae Kwon Do class. It is fun, great exercise, and challenging to both body and mind. 

I found myself possessively proud of the white belt I received. As I thought about it, I realized that the belt is not only a symbol of my beginner's status. 

The subtext goes deeper. 

I turned 60 last December. I'd been dreading that birthday; fearing the approach of "older" age.  But tying that belt around my waist has proven to me that life is not over. I can and will do new things.

I have a book that I hope to finish this year.

I have travels and adventures I plan to take. 

And, now I have a white belt too. 

Watch out. You never know what objective correlative is just around the bend. 

My 2014 Objective Correlative

How about you? Found any interesting objective correlatives in a book you are reading? Written one you want to share? Or have one of your own you want to boast about?

Bring them on!

Tackling Tension, Horizontality, and Verticality

In this series about my online writing class, Plot and Structure, through the Center for Writing Excellence, I last posted definitions and examples of horizontality and verticality in What Happened to Goodbye. Our next assignment was to play around with creating tension in our own work. Here are some samples from Chapter 2 of Half-Truths.

In the lesson on tension, Bethany Nuckolls said, “Tension is simply a byproduct of pacing and manipulating time.  Conflict in a story can be heightened or diminished by how fast or slowly you narrate it.  Slowing a scene down and writing longer sentences builds tension… Speeding a scene up and writing shorter sentences gives the reader a sense of movement.  This is particularly effective in action scenes where the character is reacting instead of preparing to react.  This kind of tension is less suspenseful and more shocking.”

In this writing sample I created tension by using short sentences:

"Kate felt a tightness in her chest, like a band pulled taut so she could hardly breathe. No way was there enough space here for Eileen. Or for Speckles. Or for her. How could she ever feel like this was home?"

Bethany commented: “Choppy sounds great.  It's closer to the rhythm of her nervous heartbeat, or her thoughts jumping from one worry to the next.”

In this second sample, I created tension by using verticality (multiple events or times present in the same narrative moment). In this passage Kate jumps backward and forward again in her mind:

"Brave. She tried the idea on as if it was a new pair of riding boots. Took some breaking in, but would fit if she stomped around in the notion long enough. Kate kissed Eileen on the snout and squared her shoulders.  If she’d been brave enough to help birth Eileen in the middle of a hailstorm that threatened to flatten the whole county, she was brave enough to face Grandmother Dinsmore and all her rules and plans.  And hopefully brave enough to walk into Alexander Graham Junior High and make friends with a bunch of snobby, rich girls."

Bethany agreed that the hailstorm was an example of verticality.

In this third sample I created tension by using horizontality (narrative that moves chronologically):

 "Grandmother crossed her arms and scowled. Her eyes traveled from the wisps of hair that had escaped Kate’s braid all the way down to her mud-covered loafers."

Playing with sentence length helped me realize that I tend to write run-on sentences. Breaking them up added oomph and made the narrative more present to the reader.

Bethany summarized this to another student when she said: “There is no ONE rule to apply to all situations.  Rather, this is about realizing how sentence length can change the mood in a scene, and be willing to exploit that fact to your advantage.”  

Horizontal or Vertical: which appeals to you?

Discovering Tension in "What Happened to Goodbye"- Part II

If you live in the Carolinas and are a Christian writing either for the young adult or children's market, please note that registration for Write2Ignite! 2014 is now open. This is a great opportunity to learn more about your craft, meet knowledgable professionals in the field at a very reasonable price. Please go to

 http://Write2Ignite.com for more information. 

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In my ongoing blog series about the writing class I'm taking through the Center for Writing Excellence, I learned two new ways to produce tension: Horizontality and Verticality. 

Horizontality, as Bethany Nuckolls instructed,  "refers to narrative that moves chronologically."

Verticality "happens when multiple events or times are present in the same narrative moment."

Our assignment was to find examples of tension in our reading novel.  McLean, the protagnoist in What Happened to Goodbye? is both drawn to her next-door neighbor, David, but also afraid of getting involved in any type of lasting relationship because she and her father always leave town. This passage comes immediately after a scene in which he is close enough to kiss her but doesn’t; the talk and action subsequently turns to basketball.   

Here is the passage I chose; my analysis follows.   

  He sat up, choosing to ignore this. “You know, you talk this tough game and everything. But I know the truth about you.”

     “And what’s that again?” I said, getting to my feet.

     “Secretly,” he said, “you want to play with me. In fact, you need to play with me. Because deep down, you love basketball as much as I do.”

     “Loved,” I said. “Past tense.”

      “Not true.” He walked around my deck, grabbing a broom there and using the handle to fish around beneath.” (Horizontality) “I saw how you squared up. There was love there.”

     “You saw love in my shot,” I said, clarifying.

     “Yeah.” He banged the broomstick again, and the ball came rolling out slowly, toward me. “I mean it’s not surprising, really. Once you love something, you always love it in some way. You have to. It’s, like, part of you for good.”

     I wondered what he meant by this, and in the next beat, found myself surprised by the image that suddenly popped into my head: me and my mom, on a windy beach in winter, searching for shells as the wave crashed in front of us. (Verticality) I picked up the ball and threw it to him.

     “You ready to play?” Dave asked, bouncing it.

     “I don’t know,” I said. “Are you going to cheat?”

      “It’s street ball!” he said, checking it to me. “Show me that love.”

       So cheesy, I thought. But as I felt it, solid against my hands, I did feel something. I wasn’t sure it was love. Maybe what remained of it, though, whatever that might be. “All right,” I said.
“Let’s play.” (p. 273)

  

I think this is the original cover; I like it best!

Analysis: Dessen probably used the verb “fishing” purposefully to describe David’s action of getting the ball out from under the deck. This fits in nicely with McLean’s flashback of her and her mother at the beach, searching for shells.  Horizontality is shown in his three chronological actions of retrieving the ball.

I think verticality is achieved when there is something about David’s words about love that trigger her memory of her mother. Although McLean is trying hard to distance herself from her mother, memories of pleasant and loving times keep popping up. Her mother, like it or not, “is with her for good,” as the rest of the novel attests to.

Tension is created because it takes McLean the entire page to decide if she will play basketball with David. Her slow deliberation over what he has said to her intensifies the conflict for the reader (who of course wants her to say “yes!”).

The chapter ends with a cliff-hanger letting the reader know that McLean is indeed, allowing herself to “play” and get involved with David.

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Now you try it. Has an author you have read included tension in her novel? How have you included it in your own work?

What I've Learned from Writing Contests

As promised, here is a guest post by Kim Van Sickler.   Kim is one of my fellow judges with the Center for Writing Excellence. After she had won several contests, Janie Sullivan asked her to join our team of judges. I thought her successful experiences with contests would inspire my blog readership, so without further ado, here is Kim!

        I started entering short story writing contests as a way to condense my storytelling. It was a few years after I'd gotten the "crazy" idea to try writing for children, and I knew my books were too long. I needed to make every word count.

       My first efforts weren't very good. My stories were shorter than the manuscripts I was working on, but they weren't fully developed. Sometimes I entered blog contests where the prize was a pat on the back, and other times I entered prestigious contests where I was up against the cream of the crop and my stories didn't measure up. But I quickly learned to focus on the creative process and only enter contests that excited me, and let the chips fall where they may.

        Still...it's nice to win a contest every now and then to let you know you're on the right track. I have to credit the Center for Writing Excellence for giving me the confidence boost I sorely needed. I came across their Fiction in Five writing prompts, where you have five days to write a story based on an e-mailed prompt and five random words. It's a powerful way to jump-start the creative process

          Piecing together that first story, about a boy visiting a palm reader, was the most fun I'd ever had writing. It was a bonus to learn that it earned me second place. I'd come so close. Was a first place win possible? So the next time the contest was offered, I entered again. I was on vacation with my extended family, and bounced my ideas around, finding myself enjoying the creative process this time even more than before. And I won first place!

            Garnering recognition for my work gave me the confidence to call myself a writer. I finally went on Facebook and Twitter, and started a blog  I've entered and won more short story contests, published a short story, and even assisted with judging the Center for Writing Excellence's Fiction in Five contests. Hard as it was, I even set aside my first two manuscripts that weren't eliciting raves from agents, and created a promising new story that's out on submission, and started my fourth manuscript.

            The Fiction in Five contests are responsible for me sticking with this crazy craft. They let me dig deep and discover how much I like to write. Today, I can't imagine a world where I'm not intimately involved in the writing process. Those contests opened doors I'm determined to keep ajar.

Kim Van Sickler is a former prosecuting attorney and marketing director. She currently lives and writes in Willoughby Hills, Ohio, where she runs the Girl Scout program in her community. She's at work on her fourth manuscript: a young adult novel set in the sex trade industry. 

February Writing Contest Announced

Ever thinking of trying your hand at writing fiction but were too timid to try? How about starting with a short story? The Center for Writing Excellence just announced their February contest. Can you think of a better way to start off the new year than with a resolution to pursue something you have always wanted to do?

Several months ago, Janie Sullivan, the CWE director, asked me to be one of the contest judges. As a result, I know first hand that the prompts are fun and the stories are creative and original. Don't worry that I might recognize you or your writing; the judges only receive and score annonymous submissions. 

While you're on the website, look around at the services, courses, and writing tips that Jane offers. And in between contests, there are also free fiction prompt challenges to get your creative juices going. If you want to see the type of prompts used in previous contests, click here and scroll down.  

What are you waiting for? Check out the contest website, circle the dates on your calendar, and start thinking about the prize that could be yours if you win! And here is a hint. Since the stories are usually holiday related, you can probably guess what some of the prompts might be in February!

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Reading & Writing Resources

Along the way I have discovered a variety of resources that can help you in your classroom or in your own writing.  Here are a few. Let me know if they help you as instructors and writers.

For teachers and homeschool educators:

• If you look above this blog heading, you'll see that I just created a new page, "Teaching the Story." If you click on it you'll not only find book reviews, but also several reproducibles from the CD that are now available on-line.
• The Maupin House blog is full of useful information and resources for teachers and homeschool parents. Several Maupin House authors and editors blog about subjects that interest them and you will receive input from a variety of professionals.
• Not sure about what book to recommend to your child? You can search my blog under "books for boys," "books for girls," "books for boys and girls," or "historical fiction." Or you can check out GoodReads and read other people's  book reviews.
• I blogged about Literacyhead before. It's worth repeating--this is a tremendous resource.
• National Novel Writing Month has a program geared specifically towards young writers. I'll be one of the featured "pep talkers" in November.

For writers:

• The Center for Writing Excellence is a part of the Institute for Instructional Excellence. The Center offers classes on Creating a Character Sketch and Developing Realistic Dialogue, a bi-monthly fiction contest (I'm one of the judges!) and writing services. Janie Sullivan, the director, has a very instructional blog.
• I have subscribed to Writer's Digest for years and it continues to educate and challenge me.
• Write2Ignite is a group that provides Christians writers with training, encouragement, and networking.  They organize an annual conference (I am teaching the teen track), have an ongoing blog, and lively weekly chats on Monday night.
• If you want to write for children, the most important organization to join is SCBWI. The NC and SC region is very active and I'd encourage you to visit the local website.
• One of the best ways to improve yourself as a writer is to get involved in a local critique group. For a great book on the subject, check out Becky Levine's The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide.
• National Novel Writing Month starts in a few weeks. If you have always wanted to write a novel, now is the time to get started!

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