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CONTINUED: Charles Baxter’s awkward little tricks to add oomph to your novel
Years ago at a Muse & the Marketplace conference in Boston, Charles Baxter gave advice that I scribbled down in my notebook and have since referred to many times. I’ve contemplated questions 1 - 4 here and questions 5 & 6 here.
Now for the final question.
7. What is the secret?
When a person has a toxic narrative s/he refuses to tell anyone, that's narrative gold. And if characters have secrets, Baxter thinks writers should reveal them sooner rather than later - he believes in suspense over surprise.
I throw up a lot of questions in this book, both concrete and philosophical.
Who is the dead man lying in the derelict palace?
Will the foreman succeed in tearing down Sho Fu Den (and earn the money to pay for his son’s medical treatment)?
Will Bea escape from her father’s domination? Will she have an ally or do it on her own?
Who are these people who live in Sho Fu Den? Are they as glamorous and cultured as they seem? What secrets are they hiding that Bea can’t see?
What happens to Bea once she flees?
Who is the person masterminding the tear down and WHY are they in such a mad rush?
What happens to Bea’s father (and family) once she leaves?
What are the fatal flaws that the twins are keeping so well hidden?
How did people in the late 1920s both literally and emotionally, survive the Depression? The Anti Immigration Act? The overt racism? Did the war - considering the action in the Pacific and the Atomic bomb - change any of this?
Does love conquer all?
Haha, that last question isn’t really part of the book, though in this story love definitely complicates all!
This week I’m going to think about what secrets the big players in this story hold close and why. I’ll make a list and see what insights this gives me.
Take a look at the man with the fan - his expression!
I don’t know who most of the people are in the above picture, or when the photo was taken. But I love that scowl on the face of the man with the fan.
What is he thinking? I found another photo from this party that identifies the scowling man as John Moody, the wealthy investor who owned Sho Fu Den for two decades. The party was written up in the local papers, and they sent along a photographer - this is the only reason I can now contemplate the fascinating ‘who, what and why’ of this moment in history.
When I’m deep into my writing, I hang lots of photos and magazine pictures near my computer. I like to spend time studying expressions.
A picture like this captures such a fleeting, specific moment, and here I am - almost one hundred years after this photo was taken - wondering what this man was thinking. There’s magic in that: elusiveness and impermanence balanced by the reality that this man is alive in my mind, as I sit here right now in the modern world.
Story-wise what intrigues me here is WHEN this picture was taken. If it was in the early 1930s, as I suspect, it was during the Depression. That kicks up a bunch of questions for me.
I’m at the point in my novel now when the Depression is about to hit. In earlier scenes I’ve set up the class dynamic but I haven’t yet clarified the adjacent theme of yearning to belong. The Takamines have great wealth, and their money and business success give them access to power, but fundamentally they’re outsiders.
This is where they overlap in interesting ways with Bea Pfennig who’s an immigrant, the child of a religious fanatic. In most ways she’s the opposite of the Takamines, but she, too, doesn’t belong anywhere. This is the bond that ends up tying them to each other.
I’m running a “Fall Sprint” on Zoom
As far as work is concerned, there were two high points for me this summer. The first was when I got to tell each of the three the Emerging Writer Award winners that they’d won - sharing the positive feedback with them and letting them know they’ll get ten days in Key West in January, attending parties, workshops, the Seminar and events.
How great it feels to spread some good cheer!
The Summer Sprints workshop I ran was also excellent. For eight weeks I worked (via Zoom) with eleven writers, and together we discussed productivity techniques, psychological hurdles (and tricks to overcome them), our stories, our hopes and goals and challenges. We also worked side by side for an hour each session, producing new material.
I’m going to run a similar class this fall; it’ll to be capped at 14 students and there will be one scholarship spot available. Shoot me an email if you’d like more information.
I love this post so much and have printed out a copy to let these questions come into my next writing session! I look forward to reading more of your posts.