Here is our case study in full:
I SAVE MY MARRIAGE
That was my wife, Chiamaka, approaching. People thought her puerile and naïve but I deemed her exquisite. She was blithe and permissive, carefree and lax.
We had been married for five months through the declarations of our parents and other adults. I was seven years old and she, just six. Her mother declared her my wife because she had been my favourite playmate. I never knew her father’s opinion.
We cherished our union and understood the unspoken words, we always chose a spot away from other playmates on those days parents allowed their children play outside. I didn’t want other children playing with my wife; she didn’t want them eating her soup.
During one of those wonderful days, I couldn’t find her.
She was obviously missing. I was worried. Jennifer, another playmate had stopped looking at me from afar. She was standing close now.
‘Come and help me grind these leaves,’ she pleaded. As they’d be used in her mock soup cooked in a tin and eaten with moulded mud.
I had ground the leaves half way when I saw Chiamaka. I stopped. My guilt stricken face refused meeting her questioning eyes. She left. I just broke our marital vows.
Later, I saw her with Ebuka who didn’t like sharing his toys. I was devastated and jealous. My heart raced faster than my toy-car. I felt divorced.
I glanced at her periodically all the while but she never looked my way. I waited until play time was over. Instantly, I picked up the tin for cooking and went to her.
‘Take, I cooked this for you,’ I muttered with stretched arms.
She stared at me and collected it.
‘Thank you,’ she replied, smiling. ‘See you tomorrow.’ She entered her house. I smiled. I saved my marriage.
Mastering the Technicalities of Flash Fiction
Case Study: I Saved My Marriage
Flash fictions are fictional works as low as 50 words and as long as 1000 words (although this is not widely accepted) while short stories can range from 2000 words to 5000 words. Flash fictions have in so many circumstances been termed micro fiction, micro narrative, micro-story, postcard fiction, short short, short short story, nano fiction and sudden fiction. But we are not really going to be concerned about its terms.
However, flash fictions' technicalities are going to be the cynosure of this writeup and they include: understanding its structures and styles, how written flash fictions can possibly be considered as good, planning flash fictions and other things.
First, it must known that despite flash fictions being classified as very brief stories (which they really are) they must contain (just like short stories): a beginning, a middle(which is also known as conflict) and a resolution. Without these three spices, flash fictions are considered null and incomplete.
The beginnings of flash fictions are where the writer introduces and sets up the story. We can say that flash fictions' beginnings are known as springboards meant for the readers to dive or leap into the story. In writing introductions of flash fictions, the writer must not try to explain a situation wholly. I mean that the writer shouldn't be detailing the story not only on the introductory part but the whole story. The writer must be brief with words. I suggest that flash fictions' writers weave what I call "the trigger", therefore using the right words that trigger the conflict (the middle); therefore using the right words that lead the readers into the story. Now let us see if we can find a "beginning" in the case study. Here it is:
That was my wife, Chiamaka, approaching. People thought her puerile and naïve but I deemed her exquisite. She was blithe and permissive, carefree and lax.
We had been married for five months through the declarations of our parents and other adults. I was seven years old and she, just six. Her mother declared her my wife because she had been my favourite playmate. I never knew her father's opinion.
The middle: it is also known as the conflict. It is the core of all flash fictions. Here, the writer creates problem(s) with the characters or within the characters or other ways possible. This is where emotions of the readers are pricked and let loose. Creating conflicts in flash fictions, on its own, is a technical exercise. Its technicalities, especially, include creativity (which should run throughout the story), twist and suspense. We all know that Africans love to play emotional, cultural and philosophical. So, the writer should bear in mind because it is the middle that carries the emotional, cultural and philosophical traits together with twists and suspense.
For "the middle" here it is (and you can sure see the "conflict" as well):
During one of those wonderful days, I couldn’t find her. She was obviously missing. I was worried. Jennifer, another playmate had stopped looking at me from afar. She was standing close now.
‘Come and help me grind these leaves,’ she pleaded. As they’d be used in her mock soup cooked in a tin and eaten with moulded mud.
I had ground the leaves half way when I saw Chiamaka. I stopped. My guilt stricken face refused meeting her questioning eyes. She left. I just broke our marital vows.
Later, I saw her with Ebuka who didn’t like sharing his toys. I was devastated and jealous. My heart raced faster than my toy-car. I felt divorced.
The resolution is where the writer resolves the conflict(s) that have been created in the story. Here, the writer settles the emotions of the readers. What is demanded from flash fictions' writers include the ability to drive home stories with striking, catchy and heart swirling words.
Here is the resolution in the case study:
I glanced at her periodically all the while but she never looked my way. I waited until play time was over. Instantly, I picked up the tin for cooking and went to her.
‘Take, I cooked this for you,’ I muttered with stretched arms.
She stared at me and collected it.
‘Thank you,’ she replied, smiling. ‘See you tomorrow.’ She entered her house. I smiled. I saved my marriage.
This takes us immediately to flash fictions' planning. To most flash fictions' writers, flash fictions are unplanned, so they tend to just write and conclude. I am aware that we have gifted people who are just good with writing. But to me, I must say that flash fictions demands good planning. I mean planning the desired story's plot, characters, event(s) and finally its resolution.
Planning flash fictions is very important as it helps the writer to know a starting point, the drive way and the ending point. Planning helps to give the writer the possible goal(s) meant to be achieved in the story. I will give an example with the case study: I SAVED MY MARRIAGE. Without planning the story, I am very sure the writer wouldn't have written it well.
These were the steps the writer took when planning the story: First, the writer thought of a storyline. The writer penned the storyline down and started the proper planning. The writer proceeded with story's characters. The protagonist whom was made the narrator, an unnamed narrator, (the fiction was written from the person's point of view) was first handled. The writer after weighing some possible facts made the narrator a male child protagonist because of the fiction's storyline. Then the writer thought about other characters and also checked if the story was factual or fictional or both. The writer moved on to plan the beginning, the middle and the resolution which warranted lots of editing and rewriting and reconstructions. The fiction had up to five different versions before a better version was chosen. Trust me, this was really not an easy task but one must try to plan so to make flash fictions better written, well narrated and standard.
One must not forget to give better titles to a story. Titles draw attention to a story most of the times.
We should also know that flash fictions cannot handle more than two events or plots unlike short stories that can take up to three or five. To make it easier, one must handle just a plot or an event in flash fictions due to its conciseness. Because flash fictions are fictions read on the go, one should handle just a plot. So handling a plot is not such a difficult technique.
In the case study, we only have one event or plot which is being built between the narrator, Chiamaka, Jennifer and Ebuka.
I must say that people see flash fictions as seconds-read stories which are truly true but they shouldn't forget that flash fictions are the most technical creative writings one can come across just like Haiku in poetry. Flash fictions are complete stories and not incomplete as few may describe them.
Before, I move on I want to say that interest also matters. One must have good interest in writing flash fictions. The interest that pushes one forward to making flash fictions better stories. It is the interest that pushes one to developing further techniques and skills.
In writing flash fictions, one must learn how to be swift and precise with words because every single word counts. One must know how to use a word or two to describe situations or use fewer words to express a long thought. To achieve a better written flash fiction, one must not over express a thought, one must make sure to know the right words to use and finally make sure that the readers are in one with the story. In short, the use of right words (choice of words) is part of the techniques to be learnt in flash fiction writing.
In the case study, here are statements and words that describe long thoughts: "thought her puerile and naïve", "She was blithe and permissive, carefree and lax", "We cherished our union and understood the unspoken words", "raced faster than my toy-car", "I smiled", "I saved my marriage".
Again, flash fictions don't demand many characters like short stories. You must choose your character(s) well and use them appropriately. Choosing flash fictions' characters are not always easy sometimes and it's a technique one must have already. In the case study, we have only four characters which are the narrator, Chiamaka, Jennifer and Ebuka. The numbers of characters are much anyway but flash fictions shouldn't handle more than three or four characters. The best is always three.
So, let us consider the aspect of "points of view". Choosing a point of view will affect the way your readers relate to your story and the characters in it. You must make sure that you know the better point of view very suitable to you as a writer and not the story. I don't mean to say you should not try other "points of view" in your writings but you as a writer, you know what fits your writings best.
Points of view include:
The first person point of view: First person point of view gives immediacy to your writing, as if it is happening as one reads it. This can create tension in the plot and intimacy with the main character. However, you must know as well that the narrator of the story (the one speaking in first person) is not always the main character. This creates a distance between the person telling the story and the one the story is about.
The second person point of view: Here, the writer is addressing you, the reader, directly as if you are reading it at the same time while the writer writes. It also gives the writing intimacy and immediacy. Through it you (hopefully) feel that the writer is talking directly to you. It is difficult (and annoying!) to sustain a second person POV throughout a piece of flash fiction, but is more achievable in poetry. It's as if the poet is catching the reader's eye and asking them to share in a moment with them.
The third person point of view: This is generally the easiest point of view to write. It has the advantage of flowing naturally and allows the writer to describe how he or she sees a scene as if watching a film. The ‘voice’ describing the scene is often called an ‘omniscient narrator’ as they have a God-like view. It is particularly useful in scenes with a number of characters and also in scenes with no characters at all. In third person narration we can see the outside of a farmhouse, the dying crops and starving animals, before we ever meet the farming family. A writer also has good control of the characters' feelings and descriptions in a third person point of view.
I must say that flash fictions mostly should be in first person and third person point of view. Second person point of view will definitely give you a problem due to flash fictions' shortness and conciseness.
The story used in our case study is written from the first person's point of view.
We must also know that "Style" matters in all creative writings. Every written story has a structure which is generally seen as the beginning, the middle (conflict) and the resolution. We can play with the structure in the sense that we can rearrange a story's plot. The middle can come first, followed by the resolution and then the beginning or the resolution can come first followed by middle and then the beginning. This is mostly done to achieve suspense and twist. Trust me this is not a very easy technique in flash fiction writing. I suggest that one should go with the default which is the beginning, the middle and the resolution. The beginning, the middle and the resolution is the style used in the case study. One must not forget to practise often by writing and rewriting and writing and rewriting to achieve a masterpiece.
I won't forget to say that flashback is as well good for flash fictions. One can use this technique and must be very careful not to confuse the reader(s). I suggest that a writer who wants to use the flashback technique should use it throughout a story. The beginning must be written in such a way that it gives room for the flashback. There is no flash back seen in the case study.
Most writers love suspense. I will say that this too is also necessary for well drafted and written flash fictions. Suspense gives conflicts strongholds in a story. Suspense is mostly a technique seen in the middle (conflict) part of the fiction and slightly at the introduction. The case study has no suspense but contains conflict. And the conflict can be seen as below:
‘Come and help me grind these leaves,’ she pleaded. As they’d be used in her mock soup cooked in a tin and eaten with moulded mud.
I had ground the leaves half way when I saw Chiamaka. I stopped. My guilt stricken face refused meeting her questioning eyes. She left. I just broke our marital vows.
Conclusively, the experiences gathered have made the writer of 'I Saved my Marriage' consider simplicity in writing flash fictions best. Being simple is not a simple task but one must strive as much as possible to be simple. Simplicity here includes the simple use and choice of words, simple characters, and simple storyline. Simplicity gets you more readers quickly and gives easy understanding to your written fiction. One must also be creative in being simple.
We should also know that a writer does not just write from nowhere. As a good writer, you must also be a good reader. It is because from reading you gain extra knowledge and techniques. One must also know that techniques and skills are achieved and developed while practising. Writers make mistakes often and should correct those mistakes always. In doing so, writers learn better. I am really saying that we should not be afraid to show people our works when necessary. Show people your works and take corrections they may possibly proffer. Don't be afraid to enter for competitions or submit for publications, I really know how disheartening rejection letters are but one shouldn't give up. Hold on a little longer and your voice will be heard, maybe slowly but surely.
Blessings!
Click here to comment.
Don't forget to like our Facebook page too
Biography
Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto is a student of Nnamdi Azikwe University, studying English Language and Literature. He emerged one of the top 3 winners of Etisalat flash fiction 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment