Process
What Stories Should We Tell?
Reposted for Vocal's new Writers community. What stories are we allowed to tell? I would argue this question is as old as what constitutes literature and is especially provocative in our current socio-political climate. Everyone has a story inside them, but what stories are you allowed to tell? How far are you allowed to share them? With fiction, this is a complicated question. It can lead to angry fans who claim you did not portray a culture or gender correctly. It can lead to backlash from individuals who find an experience too narrow, even if it relates to your own experiences. However, creative nonfiction comes with its own problems as well. In some ways, the questions are more intense because nonfiction writers are bearers of truth. They discuss real people and real stories, which creates ramifications about everything they write. So, the ramifications don’t just land on them, but on other people as well. The truth is enough, but when is the truth too much? When do we hold back? When do we plow forward? What are willing to give up to have our stories told? The truth is not simple. It is complicated. But, sometimes a story just needs to be told. We decide what stories we are allowed to tell by deciding what is most important to us in our pursuits of the truth.
By C.M. Vazquez3 years ago in Writers
The World Is Our Oyster
Introduction Very often people are stumped for things to write about. On the train today I was trying to watch an episode of "Supernatural" and then the train wifi took a hissyfit and decided it wasn't playing anymore so I started observing people and things, and started thinking about inspiration and story prompts, and thought when I get home maybe I could make a story out of this.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 3 years ago in Writers
Forget AI: use Scrivener!. Top Story - August 2023.
I was in despair. I was quite a long way in to researching Chief Engineer, my biography of Washington Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a big undertaking: I had to learn about, and gather material on... oh, let's see, shall we? 19th century engineering. The Civil War. The history of immigration to the United States from Europe. Iron and steel manufacture. The history of women's education. I could go on — you get the idea. Now, bear in mind too: I'd written a few books, but nothing on this scale, and the question of how I would organize and order my material was starting to give me sleepless nights. I had a zillion Word documents which I named and renamed, put in this folder or that folder... yikes. I stared at my screen, my heart pounding.
By Erica Wagner3 years ago in Writers
My First Ever Piece
As a child, I remember starting a few stories only to end up not finishing them for whatever reason. It was only when I became an adult that I consistently began to end my stories. However, there is one story that I wrote from my childhood that I was able to finish. It was a very short story, a children’s book in all honesty, but a finished written piece nevertheless.
By Rebecca Patton3 years ago in Writers
