September 19 – Who’s Your Pop Culture Crush?

Fan fiction has really taken off in recent years, especially with the success (relatively speaking) of several fan fiction stories that became novels and even movies. Fan fiction is a tricky kind of writing because you often have to immerse yourself in someone’s world to write about it. And it’s also tricky because of potential copyright issues, but the general rule of thumb is that if you’re not using a character to mock him or her or completely deconstruct the world in which that person is put by the original author, then you’re not doing extreme harm. Fan fiction is tough to publish because of fair use being pulled beyond its limits, but we can’t be stopped from writing stories in which we wax poetic about people we admire. And fan fiction can produce some amazing writing. But let’s extend this idea to thinking about the genre of historical fiction, which often puts famous people into fiction for specific purposes and/or uses famous settings for new stories.

 

OrphanBlackSarahProfile

 

The Prompt

 Write a story about your favorite pop culture icon or your favorite time period.

Tips

• In May, despite not knowing as much as I should about Doctor Who, I used him as a character in a short story. I wanted to have some fun with time travel, and Doctor Who made the most sense for that. I write a lot of historical fiction because I love to briefly insert famous people or famous situations into my stories. I love watching World War II films because I like to learn about what people did while wars waged in other parts of the world or even just a few miles from where a film is set.

• Who’s your pop culture crush? Maybe someone from a British drama, such as Orphan Black or Downton Abbey? Maybe someone more domestic based on where you live? Or maybe you have a famous or somewhat unknown setting in which you’d love to write a story?

• Try as best as you can to be authentic with what this person does or what happens in this setting. Sure, you could put cell phones and the Internet into Downton Abbey, and you could have Sherlock Holmes have a Southern accent, but will your readers appreciate these changes or will it unnerve them? Sometimes, you can’t worry about readers when trying to express yourself, but you have to understand that killing off everyone’s favorite pop culture icon is going to upset people more than entertain them.

• If you feel like putting several famous people into your story, do it. Of course, if you put people from different time periods or settings into your story, you might want to explain how that’s possible. And don’t always rely on time travel. Consider another way to express this idea without using tried and true methods. This is your chance to create something new.

• You’ll have many chances this month to write fun and entertaining stories. Make the most of your passion about someone you admire and adore by making us feel like we’re right there in your story. This is where taking time to research comes in handy. The Internet is your friend.

Let’s do this—and have fun!

Post a comment to the blog to let us know what you wrote about (including linking to your story on your own site or elsewhere) and/or join the community and post in the Victory Dance group.

 

Christopher Stolle is a professional book editor and sometimes writer. You can find his stories for this month at https://storiesbystolle.wordpress.com, and you can find some of his recent poems at https://www.facebook.com/stolle.poems. He has published dozens of poems in several countries, and he has written two nonfiction books for Coaches Choice: 101 Leadership Lessons From Baseball’s Greatest Managers (2013) and 101 Leadership Lessons From Basketball’s Greatest Coaches (2015). He finds inspiration in cooking, taking long walks, and ASMR videos. He lives in Richmond, Indiana—the cradle of recorded jazz.

September 14 – Perspective: What Do Others See?

 

Selfies aren’t a new phenomenon. They’ve existed for centuries in one art form or another. Like all natures of art, selfies are all about perspective. But that also extends to other kinds of art. What if your main character is someone in a piece of art by Vermeer or Rembrandt or Warhol? What does he or she see from where he or she is in that painting? What does Rodin’s The Thinker see from his seated position? What do those people in Mathew Brady’s Civil War photos see beyond the camera?

 

The-Lady-Of-Shallot

 

The Prompt

Write a story from the perspective of someone in a piece of art.

Tips

• In May, I wrote a short story that discussed the people portrayed in specific pieces of art. I thought it might be fun in September to pretend a main character in a story is in a painting. Feel free to choose your favorite painting, but you can also use sculpture, photography, or even performance art.

• I used to host and perform at many open mikes. Although humor often helped me ease into my presentations and performances, I also tried to remember that everyone there probably shared my nerves and my anticipation and my expectations. Use a similar experience in your life to help you guide your main character’s story.

• Don’t hesitate to allow your main character to interact with not only other people and things in the piece of art (if there are other people and items) but also—and especially—people and things we can’t see. You don’t have to portray a complete view. Sometimes, focusing on one other person or element or thing we can’t see can go a long way.

• If you’re having a tough time finding something that strikes your fancy, use your favorite search engine to combine something you’re passionate about with an art form. For example, search for “pizza” and “sculpture.” See where that leads—even it’s to a pizzeria.

• Don’t forget that you can use any perspective for your story. Just because you want to write about someone in a painting doesn’t mean he or she needs to be your narrator. You might even consider second person for such a story.

Let’s do this—and have fun!

Post a comment to the blog to let us know what you wrote about (including linking to your story on your own site or elsewhere) and/or join the community and post in the Victory Dance group.

 

Christopher Stolle is a professional book editor and sometimes writer. You can find his stories for this month at https://storiesbystolle.wordpress.com, and you can find some of his recent poems at https://www.facebook.com/stolle.poems. He has published dozens of poems in several countries, and he has written two nonfiction books for Coaches Choice: 101 Leadership Lessons From Baseball’s Greatest Managers (2013) and 101 Leadership Lessons From Basketball’s Greatest Coaches (2015). He finds inspiration in cooking, taking long walks, and ASMR videos. He lives in Richmond, Indiana—the cradle of recorded jazz.

September 9 – Will Reader Response Work in Fiction?

Today’s prompt is all about turning a trigger into a larger piece. We’re all inspired by something, and that likely changes daily. Today, we’ll focus on a specific inspiration and then see how each person interprets it.

 

pavane

 

The Prompt

Write a story based on Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane.”

Tips

• Listen to this orchestral piece written in 1887: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWW7pfXlYLY. As you listen to this song, what do you hear? What do you see? What kind of a scene does this song provide a soundtrack for?

• I chose this piece because of my affinity for its modern interpretation by the legendary British band Jethro Tull. Listen to the band, led by master flautist Ian Anderson, perform this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zAWQtM7X8k.

• Feel free to use either version for what you write. In fact, you might find that both provide plenty of needed scenarios.

• When I was in college, I took an education class where we learned about reader response. We discussed how to encourage students to write nonfiction essays by playing music, showing them art, and having them listen to or read short pieces of fiction or poetry. I’m curious to see how this might translate to fiction, and I think music is the best option for this experiment.

• If neither version moves you enough to inspire you to write a story, you might consider finding an instrumental that means something to you. Use that song to encourage your muse.

Let’s do this—and have fun!

Post a comment to the blog to let us know what you wrote about (including linking to your story on your own site or elsewhere) and/or join the community and post in the Victory Dance group.

 

Christopher Stolle is a professional book editor and sometimes writer. You can find his stories for this month at https://storiesbystolle.wordpress.com, and you can find some of his recent poems at https://www.facebook.com/stolle.poems. He has published dozens of poems in several countries, and he has written two nonfiction books for Coaches Choice: 101 Leadership Lessons From Baseball’s Greatest Managers (2013) and 101 Leadership Lessons From Basketball’s Greatest Coaches (2015). He finds inspiration in cooking, taking long walks, and ASMR videos. He lives in Richmond, Indiana—the cradle of recorded jazz.