Creative Writing Advice

The following advice will appear on Bridle Path Press's website in September.

Thanks. Preston

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Rhyme and Reason in Fiction



In fiction, rhyme can be defined as the form it takes, the sound it makes when it quakes, the taste and shape of the bread it bakes.

Reason, of course, is the tale it tells, the storm it quells when it casts its spell, the sense that it makes.

Let's say you've written a piece that sits on the page dishwater dull. It just doesn't feel right, it doesn't sound right, though it tells the tale you wish it to tell.

Reason is easy, but you already know that; the problem is in the rhyme.

Perhaps you might try writing it as a letter, a diary, a short story, a novel, a song.

Try writing it as a ditty, a screenplay, or even a poem--maybe a very long poem, like Don Juan.

Even if the story is mostly true,

Feel free to lie;

To paraphrase John Dufresne,

Fiction is the truth borne by the lie.

And what words should be used, in the expressing of this most of honest lies?

To find out, experiment with point of view. Change from third person to first. Consider who is telling the story and how.

Is it told in a Northern, a Midwestern, a Southern accent? Or uttered with a shy, embarrassed lisp? Is the teller of the tale wise or foolish? Is the tale told about, or told by, the semiliterate, the genius? Is the teller telling it to you, or do you eavesdrop as she, or he, tells it to someone else?

Remember: What your fiction sounds like is as important as what it means.

You must also consider the time of the story. Does it take place now or back then? Is it told as a memory? Is it told in present or past tense?

Does it start at the rather pedestrian beginning, or at the end retracing its steps? Or even in medias res?

And the pacing, you can feel the time in this too. Is it slow like a leisurely walk or breathless like running?

Finally, for best effect, these rhyme choices must be consistent with each other.

Always remember:

The way the story is told

Must be on one accord

With what is being told

And who is telling it.