Week 7

This week we read short fiction from the Indiana Review. My favorite was Mammalion Observation Project: Subject J by Brian Doyle. I thought it was interesting how he went through his day almost minute by minute or every five minutes. In class we talked about all the short shorts, and about what point of view all the stories are from.

I think it is interesting figuring out what point of view the story is coming from. But at the same time, I think it is really difficult, for me, to keep writing in the same point of view throughout the whole story. I tend to switch from third person to first person. So while I am writing I need to pay more attention to the point of view in which I am writing. We also talked about the conflict. I think it is fun figuring out what the conflict is, especially if you could debate what the conflict is. Or if there is more than one sense of conflict. When I write, I need to start with a certain type of conflict, and then build off of that. I think that would make writing a little easier, and have a sense of direction.

I think writing creatively in a short short is more limiting. There aren't as many styles I don't think. Also, I think it would be harder for me to come up with a different plots, as opposed to poetry where I feel more free. I think imitating short shorts is more difficult, because it would be pretty easy to just copy the same plot but not change much else. I also think short shorts would be harder to find inspiration. Writing like Brian Doyle did would be easy in a sense, if I had an interesting morning like that. Or just writing about what is happening throughout the day, in an interesting way would be fun.