When You Sit Down to Write, Some Choices to Make

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THE MIRROR or the ARROW 

In a recent post on Writer Unboxed, Donald Maass, writing guru, wrote about the content of our stories….whether they serve as a mirror or an arrow of fate, destiny; and how they reflect the writer’s orientations to the human experience.

He states clearly, that some of us are pro-active, but that others are reactive. Some of us become wary and watchful, others are eager and on-attack. He also sets anger and forgiveness as opposites.

To help us clarify our writing, and where it is taking us, he asked questions.

Below is the question and then MY PERSONAL ANSWERS. (you can provide your own as you read. Please note: they don’t just apply to writing…they apply to LIFE. 

1. What factor most produces success, security and happiness: randomness and luck, or effort and reward?  My answer: Effort and reward

2. What is more important to have: means or virtue? 

Virtue

3. Which better describes you: warrior or survivor?  

Survivor

4. Do you see yourself as more: strongly enduring or courageously fighting? 

Strongly enduring. 

5. What better describes your life’s mission: to rescue or to win? 

I find myself in a Rescue mode. 

6. What is more important to do: preserve what is good or change what is bad?

In these days, Preserve what is good.

7. What is the better goal: to do justice or to practice forgiveness? 

Practice forgiveness

8. What we face every day is mostly…peril or opportunity? 

Opportunity…thats a positive answer. 

9. What is better to have…individual freedom or group cooperation? 

Group cooperation  I think it will get us farther. 

10. Which is better to have…faith or reason? 

In these current days, I choose faith.

11. What guides you is…mainly God or mainly yourself?  

Myself

12. Works of fiction should primarily show us…how we are or what we should do?  

How we are!  

 

Now, let’s think about the Application. After answering these questions, how do our answers apply to our writing, or life goals?  

My novel sets up Jude, who cleans floors in the hospital, against, Ella, a labor and delivery RN;

Ella is a rule follower…she has succeeded by being this person. Jude breaks rules to survive.

Ella would hate her world to come apart because someone broke society’s rule, which is what Jude does.

To be strong and stand for something, is also to stand strong against something else.

Stories with impact take a definite stand.

Stories ask: what value do you wish to uphold? What virtue do you try to live by? How far would you go to uphold what you believe?

FINAL THOUGHT

When writing a blog post or a novel, Donald Maass is stressing that: our natures unconsciously underlie how we approach a story. He stresses that there is NO RIGHT WAY.

But he also wants writers to be aware. If a writer knows which way he or she leans…being an arrow or a mirror…the writer can realize that what comes onto the page, will often reflect how he or she reacts to true human experience. 

Now let’s summarize:

• Mirror/Stories of Fate: randomness and luck, virtue, survivor, strongly enduring, rescue, change what is bad, practice forgiveness, peril, group cooperation, reason, guide yourself, show us who we are.
• Arrow/Stories of Destiny: effort and reward, means, warrior, courageously fighting, win, preserve what is good, do justice, opportunity, individual freedom, faith, guided by God, show us what we should do.

Thanks for reading.   Are you writing from an Arrow or a Mirror perspective? Would love your comments, Beth