These are the narrative arcs to which we are accustomed. It’s that line that charts the plot and action, that’s swollen and pregnant with meaning about to come. The slow rise of setting up a story, hitting that climax, and then the denouement.
In other words:
Many essays and stories, however, are more complicated than this. There are so many stories and arcs going on, so many stages of development and meaning that a simple beginning-middle-end cannot apply to these written works.
In other words:
You may be thinking that the above diagram is confusing instead of helpful. You are right. Sort of. It is confusing because narrative arc can be complex. Not every person in an essay rises to its climax at the same time. Thus, there are no word orgies. But there is a relationship there.
The narrator starts to develop more as the story builds in events and meaning. The more problematic situations she is placed in, the more we can understand her own complexity.
Let me state right now that I haven’t given any inclination that the narrative arc has to be a chronologicaly-told one. As Jody Bates explains in her craft essay, not every story has to start at the beginning and end at the end.
In other words:
Or, if you’re a definition-defying narrative arc genius, then perhaps this:
Whatever your narrative arc is, it eventually has to lead to something that answers the question the essay is posing, or at least acknowledge that it’s there. You can start where ever you want to start in an essay, and you can end whenever you want to end. And in between all of that is some connective tissue that clasps onto every facet of the arc, that makes an essay incredibly strong.
Questions
What is the general beginning, middle, and end of each of the essays you read this week?
Thinking about chronology and time, in what ways do you think Hirt’s organization of her essay strengthen the narrative? In what ways did it weaken the narrative?
Pelster uses both past and present tense in “Inheritance.” If she had written the whole essay in just present tense, would the essay have a different move? What if it was all in past tense? Would that change the tone?
What do the time stamps bring to the story in Crosley’s essay? Do they strengthen her story or weaken it at all?
Writing Exercises
Think of one of the weirdest or most complicated day you have ever experienced. Write out the events of the day in the same way that Crosley does. Make up times if you can’t remember them.
Think of a moment in your life when you felt complete love and joy for the world. In one brief paragraph, describe an aspect or part of this moment in past tense. Then, write it in present tense. Then, you guessed it, write the same story in future tense.
Write about your grandparents or anyone you have known for years and describe the arc and details of your relationship through physical features of you and this person. Have you seen wrinkles grow? What about hairstyles? Show the passing of time through these physical traits.
Chelsey Clammer received her MA in Women’s Studies from Loyola University Chicago and MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop program. She has been published in The Rumpus, Atticus Review, and The Nervous Breakdown among many others. She is an award-winning and Pushcart Prize nominated essayist.
A metaphor is an analogy identifying one object with another and ascribing to the first object one or more of the qualities of the second…. The tenor is the idea being expressed or the subject of the comparison; the vehicle is the image by which this idea is conveyed or the subject communicated. (A Handbook to Literature)
Metaphor and Simile
The simplest distinction between kinds of comparison, and usually the first one grasped by beginning students of literature, is between metaphor and simile. A simile makes a comparison with the use of like or as, a meatphor without. Thought this distinction is technical, it is not entirely triviial, for a metaphor demands a more literal acceptance. If you say, “A woman is a rose,” you ask for an extreme suspension of disbelief, whereas “A woman is like a rose” acknoledges the artifice in the statement . . . . (Writing Fiction)
The Cliche Metaphor
Cliche metaphors are metaphors so familiar that they have lost the force of their original meaning. They are inevitably apt comparisons; if they were not, they would’t have been repeated often enough to become cliches. But such images fail to surprise, and we blame the writer for this expenditure of energy without a payoff. (Writing Fiction)
The Far-Fetched Metaphor
Far-fetched metaphors are the opposite of cliches: They surprise but are not apt. As the dead metaphor far-fetched suggests, the mind must travel too far to carry back the likeness, and too much is lost on the way. When such a comparison does work, we speak laudatorily of a “leap of the imagination.” But when it does not, what we face is in effect a failed conceit: The explantation of what is alike about these two things does not convince. Very good writers in the search for originality sometimes fetch too far. (Writing Fiction)
The Mixed Metaphor
Mixed metaphors are so called because they ask us to compare the original image with things from two or more different areas of reference: As you walk the path of life, don’t founder on the reefs of ignorance. Life can be a path or a sea bu it cannot be both at the same time. The point of the metaphor is to fuse two images in a single tension. The mind is adamantly unwilling to fuse three. (Writing Fiction)
The Obscure and Overdone Metaphor
Obscure and overdone metaphors falter because the author has misjudged the difficulty of the comparison. The result is either confusion or an insult to the reader’s intelligence. In the case of obscurity, a similarity in the author’s mind isn’t getting onto the page. (Writing Fiction)
Metaphor in Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman
There are many craft elements to value and cherish within Edith Pearlman’s Binocular Vision, but arguably, one of the more cherished beauties is how she earns extended metaphor within a single, short paragraph. In the short story, “Inbound,” the narrator, Sophie, makes a connection between a comment made by her father and her little sister, Lily, who has Down’s Syndrome:
“Lily clarifies life,” Sophie had heard her father say to one of his friends. Sophie didn’t agree. Clarity you could get by putting on glasses; or you could skim foam off warm butter—her mother had shown her how—leaving a thin yellow liquid that couldn’t even hold crackers together. Lily didn’t clarify; she softened things and made them sticky. Sophie and each parent had been separate individuals before Lily came. Now all four melted together….
In this very short paragraph, Pearlman introduces and earns an organic and extended metaphor born from the narrative versus a metaphor or analogy imposed upon the narrative in a way that feels forced and author driven.
Often, we struggle with metaphor: how to discover metaphor within the organic textures of our narratives rather than force metaphors upon our narratives.
In the above example from “Inbound,” the reader senses a depth of history, characterization, connection and foreshadowing, all accomplished within a short paragraph. The craft is so smooth and certain one might assume the passage came swiftly and without much effort; however, it may have taken Pearlman months or even years to perfect this single paragraph. Then again, it might have come to her in a single moment. However this passage came to Perlman, it was born so thoroughly from the characters—Sophie, her sister, mother and father—that it is not only believable, it is essential.
Searching Mundane and Common Character Details for Authentic Metaphors
The simplicity of butter and the process of clarifying is a mundane detail, a cooking lesson common between mothers and daughters. The father using this common detail to explain Sophie’s sister and her impact upon the family is believable. Sophie questioning detail and its accuracy provides a turn and defining moment for Sophie. She is a girl who values logic and keeps her own counsel. In this short paragraph, Pearlman earns our interest, our trust and our wonder.
Writing Exercise
Choose a short story you’ve already written. Scan the story for a metaphor you would like to further explore and revise then ask the following. Does the metaphor:
Connect one or more main characters from the chapter or preceding several paragraphs?
Further the reader’s knowledge of the narrator and/or protagonist?
Provide a sense of foreshadowing?
Provide an organic sense of detail that suits the setting and characters? (For instance, are you using a medieval reference for a contemporary character who knows little to nothing about medieval history?)
This last question is key. Too often writers will force metaphor and detail upon their characters because the detail is interesting to the writer. In early drafting phases this is okay because the writer is still in an exploration phase of the writing process. However, in later revisions, the writer must be weary of how closely the details reflect self and/or character and be on alert for moments when the writer’s details have taken over the character’s details. When our characters begin showing us where they are different than us, our characters are taking true form and shape. Of course, there are writers who write self again and again, and this can work, but the writer must still ask whether or not the characters have been fully explored.
Writing Guidelines
First Draft: As you explore and rewrite the metaphor, remember, this will essentially be a first draft again so let your creativity go where it needs to go. If you discover something entirely new about your characters, allow this to continue, keep writing. You might find you have an entirely new story or an additional story. This is okay. Let your characters lead you.
Second Draft: You aren’t under any quick turnaround deadlines, so take your time with this draft. Don’t worry yet about the line edits and so on. Be curious and authentic to your narrative and characters. Ask questions, logic questions, personality questions, detail questions.
Third Draft: Read through again, and revise for language and lyricism. Now, lay the work aside for at least a day, few weeks, months, before your next step. In the meantime, explore another metaphor from the same work or another work.
Work with a Reedsy Editor for Individualized Attention
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Chiaroscuro is the use of deep and subtle contrasts of light and dark in order to create a more dramatic effect. This variation of light and dark creates shadows, nuances and textures within an overall work, both visual works and textual works. As you navigate the first days of parenting, you may notice how very different our expectations of parenting and the actuality of parenting can be. Use this expected and actual contrast, the positives and negatives, the light and dark of parenting to create a sense of irony and humor. You will likely have very little time to write, except when the baby is sleeping, and then you probably need to sleep, pick up, make a meal…. Here are some tips from veteran writers who have navigated the difficulties of being a new parent and still being a writer.
Finding Time to Write
Here are a few suggestions:
Send yourself text messages with story ideas so you don’t forget!
Keep a small journal in the bedroom, by the bed, the bathroom, the kitchen, in the car, in your baby bag, by your favorite place on the couch. Have a small journal, such as a Moleskine, in each of these locations so when inspiration AND exhaustion are competing, you can more easily jot down that story idea without having to search through the house.
Small spurts of narrative count! Don’t worry about writing an entire story draft in a single sitting. A few lines will do. It might take longer, but at least you are recording your creativities along the way.
If you’re working and parenting a newborn AND still trying to be a writer, leave for work fifteen minutes early. Run through drive-thru for your coffee then find a place to park and sit with your journal for a few minutes. Let this space be creative time. Even if all you can concentrate on is how incredibly tired you are, write about that. Just a paragraph. Designate your spouse or a family member to be on point for a half hour in the morning while you get your coffee, write a few words and get yourself to work. You deserve it. (It is very easy to let ourselves become “guilty moms and dads,” feeling like if we turn the phone off for even fifteen minutes, some tragedy will strike, but as long as you have someone responsible and who you trust on point for that short time period, you can feel confident and have a bit of time to yourself and check your messages when you turn it back on. The world will still be there if you take a short breather.)
Read your favorite author to your baby while you’re are feeding or napping. Babies don’t know the context of the language, only the tone. Reading is an essential part of keeping your narrative creativities flowing. And don’t hesitate to jot a note or two in the back of your favorite novel or collection. When inspiration hits, any writing surface is fair game!
Most of all, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. With a newborn, you are going to be exhausted and many things you might want to do perfectly and quickly will simply take more time, so give yourself that time. If you are a writer who was used to writing of the first draft of a short story in a single sitting, retrain your craft so that you can dedicate your creativities to a short story draft over a week or two weeks, a month, letting the first draft come out imperfectly along the way. You can take as much time as you need to perfect it later.
The Many Shades of Narrative Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro is a foundational element in developing excellent narrative. It can be incorporated into nearly every facet of storytelling. Though literary narrative takes a less dramatic arc as what a more commercial narrative would (we do not write car chases and blowing up city scenes, usually), we do write a great deal of emotional highs and lows into our character arcs.
Consider the following contrasts as you write your parenting narratives, whether you are working in nonfiction, fiction or whatever your chosen form is:
Setting: Think of setting chiaroscuro as the paint and the background on the canvas. How do you use light and dark within the visual, auditory, aromatic and sensual (the see, hear, smell, taste and touch) details of your settings?
Moralistic/Ethical: Is there a spectrum of innocence and sin? Are you setting the moral compass of your characters/subjects or are you allowing them to work through the highs and lows of being human and fallible on the page? Fallible parents are human, connective and accessible to readers.
Pacing: Are you allowing for a variable speed? Slow and quick?
Language: Does your diction change from character to character? Do your sentences vary in length and poetic vehicles?
Reading to Our Babies
What is your favorite novel, collection or nonfiction? Start reading this now to your baby, every chance you get. Your child will love the sound of your soothing voice and the context makes no matter. Just read it melodiously. One mistake that many parents make, when having their first baby, is they lose a sense of self and aesthetic, replacing it with a person they think they should be for their child, when the person they are organically is exactly the person they should be. This lack of confidence in self can be a leading cause of postpartum depression. It is true that parenting changes us all and in many ways for the better, but instead of changing self completely, try “bending self.” If your favorite book of all time is Brett Easton Ellis’ Less than Zero, by all means, read it to your baby. She has no idea what you’re saying, she just likes the sound of your voice. Of course, as our children grow older, we must make choices as to what we feel is appropriate at what age, but babies are an easy audience.
Flavorwire put together a fantastic top 50 list of bedtime books every parent should read to her or his child. We highly recommend this list, including Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Sometimes, we just need to know that we aren’t bad parents. Neighbors is a film that is guaranteed to help you feel better about any parenting mistake you might have made, today.
Now Write!
If you can find time during the daily chaos and family, jot notes. Jot them wherever you can. If you do well with taking audio notes on your iPhone, do it. Find an easy go to recording system so when inspirtaion hits, you can quickly get the idea out of your head and onto paper or in your smartphone so you won’t feel like you’re “missing” creative time. This feeling of missing out on your creativity can be really difficult for writers, artists, musicians. Value your need to find creative time. Make sure that your spouse or supporting family member or best friend understands this and values it, too.
Try to record the moments that strike you as particularly humorous, dichotic, ironic and resonant. Wait until you have a stretch of time, whenever that is, to go back and read your notes.
As you review your notes:
Consider which of these recorded moments jump out as the most cathartic and emotional.
Choose the two main people in this moment and assign them as subjects of your essay or characters in your fiction.
Once you’ve identified the moment and the main subjects/characters, explore the subjects/characters. Consider this primary moment from each individual perspective and write the scene/moment from each subject/character perspective.
Then move onto another moment….
Before long, you may find you have a longer work developing or you may find that you have an excellent short short work under 1000 words. Either way, keep this exploration and let it grow gradually. Don’t feel like you need to clean it up right away and send it off. Let it marinate, grow and speak to you. If you find you have something that sticks, consider sharing it with us in one of our group workshops, such as Short Story I, Personal Essay, Magic Realism I, The Bukowski Workshop, Mindfulness + Writing, Poetry I or any other that strikes you as suited to your work.
Writing Guidelines and Process for When You Have a Stretch of Time
First Draft: As you write the first draft, let your creativity go where it needs to go. First drafts are meant to be messy and creatively uninhibited. After writing the first draft, lay it to the side for at least a day before looking at it again. Many writers prefer to give it a few weeks or even a month. In the meantime, start working on another narrative or set of notes.
Second Draft: You aren’t under any quick turnaround deadlines, so take your time with this draft. Don’t worry yet about the line edits and so on. This is an exploration draft. Consider what in the narrative stands out. How well do you know your narrator, protagonist and antagonist? Spend more time with your characters and really focus on them. Where do you lose interest? What is incomplete and what can be more surgically detailed? Consider, during this revision, how the two characters interact and what that might mean in a sociopolitical and/or human relationship way. How do they foil each other? Flesh out any sections that might further reflect this sociopolitical undercurrent of the work but be careful not to make this undercurrent too obvious. Let the reader have room to work this out for him or herself. Remember, we don’t answer questions for our readers, we simply prompt our readers to ask good questions. Giving our readers room to make meaning for themselves within our narratives is a sign of artistic and literary excellence. This is also an excellent time to explore more than one PoV. (See the next lesson for a great PoV exercise.)
Third Draft: Read through again, and revise for language and lyricism. Now, lay the work aside for at least a day, few weeks, months, before your next step. In the meantime, start another narrative or set of notes.
Fourth Draft: Now read your most recent revision aloud as you record yourself. Upon listening to your recording, consider any language issues in your revision. You might also ask a trusted reader to read the manuscript aloud to you as you sit with your own copy and make revisions. Read it aloud to your baby, again and again. Imagine how fun it will be to tell your son or daughter, when they are older, that they were your first audience for the short story you had published. Hearing our language aloud is one of the quickest and surest ways to improve pacing, tone, and cadence.
It is always a good idea to give yourself time and space to begin this process of revision again, starting with the first draft suggestions. Anytime you rewrite any significant portion of a narrative, it will affect the rest of the narrative flow and so it is wise to begin the revision process again. Remember, revision is always a marathon, never a sprint.
Chelsey Clammer received her MA in Women’s Studies from Loyola University Chicago and MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop program. She has been published in The Rumpus, Atticus Review, and The Nervous Breakdown among many others. She is an award-winning and Pushcart Prize nominated essayist. 
