Susan's Writings

Creating Fiction 

 Thinking About fiction

Creative Adventures: The Fiction Writer’s Apprenticeship by Charles Johnson. 

 I finished reading the last section of Chapter 1, Thinking About Fiction in Creating Writing, -Creative Adventures: The Fiction Writer’s Apprenticeship by Charles Johnson.  As I mentioned before, I consider my reading slow in the sense that reading, for me, is not only a matter of going from one page to the other but a way of finding paragraphs, sentences, even words able to trigger thoughts. I have always appreciated a thought-provoking read and reading this section of the chapter activated many thoughts in different areas, from writing to Philosophy, from creativity to my own life’s perspective and goals and many other things. I was lured by this section from the very beginning when I learned that Charles Johnson started his writing career when the idea for a philosophical novel came to him when he was a philosophy student.

 Johnson’s first novel, Faith and the Good Thing, was published in 1974 when the author was studying for this Ph.D. in phenomenology and literary aesthetics at the State University of New York at Stonybrook.

That was enough to keep my attention. Then I read about his fascination by the dilemma of Descartes when reading a book by Bertrand Russel. I felt a connection with Charles Johnson that can be due to the fact that for some time now I have been trying to find out if it would be possible to combine my philosophy studies –in progress- with my writing and other knowledge about the countless subjects that interest me. I felt the answers to some of my questions were written in this section. Therefore, I felt motivated and even more determined to make this Short Story MFA program work for me. My latest interest for screenwriting also had an answer here. Intrigued by Charles Johnson’s works I Goggled him to find out that he wrote screenplays too. Now imagine the speed of my thoughts at that moment. 

 If you want to know more about Charles Johnson: www.oxherdingtale.com/index.htm 

www.charlesjohnson.wlu.edu/ 

Johnson says that if a writer is not writing fresh material or revising, he is reading  -literature, philosophy, mythology, the science- everything that employs the word or researching and if he is not doing any of the above he is relaxing over a meal or with a book or a film, but only truly with a portion of his mind – the rest of his thoughts are mindful of how the film or book is constructed, and even at the dinner table as he sips a glass of wine he is focusing on the particular taste, smell, and feel of things so he won’t draw a blank when writing.

And that cannot be truer, when I am watching a film I am thinking of the plot, the characters, the dialogue, I wonder about the script and the scriptwriter. Sometimes when recommending a film to a friend I say “You have to see this film, it’s a very good story or the characters are great.” The other day I was getting ready to watch “Don’t forget you’re going to die,” an independent French film, and when sipping a glass of French red wine I wondered how many adjectives could it be possible to use to describe ‘wine.’ I started some research after that in case one day one of my characters is drinking wine and I need to add a good description to the scene.  

One of my all times worries has been about what to write that has not been written before and here I could start and write pages and pages about what I think about the human thoughts and the collective conscious previously described by C. Jung.  Charles Johnson says that good writing teachers would tell you to research a literary form not used for a major work in the last hundred years – some dinosaur once popular, then pushed aside by the course of evolution- then have you plot a new story updating it for the current century’s audience.

That makes me think it is a good idea but in a second thought it reminds me what once I said about not finding anything new in this world in the past centuries. Everything has already been said, invented, discovered, you name it. That concept I have applies to literature, science, music, fashion, art, film, inventions, everything. Everything is a ‘remake’ of something that has existed before.

That is my main challenge when thinking of ideas for writing.

English pubs:Home away from home 

 by Susan Fourtane 

Published on Six Degrees Magazine in December 2007.  www.6d.fi

 TODAY we will talk about the pub, an abbreviation of public house and a term invented by the Victorians. The Romans gave England its first pubs,the’tabernae,’where they served food, wine and probably the local ale, too, almost two thousand years ago.

The pub has had a unique role in English life. For centuries it has been a place to meet friends after work, talk, relax or have some pints before Sunday lunch. It functions as a living room where one can enjoy a good English beer watching sports.

With globalisation, the pubs have followed the English wherever they settle down,  making them at home. Finland is no exception; Helsinki and other cities host English pubs, but do they bring that homely warm feeling to the heart of the English? Are they true English pubs or merely themed bars?

“A good British pub doesn’t have music or television, has a selection of real ales, traditional pub games, quizzes, darts, cribbage, a friendly bunch of regulars and  serves good food at reasonable prices,”says a man from Bedfordshire,who moved to Finland a few years ago. A pub can be defined as a home away from home. What really makes the pub special is the atmosphere, the beer pumps, the selection of beers and spirits, and the intimate design. Feeling comfortable is as important as having the right landlord,“a guy who knows beer and how to keep it flowing”,says an Englishman, originally from Kent.

Offering good English beer is not enough.  Most of the English in Finland go to a pub looking for the warm homey feeling that gives real meaning to the pub. Some say the reason they are unable to find what they’re looking for is because in Helsinki none are owned or run by English people who truly understand how a real pub feels.Why not explore the English pub culture in Finland and see for yourself?

 Here are some suggestions: 

 London Pub-Live music, ciders and aleFreda 46,Helsinki 

 Mr Pickwick -Teiskontie 1,Tampere 

Black Door-Real ale and good selection of ciders, beers and whiskies. Iso Roobertinkatu 1,Helsinki 

Angleterre-Tradition since 1976. The oldest English pub in Helsinki. Real ale and the pub quiz on the first Wednesday of every month. Fredrikinkatu 47,Helsinki

The Gallows Bird-it seems to be the one with ‘the feeling’ and the real ale. It’s worth a try. Merituulentie 30, Espoo 

Copyright Susan Fourtane 2007 

 Creating Fiction 

Thinking About Fiction

My thoughts on the first two sections of Thinking About Fiction: The sections are full of good advice. I enjoyed both sections but I liked The Trigger best. There are many, many lines I could quote, lines that kept me thinking and wondering and thinking again that writing about anything is possible if we can find the right touch, the right words and the right way to do it. 

 Experience and invention is a part of the section that I liked and motivated me in a way. The fact that sometimes I’m not sure if it’s better to base the fiction story on experience or to let the imagination flow and invent a complete story. “What if . . .” I think that’s something worth to try. 

 Writing about the strongest reactions we have had, using guided imaginary or just imaginary elements if we can’t have them guided. Basically anything can trigger a story.

The ashtray. That part was surprising. If I try to do the same and I start a story with the red candle in front of the window on a winter day -that is the first thing I can see when looking up, what would it happen? Would I come up with a story? A story about what? Maybe the important thing is to think of what’s next, the next sentence and the next one and at some point I would have a paragraph and finally a story.

  And finally, not all works well or the same for all the writers. That’s quite logical as there are different learning styles.