If I had to describe myself, it would be in a word that has many meanings with a complexity which falls off the tongue.
A word made up of many elements, is deceptive in appearance, and creates an illusion from the imagination.
My word would be Phantasmagoric. ~Summer Ross

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Publication and Spielberg class

After waiting, I finally received word on my flash fiction piece. Pill Hill Press has decided to publish my flash fiction  "The Game" in their flash fiction anthology for 2012. As soon as I hear more on it I will let all of you know. I'm supper excited!


 I still have two more submissions out, one is a fiction short story and one is a nonfiction short story.


I only have  four more rejections to hit my goal of 20 rejections for my 2011 collage. WooHoo!

I had my Director Spielberg class this last weekend and it was a great class- despite minor technical problems. I watched Jaws, ET, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Naturally I have some terrific notes to share with you all on this class. Don't worry I will only give you details that I can relate to writing:


I learned a great deal over Friday and Saturday. However, the most interesting thing I have taken from this class so far is a narrative structure. Spielberg evidently is very structured in his films and I'm going to try to apply his structure in some way to my writing.


The following structure is based on Horror- but I thought these might be helpful to any writer-


There are four movements in this narrative structure-
1) Advent
 This is where somebody dies or is attacked at the start of the film. I find this to be very similar to the idea of a hook at the start of a story.


 2) Discovery
 This section speaks almost for itself. This is where someone finds out what happens like in Jaws- the MC discovers the body of a girl who was attacked by something.


3) Confirmation
This is the believer VS the skeptic and depends on rational understanding- take Jaws for example the MC knows deep down it was a shark attack and the Mayor denies it and plays it off so he can keep the beaches open. But when the beaches stay open there is a little boy attacked and eaten in front of everyone, and then again the shark shows itself to everyone on the 4th of July. People are confirming the shark is really there and hurting people.
According to my Professors this is the most important element of this narrative structure.
To me this is what creates suspense and moves the story forward.


 4) Confrontation
Naturally this is an important element and in a horror narrative structure this is where they confront the creature, like the shark and either send it back from whence it came or destroy it.


 Happy writing everyone and have a fairy great day!





22 comments:

Old Kitty said...

Super duper and mega CONGRATULATIONS on the acceptance of your flash story!!! YAYAYYAYAYYAYAYAY!!!! I am doing a happy dance for you!!!!!

Your Spielberg class sounds amazing - thanks for sharing these narrative tips here! Take care
x

erica and christy said...

Yay Summer!! I know someone else who was published by Pill Hill Press and he has only nice things to say about them. And, well, since it's the solstice today, yay summer!!
erica

Hilary said...

Hi Summer - that's fantastic news - let's hope the others come to fruition too ..

The course sounds really interesting and glad you're enjoying it .. Cheers for now .. Hilary

Kittie Howard said...

First, congrats on your flash fiction selection, Summer! That's great! It's inspiring how you manage both school and your professional life with such optimism and accomplishment. Thanks for sharing those four points and linking them to movie events that remain in memory.

Cherie Reich said...

Congrats for the acceptance! The Spielberg class sounds cool.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Congrats SUMMER!

That is awesome. I just love hearing about friends getting their works published.

The class sounds really interesting.

Nicole Zoltack said...

Yay, congrats on your acceptance!

Suze said...

This bears similarities to the hero's journey, which has many more stages and characters (archetypes.)

Happy writing to you, too! Today is an important day for faeries-- solstice. :)

Bethany Elizabeth said...

CONGRATS on your flash fiction piece! That's so cool. :) And great notes from your class, it sounds like it'd be so much fun to take.

Deborah Walker said...

Congratulations, Summer. That's wonderful news.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations! And thanks for sharing that information from your class.

Golden Eagle said...

Congratulations on your story! :)

Thank you for sharing your notes from the class.

laughingwolf said...

grats, summer!

thx for the tips, too... :)

Elena Solodow said...

Congratulations on your upcoming publication - that's great news!

Josie Two Shoes said...

Hi Summer! Thank you for dropping by Write A Letter Wednesday. We'd love to have you join us in sharing letters written as posts! You can write a letter to whoever or whatever inspires you, on any topic you like, or you can use the weekly prompt to get you started. We will look forward to seeing what you have written to share! Letter writing is not a lost art! :)

~Josie Two Shoes~
Two Shoes In Texas 
Monday Memories
Write A Letter Wednesday
Words In Motion

dolorah said...

congrats on the publication. And thanks for sharing the Speilberg class :)

........dhole

Alleged Author said...

Thank you so much for sharing about your class. Glad to see my MG horror is on par with your notes. And MANY congratulation on your submission being accepted. Go you!

N. R. Williams said...

Oh yes, the words are different but the concept is the same.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium

M Pax said...

Congrats on the flash getting accepted for publication. Hooo! Great going.

Nice notes on Spielburg story structure. Very nice.

Anonymous said...

Congratulation on your story, Summer! And I love studying film making. I wrote two screenplays a few years ago that I'd like to get back to, now that I've learned more about what you talk about here. One can learn a lot about how to write fiction of any genre by studying the narrative structure of films, especially Spielberg's. An excellent post!
Ann Best, Memoir Author

RosieC said...

CONGRATULATIONS on your piece being accepted. How exciting! I'm doing a little fairy happy dance in your honor :)

Great notes on structure. Thanks for sharing them.

Carol Riggs said...

Big congrats on your flashfic getting into the anthology! YAY! (haha, Rosie doing a little fairy happy dance; that's appropriate!)

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