Page 20 – Lovely County Citizen – April 18, 2013
Village View
Alison By Sandra Taylor Synar Brown
Recognize your Hidden Messages The Village Writing School will teach Subtext, High Events, and Closings at its workshop offered on April 20 and again on April 23. As you can probably guess, High Events are dramatic moments, those stair steps of climbing drama leading to the climax of the narrative arc. Closing is how to bring the story to its best ending, or rather, how to present that ending in the best manner. But what is subtext? I think of subtext as an alternative universe. You have what is presented directly by what the characters say and do and what the narrator tells. But then, there’s a whole other world going on beneath the surface. And we, the readers, pick up the clues and form our conclusions. Subtext can work at the level of the reader’s conscious, analytical mind, as we put together that the character is lying. Or subtext can work on the reader’s subconscious. You just feel that something is amiss. Any element of fiction can be used to convey subtext. Setting can convey subtext when the setting is used as an allegory to mirror a psychological condition. I use this in my novel in progress when I show my character laboring up a narrow, dark and ancient flight of stairs within an old church, mirroring the way he must fight his way up through centuries of religious accretion to reach the Mystery above. When using staging to convey subtext, the trick is to give the setting necessary weight and pace by micro detailing. Characterization is a great source of subtext. What does the character really want versus what he says he wants? This inner conflict is the stuff of great fiction, especially when it is a conflict common to the human experience. In both Moby Dick and The Great Gatsby, the main charac-
ters can’t even say exactly what they want, because it is more than just the object of their immediate desire. Dialogue is another great place to reveal subtext. In our dialogue workshop, we teach that often dialogue becomes indirect, as each character is focused on a different issue or they are both avoiding the elephant in the room. This was exactly the case in Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants, which we study in detail in our dialogue workshop. Another way that dialogue reveals subtext is through the way that the character speaks. What is his tone? Does he hesitate? Does he display nervousness? Does he over react? Is he evasive? A character’s facial and body language also reveals his underlying truth, just as they do in real life. I find it’s helpful to dissect the face into tiny bits. The slightest tension about the mouth can tell the reader volumes. It’s also important to note that subtext does not have to be in opposition to the main story. Sometimes it runs parallel and supports it, adding a deeper level of understanding about the character and his situation. The important thing to remember is that subtext is powerful. Beginning writers often create subtext without realizing it and thereby give their readers unintended messages. Learning to write subtext is like learning to handle a firearm. That’s why the Village Writing School spends a good bit of time teaching it. So that you don’t accidentally shoot your story in the foot. For more information about our workshop on Subtext, High Events, and Closings coming up this weekend contact me
at alisontaylorbrown@me.com or 479 The Village Writing School, whose mission is to foster the development of area writers 292-3665. through workshops, writers’ circles, and ••• Alison Taylor-Brown has an MFA in Fiction and a lifetime of teaching experience from preschool to university levels. She began the Community Writing Program for the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow and now directs
coaching. Her column, Notes from the Village, appears weekly. To talk to Alison about your writing goals and dreams, contact her at alisontaylorbrown@me.com or 479 2923665.
The Village Writing School coming workshops
April 20 & 23: Subtext, High Events, Closings – Mike Hancock & Alison May 18 & 21: Self-Editing and Publishing – Sanderia Smith & Alison June 15 & 18: Writing the Memoir – Rebecca Mahoney & Alison Each workshop is taught twice: on
the 3rd Saturday & the following Tuesday Saturday workshops are at the Club House at Holiday Island and Tuesday workshops are at the Garden Bistro on North Main in Eureka Springs. Cost for each all-day workshop is $45.
BLOG RIGHT – Friday, May 10 Pamela Toler and Alison