Writing circle notes (6. October, 1996)
This document serves as a literary time capsule from October, 1996, capturing the candid and collaborative atmosphere of a small writer’s circle known as the “Soup Council”. The following notes offer a rare glimpse into the creative process, showcasing how writers navigated the nuances of “showing vs. telling,” technical consistency, and the emotional weight of personal storytelling during the late 90s.
To protect the privacy of the participants, all names have been anonymized (except mine).
Attendees: Sam, Lee, and Vane.
Topics: Magicity (Sam), Animal Control (Lee), Wednesday...day [final draft] (Vane), and general silliness.
Magicity (Sam)
<Sam> so are you folks willing to talk about the experiment I sent you?
<Vane> Ok.
<Lee> I felt distanced by the way you told this story
<Lee> I’m not saying the plot isn’t fine, but somehow it felt told to me, not like it was happening
<Vane> Hmm. I felt it lacked a certain momentum.
<Sam> oh ok .... I wasn’t sure what you meant by distanced
<Lee> I think it’s the use of all those he had’s
<Lee> What tense is that?
<Sam> the story started as an attempt to write an intimate love scene
<Lee> It’s further in the past than normal
<Sam> to see if I could do it
<Sam> and the story was what I came up with as context for that
<Lee> I know I can’t.
<Sam> I had never tried before
<Lee> Just recently got an article about that in the Writer’s Digest
(At this point Lee promised to send it to us)
<Vane> It’s difficult, yes.
<Sam> I got told by two women that it is almost too real ... if that makes sense
<Vane> Hmm. I’m not quite sure what that means, Sam.
<Lee> The sex scene isn’t bad, it’s the shell
<Lee> The buildup is the problem, and as you said, it’s an afterthought
<Sam> is it fixable? do you think?
<Lee> Take a look at the tenses
<Lee> Do you really wanna do the whole thing as an event in Jack’s past?
<Sam> Vane ... one of them it made uncomfortable ... and the other found the ending way to sad
<Vane> Aha. I see.
<Sam> welll ..... I was thinking it that way .... and I guess I am not sure how it would be brought forward Lee
<Lee> I think you would do better without the “he had made olive pasta” and all that
<Lee> Better to just say stuff like “he hummed under his breath as he drained the noodles’
<Lee> Stuff like that, you know. Let us live it with him.
<Lee> Don’t recite it.
<Sam> Vane ... what did you mean when you said lack of momentum?
<Sam> Lee ... did the characters seem real to you?
<Lee> There’s not a lot of characteriztion there
<Lee> See normally you don’t say what someone is like, they do stuff and you see what they’re like
<Sam> hmmmm ..., maybe that is part of the problem with the shell then
<Lee> So they have to do stuff, you know?
<Lee> How did Jack take Val’s death? Not sure.
<Lee> Does he take sensual pleasure in cooking, or does he do it as a chore? Not sure.
<Vane> The moment where the magic disappeared was understated. Not sure of how to explain it, really. Just a sense, really.
<Lee> So how do we know Meg’s anxious for her party...not sure
<Sam> those are good examples Lee ... I need to work on expanding what I write
<Sam> and up till now I have been at a bit of a loss as to how to do it
<Lee> The fact is the magic itself needs more explanation
<Sam> you are giving me great ideas
<Lee> Then we get more of a flat feeling when it goes
<Lee> As it is, there’s not much contrast
Animal Control (Lee)
<Sam> that story you sent Lee ....... WOW!!!
<Sam> so are we gonna talk stories this week or was your ignoring of my compliment a hint Lee?
<Sam> Lee ... I know you said that story wasn’t for here ... but it was terrific
<Lee> I think at this point I should have more of my own style
<Sam> the only place I can see is if you dumped out the character development of the little boys
<Lee> The hospital bit?
<Sam> cause even being brutal with the language ... you couldn’t cut more that half a page I don’t think
<Vane> Actually, I don’t think it needs any editing
<Lee> I didn’t think there’s much I can do with it
<Lee> Nothing I could sell
<Lee> It’s been printed of course, in the college litmag
<Sam> well ... I had to read it through once I started Lee ... I wanted to know what happened
<Sam> I loved miss Lucille
<Lee> She’s very much based on my grandmother, except her looks
<Sam> and the line about being deprived of Jeanne really hooked me and twisted my gut
<Lee> I didn’t change much, the frame is stolen from my family
<Sam> I understand what you mean about ti being old and not what you would write now Lee ... that is a problem in terms of getting back to it ... but I thinkyou underestimate the quality
<Lee> If it were a quarter the length I’d have entered it in the SC fiction project
<Lee> But there’s no way I can see to take down that far
<Sam> no ... I am clueless about pages and words ... how many words is it about?
<Lee> Roughly 8,000
<Lee> About 4 times as long as it should be, for the content
Wednesday...day [final draft] (Vane)
<Sam> oog ... the return of oog
Vane is now known as Oog
<Oog> I made some changes but I’m not sure about a couple of them.
<Oog> Anyway.
<Sam> well ... it is a bit longer ... and I noticed some of the spots you elaborated Vane
<Lee> Hm, I liked the budget issue bit as it was
<Sam> I liked the expansion of the election bit
<Lee> It’s in present tense, that’s all
<Lee> You probably should stick to one tense
<Lee> I do love the election bit
<Oog> Aha.. I’ll alter that. It does kinda jump out.
<Oog> Is it right to say:...
<Oog> it all came down to Oog.
<Sam> yes
<Oog> I know there’s a better way to express that.
<Oog> It sounds a little phony to my ear.
<Oog> But a lot of things do <sigh>
<Sam> well ... there are a bunch of idioms
<Lee> Yeah, it’s correct idiom
<Lee> I have but one question
<Lee> Do we get more Oogs?
<Lee> Audiobooks help....mmmm
Lee writes that down
<Sam> one tiny factual point Vane :) ..... the song was by Buffalo Springfield ... not Mommas and th Poppas :)
<Oog> Ok, so I should alter that tense bit.
<Lee> THAT’s who it’s by
<Oog> Really? I’ll alter that too. Suits better, even.
<Sam> the buffalo ref is appropos
<Lee> Bison on the cave wall and all, huh?
<Oog> Thanks, I’d hate to have that one wrong.