Christine - Lesson 5 (Flashbacks)

Flashbacks in Christine (Signet): in Chapter 2 of Christine, ("The First Argument"), Dennis is in the middle of an argument between Arnie and his parents. Then Regina turns to him and say, "Dennis, I'm surprised at you." This sets off a flashback:

This stung me. I had always liked Arnie's mom well enough, but I had never completely trusted her, at least not since something had happened when I was eight years old or so.

Arnie and I had ridden our bikes downtown to take in a Saturday afternoon movie. One the way back, Arnie had fallen off his bike while swerving to avoid a dog and had jobbed his leg pretty good. I rode him home double on my bike, and Regina took him to the emergency room, where a doctor put in half a dozen stitches. And then, for some reason, after it was all over and it was clear that Arnie was going to be perfectly fine, Regina turned on me and gave me the rough side of her tongue. She read me out like a top sergeant. when she finished, I was shaking all over and nearly crying - what the hell, I was only eight, and there had been a lot of blood. I can't remember chapter and verse of that bawling-out, but the overall feeling it left me with was disturbing. As best I remember, she started out by accusing me of not watching him closely enough-as if Arnie were much younger instead of almost exactly my own age - and ended up saying (or seeming to say) that it should have been me.

A good flashback doesn't take us away from the narrative for too long. This one (2 paragraphs) is a short and sweet. I'm often tempted to write a flashback that goes on for pages and pages - especially when still trying to figure out who the character is. These rambling tomes should be cut (see Kill Your Darlings) Also, a flashback should have a point. In this case the short narrative gives a characterization of Regina Cunningham.

Exercise: When you come upon a flashback in your story, check to see that it's short enough and has a purpose.

Carrie - Lesson 13 (Epilogue)

The Epilogue in Carrie: In "The Body" in Different Seasons, after Gordon Lachance finishes the story of Lard Ass Hogan to the gang around the fire, Teddy says, "Yeah, that's cool, then what happened?" When Gordie tells him he doesn't know, Teddy gets angry. I think of this passage every time I read one of King's stories that doesn't end until well after climax.

Carrie doesn't actually have an "Epilogue" but "Part Three: Wreckage." However, since it is only 8 pages long, for our purposes it's an Epilogue. It serves to answer the question, "Then what happened?" We see via Carrie's death certificate, an AP wire, a lengthy human interest story in the Lewiston Daily Sun and other correspondence.

I have mixed feelings about epilogues (and prologues), part of me wants a tidy economic story that doesn't need a lot of set up and wind down. On the other hand, like Teddy, I want to see what happens next. My advice would be to go ahead and write it, and cut it later. See Kill Your Darlings.

Exercise: Take a look at the Epilogue (or last chapter) of your story. Is it necessary for Story or is it simply there to answer the question, "What happens next?"

Carrie - Lesson 5 (Kill Your Darlings)

Kill Your Darlings in Carrie : "Kill your darlings" is a quote attributed to William Faulkner. This means that a writer should strike any passage that he or she finds exceptionally beautful, clever, or interesting. Why? Usually things the writer holds dear aren't exceptionally beautful, clever, or interesting. Stephen King gives this advice in On Writing, but he (like most writers) struggles with it. Here are three examples:

1. When Susan argues with Tommy over whether to ask Carrie to the prom, he states that kids don't have empathy. He says, "Kids don't even know their reactions really know their actions really, actually hurt other people." She replies, "But hardly anybody ever finds out their actions really, actually hurt other people! People don't get better, they just get smarter. when you get smarter you don't stop pulling the wings off flies, you just think of better reasons for doing it." This analogy is pretty apt, but it sounds like something Stephen King would say rather than Susan Snell.
2. Tommy finally asks Carrie out as she's leaving period five study hall. At the teacher's desk Mr. Stephens, a tall man just beginning to run to fat, was folding papers abstractedly back into his ratty brown briefcase. At the time King wrote this in the back of the fabled trailer, he had no idea he would become a celebrity. Here King appears in his own book, like Alfred Hitchcock walking down the hall in Marnie. Writers should stay out of their narratives.
3. In his excerpt from The Shadow Exploded, the author describes how Ross was remembered: "a friendly, good-natured fellow (many referred to him as 'a hell of a good shit')." Again, unless King himself were writing his non-fiction account of the Carrie White affair, I can't imagine that the admittedly funny detail would have been included.

My three examples don't wreck Carrie, and some might argue that they are the folksy kinds of things that have made King so popular. However, writers who are not Stephen King would do well to avoid them.

Exercise: Examine your work for your favorite passages. Ask yourself (honestly) if your story would be stronger without them.