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After reading Alice LaPlantes "Raising the Curtain, Beginning Your Story” I felt like this was a shot of medicine. I needed to read this chapter badly because I feel like the beginning of my story is rough. In other words this chapter “came in clutch” as the young whippersnappers say. One of the biggest take away from the reading is to never never break a promise that you make in the opening of your story. On pages 366 and 367 for example, LePlante explains how this leads to many other factors which could in turn make your story boring. “To break promise is to disappoint or frustrate your reader.” I also like how she went into detail of what a good opening consists of such as keeping the reader wondering, establishment of tone, introduction of situations etc. I remember reading Sandra Cisneros Woman Hollering Creek a couple of years ago and how much I genuinely enjoyed reading the story. To me, the story has a good opening where it sets up the situation and introduces the characters. As a reader though, I can’t explain what it was about the opening that had me hooked to the story and had me wanting more. It had the “It” factor that a good story should have.
ReplyDelete-Marco Garza
Like Marco mentioned above, I too really needed to read LaPlante’s Chapter Eleven “Raising the Curtain” because my story openings need some work. Now I understand why some of my stories that begin with backstory don’t grab the reader. Some key takeaways for me are to work on opening with some action or suspense to convince the reader to keep reading. I had never heard of using the “ABCDE pattern: Action, Backstory, Conflict, Denouement, Ending” for structuring a story (371). While I think following a formulaic pattern might strangle creativity, I might need to use that as a loose guide while I’m learning the craft. The exercises on pages 374-5 are really helpful as I rethink the opening for the story I’m currently working on.
ReplyDeleteI love Sandra Cisneros and “Woman Hollering Creek.” Cisneros is so good at creating sympathetic characters like poor Cleofilas. She tells us a simple story from an objective point of view about a woman who dreams of passion and love like in the telenovelas but ends up in an abusive relationship. The narrator doesn’t judge whether the situation is good or bad. We can see it and make up our own minds about it. I like how the feminist character, Felice, who helps Cleofilas is a nice contrast that shows the reader (and Cleofilas) possibilities and hope for a better future.
-Dorie Garza
Intros are something I never think of, I always felt that as I write the story the intro would come in later, to me most intros always seem boring to me no matter the writer, so I usually just read through them. I feel the intro is just a second cover, and if I really want to get an idea of the story I'm not going to find it till I get to the 5th page, that’s why I like the whole starting in the middle idea LaPlante brings up because it gets me straight to the story, and while beginning with action is along the same lines it does not seem as interesting because it seems a bit forced at times like the writer is telling me I'm obligated to keep on reading because something big is going on. I feel that starting a story in a regular way by setting up the scene is the hardest one out of all the intro techniques because it has the most potential to fall flat, the writer may be striving for a grand entrance with beautiful descriptions and end up with a cliché mess that feels more boring than grand adventure. Besides my thoughts on intros LaPlante helped me get a better understanding behind choices other writers have taken.
ReplyDeleteEduardo Castellanos
I think Chapter Eleven is full of advice that a writer should always go back to. Sure the rest of this text does as well, but I would argue that the thing writer’s usually struggle with the most is starting a new story. You can have a masterfully crafted world, engaging characters, and intriguing plot, but if you don’t stick the landing with your beginning then who will want to live in the pages of your story. For me, there’s always been a hesitancy to start in medias res. I know that the writer should have faith in their readers ability to piece together what’s happening, but there’s a certain fear to allowing myself to launch them into things. I want to guide them, because this is my story and I want to make sure they reach the end. I need to work on that and I found the idea of tearing up the first three pages you write, as suggested by Chekhov, the most fascinating. It might even release some of that tension to get the beginning just write, because you’re going to be throwing that out anyways.
ReplyDeleteWoman Hollering Creek pulled us in with some of the techniques mentioned in Chapter Eleven. We have a character that is out of their element, in a strange new place, she’s just been married, and there’s talk of soured love. We want to know who this Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez character is and why Cleofilas wants to return home. Besides that, I have family in Seguin and it was interesting to see these familiar places from a different perspective - one that doesn’t see this strange place as home.
-Joaquin Castillo
The readings were on chapter 11 of Alice LaPlante’s book and Sandra Cisneros’s ‘Woman Hollering Creek’. In high school, I had been introduced to some of Sandra Cisneros work like ‘The House on Mango Street’ (or at least briefly read small pieces of hers). Just like in high school and with this reading there is a strong impression of her beginning ‘paragraph’ which in reality is just one full sentence. This ties in well with chapter 11 as it focuses on the beginning of a story. Beginnings of stories are always the hardest part for me especially the first sentence compared to plot and character making. In regards to chapter 11, the ABCDE pattern is something new I learned as a possible formula in writing. Although I had never knew the ABCDE formula, I have heard about various ways to start an opening which included the action/suspense approach. Further, I loved the quote LaPlante used by Ursula LeGuin saying, ‘“First sentences are doors to worlds”’ as a way to describe the impact first sentences have on a story which is another reason why I place an importance on this difficult step of creating the first words to my story.
ReplyDeleteSylvia Lopez
My intros are always difficult for me to be pleased with it. I always want to change it because I believe it still needs work in order to be successful. I feel like the intro is one of the most important parts of the stories because it is what captures most of the reader’s attention and it is something that will make them want to continue to read. So after reading LaPlantes “Raising the Curtain, Beginning your Story” was great to read. It helped me get a better understanding about how an intro should be made in order to get the reader’s attention and keep it throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteSandra Cisneros story “Woman Hollering Creek” was a good read. It has sympathy for the characters of the story. Mostly for the main character who gets beaten by her husband because he is not making enough money to keep their increasing family going. I felt bad for Cleofilas because she never had a role model who was a women to help guide her in life. She learned everything from novelas and kept her faith in them for a long time which now seems like it was not the best choice for her to do but I am glad that there is hope for her.
-Leslie Perez
Chapter 11 brings us some very useful tips to keep in mind for starting a story. Between finding a good spot to start at and continuing to build up the suspense to keep the reader interested, Chapter 11 leaves us with the warning that without suspense, we cannot hold on to the audience and keep them turning pages to find out what happens next. Of course, it helps that LaPlante reminds us that we cannot just make things suspenseful. There has to be a sense of uncertainty and unpredictability that strings the reader along and an ending that does not leave them regretting having read because of lack of payoff or simply because it turns a way that is out of character for how the story was playing out. Chapter 11 also has me rethinking how I start out stories as I often start somewhere quiet then progress to action. It would certainly be interesting to see how some of my work turns out by starting out in the action and letting it progress from there. There really is just the matter of figuring out how to do the unbalancing act in a way that resonates with my way of thinking and writing.
ReplyDelete-Aaron Garza
LaPLante’s chapter is great. I got some great ideas on how to start my story. I struggle a lot with intros, and knowing of these different ways to start a story is just what I needed, however, I still find it a bit hard to start one. I tried the one where you rip the first three pages of the story, but I feel like it doesn’t work. I really need to think of something because I’m down to page 7 and I still haven’t gotten to the action. I don’t want to disappoint my readers that much, so I will need to condense what I have to few pages to get to the action faster. I also feel that if I start right in the action my story would feel a little more rushed than it should, and I think that it will start up high and just go down hill from there, so I really want to keep my intro, so I will have to shorten it. By a lot. I also like the Woman Hollering Creek, I’ve never red it before, and it was great. I felt bad for Cleofilas. That part when she sets her baby in the grass, and the narrator talks about La Llorona, I though Cleofilas was going to drown her kids and kill herself. It would have made sense for me since she was having a terrible life with her husband. Howver, I’m glad that at the end she just left with her kids to San Antonio, for me that was a twsit.
ReplyDelete-Alexis Perez
Introductions have always been something I've struggled with because there are moments in which I'm not sure what direction to take. LaPlante's Chapter 11 "Raising the Curtain, Beginning Your Story" was quite a refresher as to what I should be doing, or at least thinking about working into my own stories. I do think that the introduction should always be something that captures the reader’s attention as that will be their first impression and sets up the feeling for the rest of the story. I think that’s something Sandra Cisneros has always known how to do well but it’s especially attention-grabbing in “Woman Hollering Creek.” She begins in what seems to be the middle, giving us a flashback of sorts before moving onto the part about Cleofilas believing she finally understood what her father meant the day she got married. It not only gives us the idea as to what the story will be about but it’s more than enough to have one hooked and wanting more. I think reading this after Chapter 11 helps one see the techniques given in the chapter, on paper and has one realize how great these techniques can be when used correctly. If anything, after I read the story, I was ready to try my hand at these things although not without qualms. Chapter 11 has helped me see that one should not write blindly but have a plan already in mind, otherwise a story might not be as good as it could be.
ReplyDelete-Angélica De La Cruz
Personally, I am not great at writing the beginning, middle, or end of a story. In chapter eleven, LaPlante addresses how to begin writing to keep the reader engaged. When you start reading a story, the introduction is your first impression of the piece. I have begun reading so many pieces that I never finished because the author didn’t create a story I felt drawn into. Like LaPlante says, giving too much backstory does not bring the readers into the story as effectively as keeping the suspense by slowly revealing more information. In “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros, the introduction leaves the reader wanting more. The main character, Cleofilas, starts off in a brand-new territory where the reader has no idea on how her situation is going to pan out. The further the story continues to unravel, the more sympathetic we are to Cleofilas who ends up in an abusive relationship even though she imagined a telenovela-type love life for herself. When writing a story, I need to keep in mind that my readers need to stay intrigued by making the next step uncertain for the main character. I want people to continue the story because they won't know where the main character will end up much like in Cisneros’s story.
ReplyDelete-Gabriela Urbano
In LaPlante’s Chapter 11, the creation of an opening brings the best out of a story. Every first few sentences holds the power to engage and to entice the reader to read on. I have had problems with starting an interesting opening whether I started with backstory, action, or something else entirely. LaPlante’s discussion is particularly useful in this regard on the specific creation of openings and the elements that garner a reader’s attention. It also becomes useful when deciding how to start an opening as there are different options to choose from: from the beginning, from the middle, or from the action. This establishes a story’s characters, tone, attitude, everything that can include that might be required to create the basis of your story. It’s just a matter of actually performing that action and creating an opening for the audience and yourself especially when it takes time to find the right words.
ReplyDeleteAs for Sandra Cisneros’ “Woman Hollering Creek,” the story lines up with LaPlante’s discussion about openings and how they affect the reading for the audience. It feels like each section represents an opening, a part of Cleofilas’ life that we are given access to her telenovela dreams of a loving happy life with her husband. Ironically, the introduction lays the foundation of her husband’s treatment against her along with her slow decline into despair over her current predicament. I think it’s important to note that each scene opens with her life becoming worse up until the final scenes where she is given an opportunity to escape and begin anew, almost coming full circle to the life she had experienced. It also highlights how important characters are in deciding the tone of a story through the narrative and the sentences we are given.
- Joseph Gonzalez
My impression of chapter eleven is the author’s introduction to OUR introductions. This chapter highlights a very important process in writing which is how we begin our stories. The beginning of the story sets the tone throughout, so this section of the textbook helps the writer with tips on how to start in various ways. I loved how the author puts it into words; “your contract with the reader”. I feel this was a great description of the over-all blue print or guide how to effectively open the door for the audience to our writing. This “contract” basically means, we as writers, give the reader a good footing in following with our story. I think this is very important to emphasize as to keep good flow from beginning to end. Reading “woman hollering creek” was quite the treat. The story really reflected the majority of our culture and the main character was so precious, the author made it very easy to fall in love and care deeply for her. I love how they contrasted how we view love from TV to love in real life, I feel like this story sent a very powerful message of what true love really is.
ReplyDelete-Clarissa Cardenas
Coming up with the right opening for a story is always difficult. Probably not where to start, but how to do it. I’ve heard, on videos, that the beginning is so important, that it needs to have a “hook” to get the readers’ attention or else they will lose all interest in the story. LaPlante’s chapter on them was refreshing to see that stories can still remain interesting without needing to start with something that completely keeps the audience’ attention. Just like the past chapters, I’m considering applying some of the advice it gives to my own story. Now on to the reading “Woman Hollering Creek”, oh boy this is an intense read. This story goes full throttle on the topic of spousal abuse. It is much more intense when I realized that, despite being in third person, this was from Cleofilas’ perspective. This story delves into the psyche of a woman that lived through the experience. I understand how difficult the experience is, even though I’ve never lived through it. However, I don’t think I’ll be writing stories on abuse; based on my skill level, experience, and desire to make different stories. I understand the importance of stories like this one, but I myself don’t see myself capable, or willing to challenge myself to, write a story like this.
ReplyDelete- Jose Sias
I never initiate a story from the beginning, middle, to end. When there is an idea, a scene spiking in my mind, I write it down exactly how my imagination depicts it. I believe that the rules come last when it comes to a great story. Of course, a proper structure is decent to follow when it comes to a story. However, a lot of my favorite stories are told in non-linear form. For example, with movies, Momento, Dunkirk, Inception, and all these other great films that are not told in the typical and cliche "chronological" order. Telling a story through different time periods is a refreshing way to convey a plot and what characters are experiencing. Even though this could be tricky and devious, I do believe that if you have a creative, fun, and crazy imagination it IS POSSIBLE. If you know your vocabulary, and exactly what it is you are trying to convey to the reader, then it is worth the new try! I am myself have intended to write a poem in a non-linear way, and it is fun and I have noticed that it keeps readers compelled.
ReplyDelete"Woman Hollering Creek" is very interesting, it impresses how well written it is especially the fact that the story emphasizes abuse, both physically and mentally. It is very difficult to write about a subject this heavy, however its unique how the writer can successfully deliver the messege through the way the write the story.
-Andrea Castaneda