An update from the twenty-first Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday November 13 To continue with students’ workshop requests, this week we revisited an older topic: plot vs. narrative. We began with four exercises to be revisited later, writing down the thing that scared us most, the first sentence of a novel, a list of unrelated things, and a time that we lied when we shouldn’t have. To begin lecture, we considered the fact that while all plots are narratives, not all narratives are plots. Following this, we distinguished narrative as a general term that encompasses all stories, and whose events are incidental as well as connected by the conjunction “and.” Plot, however, was how a story is told, meaning that events follow “and so,” leading to a deliberate beginning, middle and end. We then discussed the significance of plot, how it provides a narrative with inevitability, connectivity, and consequence through its ability to imbue every individual action with meaning. Then, at the end, we played a game of “is it plot, or is it narrative?” with examples such as “The Dinosaur” by Augusto Monterroso, Ernest Hemingway’s famous six word short story, “Small Child” by Stephen Tuttle, and “Dog and Me” by Lydia Davis. The Challenge: Transform any of the first four exercises you did (thing that scares you most, first sentence of a novel, list of unrelated things, a time you lied when you shouldn’t have” The Participants: Nova, Lina, Josh, Emma, Penelope, Clara, Ellie, Simran, Alice B., Svitra, Sinan, Olivia, Audrey
plot
How Stories Work-Writing Workshop #2: Plot Vs. Narrative
An update from our second Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett A summary of the workshop held on Saturday April 24, plus some of the output published below In the second Writing Workshop of the Spring/Summer Session led by Conner Bassett, we discussed the differences between plot and narrative. Firstly, we considered the fact that while all plots are narratives, not all narratives are plots. Following this, we distinguished narrative as a general term that encompasses all stories, and whose events are incidental as well as connected by the conjunction “and.” Plot, however, was how a story is told, meaning that events follow “and so,” leading to a deliberate beginning, middle and end. We then discussed the significance of plot, how it provides a narrative with inevitability, connectivity, and consequence through its ability to imbue every individual action with meaning. Next, we moved into a musical exercise as a means of further distinguishing plot vs. narrative, listening to an excerpt from “So What,” by Miles Davis, and an excerpt from the third movement of Beethoven’s Fifth, coming to the conclusion that the meandering, roaming tune from Miles Davis better represented narrative, while the building, crescendoing nature of Beethoven’s Fifth represented plot. To wrap things up, we discussed the sequential narrative of Don Quixote, and the taught, precise plot of the story of Moses. The Challenge: Choose one of three paintings between Starry Night by Van Gogh, The Scream by Edvard Munch, or Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. Once you’ve chosen a painting, write a story or poem that progresses towards a conclusion, the conclusion being the image of the painting. Nighthawks The Scream Starry Night The Participants: Helen, Jackson, Olivia, Sena, Isolde, Harine, Emma, Svitra, Josh, Aditi, Audrey, Emizzi, Noa, Sasha Sasha D, 10Moseley, VA One Starry Night Sasha D, 10 “Shake a leg Gabby, we are going to be late!” Papa yelled at me. “I’m tryin I’m tryin!” I yelled back. We ran, ducking under people, trying to get to the bank. Mama and Papa forgot to pay the bills because we are moving out of our house. Papa is desperate to get money out of the bank so he can use it to pay bills. Mama has a night shift, so I have to come along. Papa can be mean when he gets stressed out. That’s why I tried not to say a word while we were walking. Mama and Papa are also going on a date in 2 hours. We don’t have enough money to hire a babysitter, which means that I must come along. They say that when I am 15 I will be allowed to stay home all by myself. But that feels like forever! “We are almost there, Gabby!” Papa exclaimed. I did not say a word. I knew Papa would’ve cut me off. Papa burst into the town’s bank, Country Side’s Coins. Everybody stopped and stared. I tried to act like I didn’t know him, but everybody in town knows who we are. “Welcome Mr. Collins.” Mr. Merryson said with a smile. I gasped. “Mr. Merryson!” I yelled. I ran around the desk to give him a BIG hug! “Long time no see, Troy.” Papa said, shaking his hand. “Will you be able to watch me tonight while Mama and Papa go out on their date?” I asked Mr. Merryson with puppy dog eyes. “I am afraid not my little Gabby.. Mrs. Merryson is very ill. I must make sure she will be okay.” Mr. Merryson said with depression. “Oh. Alright. I hope Mrs. Merryson feels better!” I said, sounding gloomy. I stood over by the front entrance, waiting for Papa. Mr. Merryson and Papa talked most of the time until Papa realized it was 8:30 at night. Mr. Merryson gave Papa the money, and we rushed to Mama’s job. Mama works at an Appliance Store. Folks around here mostly call it Amazing Appliances. “Papa? We should take a carriage there. It’ll be faster.” I suggested. “No, Gabby. You don’t understand-” “But I do! I do understand, Papa!” “No! You do not!” Papa said. I could feel a tear slowly slide down my cheek. We kept on walking in silence. We had arrived at Mama’s job. “Oh, Gabby!” Mama yelled. Mama ran to me and picked me up. “Mama!” I said as we hugged. On our way to their date spot, Papa let me ride on his back. “Look, Mama, Papa!” I said as I pointed up to the sky. One little dot had appeared. Several appeared after. Papa looked at the sky too. “You know what? We don’t need a fancy restaurant…..” Papa said. “Huh?” Mama and I both said. Papa put me down and crumbled up the reservation paper and threw it in the garbage can. “Why would you do that?” I asked. Papa just smiled as he held my hand, as well as Mama. As we walked all the way home, Mama and Papa were talking about things I did not understand. Once we got home, Mama and Papa got warm blankets from inside. “ I wonder.. ” I thought to myself. Mama and Papa came out with 3 blankets. Papa lay down the 3 blankets on the soft, newly cut, green grass. He laid on his blanket, put his hands behind his head, and sighed. “What are you looking at, Papa?” I asked. “The stars!” Papa said, still looking at the stars. “Oh!” I said. “May I do that as well, Papa?” I asked, looking at Papa. “Of course, Gabby!!” Papa said. I got in the same position as Papa. I smiled as I gazed up into the sky that was lit up by these little dots that go by the name, Stars. “Mama?” I said. “Yes, Gabriela?” Mama replied. “Can I name the stars?” I asked. “Well… if you would like…” Mama said, confused. I squealed silently. “That one is Sarah, this one Sam, Sadie, Samuel, Rachel, Brady, Briley, Ryan, and Katy!” I only named a few.
Trumpet of the Swan, Reviewed by Keshav Ravi, 8
“Birds are a special problem, birds are hard to deal with.” This is what many people seem to think, and understandably, when a bird has just robbed their shop. However, Louis, in E.B.White’s The Trumpet of the Swan, proves exactly the opposite. Louis is a swan who was born with no ability to make sound or communicate with his family. His father breaks into a store in Montana to find Louis a trumpet so that he can make swan sounds like everyone else and persuade Serena, the swan he loves, to be his mate. With the help of Sam Beaver, an animal-loving boy, he goes to school and learns to communicate with humans by writing on a slate. He also works to earn money to pay for the stolen trumpet by playing songs which Sam helps him learn. The Trumpet of the Swan is special because of the strong relationship that forms between Sam and Louis, right from when Louis first meets Sam in the woods of Canada, and how they work together to solve Louis’s problems. Their friendship is the heart of the story and is what makes it a forever favorite for me. Something that surprised me was finding humor in an otherwise moving story. One instance among several that comes to mind is when Louis is swimming in front of the swan boat in Boston playing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” when a boy shouts, “This swan is as good as Louis Armstrong, I’m going to call him Louis.” Then Louis writes on his slate, “That’s actually my name.” This really made me laugh. White’s poetic description of nature is another feature I enjoyed. For example, the coming of spring is described as a time when “Warm air, soft and kind, blew through the trees.” With elements of humor, suspense, and realistic imagery, The Trumpet of the Swan is a classic that many people will easily relate to and that you just can’t read too many times. Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. HarperCollins, 1970. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!
