Using Fraudulent Artifacts: Playing with Form and Repurposing Text to Create Fictional Narratives

In their AWP workshop on Using Fraudulent Artifact to Teach Fiction Writing, panelists David Shields, Matthew Vollmer, Arda Collins and Joseph Salvatore discussed teaching and writing "stories that masquerade as other forms of writing," altering the way a text is delivered through a familiar visual form such as: a shopping list, rental agreement, bill, menu, recipe, glossary, interview, newspaper ad, receipt, instruction manual, primer, catalog, comment card, year-end report, data sheet, class notes from Alumni magazine or letters... the list goes on.

Shields and Vollmer are the editors of Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, "Found" Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts (or: Other Dubious Documents--depending on which website you look at)-- forthcoming September, 2012. They cited inspiration from texts such as Rick Moody's "Primary Sources" and Lydia Davis' "We Will Miss You: A Study of Get-Well Letters from a Class of Fourth Graders," which Jonathan Messinger describes as "a series of letters to a kid named Stephen—in the hospital with an infection—from his friends at school. The narrator takes on a mock psychologist’s tone, analyzing each letter for 'overall coherence' and style."

So what attracts a writer to utilizing these forms, breaking from narrative convention in fiction? By inhabiting the language of found text, writers consider how we manipulate language and voice, the panelists said. The language becomes the material to work with. It forces writers to confront form and structure, to "become awake to ways language is used around them"--even to the point of "exacting giddy, witty revenge on form." Anything, they agreed, can be used "to house a story." By creating and sharing stories "encrypted in documents," writers can "break open the world of form."

Here are a few suggested exercises to try or teach. Each offers "constraints" which create tension while also allowing freedom of expression within them:

• Each student invents a character. Have two characters write letters to one another--a great way for students to develop characterization and "invent a world together."
• Write an "About the Author" to create a bio of oneself or a fictional character. Consider satire, as Sandra Cisneros does with: "She remains 'nobody's mother and nobody's wife.'"
• Invite students to find artifacts to appropriate themselves; let language/diction/voice dominate the discussion.
• Write a letter poem, starting with the prompt: I have something I need to tell you.

All this talk on how "form puts pressure on a writer to manipulate it toward meaning" immediately started sinking into my subconscious. At the top of my panel notes I brainstormed: "Montage of 10 match.com men's emails: sew together snippets for a story of one failed relationship, from hope to disenchantment." For my last fiction submission I did just that, creating a narrative arc with a character composite, although I admit my piece at this point blurs the boundaries--a real genre-straddler. In this case, I wasn't just borrowing "found" form, but using--and re-purposing--some real content. A future idea: use travel brochures/maps/postcards I brought from Australia as forms to narrate tensions between Aboriginal and tourist ways of "seeing" or traversing landscape.

The writing, these panelists said, doesn't have to be entirely fiction; it can "blur the line between" fictional, essayistic, poetic, reportage and doc/mockumentary forms--as in Chris Marker's film "Sans Soleil," "a fake travel documentary narrated by a false sociologist to indeterminate countries."

Or consider the current trend in appropriating both content and form: re-mixing multimedia narratives as in this recreated (and humorously 'heartfelt') trailer for the horror film, "The Shining."

Selling Out Everyone You Love: The Ethics of Writing Nonfiction (AWP Conference Panel II)

Joan Didion said that writers are always selling somebody out. How do the authors of memoirs walk the thin line between truthful disclosure and betrayal of trust, and what responsibility do they have to loved ones who appear in their work? Four authors talk about how they've grappled with these questions, the consequences of their choices, and the lessons they've learned. -- AWP catalog 2012

"Keeping up appearances is my family's religion,"  said panel facilitator Krista Bremer, who cited god, sex, money, depression--even baldness and other banalities--as taboo topics. Add a woman's voice, for "women were supposed to hover like angels around men."

Aboriginal wall paintings, Australia

The essayist couldn't ask her father's permission to publish what she was compelled to write, but his reaction--anger to the point of threats to sue--haunts her still. "Always assume everyone will read what you write," she said. You will deal with the aftermath long after the printed words hit the recycling bin.

"Truth is half of the equation. Compassion is the other," she said. Considering the ability to write a gift, a call to service, we must ask ourselves what is the most life-enhancing choice--neither allowing the continuation of abuses through silent condoning nor using words as weapons against those who may have hurt us.

A Writing Life--After the Workshop (AWP Conference 2012, Panel Session I)

In this first session I attended at the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference 2012, panelists Ilana Shabanov, April Newman, Daniel Prazer, James Lower and Sheree Greer, MFA graduates of Columbia College of Chicago and founders of The Writing Life Collective, presented "how to organize and sustain a writing life" with "planning ideas, technology solutions, and tools writers can use to take control of their career and maintain a writing lifestyle long-term."

Staying productive and inspired (especially after "leaving the nest" of a creative writing program) is every writer's challenge, the panelists said--whether it's time management, a crisis of confidence or other conflicts that keep us from writing, editing our work, and promoting it. Committing ourselves to the craft requires self-awareness and dedication.

First they passed out a Skills Assessment sheet for our own use, divided into quadrants: Creative, Editing, Administrative, Marketing. One panelist noted, "It's ironic that in a market of high specialization, the writer needs to be a jack of all trades." We were to check off any of the items we engaged in, then add them up to see where our strengths lay. For example, here are a few actions that I DO NOT currently participate in (marketing is definitely my weak spot):

25 Writing Contests for 2012: Literary Awards in Fiction, Nonfiction & Poetry

I recently returned from the AWP Conference in Chicago. Wondering if there might be an edgy sense of competition amongst the nearly 10,000 participants, I found only camaraderie. What a thrill it was to be engaged with a large community of writers who share the same passions and focus. I came away from it inspired about the many ways to fashion a writing life. Aside from attending 9 out of 10 informative panel sessions, I meandered through the marketplace with hundreds of literary journals, creative writing programs and independent presses represented. I brought home 17 back issues of prominent journals (each less than $2, often free), and sorted through a pile of flyers and postcards for submissions and contests. Here's a list of 25 contests with rich rewards. Check back soon for a listing of literary journals, as well as conference notes on sessions such as Teaching & Writing at a Literary Center and WPA for the 21st Century.

The Art of Omission Contest (Missouri Review’s Texbox)

 www.missourireview.com/anthology/contest

March 9

Using only the words in the excerpt, write a short short story or a poem.

Rearrange and repeat the words at your pleasure, but NO OUTSIDE WORDS ARE ALLOWED.

Each entry must be 50 words or fewer.

Enter as many times as you like.

Camera Obscura: Journal of Literature and Photography

http://obscurajournal.com/

June 1 summer publication date

$1,000 to the writer of a story selected for publication in each issue

No fee

Heading to the AWP Writing Conference in Chicago!

This week I'm heading to Chicago for the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) annual conference! Sold out at 9,500 registrants, the event takes place between two hotels and many other  venues, such as bookstores and pubs, throughout town. (Special bonus: dinner with my cousin Paul.)

I haven't been blogging as regularly as I'd like, but rest assured I'll take notes for upcoming posts. Last week I submitted my first short fiction story (at 13 pages) for my writing workshop. My story, Schoolyard, is "up" (as they say) for critique by my cohort Tuesday. Then I'm off to the San Francisco airport and the windy city Wednesday. Wish me luck!

This amazing conference, featuring keynote Margaret Atwood, lasts three days and has an overwhelming multitude of choices (as many as 25!) each 1.25 hour session--from craft of writing to teaching to sustaining a writing life. Here are some I'm interested in:

Supporting the Writing Life, Part 5

A couple more things on supporting the writing life... with two more to come! 

INTERN AT A LITERARY AGENCY, MAGAZINE OR PUBLISHING HOUSE:
Getting an internship within the industry can be a great way to build your writing career and strengthen your writing. It's one thing to read about how agents choose their books or how to follow writing guidelines at a magazine. It's quite another to experience the literary world from 'the other side' of the writing desk --the business side.

Reading dozens of query letters, book proposals and first pages for a literary agency gives me a much clearer idea of what it requires to catch someone's eye. I love walking into the little cottage on the hillside overlooking San Francisco Bay, settling myself into a worn leather couch next to the dark wood bookcases and stone fireplace, and hoping for that sparkling gem I might send on to the agents that day. Granted, it's not always easy working for free when there's work and class and writing of my own to be done. But I'd like to think the work better shapes my understanding of the "how to's" of writing. And, hopefully, the resume builder will get me that much closer to finding work in my field pre or post-MFA. 

ATTEND A CONFERENCE
You get to choose from a variety of workshops, hear from industry professionals, network with writers and editors, and pitch story ideas to agents. Some conferences offer genre tracks so you can workshop stories over a period of time. Many have themes like Writer's Digest's The Future of Publishing and Getting Published in the Digital Age. There are panel discussions and keynote speeches, with luncheons or dinners included. No matter where you are in your writing process or career, a conference can inspire your writing, give you focus on your path, or put you in touch with influential individuals.The price can be steep, especially if you're coming from out of town. But some, like AWP, offer student discounts (ONLY $45!) and scholarships. 

Upcoming conferences:
Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City, Jan. 21-23 (ok, we're late on this one!)
AWP Conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 2-5
San Francisco Writers Conference in San Fran, Feb. 18-20

Nominated to National Literary Competition

My nonfiction piece, What It's Like, was nominated by University of San Francisco for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) 2011 national contest! The AWP's Intro Journals Project is "a literary competition for the discovery & publication of the best new works by students currently enrolled in the programs of AWP."

I wrote and revised the story in my MFA program's autobiographical intensive during summer 2010. I submitted it, thinking, "Why not? I've got nothing to lose." The final judge who chose my piece (judged blind, without names) among the three nonfiction finalists also happens to be my current workshop instructor, Associate Professor David Vann. His Sukkwan Island, taken from his book Legend of a Suicide, just won the prestigious Prix Medicis award from France. Vann said he could tell my revision process paid off because the piece was "polished." Graduate school, and diligent work, does make a difference!