Whew, what a day! It’s half past midnight, and I have just now finished my assignments.
OSC is a tremendous lecturer. I feel like a little girl with a crush. Not a normal crush, you know, but one of those teacher crushes, where you want to answer every question with, “Well, Orson Scott Card thinks…” We don’t agree on everything, but that is just because we are both thinking human beings. I respect the man enormously.
He had several genius things to say, and frankly I wish I had a transcript of the entire day. A paraphrase of one pearl of wisdom: “Antagonists are dangerous. If you make them powerful, they can take over the story. Then suddenly, they’re the protagonist. Who’s the protagonist of the first three Star Wars films? Darth Vader. He’s the one who makes things happen. Everyone else acts in response to him.”
And I sat there thinking, Could Fiore be the protagonist of Book 2? Ooooohhh. Dang.
I am also kicking myself for the moment when he asked, “When a story is told in present tense, what do you know about it immediately?”
It’s literary? I thought. No, that’s a smart aleck answer.
“It’s literary.” Sigh.
We had several minor assignments during the day, and tonight we got hit with the big one. We had to write five story synopses: two from research, two from observations around town, and one from an interview of a stranger.
I knew that last one was coming, because I read Jamie Ford’s blog about his boot camp adventures. I was Dreading it. And it was, uh, awkward. Remember yesterday when I said that writers were awkward? Well, maybe that was just me. Anyway, I got through it, and my interview subject was very gracious and informative.
The whole five-story-extravaganza was a very fun exercise, and one I think I’ll do again the next time I’m feeling dry. It’s kind of a revelation, you know? You can come up with five decent story ideas on any givin evening. All you need is someone telling you you have to.
It sounds like you are having a great time. I was introduced to Orson Card’s writings by Alex Wise, one of my students in Kate’s class at White Lake. I have considered using one of his books for book club. I am so happy for you to be able to hear him lecture. Have a great week. Karen j
Thanks, Karen! I think Ender’s Game or Speaker for the Dead would be great book club books. They both have a lot to talk about.
I need to re read Ender’s Game. I enjoyed reading it the first time, but it was a long time ago.