Welcome to Our First Issue!

Issue 1: July 2011

Welcome to Our First Issue!

The Prodigal’s Daughter is a monthly newsletter about the business of writing fiction, from its techniques to its frustrations. The name of this publication comes from the Biblical parable about the Prodigal’s Son (Luke 15:11-32), who takes his inheritance at a young age and leaves home to seek his fortune. But being inexperienced in the ways of the world, he loses his inheritance and quickly falls into poverty and ruin. He must then return home in failure and shame to beg for food from his father’s table. Yet his father welcomes him with open arms and orders a feast prepared in celebration of his son’s return. The older brother is upset by his father’s acceptance of this disobedient son. He rants, “I’ve been obedient and hard-working all these years and you haven’t given me a feast! Why are you throwing a feast for him?” The father’s responds, “You’ve been here with me and have everything I own all the time, but your brother was lost and is now found. We must celebrate his return.”

So how does this relate to writing fiction? As a general rule, we who write fiction, are like the prodigal’s son, at least I know I am. We have a gift or a drive or the right training – the inheritance - to produce quality fiction, and maybe even make a living at it. However, the world entices us and we get distracted from the actual work of writing. There is a good movie on we’ve been waiting to see, so we don’t edit that short story. The house needs to be cleaned and so we don’t write the next chapter in our novel. The dogs are desperate to go to their play group, so we don’t finish writing the blog. There are as many distractions as there are cells in the human body, so we fall into the poverty of no productivity. But we can return to the computer and feast on the words which celebrate life and its multitude of possibilities, striving for that special piece which captures an audience. What of our brothers, those steady, hard-working writers of fact? They also want their work acknowledged, so I salute you now for your steadfastness and showing we wayward fiction writers the value of consistent production. You who accept a writing assignment and crank it out post haste are role models for us to follow. The value of regularly sitting down and writing something new is what this newsletter endeavors to encourage in both novice fiction writers and those struggling to be published.

Reading Challenge

One way to grow as a writer is to read successful literature. Reading and writing are linked in two important ways. First and foremost, reading novels that are on the bestselling book list or have won awards gives us an example of what kinds of books are popular. This can guide you to either follow the example or stretch into new venues to create a unique approach. Secondly, a good novel can re-inspire you to write more on your own novel. For these two reasons, this newsletter will take a closer look at popular fiction and analyze aspects like opening lines, plot, character development, setting and how they relate to the theme. Most of the works will be science fiction or fantasy, since that is my favorite genre. I am currently reading the 2009 Nebula Award Winner, The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi. I will be discussing this book and the writing techniques in the next newsletter. I encourage you to get a copy for yourself to read.

For those of you curious about the social and political aspects of science fiction, check out SciFi: Write or Wrong. As always, your comments are welcome.

Writing Challenge

One of the best ways to keep at the writing desk is to join a writer’s group. There are writer’s groups online, but I’ve found that face to face discussion is the most helpful. So if there is a writers’ group in your area, I encourage you to join it. In the right writers’ group, you will grow more than in any writing class offered. In lieu of a writers’ group – or in conjunction with one - I will propose writing challenges in each issue. I encourage you to participate and send them to me at RhodesFitzWilliam@gmail.com. I will publish the best three pieces, along with my own, in the upcoming month’s newsletter.
So let’s get started.

Writing Challenge #1: Since this is our first issue, let’s base the first challenge on our opening theme: the prodigal’s son. Rewrite the parable of the prodigal’s son giving it a new time period, setting, or point of view. It might be a modern story or one set in the future. The point of view may be from any of the existing characters or one you have added. The challenge is to make this story come to life within 500 words. Get creative…it’s your world.

If you haven’t read this parable or you need to reread it, it’s available at BibleGateway.com (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+15%3A11-32&version=NIV)

I will publish my version in next month’s newsletter and talk about the challenges and where I would like to improve my own Writing. I will also share the three best versions I receive by the last week of July, along with any appropriate comments about this challenge and how you approached it.

I look forward to reading and sharing ideas with you so we can challenge one another to stay on task with our writing!

Until next month, live well, love fully and write with all your heart!