Props: a storytelling train.
This train comes from my guide Story Drills: Fiction Writing Workouts. This train asks you to think about a component of story that’s typically ignored in classes and conversations about fiction writing. It’s known as “Props.” Take pleasure in!
Props
Usually once we discuss setting, we neglect an vital factor: props. These are the gadgets that seem within the narrative and are a part of the story world.
In actual life, props are essential. Take into consideration how your day begins: Your alarm clock goes off, you employ the bathroom, begin the coffeemaker, hop within the bathe, then scarf down breakfast so that you don’t miss the bus to work. However what in case your story is ready within the eighteenth century? They didn’t have alarm clocks, bathrooms, or coffeemakers. If you happen to’re writing historic fiction, you must know the main points of on a regular basis objects and the way folks used them, and you must take into consideration which of them are vital to incorporate in your story. Chances are you’ll by no means want to point out how characters bathed within the eighteenth century; alternatively, you may wish to embody a steamy bathtub scene in your narrative.
If you happen to’re writing fantasy or science fiction, it’s possible you’ll must invent your individual props, and also you may end up naming issues that didn’t exist till you thought them up.
In modern fiction, we don’t want to present a lot thought to props. The story takes place in the actual world that everyone knows, so we’d count on to see computer systems, cellphones, vehicles, and a number of different gadgets that we’re accustomed to utilizing. However as authors, we nonetheless want to consider which props are essential to a narrative, which props will enrich a narrative, and which might go unmentioned.
Examine:
Revisit a narrative you’ve just lately learn. With out it, attempt to record a minimum of ten props that appeared within the story. For each, write a number of phrases in regards to the significance of that prop to the narrative. Was it simply a part of the setting? Was it used within the motion? Was it important to the story? Did it enrich the narrative not directly? Now flip by means of the story, and discover ten extra gadgets and reply the identical questions on these.
Observe:
Rapidly sketch a narrative abstract. Preserve it to about 250 phrases or fewer. Embody the time and place, the story’s normal idea and premise, a minimum of three key characters, and some sentences describing the plot. Don’t attempt to provide you with a masterpiece—simply maintain it easy. Now make an inventory of fifteen gadgets that would seem within the story. 5 of this stuff will probably be a part of the story’s setting however not important to the plot. One other 5 gadgets will probably be objects that the characters use or work together with. The ultimate 5 gadgets will probably be completely essential to the story.
Questions:
How do props present vital clues a couple of story? Ought to all props be essential to a narrative not directly? What can props inform us in regards to the setting, plot, and characters? How can props be used rather than description or exposition?
