In The Spotlight

I love reading author interviews, hearing the story behind the story. And today I've had the privilege of being one of those authors. Hop over to the FaithWriters Blog for an inside look at my writing journey.

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

Traditional Pottery Class

 I originally posted this on my other blog, Choctaw Spirit, but it was too cool of an experience not to post here. For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

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Antlers, Oklahoma

I sat at the tarp-covered table and Brian (instructor) emptied a small shovel full of mud in front of me. At least it looked like mud. In reality, this was called clay, direct from tribal lands in McCurtain County.

Ian Parker, Choctaw Tribal Archeologist, worked with his own clay while talking about the differences between mixing the clay with sand or shell. He also expounded on the material available to Choctaws on the Trail of Tears.

I did as instructed, crumbling the mud, uh, clay, into bitty pieces, extracting little stems and roots until it was “clean.”

Time to mix sand and ultra fine sand together before kneading it into the clay. I had to add water as it dried out. “A little water goes a long ways,” Brian reminded me.

As we worked, Brian talked about different techniques relating to this type of clay, and what was traditionally used by our ancestors.

In spite of the small amount I worked with, I felt intimidated by the clay. What did I know about shaping and molding it to perfection? The clay knew more about what it was supposed to do than I did.

When it really got out of my control, Brian handled it expertly. He flattened the bottom, straightened the sides, smoothed the interior. It began to look like the pencil cup I was going for—just bigger. Well, you’ll see what I mean.

I took it again, feeling bold. I was going to work the thing into submission. If there was to be any finger indentions on the finished product, they would be mine.

Most things I don’t pick up on the first several tries. But with my second ball of clay, I was ready to make something happen. Anything.

I started with the traditional bowl like shape:

 

It cracked. I tried to smooth it back together, but I had let the clay get too dry. This time, I knew what to do with its uncooperativeness. I smashed it back together, added water, and kneaded.

About that time I heard the comment of someone making a coffee mug. Me and Mama went with it.

Rolled into a ball once again, I started in the center. Again, lessons learned, I focused on keeping the opening small, going deep without allowing the clay to spread out. When my thumb would no longer reach, I changed to my fingers and stretched their limits. Then I dropped it on its bottom to flatten it. I knew the action would make the clay spread and widen, so I was grateful to have kept it so tight.

As I worked with the clay, I realized something. I began to relax. Weeks old tensions released into a sooth calmness. Using my hands to mold the clay made me smile. I really enjoyed it.

About that time, I found myself engaged in conversation with some of the other students around the table. We talked about other projects they had done and the next steps in the process, including the firing. According to the sweet lady next to me, they bring lawn chairs and food, prepared to hang out awhile and socialize while the fire burned before the clay creations are buried in the coals overnight. On average, the clay needs to dry a minimum of two weeks before firing.

Okay, God just keeps directing our paths. Last week, my mom and I talked about writing a novella length story (longer than a short story, shorter than a novel) about the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I. The flash fiction story I’d written on it earned a Faithwriters.com Editor’s Choice and was well received by readers.

Near the end of the class, two sisters prepared to leave. One took a picture of the newbies (me and my mom). We all introduced ourselves and she announced, “My grandfather was a Choctaw Code Talker. His name was Ben Caterby.”

We talked, and I asked for their phone numbers. Too amazing to be a coincidence.

Before we left, Ian and Brian loaded two plastics bags with clay and sand for us to play with at home. Our four creations nestled in bags and cardboard box lids, we said our thanks and goodbyes.

After they are fired, I’ll post pics of the finished products. At least I still have the banner of “I’m just a beginner” to hide behind.

What an experience.

Novella? Short Story? And What’s Flash Fiction?

I embarrass myself when I use terms my friends don’t know. It’s an inconsiderate thing to do, but I’m really not trying to sound smart or on a higher level.

In my tight focus on writing studies, I often think this is stuff everyone already knows and I’m playing catch up. That’s not always the case. So let me apologize, back up, and explain some of the cute terminology I use in the wonderful world of fiction.

Flash Fiction

Let’s start small. Perhaps the least known term in my vocabulary is flash fiction (AKA short, short stories). On FaithWriters.com, they say I’ve mastered this form of writing by pushing me to the Masters Level (still not comfortable with that) in the Weekly Writing Challenge. All I know is, flash fiction is crazy fun to write and just as fun to read. Here’s one of mine: I Didn’t Know You Were…

With a FaithWriters.com challenge entry, the max word count is set at 750 words. Sound easy? No way. It’s actually harder to tell a complete story in such limited space. Characterization, setting, descriptions, conflict, moral-of-the-story…you have to get in and out so fast it’s easy to miss important elements. A comment I saw more than once went along the lines of, “Great story, but I think it would really benefit from a higher word count.” Then there are times when just 500 words is more than sufficient. It’s an art, no doubt.

There are no industry standards on any of these terms. It varies greatly depending on the genre or publication. In my research, though, the consensus for flash fiction is 1,000 words or less. (About 2 Word doc pages)

Short Story

Things get sticky in this category, especially with the term still being used to describe what can now be defined as flash fiction or novella.

I love reading (and writing) short stories. They give me enough to really satisfy my curiosity about the character and plot, bringing the story to a dynamic conclusion—all without leaving my chair once. That’s the hallmark of a short story. You should be able to read it in one sitting.

This is an important term to understand if you buy ebooks. Always check the description and word/page count. You might think you’re getting a full length novel, when in actuality it’s a short story. Typically, short stories range from 1,000-10,000 words. Again, genre plays a big part.

Novella

Never heard that one before? Neither had I, until I started writing again seriously a few years ago.

Personally, I have a hard time calling anything less than 20,000 words a novella. But if we didn’t, what would we call those tweens? Oh, I almost forgot! Novelette.  Hmmm, another term to confuse people. Glad I’m not evil.

I’ve never written a novella, but I’m on that track with my new series. Can’t get into that here, but let’s just say it’s a blast. This length gives you room for more characters and more story. It pulls up short of a novel, making it the perfect size for avid readers with a short attention span.

Some writers want to call their 50,000 or 60,000 word manuscripts a novel. The culprit of this is probably National Novel Writing Month. It challenges you to “write a novel in a month.” The goal is 50,000 words. But go pitch that to a publishing company and be prepared for rejection. The minimum is usually 80,000 words and can go as high as 120,000. But then we have the genre thing again. Some sci-fi book competitions consider it a novel at 40,000 words. Go figure.

Novel

I don’t feel the need to get in depth with this one. We’ve all read the ancient (but still loved) tomes, to the thinner paperbacks from our favorite authors today.

I’ve already indicated novel word count, so here’s just another tip for browsing ebooks when all they give is the number of words. There are different ways to measure, but I did my own quick estimation on the last novel I read. Seems the pages averaged 330 words each. Don’t hold me to that, but it’s what I’m using. So when an ebook says it 96,000 words, I’d say it’s about a 290 page book. Just a guess.

Micro Fiction

I know I’m jumping around a bit here, but I can do it if my characters can! Okay, enough rant. Micro fiction is tiny. This is when you can tell a story in about the length of a Tweet. Or maybe a little longer than that, as in the case of my good FaithWriters.com friend, Jan Ackerson. Check out her blog, One Hundred Words for some awesome examples of micro fiction. 

Hope that helps clear up my insulting use of these terms. And maybe my explanation was a little less boring yet more informative than Wikipedia.

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

P.S. If you haven’t already, grab a copy of my .99 cent e-book (yes, I published one before I ever had an e-reader) Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions. If you have, I pray you were blessed, encouraged and left with more hope than you had before.

Amazon for Kindle: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions

Barnes and Noble for Nook: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions