Episodic Writing: A Scots Quair
By Lehua Wells
Are you a great story teller in a tea shop or around a campfire but a total loss at writing the Great American Novel?
A few months ago I enjoyed a lively visit with Eila Algood when she interviewed me on Zoom for her program Inside the Writers Studio. At first, I was terrified of Zoom and of being in the spotlight but Eila was so much fun she made me very comfortable.
For a few years I've been doing what I call "episodic writing" and I talked a little about what I mean by that. We wanted to keep the interview short and concise so I didn't want to do any noodling or diversions by mentioning how I became inspired about that when I found a huge tome called A Scots Quair by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, the story of a woman's life.
A few chapters along I was intrigued to realize that each chapter could stand alone if isolated. Each one was a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end, yet they were embraced soundly within the full novel.
When I tried it out, I was so tickled! This was me!
Since then, I've been writing a minimum of one story per night and often more.
I now have collections such as Growing up in Waikiki, The Kalij Family, and I Got Pigged!
This approach may not be for you, we're all so different, but I hope you enjoy taking a look at it.
Are you a great story teller in a tea shop or around a campfire but a total loss at writing the Great American Novel?
A few months ago I enjoyed a lively visit with Eila Algood when she interviewed me on Zoom for her program Inside the Writers Studio. At first, I was terrified of Zoom and of being in the spotlight but Eila was so much fun she made me very comfortable.
For a few years I've been doing what I call "episodic writing" and I talked a little about what I mean by that. We wanted to keep the interview short and concise so I didn't want to do any noodling or diversions by mentioning how I became inspired about that when I found a huge tome called A Scots Quair by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, the story of a woman's life.
A few chapters along I was intrigued to realize that each chapter could stand alone if isolated. Each one was a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end, yet they were embraced soundly within the full novel.
When I tried it out, I was so tickled! This was me!
Since then, I've been writing a minimum of one story per night and often more.
I now have collections such as Growing up in Waikiki, The Kalij Family, and I Got Pigged!
This approach may not be for you, we're all so different, but I hope you enjoy taking a look at it.
[Some of Lehua’s episodic writing can be found in the Volcano Writers Group’s
newly published book Out of our Minds: Voices from the Mist]
[Lehua’s interview on Inside the Writers Studio can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o29TMnosmng ]
newly published book Out of our Minds: Voices from the Mist]
[Lehua’s interview on Inside the Writers Studio can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o29TMnosmng ]
