@allisonwyss@zirk.us
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

allisonwyss

@allisonwyss@zirk.us

I don't think I've been lost. And a book(!): Splendid Anatomies (Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, 2022)

she/her/hers

Header: A slice of a book cover with a mixed textile sculpture called "High Lonesome" by Korey Rowswell, beside the words "Splendid Anatomies, stories, Allison Wyss"

Profile pic: Still a picture of Allison Wyss, trying to look badass but not quite getting there, but this time holding up an arm with a tattoo of her book's cover image (white woman, glasses, curly brown hair)

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allisonwyss, to random
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

I have less of a point or argument here than a musing. But I wrote about my fascination with fairy-tale time, its unpinnability, and how I keep wondering what relation that might have to the pseudo-contemporary non-time we find in many realistic stories.

What do you think?

https://bit.ly/4bJnIst

allisonwyss, to writing
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

I wrote about an interesting prologue. So let's talk about prologues!

Not whether you love them or hate them--but what they are uniquely able to do. What's the difference between a prologue and a first chapter? What is the function of a prologue? And what's the fun of it too? How do you think about whether to include one?

https://bit.ly/4avWqpA

allisonwyss, to writing
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

Ok. I have reason to go meta here. What about a conversation about conversations?

What sort of literary conversations are you involved in? (Please interpret that broadly!) And how do they benefit you as a writer? And how do keep them strong and positive and generative?

allisonwyss,
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@mcmullin

That's really true. I used to talk about this sort of stuff in real life, but that's gone from my life now too. At least mostly.

Covid was the final blow, but it was also fading away from other circumstances, like having a kid & moving to a place where I didn't know people. Covid kind of brought good conversations back to me, just in a different form because more people were participating virtually.

I like to think about access then. In-person conversations are so great, but...

allisonwyss,
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

@mcmullin

I know. We had such an opportunity to build something really inclusive, but then it all went to shit, and it makes me furious. And I know we should blame systems--the systems are the big problem--but I have such resentment at individuals too. It's not even hard to wear a mask! At the very freaking least! What kind of orgy are you having at the grocery store that you can't cover your mouth and nose?

allisonwyss, to climate
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

I got to interview Farah Ali about her beautiful debut novel, The River, The Town. We talked about building complex characters who make unexpected choices, writing about climate catastrophe, and the importance of hope.

https://bit.ly/HFFarahAli

allisonwyss,
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

So we talked about how learning about a character's past deepens our understanding of her--that's one way to make a complex character. But Ali also gestured to what's next for her & if she might change--that's the creation of a dynamic character.

I think dynamic and complex (deep, round) are often conflated but are useful to separate. A character can be one or the other or neither or both.

Which kind do you like to write?

allisonwyss,
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

And then, you know, I love flat characters too! (I adore fairy tales.). I think they can feel just as alive as the sort that we call "round" or "complex."

Some of that happens through implied or intuitive depth. (A favorite theory of mine!)

I haven't thought as much about this, but I think it probably happens through character change, as well. Which might part of why folks conflate dynamic and complex.

allisonwyss,
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What makes a character feel most alive for other folks?

So often people say they need to know more about characters--they want to know EVERYTHING--but for me, that's really not it. After all, I often don't know that much about people in my real life! But I need to know enough and it's fun to think about what can be enough.

orionkidder, to conservative
@orionkidder@writing.exchange avatar

I'm teaching a course and next week is , the idea that if you put something into a text, it should be there for a reason: plot, mood, character, world building, etc.

In the spirit of @allisonwyss, I'll point out, this is a tool not a rule, but what does this "rule" mean to you? Do you use it, subvert it, deconstruct it?

allisonwyss,
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@mcmullin @orionkidder

I love this story.

Names are such a thing, such. stylized convention in novels that do NOT act the way they do in real life. Because it would be confusing to have two very good friends named Kathryn, three Jennifers in your 8th grade class and at least seven other Allisons in your freshman dorm!

allisonwyss,
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@mcmullin @orionkidder

This makes think about the idea that stories aren't just what happens but a particular perspective on what happens. A framing of chaos to make sense of it. You don't tell a story by listing all facts (where would you stop?) but by focusing on the ones that create the meaning or experience you want to make happen.

allisonwyss, to random
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

I wrote about a really incredible use of a child's perspective (in Verushka, by Jan Stinchcomb).

Some writers--& some readers--prefer to mimic a child's language when they write from their perspective, but I don't want to be limited by that & now I'm thinking of other perspectives that jump words to make something stranger.

How do you approach perspectives when you can't--for any reason--use the character's words?

https://bit.ly/4bbnoUc

allisonwyss,
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@ajswritesthings @orionkidder @seanpatrickphd

Erg. But then I just imagined myself as English speaker saying this about a language I was trying to learn--that whatever is natural for me is good enough--and suddenly it seems like a really bad argument! So never mind! I don't know!

allisonwyss,
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@ajswritesthings @orionkidder @seanpatrickphd

But then again "neutral" isn't really a thing because there are so many dialects* and none of them is more right than another.

Edit to change "accent" to "dialect" because that's the sense I meant, but it might be confusing.

allisonwyss,
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@orionkidder @ajswritesthings @seanpatrickphd

I forgot the dictionary gives pronunciation and so was confused by using spelling to find neutral.

Now I'm thinking how we're all spelling these words we're using to communicate just the same, but likely pronouncing them very differently and understanding each very well and isn't that really beautiful?

(ok sometimes someone slips in an extra u and I also make lots of typos but you know, standard spelling does not make for standard pronunciation)

allisonwyss,
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@ajswritesthings @orionkidder @seanpatrickphd

It's really interesting though, even how they're codified. The way we learn how how that separate alphabet works is to translate it through our usual one, which means we're all still applying our own accents to it. At least as regular people and not formal linguists and such.

allisonwyss,
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@ajswritesthings @orionkidder @seanpatrickphd

How do you say the 'er'?

allisonwyss,
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@stevendbrewer @orionkidder @ajswritesthings @seanpatrickphd

Oh my god I never said it out loud that way but I totally just thought that british people stammered that way.

allisonwyss,
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@stevendbrewer @orionkidder @ajswritesthings @seanpatrickphd

And it made sense to me. R's don't just drop, they move around. For example, My in-laws have really strong New England accents. Every time my FIL drops an r, my MIL stuffs it in somewhere else, I swear.

allisonwyss,
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@orionkidder @stevendbrewer @ajswritesthings @seanpatrickphd

Well, my FIL grew up in Cambridge/Boston, my MIL grew up in Vermont/greaterMassachussetts. So that makes sense that R's just scattered to the surrounding states.

But also, some accents in that general area already move Rs from one place to another. The name Marsha is pronounced Mah-sher, sometimes. But also maybe not as much anymore because it turned into a joke and so.

allisonwyss,
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@stevendbrewer @orionkidder @ajswritesthings @seanpatrickphd

My mother has a story about renting a room on cape cod and being told she wasn't allowed to pah-ty there.

(Potty meant use the bathroom, but they were actually saying party, meaning bring back friends and play loud music and drink and stuff.)

allisonwyss,
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@seanpatrickphd @stevendbrewer @orionkidder @ajswritesthings

That's how my MIL says a lot of things. I've never parsed that it's only between vowels sounds but it might be.

allisonwyss,
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@ajswritesthings @orionkidder @seanpatrickphd @stevendbrewer

Yeah, I put in a glottal stop between "idea" and "of." But I don't think I do in "power up" -- unless I pause -- but that's because I actually say the hard R? I think?

allisonwyss,
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@orionkidder @ajswritesthings @seanpatrickphd @stevendbrewer

Yes. An R or a glottal and the R does seem like a smoother option. I hate glottal stops when I think about them, but they are everywhere in my dialect.

allisonwyss,
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@ajswritesthings @orionkidder @seanpatrickphd @stevendbrewer

Well, if I had to say a whole t every single time instead of softening to d I'd probably do that too.

allisonwyss,
@allisonwyss@zirk.us avatar

@ajswritesthings @orionkidder @seanpatrickphd @stevendbrewer

But a lot Ts turn to glottal stops in my dialect too, if I just pay attention and notice them.

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