Fifth Day of Class
When the students filed into the classroom, one or two at a time, Professor KRenee was already there. Normally, she ran a couple minutes late, so it was a surprise for the students who gave it any thought to see her in the room when they walked in. She sat on the table in the front of the classroom, her laptop behind her and a huge mug of coffee sitting beside her. She smiled as the students settled down in their seats, awaiting the start of her lecture.
"So, to start things off, I am going to very briefly to talk to you about the rules of genre, which I should've gone over before we covered what we did in the last class." The professor began with a sheepish smile.
"Genres have rules. Each one of them has a different set of rules, and those rules constitute a sort of bargain that any author in that genre makes with their readers, so readers of a novel count on the author not to break the rules of the genre." She explained carefully, "Authors generally don't break the rules because then they can't get published, and readers will throw their book across the room."
"Romance novels are hard to write because they are usually entire books that consist of a conflict that can almost always be resolved with one question and one answer." The professor stated, "The whole book is about why she can't ask and he can't answer or he can't ask and she can't answer. Romance novels are usually an exercise in miscommunication. Just look at Romeo and Juliet.
"The better romance novels are those with obstacles - because romances don't have conflict, they have obstacles to the romance - that aren't stupid." She looked around the room, watching the note-taking students, "Fairly often, there isn't a "bad guy" in romance novels at all. There's just some thing, some circumstance, some secret, some misplaced loyalty, some something, that keeps the guy from getting with the girl, no matter how much they're lusting after reach other."
"In the last class, we wound up using a romance/mystery plot instead of a plain romance. There's a reason for me letting you get away with not giving me a straight romance plot, and I'll explain now." The professor stated, glancing at a pile of papers sitting on the table beside where she sat. "Because of the nature of fanfiction, at least most of the stories you will read and write won't be plain old romance. Usually, you'll encounter or write a story that has romance as either a subplot or a reasonably significant part of the main plot. I would venture to guess that most fanfictions with romance would also feature action/adventure as a primary or secondary genre, depending on the story."
"Romance is intensely popular as a genre. Even so, at least in fanfiction, it doesn't do well on its own. This probably has a lot to do with how easy it is to write a terrible romance. It's much easier to be lazy when writing a romance than when writing probably any other genre out there, likely because of the nature of the genre." Professor KRenee explained. There was a brief pause as she glanced down at her lap, evidently collecting her thoughts. Whatever she had thought of, she didn't seem particularly happy with it, if the frown that appeared on her face was any indicator.
"I don't really have any good tips for avoiding that laziness because I don't write romance, and I don't like the genre in general. I don't mind reading about romance within the context of an action/adventure, or a fantasy, or whatever, but you couldn't get me to sit through a story where romance is the only genre if you tried." She said apologetically, "The best advice I can give you is to just do what I've been telling you all along - think before you write. When it comes to romance, you should probably think double-time because of how much easier it is to mess up a whole story.
"If anyone has any questions, please ask. If you ask me, I can ask my mom, and then you'll have a really well-rounded, excellent answer to your question." She told them, and there was a ripple of chuckles at her open confession of having her mother as a primary resource for romance.
There were no comments or question at that moment, so KRenee smiled again. "I'm not going to give any homework for that very tiny "true romance" unit, so we're going to move along.
"Mystery is where we're going next. Mysteries are, obviously, stories centering around a mystery of some sort or another. Basically, something happens and people don't know why, or how, or who, or whatever, and it's up to the hero or heroin to solve the mystery. Usually, a mystery will feature detectives or police officers, dead bodies, theft, spies, and etcetera. Things that are mysterious and people that solve those mysteries as a part of their job, or hobby, or whatever." The professor stated, looking at the students as she spoke.
"You don't have to have a genuine detective as your hero or heroin in a mystery," She explained to them carefully, thoughtfully. "You can have a mystery with some person just solving something because its important to them. You can have amateurs doing the solving and not really knowing what they're doing. That's perfectly fine. But if you're going to do that, you have to remember to stick to the idea of a novice. If your character isn't a detective, that means that they don't know how to investigate. They're going to mess up, they're going to miss things, they're probably going to get hurt a few times. Think before you write.
"Mysteries are also the only genre that is most frequently written in first person. There's a reason for that. The point of a mystery is for your readers to follow a detective as they figure out said mystery." The professor explained, looking around the room again. "If you write it from third person, you'll be giving the readers too much information. Third person usually jumps around points of view, so you'll end up telling your readers who the bad guy is before your hero or heroin has any inkling of who it could be, and that spoils the ending for everybody."
Most of the students seemed very interested in the topic, but no one was taking very many notes. It made sense to KRenee, though - most fanfictions weren't mysteries, and therefore most writers wouldn't care much about retaining the information.
"As an author, your job is to lead your readers through some kind of investigation via your hero or heroin," The professor told them, not at all minding the lack of interest. She needed to cover everything, whether her students liked it or not. "You have to offer up clues that come together in the end and make sense. Don't beat your readers over the head with your clues, either - you don't want them to know who did the deed before your hero or heroin. You also don't want to give clues that are really obvious. If possible, you want your readers and your hero or heroin to not realize that they're looking at a clue until later in the story, when things start coming together."
"My final comment for this unit is extremely important, so pay attention: if you're going to write a police procedural, or a detective story, or anything along those lines, do your research first. Don't you dare just assume that you know what you're talking about because you've seen Criminal Minds. Don't assume anything, look it up. Google is your friend! Look for valid resources and go through multiple sites to come up with the answer to whatever question you're asking the internet." She said severely, "This is true for any story; if you're writing about something you don't know everything about, research it. Rather than just making up a procedure for something because you don't know how it's actually done, look it up!
KRenee paused, looking both thoughtful and as though she was starting to get herself worked up. She gazed at her class, frowning deeply. "Did you know that, in a real medical facility, the curved ultrasound camera is specifically used to see a baby in a uterus? For everything else, they use a smaller one that isn't curved at all. Look it up. I know this because I got an ultrasound of my heart and I noticed that the nurse wasn't using the curved camera, and it was explained to me that shows like House, M.D. use the curved camera because its familiar to people. Don't do that. Ever.
"That's bad writing. If you use something incorrectly, or use incorrect information, your readers are going to think certain things that aren't true. And until someone corrects them, they will believe that they know that thing. And if they're writers and they put that incorrect information into their stories, they're just spreading more false information." KRenee chided, "About five years ago, I read a story, and in that story was the two-word phrase "per say." And for the following five years, I thought that that particular two-word phrase was written "per say." Then, about two months ago, whilst my mom was beta-reading one of my chapters for Something New, she came to one of my "per say" moments, and corrected it to "per sé" and told me that I had written it wrong, and that the phrase is French."
"I had been writing "per say" for years. And god only knows how many people have seen that and used context clues to figure out what it means and then forever wrote it as "per say."" The professor say, scowling slightly. She looked oddly irritated about this story. Almost indignant, actually. "Don't just assume you know things because you saw it on TV, or in a movie, or read it in a book or a fanfiction. Just do the research. It probably won't take long, and you'll learn a few things. Learning is good. It keeps you young. Your brain is like a muscle; if you don't use it, you're going to lose it. So do the friggen research."
KRenee took a stabilizing breath at the end of her rant. She sighed, looking up at the students. "That's pretty much it for the mystery unit. Does anyone have any questions before I give you your homework?"
A student towards the back of the room with reddish hair and an icy gaze slowly raised his hand. He looked as though he didn't really want to ask whatever it was he wanted to know, or like he didn't think he was going to like the answer he got. KRenee blinked, looking a little surprised at the raised hand. Nevertheless, she looked over at him, smiling encouragingly.
"Yes, Eleven?" She asked, surprising everyone when she addressed him by name. Did she know the author of the character? Or had she been given specific permission to use the character in the class? There was a hushed ripple of confusion that rolled through the classroom, and Eleven's hand went down with a suddenness that suggested he was extremely adverse to the attention he was getting due to KRenee calling him by name.
He cleared his throat, looking exceedingly uncomfortable, and asked, "This is about the research... what if the procedure you're using isn't a real procedure? Would it be alright to make something up in that situation?"
KRenee looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyes narrowing and her lips pulling to the side. "Can you give me an example?" She requested, and the redhead frowned deeply, practically glaring at her for asking him to speak again.
"If it's a world in which human research is often conducted," he began, looking extremely unhappy with the situation, "Would it be alright to make up procedures, at least to some extent? Since human... experimentation isn't something that we do in the real world, you can't really just look up a procedure for turning someone into a super soldier."
"Ah, yes, okay." KRenee replied, nodding in complete understanding. "In that situation, I would say that you should avoid describing exact procedures." She said, watching Eleven carefully. The icy look in his eyes had been replaced with what looked like a bone-deep discomfort. It was growing to be obvious that he was not at all pleased with the conversation he was having, and as the other students contemplated the implications of both his question and the fact that his name was "Eleven," it became mostly clear as to why he was so tense.
"If you're writing the scene of the procedure from your character's point of view because your character is awake during said procedure, try to focus on something aside from what is actually being done. Don't write about the extraction of an eye, write about the excruciating pain and the terror. Instead of telling us what the surgeon is doing, show us your character screaming and begging and crying in pain and fear." KRenee explained, her gaze locked onto Eleven's. He had sunk into his chair somewhat, and his face had paled significantly. He looked like he wanted to throw up, but he didn't look away from KRenee's bright purple eyes.
"In a situation like that, your character wouldn't really know what exactly was going on. Think about it: if they're awake, they're probably very securely strapped down and can't so much as turn their head. All they know is that whatever's happening, it hurts, and they're going to be terrified. They won't know what those doctors or surgeons or scientists are doing." The professor continued, beginning to look a little solemn as she watched Eleven wilt under whatever emotional turmoil he was experiencing.
"So, to answer your question: if you can avoid telling us about the procedure, do so. If you can't, for whatever reason, pull from real-world procedures." KRenee stated. Finally, Eleven broke eye contact, his gaze turning to his notebook. He was such a quiet individual, it was odd for him to be the center of attention. Today was the first time he had spoke up, and it was clear that he was regretting it. The professor frowned slightly, looking unhappy, and continued talking. "If its a brain transplant, look up heart transplants and the brain, brain stem, and spinal cord. Figure out as much as you can about surgery and the body parts in question, and see what you can come up with. Try to be as realistic as possible, and do as much research into it as possible."
KRenee smiled slightly at Eleven, who was still looking at his notebook with hooded eyes. His hands were in his lap, fingers curled into fists, and he was slouching forward a lot more than he had been originally. After a moment of silence, he looked up at KRenee. Upon seeing the sympathy in her eyes, his gaze hardened, his scowl returned, and his eyes turned icy again. The sight of her sympathy had obviously infuriated him, but he didn't say anything to her about it. He just glared, daring her to say something about whatever it was that was going through his mind.
A few more seconds passed before KRenee sighed, closing her eyes briefly before looking around the room. Eleven didn't cease his glaring, but the professor was obviously not paying anymore attention to the silently raging student in the back of the room.
"Does anyone else have any questions?" The silence in the room was made deafening by the awful vibe coming from the back row. No one said a word or raised a hand, and KRenee nodded in satisfaction. "Alright then, time for homework!"
This time, a few students did groan. They really weren't interested much in the mystery unit. The professor smiled, "I know, I know. I'm sorry, but it's really important to me that you all improve your writing. And the best way to improve is to write things you don't normally write. As I'm sure a lot of you know by now, I'm no longer requiring any of you to actually do the homework. If you want to do it, do it. If you don't want to send it to me, don't. If you don't want to do it at all, you don't have to, but know that you're missing out on a learning experience every time you skip the homework."
A few students who had been looking like they might skip the homework sank into their seats guiltily. KRenee's smile broadened. "For the homework this time, I want you to write a scene from a mystery story. You can use whatever characters you want and whatever scene you want. It doesn't matter where in the story you decide to write the scene. You can write an opening scene, you can write a little drabble that happens somewhere in the middle, you can write the very, very end. Whatever you want. I'll leave five prompts on the whiteboard for anyone who can't think of where to start. If you use one of those prompts and decide to send your piece to me, please tell me which prompt you used.
"Remember everything we've covered thus far about characters, plots, genres, and all that lovely stuff. If you need to go back and reread the lessons, please do. Whatever you do with your piece, remember that you're writing a mystery. And, as usual, think about it before you write it." She slid off the desk, shaking her legs out one at a time and rolling her shoulders.
"That's all for today. You're free to go," KRenee said with a grin. The students immediately started packing up. She quickly called over the mild din of students talking and getting ready to leave, "Don't forget to check the board before you go!"
With that, she walked around the table and leaned over her laptop, swiftly doing the attendance as the students left the room. She closed her small laptop and straightened up, tucking the computer under her arm and grabbing the mug of coffee she had forgotten about. There was a layer of coffee-skin on top, and she made a disgusted face at it before sliding it into some kind of in-between space in midair and dumping the contents into nowhere.
"God, I just need to stop bringing coffee in here." She muttered, before crossing the room and stepping out into the vortex of imagination that lay just beyond the door.
The Whiteboard
- Write a scene that would take place in a mystery story. It doesn't matter where, when, or with whom the scene takes place. Use whoever and whatever you want. Just remember that you're writing a mystery, and think before you write!
- Prompt 1 (A Location): A rural village called "Crossroads."
- Prompt 2 (First Lines): The guy was always at the bus stop, playing guitar with his case open for tips, until one day he wasn't.
-Prompt 3 (Dialogue): "So, if we stay true to form, I run around checking it all out, almost getting myself killed more than once while I'm at it, and in the end, you try to kill me when I get too close to finding out that you actually killed him yourself for his life insurance."
Prompt 4 (Random Things): A soaked pair of sneakers, a green sedan with a dent in the driver's side door, and a florist with something to hide.
Prompt 5 (An Event): A phone rings in the middle of the night.