Techniques for Writing Artful Narratives

Over the years of working with writers and copywriters, and studying works of art, I picked up some insights on how to write an artful narrative. If you have decided to work with a narrative: written, spoken or just using images; consider some of these techniques.

The art of doublespeak

During my graduate work at SFU, I was fascinated by the cultural, social, political and personal meaning of tattoos. I noted that the process of getting a tattoo involved pain, and after interviewing people about their experiences realized that the "pain" element was often part of the significance of the act for them. Tattoos are often relegated to the counter culture, and I made a connection between tattooing and sado-masochism. I wrote the following narrative, making it sound like an S&M experience, but it was actually about getting a tattoo. This photo panel (1 of 3) was about 4' wide by 12' tall, and hung with a metal chain and fastened in the gallery window.





By finding relationships between two normally unrelated concepts or things, you can build a metaphor by speaking about the one thing, but actually making hidden references to the other. The mixing up of the meaning of two different things should create a insights into both.

Another great example of "doublespeak" is the Enigma Video: Sadeness.

Sade-ness: not an Enigma

Procedamus in pace



This song, and many of Enigma's songs are about the conflict between the physical (body, sexuality, corporeal) and the spiritual (meaning of life, spiritual evolution, values and morals). This is immediately made clear in the music itself - the contrast between the ethereality of much of the spiritual/religious music such as Gregorian chants and others that are sampled, with grinding, techno, primitive and sexualized drums.

Enigma is not at all Christian in its theology - it offers absolutely no solutions, but only brings ideas into question. Enigma uses religious music from many different cultures including Christianity, Islam, Hindu and native peoples, etc. which suggests it is much more easily classified as New Age - a belief that all religions share common spiritual beliefs. New Age is said to have no true theology or discipline: it is based on personal exploration and is "situation-specific."

I see this song as clearly playing with (not coming to any conclusions about) the idea of sadism as a sexual/spiritual practice - it believes there is a spiritual release into Oneness, through the techniques of domination of submission through sexual practices that include pain and humiliation. Practitioners describe a religious ecstasy when certain thresholds are crossed.

The Marquis de Sade may be the writer who others later used as a historical figure in the term sadism or the practice and beliefs of sado-masochism, but contemporary sado-masochism is entirely different than what the Marquis described or practiced.

The Marquis de Sade is referred to as a representative of the practice of sado-masochism. In a sense, the questioner is conflicted between her Christian beliefs that sex, domination, submission, pain and humiliation are evil, while she herself is tempted by them, or perhaps has experienced them.

She asks:
Sade, tell me
Sade, give it to me ("give it to me" is a sexual reference)
Let us come in peace (a play on the word "come")
In the name of Christ, Amen (a teasing sacrilegious reference in this context).

Sado-masochism is a paradox, because it promotes a powerful pleasure to its practitioners, and a type of spiritual experience that feels "divine" while using techniques that are generally considered evil.

Ironically, some interpretations of Christianity, particularly as practiced the Medieval era, promoted submission and domination by the Catholic Church, including self-flagellation and the punishment of the body (the corporeal) to achieve the incorporeal (spiritual awakening).

Keep in mind that Michael and Sandra Cretu also live on the Spanish island of Ibiza, reknown for its wild, rave and party scene, and are highly involved in the dance club music industry.

Finally, in many of Enigma's works, there are explicit references to the celebration of the body and sexuality, and references to sado-masochism. In this video, there are clear visual to Romanticism and Neo-Gothic, both in terms of the architecture and visual style.

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Lyrics for: Sadeness (Part One)

Procedamus in pace
In nomine Christi, Amen
Cum angelis et pueris, fideles inveniamur
Attollite portas, principes, vestras,
Et elevamini, portae aeternales,
Et introibit Rex gloriae.
Quis est iste Rex gloriae?

Sade, dis-moi...
Sade, donnes-moi...
Procedamus in pace
In nomine Christi, Amen

Sade, dis-moi, qu'est-ce que tu vas chercher?
Le bien par le mal? La vertue par le vice?
Sade, dis-moi, pourquoi l'û?vangile du mal?
Quelle est ta relûÙgû?on? Ou sont tes fidû´les?
Si tu es contre Dieu, tu es contre l'homme
Sade, es-tu diabolique, ou divin?

Sade, dis-moi... Hosanna
Sade, donnes-moi... Hosanna
Sade, dis-moi... Hosanna
Sade, donnes-moi... Hosanna

In nomine Christi, Amen

---------------------------------

Translation of French and Latin

Let us come in peace
In the name of Christ, Amen
In the company of angels and children, we will find the believer
Raise the poles of your glorious doors
And once they are elevated,
The Glorious King will arrive
Who is this Glorious King?

Sade, tell me
Sade, give it to me
Let us come in peace
In the name of Christ, Amen

Sade, tell me
What are you looking for?
The good or the bad
Virtue or vice
Sade, why the gospel of evil?

What is your religion and the religion of your followers?
If you are against God, you are against man
Sade, are you diabolic or divine?

Sade, say to me, Hosanna
Sade, give to me, Hosanna
Sade, say to me, Hosanna
Sade, give to me, Hosanna

In the name of Christ, Amen

Author's note: Please don't make the assumption that I am into sado-masochism: I'm only interpreting the video.

The Art of Description and the Avoidance of Sentimentality

When writing an artful narrative in a North American, Eurocentric culture, such as ours, it's considered essential to avoid "sentimentality."

Definition: The quality or state of being sentimental especially to excess or in affectation. Marked or governed by feeling, sensibility, or emotional idealism. Resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought [a sentimental attachment] [a sentimental favorite]. Having an excess of sentiment or sensibility.

Writers recommend describing an event or a situation, from as objective a viewpoint as possible, avoiding excesses of feeling words. Allow the reader to interpret the character's emotions through his or her actions, rather than telling the viewer what he or she is feeling. By doing this, you will employ symbols and metaphors that suggest a specific act is revealing something about the character's true emotional state. Often used examples are the "excessive washing of hands" or "spilled coffee."

Here is a quote from a good essay I recommend reading on narrative. Click here to view the full article.

"A narrative is a moving picture. Like description, narratives need to have a rich texture of details so that the reader is seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching. The reader should experience the story, not simply hear it.

Stories add the element of time to description. Often stories start at the beginning and then follow the sequence of events chronologically. However, an effective variation on this pattern is to start in the middle of things and then use flashbacks to fill in the background information. This method is especailly effective in holding the reader's attention.

There are two extremes you want to avoid in writing a narrative. First, you can simply tell the story, event by event, without giving it any texture because you leave out descriptive details and dialogue. At the opposite extreme is a narrative that attempts to tell everything, painting detailed descriptions of every scene, quoting everything that is said, even speculating about the thoughts of the characters. A good narrative has texture, but it is suggestive rather than exhaustive. After all, the reader's imagination needs some room to fill in details. Giving too many details not only overwhelms the reader's imagination, it also slows the pace of the narrative.

Pacing is an important concept in narrative writing. Basically, pacing means that the writer sometimes slows the pace by putting more detail in, but sometimes she also hurries over details. A good way to know where to put in details and where to leave them out is to think of a narrative as consisting of episodes (smaller scenes that are strung together to make up a longer story). If you divide your story into a few short episodes, then you want suggestive detail within the episodes, but you want to hurry over the transitions between them. Think of episodes as pearls on a string. Make the pearls full orbed; keep the string stringy. The reader dwells in the episodes, but she needs to be oriented to them, and that is the function of the transitions."

How to Write a Narrative Essay
by Jesse Seldess, Professional Writer

Click here to learn how to write a narrative essay with these easy-to-follow tips.

Mutilation by Patrick Roscoe
Patrick Roscoe is an award-winning fiction writer who's dense narratives are filled with powerful and often disturbing imagery.

"Flies grow drowsy and drunk in Tanzanian sun, bumble against the mesh-screened window, burst with the promise of blood. Beside the sill, a small boy kneels on the floor of red tiles polished once a week by the silent houseboy; a scent of wax lingers like an eternal reprimand in the air. With a pin pinched between thumb and finger, the child contemplates the flies, discerns which is the fattest or biggest or most lazy. His left hand holds the chosen one in place and his right hand guides the pin into its body. Time holds its breath while the insect's thin hard encasing is being penetrated, then exhales in relief as the silver sliver eases into inner softness. The wings of the fly beat and buzz as red liquid drools upon the window ledge, glues its body there. With one finger, the boy paints lines and shapes upon his blank anonymous arm. He can draw numbers, letters of the alphabet, or more elusive symbols. Recently, he has learned to spell his name."

To read the rest of the story, click here.


Click here to view the Wikipedia Entry on Narrative