i have read all his novels so far, and liked each of them. and if light before day is a book that rice would have liked to read, i believe there’s a great journey ahead

go, chris!

I’m almost finished evaluating my intro to creative writing students’ final portfolio and so this is an excellent time to revisit this question. I think I agree with almost all of what you say, particular as it refers to students with better than absolute beginner skills. Absolutely there is much to admire in some of the recent popular fantastical texts, such as “Buffy” about which you point out:

“the writing is excellent, the characters rich and complicated, and the issues they deal with (ethical, moral, metaphysical) are important and paradoxically what I would consider “real.” These are some of the same characteristics I would look for in a good novel or story.”

What I see happening, though, is that the fantastical element of the story (or poem..I got several “end of the world” type poems that presume some end of days scenario that is supernatural) ends up being a “quick fix” for whatever problem or conflict or motivation the character(s) are struggling with. For instance, I hadn’t mentioned Native American mystical traditions in this category, but I’ve gotten a couple of those this semester. In one case the student has written a pretty good story about a young wife who escapes from an abusive husband and returns to her family, to find that though she had kind of rejected them, they still love her and are her source of strength. all good.

however, her final stage in the healing process is to go into the woods and undergo a native healing ritual that involves standing in the flow of a magical waterfall that literally removes all her physical bruises and breaks. and then the story ends. woman healed.

the writer, as I talked with her about this draft was fiercely committed to this waterfall scene — this was the key. I let her hold onto it (she made some other excellent revisions as well that solved some technical problems involving flashback in the story) but really, it’s not convincing in any of the ways we want short fiction to satisfy.

should I have strongly discouraged her in our talk about the first draft? As I’ve worked through this question, I think I’m glad to have let her explore what she really wanted — in this intro class. Would a vampire policy have forced her to develop the story in some more traditional way, or at least tone down the lights and mystery in the waterfall (making it more ambiguously mystical and more strongly metaphorical?) yes, but…?

I gave her an “A” on the story, as an effort in an intro class.

lynnell