Welcome to Northern Wordsmiths

What would Alice have to offer writers? Alice … Alice … Who the F*** (expletive deleted) is Alice?

Well, dear reader, Lewis Carroll’s imagery, symbolism and correlations in his ‘Alice’ novels offer we writers a perfect platform from to construct a great story. Ah! Yes. But what of the abstract messages in Alice’s Wonderland and Looking Glass? There are tips and hints that Alice and Co offer in a multitude of words, assisting writers to plan, plot and sub-plot, develop characters, edit soundly and keep to deadlines. The magnitude of inspired prose in Lewis Carrol’s writing shouldn’t be undervalued. Explored as writing tools, the ‘Alice’ stories will evolve writers’ talents into hitting the heights of imagination and revolutionary authorship. 

PLANNING AND OUTLINING

Alice says: ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said Cheshire Cat (Wonderland, chapter 6)

And in writing, everything depends on where you want to get to!

Outlining your story should be a well-planned path, pointing out conflicts and sub-plots along that road.  Clear signs of chapter synopses in developing a novel can only help in the organising and preserving the focus of the author.

A ‘STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS’ METHOD

Some writers choose not to follow a particular path – letting the pen do the walking for them. 

‘I don’t much care where…’, said Alice.
‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cheshire Cat.
‘…so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation. (Wonderland, Chapter 6)

Many writers follow their hearts rather than their heads when developing a plot. And that’s OK.  Remember, though, when using the “stream of consciousness” method, that this process is likely to flag up ideas for multiple plots; not necessarily produce a definite outline for a particular story. 

CHARACTER PROFILES

Writers must know their story characters inside out.  By profiling thorough back-stories, discrepancies are unlikely to occur.  If a profile is devised for each character, then the personalities, appearance, age etc. will remain the same.  Individual traits will come to life on the page as three-dimensional, real characters.
‘Who are YOU?’ said the Caterpillar.
… Alice replied, rather shyly, ‘I – I hardly know, sir, just at present – at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.’ (Wonderland, Chapter 5)

That could easily happen, when a character’s trait becomes unfamiliar, with contradictory behaviour.

SHARING IDEAS TO DEVELOP A STORY 

Sharing ideas, plot-outlines, or excerpts from stories, can help with potential clashes among characters and situations.  Sharing can also correct errors or omissions, chapter by chapter.  It can prompt questions from the reader; questions that may not have occurred the writer; situations that could be integral to the plot; events that may lead to a good sub plot:

‘Once upon a time there were three little sisters,’ Dormouse began in a great hurry; `and their names were Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie; and they lived at the bottom of a well …  
‘What did they live on?’ said Alice, who always took a great interest in questions of eating and drinking. 

‘They lived on treacle,’ said Dormouse, after thinking a minute or two.’

Ah, Dormouse needs time to think!  His character develops. The plot thickens! 

‘They couldn’t have done that, you know,’ Alice gently remarked; `they’d have been ill.’
So they were,’ said Dormouse; `VERY ill.’

(Ahh – maybe there’s room for a sub-plot here)

‘Why did they live at the bottom of a well?’

Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, `It was a treacle-well.”

(Ah! A new development – and perhaps conflict too!)

‘…And so these three little sisters–they were learning to draw, you know—’

(Dormouse decides to use yet another sub-plot)

“What did they draw?’ said Alice.

`Treacle,’ said Dormouse, without considering at all this time. (Wonderland, Chapter 7)

Sharing ideas can help the author in development of character, plot, sub-plot – the whole kit and kaboodle.   

KEEPING CHARACTERS REAL

‘… you’re only one of the things in his dream,’ said Tweedledum, ‘You know very well you’re not real.’
‘I am real!’ said Alice, beginning to cry. (Looking Glass, Chapter 4)

It’s important that even the most surreal character, circumstance or plot seems real to the reader; the writer bringing the story to life.  If the descriptions, dialogue and narrative are convincing, the reader is hooked into reading every word on every page.

GETTING THE READER TO BELIEVE

Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said: ‘one can’t believe impossible things. 

‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age…sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’ (Looking Glass, Chapter 5)

Using imagination, as writers, we can not only make our readers believe the impossible, or the improbable, but we can even make ourselves believe too!  Imagination and belief are key components of good writing.

OH NO – PURPLE PROSE! 

“‘Then you should say what you mean,’ the March Hare went on.
‘I do,’ Alice hastily replied; ‘at least – at least I mean what I say – that’s the same thing, you know.’
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. ‘You might just as well say, “I see what I eat” is the same thing as “I eat what I see”’ (Wonderland, Chapter 7)

The March Hare says, ‘you should say what you mean’.  And that extends to communicating to the reader exactly the point you are making.  As readers, we’ve all been privy to lengthy sentences that meander around in circles.  We’ve all had to put up with over-use of adjectives and adverbs – often, characteristics of ornamental, overwritten prose. ‘Purple prose’ such as this may give us the impression that this style of prose strengthens the writing. Actually, in many ways, the opposite is true: when opacity infests the writing, leaving it weak and fuzzy. 

Where ‘money is power’ to the magnate, ‘words are power’ to the author.

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’  (Looking Glass, Chapter 6) 

TIME TO EDIT

‘Dormouse was sitting between March Hare and Mad Hatter, fast asleep… (Wonderland, Chapter 7)

Sleeping on a completed story is the best way forward. putting the story ‘to bed’ for a couple of days allows for time for the story to ‘settle’.  So that, when revisiting the piece, the writer can examine the story and edit with clear vision.

KEEPING DEADLINES

`Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!’ (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 1), said the White Rabbit as he checked his pocket watch.

Being late for a submission deadline is setting the writer up to fail.  Given that cut-off date, the writer needs to timeline events so that the script is ready on time.  Imagine if the White Rabbit had a Google calendar on a mobile phone!

NONSENSE – OR NO NONSENSE?

“The Red Queen shook her head, ‘You may call it nonsense, if you like,’ she said. 

(Looking Glass, Chapter 2)

Oh, Red Queen, I wouldn’t dream of calling it nonsense!  The ‘Alice’ novels, embedded in the genre of children’s nonsense stories are, furthermore, not only “children’s books” – and the ‘nonsense’ is not as random as it seems.  Can you hear the ‘BOOM’ as the writing bomb detonates? Does it create more – or less – of a wonderland of “no nonsense”?  

As words blast up from the earth, the story settles out of the dust, into something amazing, something inventive. Something brilliant and creative. 

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The END?

 Well … in the words of an old Eydie Gormé hit song – This could be the START of something BIG!

Who knows?