BY LOIS WADSWORTH
The Writer’s Life
Elizabeth Lyon’s world of words
A WRITER’S GUIDE TO FICTION:
A
concise, practical guide for novelists and short-story
writers by Elizabeth Lyon. A Perigee Book, Penguin
Group, 2004. Paperback, $13.95.
E
lizabeth Lyon has lived in Eugene
since 1986, and she describes living
a writer’s life here as “a long, hard
journey.” Her multi-faceted writing and edit-
ing career began when she started a business
called Custom Letters in Corvallis in 1984-
85. “I just hung out a shingle,” she said, offer-
ing to write letters, including love letters, as
well as standard resumes, press releases,
business letters and advertisements.
In what Lyon said was a “combination of
timing and dumb luck,” the press kit — her
first ever — was received by the media in
January, when reporters were seeking an
original Valentine story for February. KVAL-
TV came to rural Corvallis to interview her,
and the Gazette Times in Corvallis ran a
photo feature. “Within two weeks, I had a 20-
hour-a-week business,” Lyon said.
It was a modest beginning for Lyon’s
entrepreneurial businesses, which now
include a successful editing partnership,
Editing International LLC, and her own com-
pany, titled Elizabeth Lyon Unlimited, for her
non-editing work.
Besides teaching non-credit writing
courses at LCC and workshops at confer-
ences, retreats and seminars, Lyon has also
found time over the years for her own writ-
ing. Her published books include A Writers’
Guide to Nonfiction, Nonfiction Book
Proposals Anybody Can Write, The Sell Your
Novel Tool Kit, and her latest book, A
Writer’s Guide to Fiction.
I noticed that form and function
are well wedded in Lyon’s new
book. The organization of
chapters is lucid, beginning
with an overview and the
first fleshing out of char-
acters, story (“the deep-
est meaning of a tale”),
plot (the specific char-
acters and events that
fulfill the story), and
mapping (overall struc-
ture: situation, compli-
cation, resolution).
“I see myself as a
structuralist,” Lyon said. “I
teach people how to create
the skeleton. Once you’ve
mastered structure, then you can
forget it,” she said. The techniques of
fiction writing can be applied to literary non-
fiction, including memoir, she said.
Later chapters revisit the topics but go
deeper into the art of fiction writing, includ-
ing characterization, which Lyon calls “the
source of a writer’s greatest magic.’ The final
chapters include trouble-shooting, learning to
market and refining your vision.
The small text boxes that summarize
complex ideas in all the chapters are helpful,
such as: “Flashbacks too early annoy readers;
flashbacks later on can fill in missing infor-
mation and supply character depth.” And:
“The fewer main characters you use, the
more control you retain.” Also: “Omniscient
point of view rarely works, except in the
hands of a masterful writer.”
Another helpful structure is Lyon’s use of
short passages or opening sentences from
successful novels to illustrate, for
example, narrative leads that
hook the reader. Simply real-
izing the variety of ways to
start your project may
help you think about
what you’re writing in a
different way.
Although I am writ-
ing nonfiction, I found
many of the ideas here
relevant and genuinely
useful. However, I had
to skip over the section
in “Deepening Your
Characters” chapter on the
use of assigning archetypes
to
fictional
characters.
Archetypes are by definition non-
human; they represent powerful, self-
governing characteristics of the unconscious,
which, as far as I know, cannot be harnessed
for any project one might have in mind.
Lyon is a warm, personable woman, and
it is easy to imagine she would be a pleasure
to work with. In addition to her professional
editing work, Lyon is invited to speak at
many conferences and to present workshops.
Several years ago I interviewed a writer
who had taken a workshop from Lyon and
bought one of her books. This writer sold her
first book (nonfiction) on the basis of her
query letter. An impressive number of
Editing International’s clients have published
nonfiction and fiction books and film propos-
als. They are listed on “Your passport to pub-
lishing,” a brochure about the service
(www.4-edit.com).
ew
BOOK NOTES (July 29 - August 26):
Congratulations to Diana Abu-Jaber (Crescent)
and Floyd Skloot (In the Shadow of Memory)
for winning Pen Center USA’s 2004 Literary Arts
awards for fiction and creative nonfiction,
respectively. …Kudos to Elmira’s Dean Van
Leuven (Life Without Anger: Your Guide to
Peaceful Living) for being first runner up best
book of the year in the self-help category at the
International New Age Trade Show. …Summer
04 Etude, an online magazine from the UO
Literary Nonfiction Program, includes an
interview with Barbara Ehrenreich at
http://etude.uoregon.edu. …Soft Skull Press
presents David Ohle (The Age of Sinatra) at 5
pm on Aug. 6 at Tsunami Books. …The 35th
annual Willamette Writers Conference takes
place at the Embassy Suites Portland Airport
Hotel August 6-8. (www.willamettewriter.com or
503- 452-1592). …Lane Literary Guild’s annual
potluck will be held from 4-7 pm on Aug. 7 at the
Quonset hut at Mt. Pisgah. Bring food, non-alco-
holic drink and something to read at open mic. …
Nearly 30 Oregon authors will appear at the
Lane County Fair, August 17-22, including Bob
Welch (American Nightingale), Carola Dunn
(The Case of the Murdered Muckraker), Leigh
Anne Jasheway (Laugh Lines) and Joe Blakely
(The Tall Firs). …Joe Meno (Hairstyles of the
Damned) will read at 7 pm on Aug. 18 in Barnes
and Noble. …Maura Conlon-McIvor (FBI Girl:
How I Learned to Crack My Father’s Code) reads
on Sept. 9 at Tsunami Books. Call for time.
Summer Glee
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