I featured this book a couple of years ago, but I am revisiting it because this month’s theme is humor, and Patrick McManus is my favorite humor writer. His stories appeared in Field & Stream and Outdoor Life and then were collected into books. He also wrote a series of mysteries featuring Sheriff Bo Tully.
One of the many great things about this book is that Mr. McManus’s day job was teaching writing at Eastern Washington University, so not only could he write, he could teach it, too. Even if you don’t write humor, The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursions into the Writing of Humor is packed with great advice.
I like the framework for the first half of the book. Mr. McManus has an imaginary character named Newton ask questions about writing, such as “Pat, what do you mean by ‘indirection’ in a story?”, “What do you believe is the ultimate in prose style, Pat?’, and “Short humor, Pat. What is it and who cares?”
In the second half of the book, the author selects twelve of his short stories and provides commentary about each one, focusing on structure or characters or some other writing techniques.
In his commentary on the story “Sequences”, Mr. McManus describes the Recognition Factor. These are little aspects of life that are true to almost everybody. Writers notice these thing because we are always on the look out for inspiration. The reader “gets this little charge of delight” when he reads something in a story that he recognizes from his own life.
When he comments on a disastrous camping trip in “The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw,” Mr. McManus explains that he visualizes “the kind of disaster I want to produce”. Then he plots the events “that will lead to that disaster.”
Both of these pieces of advice I can use in my mysteries. In my upcoming short story, “A Rose from the Ashes”, my main character owns a beat-up truck with gears that jam. My dad had a truck like that when I was growing up. Many readers have had a vehicle that quits working when they need it most. That’s the Recognition Factor.
When plotting a mystery, I often know where I want to end. Then I plot backwards and see how I can logically arrive at my ending.
I’ll be discussing other pieces of advice from this book later this month.
Has a humorous story contained a Recognition Factor for you?
I think that the best stories are the ones you can relate to, no matter the genre.
So true! When I picked up the first collection of Patrick McManus short stories, I had no idea I would enjoy outdoor humor so much since I don’t fish or hunt. At least, I didn’t then. My youngest is a fishing fanatic and I’m learning the sport fast.
Favorite quote…”When plotting a mystery, I often know where I want to end. Then I plot backwards and see how I can logically arrive at my ending.”
Thank you! The longer I write, the more I realize I need to know the ending before I can start a story. I guess that means I’m a plotter, not a pantser.
I like to know the ending, but I love being surprised throughout the story. How does one explain the sensation of discovering something new about a character through his own words. Perhaps, I’m both. 😊
I’ve had that happen with a character. I was writing the climax to a short story that’s coming out Nov. 1. One of the characters turned nasty on me. It was a surprise and yet it made sense.