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EVERY lesson has a reflection in the last 5 minutes. WHAT - SO WHAT - NOW WHAT?
Featuring the skilful use of narrative point of view to represent multiple perspectives, the story features an observational style and episodic structure.
Full Text
Full Text
Questions:
Questions:
1. Why does he write a story about writing stories? How does this enhance his narrative?
2. Give an overview of each plot. Are there any links between the stories?
3. Do you think the writer in the story is Colum McCann or a fictional writer?
4. Recall a time when you had to write a story. Write the story of your story. You can change the story to make it more interesting. Avoid describing how boring writing is or how much you hated it.
Activities
Activities
•In groups make diary entries (using the time references in the short story) of the progress in the ideas of the author about his story noting how his ideas change and grow regarding setting, characterisation and plot
•Chart the writer’s procrastinations, concerns, choices, changes and decisions
•Extract the chronological completed story in finished form from the metafictional account
•Use some of the discarded choices to create your own story
•With research input consider what metafictional techniques McCann has used
•In groups discuss ideas for stories you could write using these metafictional techniques
PAC-V Analysis
PAC-V Analysis
Purpose
Purpose
Audience
Audience
Context
Context
Values
Values
About Colum McCann
About Colum McCann
Colum McCann is an Irish novelist and short story writer. He is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the 2009 National Book Award and the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Website: http://colummccann.com/
Links
Links
McCann Wants to Knock Readers Off Balance - Wall Street Journal
What is it: A writer muses on a short story he has been engaged to write about New Year's Eve. He settles on the conceit of a 26 year old marine stationed on her own in the Afghan night, and the phone-call she will make home to America to talk to her teenage son. Two stories unfold in communion with one another - the author arriving at decisions on what to write and why, and the marine preparing herself for her New Year's Eve phone-call. It's the same reflexivity alluded to in McCann's 'Thirteen Ways of Looking', only this time it's an explicit part of the story.
Scope for Study / Verdict: McCann's story is very much an exercise in metatextuality - he renders himself as a third person narrator, musing on the process of creating a short story, and tells the story within this framing device. The beauty of this is that it allows the author to describe the why and the how of each element of his story, and students will be able to essentially 'watch' the writer build a story from scratch - for example, the narrator's explanation of the characters' ages in part 6 of the story and why these are important in regards to the shape and intent of his story. This can be discussed in class in terms of why each minute detail of a story needs to be justified and used to a particular end.
Page Count: 12 pages.
Source: As per 'Thirteen Ways...', this short story is also featured in McCann's anthology Thirteen Ways of Looking, published in 2015.
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