The Opposite of Fate

[Sarah Flynn]

Tan, Amy.  (2003). The opposite of fate: A book of musings.  New York: Putman’s.

Author Amy Tan is most famously known for her books The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter’s Daughter.  The Opposite of Fate is the author’s first non-fiction book and is somewhat autobiographical, but maybe a little bit more than that.  She calls this a collection of musings and that is just what they are.  A collection of vignette writing about her family, to published papers and speeches.  Amy writes from many different points in her life, but the most fascinating pieces have to deal with her mother.  When Amy was writing The Joy Luck Club and then moving on to having it made into a movie, her mother kept telling her that’s not how things happened.  What Amy Tan does in her writing, which her mother had a difficult time understanding, is that she took what she knew and added fiction to her stories to make them relatable to an audience. 

Fate along with tragedy and hope seem to be the themes weaving throughout this book.  Amy Tan’s life is full of tragedy from the murder of her best friend, the deaths of her father and brother from brain tumors only a year apart, to her very tumultuous relationship with her mother. Rather than the author “telling” about her life, the reader gets a clear picture of the author’s life from different views with plenty of humor.  She looks at faith and fate to try and make sense of why things happen.  The author ends this book with humorous thought provoking musings as she talks about her own struggles with the latest tragedy in her life, her own diagnosis with Lyme Disease.

Questions:

Amy Tan’s work stems from real events that have happened in her life.  Can “writing what you know” limit you as a writer?

This book had me thinking about Lindsey’s presentation of vignette writing and the examples that she used.  Who would this type of writing appeal to the most?  Why might a student want to explore this type of writing?

 

[Doug Zimmerman]

Sarah -

I don't believe "writing what you know" limits an author one bit.  Creative non-fiction teaches us that imagination and eloquent language are often an effective combination when added to direct experience.  In addition, vivid description and focused detail, which may stem solely from first-hand knowledge, can enliven even the dryest subjects making them "come to life." 

Quite often during writing center consultations, I have discussed adding detail and description with students who are writing personal narratives.  Prior to the consultation, peer response groups and professors noted that the narrative's subject was interesting but that they couldn't "see" the situation, the people, the places, etc. an author presented.  What was missing was clear descriptions and vivid details that would transform an author's experience into a reader's experience.  In some sense, then, I am saying that "what you know" may be less important than "how you present it."

I believe vignette writing can have application in both creative writing and in classes such as advanced composition.  That is, vignettes force a writer to be concise and hyper-attuned to clear detail and idea presentation.  This works well for creative authors who want to strike fast and hard thus leaving a reader shocked or off balance.  For advanced composition students, vignettes work in much the same way as an annotation or precis (a shorter annotation) - no fluff allowed.  Damn good practice for someone well-versed in tangents. 

[Tracey Albee]

Sarah,

 

I absolutely LOVE this idea of adding fiction to "what you know." I think writing what you know doesn't limit you as a writer. Most people feel comfortable with writing what they know.  I know for students this is true. Many students have difficulty writing about something that they aren't familiar with. I think Amy Tan's strategy of writing from personal experience and adding fiction is genius. It would be interesting to have our students do this. I think students would like this because for some of them it is difficult to write about personal experience, but if they added fiction to it then the reader doesn't know what really happened and what didn't. I like Tan's word, "musings" because it creates a sense of adventure or suspense for the reader.

 

I, too, have been thinking about Lindsey's demonstration on vignettes and I think this type of writing appeals the most to teenagers. Teenagers are very interested in what their peers do on a daily basis. They are nosy and want to know everything about what is happening around them. Look at the TV shows they watch: The Real World, Jersey Shore, Big Brother, Teen Mom, etc. They are interested in the lives of others fictional or not. I think students might want to explore this type of writing because it is built into our culture. They want to tell a story but put their own twist on things. They enjoy "stretching the truth." I am quite interested in trying something like this with my Junior classes this year. I was going to do vignettes anyway but I am now interested in seeing my students put fiction into it. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.

 

See you soon!

 

Tracey

[Leigh A. Rasmussen]

Writing about what you know or your own experiences I believe can help students use language at its fullest. Students will be able to write from a state of passion. Their words will be their life and developing a story from that will allow them to learn more about writing. When they reread/rewrite their words memories will enhance their stories. When they share these stories their peers will be allowed to learn about each other. I think the grade level that this would appeal to is 8th - 12th. This age of student thinks about their lives all the time, they focus on how everything will effect them. It could be a great experience for them to get their thoughts out and reread or think about what was and what will be!

[Megan Garijo Pruitt]

Hi Sarah!

 

The concept we learn from this mentor text by Amy Tan, is one I believe we need to teach students more of;  using life experiences as the basis of our stories, adding in elements of fiction.  I have seen many accomplished writers use this strategy to connect a wide range of readers to the book.  Younger children are more concrete and often times cannot accept adding hyperbolism or fiction facts to their stories, however, when teachers believe it to be age-appropriate, we can teach students that "writing what you know" does not have to limit you as a writer.

 

Even teaching the word musings would most likely spark a lot of wonderings and thoughts from students.  From my experiences, vignette writing is 'freeing' for students.  They love capturing a moment in their life, making it vivid, and not necessarily connecting with any other idea.  I think vignette writing could begin as young as when students start writing entries in their diary. 

 

This sounds like a good book!  I will definitely check it out.

Thanks for the thinking~

: )  Megan

[Gia Maraccini]

Hey Sarah!

First off, this sounds like a wonderful read.  I am going to add it to my Amazon cart.  I loved the Joy Luck Club. 

With one week of school behind me, I have already been asked multiple times if they have to write about real stuff or can they make it up.  In my pursuit to have students choosing what they writing about I have responded that they can write about whatever they want, whether that is real or fiction.  I cringe inside when I answer, though, because I know their writing is usually better when they write about what they know.  Your post has me pondering that response, though.  I am thinking that maybe I need to take a different approach and start talking more about the fact that good writers take what they know about life and use it in their writing, whether that it is in a non-fiction writing piece or a fictional story.  We spend so much time using our schema to help us understand the reading we are doing.  I am thinking a very powerful reading/writing connection would be to talk about using that same schema they have to help them develop stronger fictional stories.  Wow!  Thanks for helping me make this connection!  I am really excited about the impact this will have on my students.

Lindsey’s presentation on vignette writing has helped inspire several different ideas for this year.  I am going to have students, in my Music Mania class, work on creating a vignette piece based on their music histories.  I have noticed how much students in this class love to share about their favorite concert, songs that make them think about life events, or strong feelings they have about their favorite artist.  I think the vignette piece will give them opportunities to share all of those thoughts/feelings without it being a bed to bed story about the Justin Beiber concert.  I am also planning on presenting vignette writing in my ELA class as a mini lesson idea for writer’s workshop.

Thanks again!

Gia

[Lindsey Wells]

Hi Sarah,

First of all let me just say thank you to everyone who mentioned my presentation. It is nice to know people were listening and actually got something out of it.

Secondly, I never knew Amy Tan wrote such a book and am definitely going to check it out. I think she is a great writer. I  think vignette writing can appeal to all audiences if it is done correctly. It has the potential to bring a scene to life with such detail and power. Students may like this type of writing because it is not so strict. There are guidleines, but no steadfast rules. Topics can vary greatly and so can the length of a vignette. I think it gives students a lot more choice.

Also, I do not think writing about what you know limits anyone. How can you write about something you don't know? Sometimes it can come across like my assignment, a sort of biography, but it can also lead to great books such as The Glass Castle, A Child Called It, The Joy Luck Club and The House on Mango Street which are all based on real events. Or even books like A Million Little Pieces. This author's problem was that he said it was a biography, but he did add fiction. If it was written simply as fiction based on real life, it would have been amazing. Writing about what we know leads to the most powerful and emotional writing in my opinion. Thanks for sharing,

Lindsey