The Path to Creation
This past week, Dr. Fred Arroyo shared an emotional short story he has worked on for some time. His story is entitled “Crowbar” and provides insight into the protagonist’s mind. Now situated as a fully grown adult, Manuel is reminded of his traumatic upbringing that included his mother dying of influenza, his father being a “bastard,” and other “accidents” his father urged him not to make later in life. Aside from the plot, the most beautiful part of the story was the extensive use of descriptive imagery and metaphors to establish the world Manuel was living in and the relationships among different characters. For example, Manuel fixates on his mother’s handwriting to demonstrate his longing for her; he explains that he can hear her within every letter that makes up the writing.
One idea I picked up throughout the story was the disparity between memory and imagination: When do memories become sheer imagination? What causes this to happen? I’d like to put some input in and argue that trauma plays a heavy influence on the development of false memories, usually seen as a defense mechanism to protect oneself from dark, honest truths. Arroyo’s “Crowbar” speaks to this idea beautifully, and it is interesting to see how much weight past family trauma carries on those affected by it. Does it force people to trudge through this trauma? Does it conflate reality with fear, and if so, how do people cope with it? Do people even realize this conflation? All these questions stem from Arroyo’s work, and I believe there is much value in delving into this idea further — perhaps even with other discourses on the topic.
After Arroyo read his story, students were allowed to ask a few questions about Arroyo and the creative process he took in developing this project. One of the questions asked focused on characters. Arroyo replied, explaining that story writing is less about creating complex characters; it is more about creating images and running with them. He urges that images guide the story into existence and will automatically create characters wherever the images see fit. Dr. Arroyo notions that focusing on specific characters will inhibit a story, thus not telling it to the best of its ability.
Arroyo briefly explained the process of writing “Crowbar.” While traveling in the summer of 2023, Arroyo discovered a specific bar in North Dakota that stuck with him, ultimately realizing that this image would be used in a future story. He combined this image with others to build the story’s foundation, filling in the “missing” pieces with nuanced characters. Again, I would like to emphasize Dr. Arroyo’s insistence that characters do not and should not drive a story. Stories revolve around images, and these images can be manipulated using characters to transform a simple fable into a fully-fledged story.
Arroyo’s discussion resonated among audience members, as it allowed us, for a moment, to get inside his brain and understand how he views stories. His understanding of creating a story will enable us to test his assertions and be as creative as possible. This provides hope for those who are maybe not as comfortable in the creative writing realm to gain enough confidence to begin writing. I would like to note that no writing is “bad.” I’d consider myself an inexperienced writer, but I find it fun. You do not have to take my advice, but I urge everyone to start writing; I have found solace within it that cannot be seen doing many other things. I applaud Dr. Arroyo’s reading this past week at In Process. It was a great experience, and it was one where many learned new ideas or perspectives about creating stories that I believe will benefit us all with our future writing projects.
Nicholas Perrone is the Fall 2024 In Process Series intern.
