Tracking Lessons
A friend of mine who came to tracking class last Sunday, sent me an email yesterday that said: "...I totally identified with Pete [her dog]--it is like me thinking all those thoughts and training myself to just follow the thought patterns on just one thought....have you ever thought of using the same techique to teach writers to write?"
This would probably be a lot more insightful comment if I knew what she was talking about.
What I think she's referring to is a comment I made when I was describing the process of tracking and I said, dogs already know how to track, they do it all the time and everyday. What you have to show them is that now there's one particular scent that you want them to pick out and follow.
I suppose this could apply to writing. We all know how to tell stories. We do it all the time. To write a publishable story, especially a short story, you have to learn to focus on one story and follow that one thread all the way through. All the other compelling threads are irrelevant. This time, it's not that story.