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>Have you ever tried to write a story in which there is only one
>character, all by herself?  I've been working on such a story and am
>finding it more difficult than I have ever imagined to give the story
>any grip.  Stories are interesting because of some central conflict,
>and it's bugger-all difficult to have a conflict with only one
>character (unless she's schizo or something, and this one isn't).
>     Has anyone out there ever written or read a story in which there
>is only one character at all?  Was the story a success?  I'm curious to
>know if I'm the only one who has trouble doing this.

I find that my stories suffer from lack of characters. Many stories I am
working on only have a few characters. Never had one with onbly one though,
but most have limited outside contact as a factor in the story. All the
conflict comes from within the character...personal realizations, etc...
and Man/Woman vs. Nature...or versus his/her circumstances.

Ratboy

In article <18AUG92.18078012.0013@lafibm.lafayette.edu> DL20@lafibm.lafayette.edu (DL20) writes:
>Have you ever tried to write a story in which there is only one
>character, all by herself?  I've been working on such a story and am
>finding it more difficult than I have ever imagined to give the story
>any grip.  [...]
>     Has anyone out there ever written or read a story in which there
>is only one character at all?

Hope you're not planning on making a novel out of it...

Is it told in the first person?  When you say there are no
other characters, do you mean that (1) no other characters
appear in the scenes, or that (2) no other characters are
mentioned, period.

  1) I grabbed the rock and thought of Marta.
  2) I grabbed the rock.

I remember reading several short stories of type (1)
(chances are good that you'll find one in either _T Zero_ by
Calvino or _Ficciones_ by Borges).  Can't recall if I've
ever read one of type (2).  You might also find inspiration
from _Jealousy_ by Robbe-Grillet, although it doesn't exactly
fit your criterion.

-Sho

>Have you ever tried to write a story in which there is only one
>character, all by herself?  I've been working on such a story and am
>finding it more difficult than I have ever imagined to give the story
>any grip.  Stories are interesting because of some central conflict,
>and it's bugger-all difficult to have a conflict with only one
>character (unless she's schizo or something, and this one isn't).
>     Has anyone out there ever written or read a story in which there
>is only one character at all?  Was the story a success?  I'm curious to
>know if I'm the only one who has trouble doing this.


This is a hard problem.  Most of what we find interesting
in a story is a character's interactions with others.  You
might try to make the character's environment into a second
character, or maybe personify some aspect of the character
that would create an internal conflict.  This sort of thing
can be accomplished without the character being "schizo",
but you should keep in mind that fiction very often skews 
characters/viewpoints in the direction of schizophrenia, because 
in general, normal people do not ususally make the connections
that characters do in a story.  Stories (at least those that
attempt to be "literary") are generally about extraordinary 
experience, as opposed to the mundane.

Good luck!


			Robert.

In article <18AUG92.18078012.0013@lafibm.lafayette.edu> DL20@lafibm.lafayette.edu (DL20) writes:
>Have you ever tried to write a story in which there is only one
>character, all by herself?  I've been working on such a story and am
>finding it more difficult than I have ever imagined to give the story
>any grip.  Stories are interesting because of some central conflict,
>and it's bugger-all difficult to have a conflict with only one
>character (unless she's schizo or something, and this one isn't).
>     Has anyone out there ever written or read a story in which there
>is only one character at all?  Was the story a success?  I'm curious to
>know if I'm the only one who has trouble doing this.

Writing stories with one character is not easy, but it can be done.  What
you have to remember with these stories is that the conflict does not have 
to come from another character.  Your protagonist could be up against 
nature, love, alcohol. . . The challenge is drawing this conflict as  
the second "character."  I don't know what your story is about, so I
can't get specific, but if you think about it in these terms, it might
make it a little easier.  Most single character stories are, by their
nature, a little unusual, and that's why you don't see a lot of 
them.  They're also hard to write.  That's why I haven't tried, but I
commend you for giving it a shot.  Good question.

- Lawrence


-- 
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**larryw@lclark.edu**  |STEVIE for presidend     | "In human relations 
Writer, Musician,      |CHRISTINE for VP         |  kindness and lies are
Laker fan, Blazerhater.|LINDSEY for Sec. o' State|  worth a thousand truths."

In article <18AUG92.18078012.0013@lafibm.lafayette.edu>, DL20@lafibm.lafayette.edu (DL20) writes:
> [...]
>      Has anyone out there ever written or read a story in which there
> is only one character at all?  Was the story a success?  I'm curious to
> know if I'm the only one who has trouble doing this.

I once wrote a story of a terraformer machine returning to Earth after
seeding a distant solar-system, only to find it empty with all mammals
wiped out by a virus.  The story was of its development from an automaton
into a sentient being, and finally of its decision to correct a perceived
wrongess;  With a childlike persistency, it started to rebuild Earth, seek
a way to make animals recreated from DNA-libraries immune, and ultimately
to resurrect the race that had created it.
 
Whereas some friends of mine claimed they liked the story, I found it too
simple and straightforward, and put it back to the dim recesses of my
hard disk to wait for extensive rewriting in order to concentrate on
the developing personality with more detail.  I liked the basic idea, but 
in its present form, it's in my opinion one of the worst pieces I've ever 
written. (Some consolation, hm? :))
 
Of stories by other people, 'Judgement Day' by L. Sprague de Camp pops
into mind.  It tells of the bitter reminescences of a scientist wondering
whether or not publish results that might lead to an untimely end of
the world.  Other characters are present, but if I recall correctly, only
as memories.  _I_ liked the story.
 
Good luck with your endeavor.
 
 
--
Esa Perki|               "I should honor you?  Why?"
eperkio@cc.helsinki.fi      - Prometheus to Zeus according to Goethe
IRCer Shade

>I once wrote a story of a terraformer machine returning to Earth after
>seeding a distant solar-system, only to find it empty with all mammals
>wiped out by a virus.  The story was of its development from an automaton
>into a sentient being, and finally of its decision to correct a perceived
>wrongess;  With a childlike persistency, it started to rebuild Earth, seek
>a way to make animals recreated from DNA-libraries immune, and ultimately
>to resurrect the race that had created it.
> 
>Whereas some friends of mine claimed they liked the story, I found it too
>simple and straightforward, and put it back to the dim recesses of my
>hard disk to wait for extensive rewriting in order to concentrate on
>the developing personality with more detail.  I liked the basic idea, but 
>in its present form, it's in my opinion one of the worst pieces I've ever 
>written. (Some consolation, hm? :))
> 

Sounds fascinating. I would love to read it. Original. Gonna post it when done?

Ratboy the One-Who-Needs-To-Quit-Reading-Alt.Prose-and-Write-So-He-Can-Post-
    Another-Story-Here