FAQ: Lures and Other Attractions...

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting: April 6, 1995

FAQ: Lures and Other Attractions...

For those of you who haven't done this before--welcome! This may look a bit long, but give it a read. Print it out. Keep a copy around. Go on, I want you to do it. Okay?

Once again, it's time for that ever unpopular distraction, the irregularly appearing Frequently Asked Questions! So, let's get on with the show!

tink
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Writers On Parade

and in the circle, where the dust settles slowly after the pounding hooves of the stallions and the huge shoes of the buffoons have plodded past...

darkness falls.

then a faint glimmer rises...and a voice cries out!

who are you what are you why do you
ask
who am I what am I why do I
ask

the mirror sings gently in the clearing, calling sweetly for you to come near, to look in, to see...

the spotlight flashes down. scintillating reflections fill the tent, turning the greying canvas into that truest of fairylands, the memories of youth, where...
 
you step into a web, spun and laid so carefully--with a touch of craft, a dose of art, a dash of animal cunning, and a generous helping of decei...

[enough! stop the verbal pyrotechnics, this is supposed to answer questions, not raise the dread...]

(oh. okay! ask away!)

> who? <

simply you.

> what? <

simply writing.

> where? <

I suppose you think that's a simple question? Well, the list address is WRITERS@[old address]. But the writing goes on nearly everywhere, and the reading! Round the world, south and north, west and east and west again, probably in places never meant for human tears to flow...

actually, of course, we can't take any responsibility for limiting the whole shebang. it sort of goes wherever the imagination wanders, and that goes pretty darn far. take my word for it, okay?

> when? <

When do you think? NOW! Today! Well, tomorrow, too, but mostly when the keyboard hits the screen, you know? Pack it down a bit, tidy up the loose edges, post and be damned!

> why? <

(hardly a question you'd let a stranger answer, is it?)

[come on, don't get coy now!]

(well, if you insist...)

> I repeat--why? <

why not?

[boo!]

because it's there?

[hiss!]

because we care?

[third time's usually the charm--I suppose we'll let it pass...]

> and, last, but not least, how? <

HOW?

with words, punctuation, rhythm, roll, maybe some sprigs of rhyme, mortar of logic and bricks of purest gold imagery (unless you don't believe in imagery, of course, in which case you can use adobe:-)

shucks, you put what you like in, mix it up, hash and dash, and before you know it, there'll be a castle of irony there by and by, or a little sugar shack of love, or maybe even a towering metropolitan operetta just made for a cast of a thousands...

So, did that answer all your questions?

okay. you still want to know how things work. read on...
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[Please feel free to print this FAQ and keep a copy for when you have questions! In fact, the author would be pleased if you did that.]

The meat in this sandwich - v. 15, April 5, 1995

[removed to avoid confusion]
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sigh. oh, that was booring! educational, perhaps, but booring!

but, look, here comes the ringmaster again! and there...there's something stirring behind the curtains! and up in the high trapeze, isn't that someone moving?

Listen to the calliope starting to toot!

LOOK! Here they come, WRITERS ON PARADE!

A hundred and one keyboards led the big parade,
with a hundred and two fountain pens right behind,
they were followed by rows and rows of the finest alphabets,
and the climax was a total surprise!

Stand Up and Sing Along!

[now doesn't that answer your questions?]

join in on the beat of a different drummer...
keyboard thumping and cliffs ahanging!

*you gotta believe!*
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TECH: Make A Scene #19: Epiphany Scenes

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Chapter 19 Epiphany Scenes

Working our way through Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld. In the depths of part three, scene types, having looked at first scenes, suspense scenes, dramatic scenes, contemplative scenes, dialogue scenes, action scenes, and flashback scenes, it's now time for an epiphany.

"An epiphany is a moment when awareness or a sharp insight dawns suddenly on your protagonist as a result of events and interactions that have driven him to this moment."

I think of this as the realization. The character suddenly realizes something. This may have a cost to it -- sudden change hurts. They can also be positive turning points, though, when in the midst of despair and darkness, the character sees a ray of hope. Epiphanies are great opportunities for characters to transform themselves.

The epiphany:

• has a cost or renews the character or both
• epiphanies should be driven by plot events and information, not completely unexpected
• the protagonist should gain surprising new insight or break through their own resistance and denial
• epiphanies usually force the protagonist to make choices or changes

Drama, suspense, and sometimes contemplative scenes often lead to epiphanies. Don't overdo them -- people don't have insights every time they turn around.

Rosenfeld suggests the following types of epiphanies. For each one you need to know and show your readers who the character is before the epiphany, what leads them to the change, and what kind of a change happens.

• Removing the Blinders: a character decides to learn what the truth is.
• Realizing a Suppressed Desire: a character makes a major change in their life.
• Accepting Limitations of Oneself or Another: realizing that some things can't be changed
• Claiming Identity: accepting something essential about oneself
• Rude Awakenings: circumstances or people force a character to change the

Opening the epiphany. The key to opening an epiphany is to quickly show the character in conflict, under pressure, unstable. The reader should know as quickly as possible and that change is coming. Epiphany openings often show:

• the protagonist afraid or anxious about the future
• the protagonist under pressure or stress
• the protagonist taking unusual actions or behaving oddly
• the protagonist expressing feelings of conflict about a given event or relationship
• symbolic details of setting or images that hint at an epiphany to come

Pushing the character into epiphany. Once you start the scene, you need to raise the stakes so that the character realizes that important point. Stress, pressure, tension -- you need to push the character into realization. Some common methods of leverage include:

• threat of loss: motivation for awareness -- open your eyes before it's too late
• incontrovertible evidence: hard evidence can sometimes make people pay attention
• injury to a loved one: I did that?
• danger: death or bodily harm can make people face the truth

The moment of epiphany normally belongs right near the end of the scene. Let the character and the reader have a moment to think about what just happened. There are going to be emotional consequences, choices to be made, and debts to pay -- but you can do that in the next scene or scenes. You don't have to do it immediately, and there are advantages to pausing.

Rosenfeld's checklist for epiphany scenes:

• does the epiphany cause the protagonist to change?
• does the scene start with the character anxious about the future or under stress?
• does the scene put pressure and up the ante for the protagonist to make the realization?
• does the scene end soon after the epiphany, leaving the readers enough to chew on?
• does the epiphany change the protagonist's outlook and direction in ways that are demonstrated in future scenes?

Two more kinds of scenes ahead, climactic scenes and the final scene. And then there are a few other scene considerations.

So that's Rosenfeld talking about scenes where the character has a major realization -- an epiphany.

An assignment? I think perhaps the first part is to take a novel or story that you like and look for a scene with an epiphany. These are often the turning point scenes, where a character understands just what they have been doing to themselves and others. It is easy to let these scenes slip into melodramatic interior monologues, drenched in pathos. But you want to find a good epiphany scene, one that you like, and then take it apart. How did the writer lay the foundations at the beginning of the scene? How did they put the pressure on the character in the scene that leads up to them finally understanding? How do they portray that moment of insight, that realization that the only person responsible for all of their problems is themselves? And what happens to close out the scene?

The second part is to put together an epiphany scene for your own writing. What does the character need to learn? How will the character break through their own lack of understanding and resistance and take that look? Now, structure the whole scene, from the initial moments of uneasiness through the growing pressures to the moment of understanding, when the world suddenly becomes clear.

Write?
write!