TECH: Getting Ready for Nanowrimo!

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Original posting Oct. 21, 2014

Only 10 more days before National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. nanowrimo) starts up again. Now, I think it's worthwhile to do a little preparation ahead of time. You may be a pure seat-of-the-pants writer, and in that case, about all you need to do is sharpen your pencil, lay in some extra ink for your pen, make sure the bits are spinning, or whatever. But for the rest of us, at least some notion of where we're headed can be helpful.

You might want to take a look at http://writercises.livejournal.com/313019.html where I talked about Save the Cat meets nanowrimo. Save the Cat! Is the book by Blake Snyder, where he lays out his approach to story writing. Start out with the log line -- the heart of the story, a one line answer to what's it all about? It should include something that makes you want to read the story, a compelling mental picture, and some idea about who is the audience and how big a story is this? I think it's worth thinking about a character, the opposition, the effort that the character will put into achieving some kind of worthwhile goal...

Next, think about genre. What kind of a generic plot or story are you trying to write? Put it this way, if we were going to find it in the bookstore, where would it be? What would it be shelved with?

And... Think about the characters. Who is the hero, who is the antagonist, who are the sidekicks?

What's it about, what genre, who's involved, and next... What are the big steps in your plot?

Finally, make a list of some of the scenes that you can think of.

Idea, genre, characters, broad outline, and a list of scenes? Put that together and I think you'll be ready to tackle nanowrimo head on.

You might also want to look at http://writercises.livejournal.com/313310.html where I talked about tackling scenes. A number of writers have suggested that each day or each time you sit down to write, you start by doing a little thinking, a little brainstorming. For each scene, try writing these points out:
1. A protagonist with a need
2. In conflict with
3. An antagonist with a need
4. In an interesting setting
5. With a twist (change in expectations, revelation, something surprising!)

There's lots of possible questions, but the key is to think through your scene a little bit before you start writing.

All right? There's a ton of possible exercises and stretches and so on that you might play with to get warmed up for nanowrimo, but I really think just spending a little time laying out what you're going to work on for the next month is probably the best preparation. Think it through, so that when you sit down and start writing, you can focus on today's writing.

And remember, only 50,000 words in 30 days. That's about 1,666 per day, but I do recommend shooting for at least 2000 a day. That gives you a little slack for the occasional slow down, someone saying you've got to eat turkey today, or whatever.

All right? Do you hear someone saying, "Get on your marks?"

TECH: Novel Writing Ideas: How To Get Them

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Original Posting Oct. 23, 2014

Who's doing nanowrimo! Stretch those writing muscles...

Over here,

http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/writing-ideas.html

Glen C. Strathy has some comments on getting ideas. Of course, the best place is that great idea that pushes you, that demands to be written right now. Something intriguing, something that makes you wonder about the person, the events, the consequences... But! Sometimes you don't have something on tap, waiting to go. Wadda you do?

First notion. Enlist your passion. Think about the stories, novels, films, whatever that you enjoyed, that made you think, that made you feel. Make a list. Now, stop and think about what these stories have in common. Genre, or maybe something that transcends genre? What about characters, or types of characters? Problems? Do most of the stories revolve around the same kind of goals, or the same kind of struggles? Themes, values, life lessons? Write down some thoughts, observe yourself, and think about the thoughts, feelings, and drive that you find in the stories that touch you.

Still looking? All right, try having some fun with plot summaries. Follow the bouncing steps...
1. Collect plot summaries. Look at the blurbs on book jackets, tv guide listings, movie guides -- go over to Amazon and look there. Grab brief plot summaries for ones that interest you. One or two sentences!
2. Twist those tales! Change one thing in a plot summary, and see what happens. Pick a plot summary, and ring some changes (or is that wring some chances?) Change the protagonist, the setting, the problem, the opposition, the... you get the picture, right?
3. Rewrite the plot summary with your change. Make changes as needed...
4. Make the writing idea fit your passions.
5. Change abstract, general stuff into specifics.
6. Pick your ending! Make one up that suits you.
7. Do it again! Set yourself a quota, and make up several possible ideas. Then choose the one that you really want to do.

But I really want to use this real-life event?
Okay. Something that you experienced, your friend's tale, or news stories can be used. BUT... make it a story. Recreate it, with characters, events arranged to be meaningful, and all that stuff. What's the inciting incident, the rising tension, and the climax of the story? Who are the characters and why do they act like that? What happens? Base your story on real life, but make it a story. And make us feel it!

So -- check out your favorites, twist those plot summaries, or dig into real life. There are ideas just waiting to be told!

TECH: Techniques of the Selling Writer (part 6)

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Original Posting Oct. 24, 2014

Oh, oh. This chapter seemed to go on so long, I finally checked the pages. You might remember I thought chapter 3 was long? Well, it was actually 48 pages long. And this chapter is 84 pages long! Wow! Of course, we also have chapter 7 which is a mere 43 pages, leading up to chapter 8 -- 52 pages long! But before we get there, we have to chew our way through chapter 6, all 84 pages. So, let's get started (if this gets long enough, we might end up splitting it up, I suppose).

After a while, I realized that I was getting confused. Swain loves to provide a list, and then explain the various parts, and in one of those parts, he would toss in another list, and explain each of those, and then pop back up... There were enough embedded lists and levels that I was getting lost. So I had to stop and outline the whole chapter. I think I have it straight now, but... fair warning, this is a long, complicated chapter! So get out your notebook and take notes.

This chapter is called Beginning, Middle, and End. You probably recognize those as the three parts of a story, right? So with MRUs, scene-sequel, and double-barreled strategy, now we're going to take a look at the three major parts of the story. And, as usual, Swain provides us with a one-sentence puzzler to start with.

"A story is movement through the eternal now, from past to future."

Okay. There's a lot in the book, but here are some key bits and pieces that caught my eye.

First, stories are about desire versus danger. A focal character attempts to gain or retain something, in the face of trouble. That's the general principle, but how do we turn it into a specific story? Need to do five things. Five how-to's, if you will.

1. Line up the story elements.
2. Start a story.
3. Develop the middle segments.
4. Build a climax.
5. Resolve story issues.

Simple, right? Well... First step, let's get a basic outline in mind. Try a starting lineup of five key elements.

A. A character!
B. Situation.
C. Objective. Aka goal. What does the character want?
D. Opponent. Personified obstacles.
E. Disaster. Something awful to threaten the focal character.

You got those in mind? Okay. Swain challenges us to write it up in two sentences! Sentence one should establish the character, situation, and objective. Sentence two? Well, pose a question, with the opponent and the disaster.

The issue is always "Will this focal character defeat his opponent, overcome his private danger, and win happiness."

Swain recommends looking up Lester Dent's Master Fiction Plot, or perhaps using the 3 O's -- objective, obstacle, and outcome. But basically, you're looking for an answer to the question "Who wants to do what, and why can't he?"

That's Swain's discussion about lining up the elements. His first how-to in this chapter.

Now, let's look at the start, the beginning. The function here is to let your reader know that there will be a fight, and what kind it is going to be. Desire, danger, decision -- someone wants something. Something, or someone, threatens him getting that. And... He decides to fight.

To get the opening right, you need to deal with where, how, what to put in, what to leave out, how to introduce information, and when to close.

Where do you start? Start with trouble! Which is another name for change, not pool. So you need four things: some existing situation, a change, a character who is affected, and consequences. Look for a change that kicks off a chain reaction leading to an intolerable state of affairs that is going to push your character into a supreme effort, where they expect to fail. But we'll get there later. Right now, for the beginning, you need a situation plus change. It affects the character, and has consequences. That affect on the character, plus consequences? That's desire plus danger! And when desire plus danger lead the character to make the decision, the commitment to fight back -- that decision opens the story.

So start close to the change. Too far ahead, and the lead up to the change is likely to bore your reader. Starting with the change may lead to readers going "Huh?" Because they lack perspective, and don't understand the change. Starting too late is likely to lead to infodumps in an attempt to get all that background in there. So pick your point, and start just before the change, but peeking at it.

That's where to start. What about how to start? Well, Swain advises us to pique the reader's curiosity. What piques curiosity? Raising questions! You want to make the reader ask, "What is this leading up to?" Use these: unique, unanticipated, deviations from the routine, things that hint at change coming. Even an extreme focus on the commonplace sometimes works. So try things, and see what gets your reader interested. Incidentally, Swain provides a little discussion of each of these points, the unique, unanticipated, etc. be sure to take a look, they're good.

Next, we're going to take a look at what to put in. The key to this is understanding significant details. A single significant detail replaces pages of humdrum. How do you find a significant detail? Sometimes, there's one that just pops out, a natural one. Use it! Other times, create one. Pick something, spotlight it, and have a character react to it. Poof, it's a significant detail.

 "To begin a story, you must create a story world." The reader wants the answer to three questions, and fast - where am I? What's is happening? Who am I? To answer these, not necessarily in that order, you focus on significant details. Pick one out, blow it up, and have someone explain it. That explanation creates significance. So where am I gets answered with a significant detail. What is happening, or what's up, doc, is the situation. Again, a significant detail can do more than a galaxy of lesser details. But this time, you may need to toss in both what is going on and who is involved. As for what is going on -- show us action, present, real, rich. Conflict, or at least a bone of contention, makes everyone sit up and pay attention. Then to show who is involved, bring them in, in character. For a character to do this, they need to have a character, they need to do something that demonstrates their character, and the act of characterization should be both important to the story and suit the character.

How to introduce characters? Introduce us to characters in realistic ways.  Have them do something interesting, introduce them in action. And don't introduce too many at once. (Beware the dreaded organization meeting... Yes, they do happen, but as a way to meet all the characters at once, they are mind boggling.)

Who am I? This is the viewpoint problem. You need to establish viewpoint as early as possible. So who has the viewpoint? Easy -- the one who wonders, thinks, remembers... other internal actions. Just be careful that only one character has those kinds of exposed internals.

And, before we finish talking about what to put in, a few dos and don'ts. Do prepare the reader for what is coming. Don't give them bum steers. The reader trusts you to give them hints, foreshadowing, and other guidance about what is ahead in this story. Don't break that trust with bad information. Do establish characters in action. People doing things is very believable! Finally, don't get too eager. There's a tendency to try to jam everything into the beginning. Don't do it.

So that's where to open, how to open, and what to put in. Next, let's look at what to leave out. Basically, try to leave out all the past history! Show what is happening now, the desire and the danger, and point towards the future, where the suspense is (will he or won't he? What will happen?). Now, every writer says, "Just a little background?" Well. You can use a flashback to introduce some background -- but you shouldn't open with a flashback! You can use a discussion of the past, but, guess what -- you shouldn't do it in the beginning. If you are doing one, show whatever you can, keep the content limited, and keep the length limited. Or you could use a summary. But... Wherever possible, translate history into action, and leave out as much as possible!

Now, the next thing that Swain says we need to know how to do is how to introduce information. He also calls this techniques of exposition. He starts off by warning us to beware of author convenience. What does he mean by that? Well, sometimes it seems easy to have one of your characters say things, or maybe look at things, because you need to get that information to the reader – but it's not natural for your character! Don't make your characters do things to make it easy on you as a writer. When you force your character to act or say something unnatural, that's author convenience.

The key to introducing information is making your reader want to know it. How do you do that? Well, basically you need to make it important to the reader. Swain suggests a number of guidelines. First, reduce the amount of information. Second, break the essential content into small bits, and scatter them. Third, make a character need the information. Fourth, make that character have to fight to get the information. Fifth, tie the information into action. Sixth, make sure that one of the characters is motivated to pay attention to whatever you want the reader to notice. Seventh, present the data subjectively. Someone should feel or react. Eighth and final, don't let any of your characters talk about anything that they wouldn't normally discuss. To put it positively, make sure that your characters only say things they would normally talk about.

The last part about beginnings is when to close them. What is the end of the beginning? When you end the beginning? When the character makes the decision to fight. As soon as the focal character decides they are going to fight and commits to fighting, the beginning is over. I've heard this called the first door of no return, which I think is a good term for it.

The hook, the thing that keeps the reader engaged in the beginning is curiosity. The reader should constantly be wondering, "What is this leading up to?" The rest of the story though depends on suspense. The reader is wondering, "Will he win or not?" That transition marks the end of the beginning, when curiosity turns into suspense.

So the beginning uses curiosity to keep the reader going while we establish that the focal character has a goal, that something threatens that goal, and that the focal character is going to fight for it. That's the end of the beginning!

Next, Swain looks at the middle, the climax, and the resolution. But I think I'm going to stop at this point, because this is already very long.

So what about an exercise? Well, there are two obvious possibilities. First of all, go back and do that starting lineup and two sentences that Swain recommended. Write one sentence that is a statement showing the character, situation, and objective. Then write one more sentence that is a question showing the opponent and the disaster. Second, lay out your beginning. What does someone want, what is the threat to that, and why does he decide to fight that threat? Decide where you're going to open, and what you're going to use to make the reader curious. Pick out a significant detail to show where we are, what is happening, and just who is involved. Outline what if any information needs to be included in the beginning. Finally, what is the step that shows the focal character is committed to fighting?

Write!

EXER: Nanowrimo cookies!

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Oct. 25, 2014

What do you get when you mix a mindmap and your favorite writing parts? Nanowrimo cookies!

Okay. Some people have had me looking at mindmaps and the process of mind mapping recently. Then I was looking at all these linear planning approaches for getting ready to write. And, as will happen, I got to wondering about crossing the two. So...

Take a sheet of paper. In the four corners, write your favorite four parts for writing. E.g., maybe characters, plot, setting, goals/problems? Or maybe you want to put scenes in there? Anyway, decorate the edges with some of these parts.

Next, brainstorm. Free associate, think about things that you like, things that excite you, things you want to write about. Write them down in the quadrant they belong in. If you happen to think of two things together, or maybe you want to add some details -- do it. Quest? Oh, who goes where to get what? Feel free! Scatter ideas across the sheet. Then link them. What connects, and why?

For the smashing finish, look over your decorated sheet, at the linked ideas, and fill in the middle. What is the overall situation, who is the key character, what do they want to achieve? But will they succeed when the opponent blocks them, and what happens when the climactic disaster...

Simple. Right? Write!

TECH: Techniques of the Selling Writer (Part 7)

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Original Posting Oct. 28, 2014

TECH: Techniques of the Selling Writer (Part 7)

So at this point, Swain has talked about what blocks us from writing, the words we use in writing, MRUs, scene-sequel, the double-barreled shotgun of tension and climax, and the three big parts of your story – the beginning, where curiosity reigns, the middle with repeated scenes-and-sequels building tension, and the ending, with the climax posing the moral dilemma of the story, and the resolution rewarding the central character for their choice. Whoosh! Lots of stuff. And in chapter 7, "The People in Your Story," Swain looks at the characters that we use in the story.

As usual, he starts out with a one line epigram that you may want to think about. "A story is people given life on paper."

Swain points out that a character is a person in a story. He suggests that to create story people, we really start with stick figures and flesh them out. However, this often is the terror of wannabe writers. Why are they so worried about it?

Swain reminds us that we are surrounded by people all the time. However, all too often, we really don't pay attention to them. What do they look like, why do they do whatever it is that they are doing, what makes one person exciting and interesting and another one boring?

Fortunately, we only need to answer five questions in regard to characters.

1. How do you make a character?
2. How do you make them come to life?
3. How do you make characters do what you want them to?
4. How do you make characters interesting? How do you make readers fascinated?
5. How do you match up character and role?

How do you make a character? Well, start by realizing that characters are just simulations. They really don't need to be full personalities. They just need to be enough to fulfill the functions for the story.

So how do you make a character? Go ahead and plan your story. You can start with roles, broad stereotypes, and then individualize them. Add your observations and imagination, your impressions. Use your own thoughts and insights to grasp motivations. And put it together.

Now a lot of people ask questions like these:

A) How many characters should I have? The minimum needed for your story!
B) How do you decide if a character is needed or not? Do they advance the story, contribute to the conflict? Do they have actions or information, do they help or harm?
C) What do I do if I have too many characters? Consolidate and combine.
D) Aren't these characters contrived? Yes. A story is imagination.
E) Why not use real people? Lawsuit, real people rarely fit the story, and real people are hard to work with.
F) How do you shape the character development? Stress is what forms characters, so put the character into conflict.
G) What about character growth? Most short stories only cover a short time, how much growth can you have? Let your characters live through events and learn lessons.
H) What about the character pushing the writer? Lots of writers talk about this. It really means the writer has become fascinated by the personality. Do you want to mold the story to the character or the character to the story?
I) Aren't characters shallow and superficial? Most characters don't need to be more.
J) What if a minor character really is fascinating? Are you going to reshape the story to the character or rein in the character? Colorful and intriguing minor characters are fine, but make sure they fit the role.
K) How do you decide how much to flesh out a character? Look at how important to the conflict they are.
L) What about dossiers and biographies of characters? If it helps you think about it, go ahead. But don't go overboard.
M) What about grouping and categories, like simple, complex, round? Labels are for critics, not for writers.
N) How do you know you got the psychology right? Do what you think is right. Don't worry about the psychological models.

So having set up your characters, how do you make them come to life? How do you cut the strings from your puppets? First, realize that characters in stories are not actually true to life. They need to be vivid and credible to the reader, and give the appearance of life. To do this, you need to know tricks of presentation. The key really is contrast. Make sure that the reader likes and dislikes – feels things about your characters.

You need to do five things:
1. Determine the dominant impression for the character.
2. Fit the impression to the role.
3. Modify the picture.
4. Match the character to the cast.
5. Assign tags.

Determining the dominant impression is really deciding what the image of the character is going to be. Typically a significant detail!

Now in terms of fitting the impression to the role, you need to decide whether to make your character fit the role or go against the role. We have types that we expect. The stereotype is familiar, and easy to use. On the other hand, the character who contradicts it adds realism and interest. But the writer has to make the reader buy the character – believe that this character actually is doing these things.

Modifying the picture is really adding the details that go with or against the dominant impression. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. This is the place to bring those out, to add depth to the character.

Now, in your story there are several people. If they all act the same, the reader can't tell them apart. So make sure that your characters are different, that they stand out from each other.

Finally, you get to assign tags, labels. These can be appearance, speech, mannerisms, attitude. Do use enough tags. Do introduce tags in action. Finally, wave your tags frequently – use them often enough that we recognize them.

So we've got a character, we've made the reader believe in them, how do you as a writer get the character to do what you want? Simple, motivate the character. Let the character have good reasons for taking the actions you want them to. They should be working towards a goal. Driven by needs, their own lacks or inadequacies and their attempts to compensate through conduct aimed at what they see of their inadequacies. The goal really is a symbol of fulfillment.

Now... what determines what a character sees and wants? Their individual point of view, made up of their self image, the story problem, and the world and life around them. You need to provide the history that provokes and embeds this individual. Think about what this person has, in terms of body, environment, experience, and ideas. What relationships, of love, work, and society, have shaped them?

Compensation basically breaks down into either a fight for something, or a flight from something.

"Lack plus compensation equals rationalization of behavior equals a character who appears to move under his own power."

Whoosh! Plus, just for the fun of it, some odds and ends.
1. Do pay attention to the character's self-image.
2. Do keep the character consistent.
3. Do make behavior tell the story.
4. Do deduce causes from effects. Why are they doing this?
5. Do integrate the inner and outer man.
6. Do strive for contrast.
7. Don't overbuild. Let bit characters be bit characters.
8. Learn your craft.

So, next, Swain turns our attention to the question of how to make a character fascinating for the reader. The basis is identification. Another term for that? Envy. The character is or does what the reader would like to be or do, if they had the courage. "Exciting character is the one who challenges fate and attempts to dominate reality."

Now, editors and critics often think readers:
-- identify with recognizable character
-- identify with likable character
-- identify with interesting character
The truth is, readers identify with wish fulfillment, with the character who satisfies their craving. The character needs to attempt the impossible, the unattainable, the forbidden, the disastrous.

So, do pinpoint the emotional needs of your readers. Don't try to make virtue take the place of courage. And, do have faith in your own judgment.

Last, but not least, Swain advises that we fit the character to the role. What does he mean? Well, there are various stock roles in just about every story, and we need to be ready to make the character fit those roles. E.g., the hero, the villian, the heroine, the sensitive character, and the character in depth.

For the hero, do make sure you have an individual hero, and don't let the hero resign!

For the villain, understand his role as personified threat. Know that his characteristic must be ruthlessness. And as for what makes a villain effective -- they need a plan of action, and their own goal, to be motivated.

The heroine needs to be human, first. She also needs to develop through her own conflicts, with goals and opposition. Finally, the main characteristic of the heroine is desirability. Beware of letting her be a figurehead, though. Make her a vital part of the story.

The sensitive character doesn't appear in every story, but when they do, they need to be set apart from the people around them. Make them very aware, and contrast them with the insensitive people in the story. Set up situations that allow them to react differently.

Finally, the character in depth. This is someone that you want to show off, so involve them in a variety of situations. Make sure to develop their sequels, to show them working through the reactions and alternatives and decisions. Give them good motivations, and strong reactions.

All right? That's a quick summary of Swain's chapter on characters. You really should read it yourself, to get the depth of the points I've just dipped into here.

Next? We'll look at chapter 8, where Swain talks about how to prepare, plan, and produce stories!

An exercise? Why not. How about this one? First, pick one character in a story you are writing, or thinking about writing. What is their role, their function in the story? Next, what is the dominant impression for them? How do they fit the role -- are they typecast, or cast against type? Next, what is unique or unusual about them? How do they fit into the cast, and how do they stand out from the rest? Finally, what are the tags for this person? Oh... what about their motivation? Why are they going to act in this story? And in case you have all that worked out, why are readers going to identify with this character? Roll all that up, and let's see that character shine!

When you're finished with that little exercise, you can always do the rest of your characters.

Just write!

TECH: Techniques of the Selling Writer (Part 6 and a half?)

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Original Posting Oct. 26, 2014

TECH: Techniques of the Selling Writer (Part 6 and a half?)

Since chapter 6 is the biggest chapter in the book, I broke it into two parts. The first part talked about Swain's two sentence outline, and about the beginning. Now we are going to talk about developing the middle.

Swain points out that the middle is something that we have already learned. Scenes and sequels! Let your character search and struggle, just repeat it. Some kind of a change, the character worrying about what do I want to do now, and a decision. Then repeat. So instead of details, Swain offers us several do's and don'ts. Specifically...

Don't stand still. If you seem to be getting stuck, consider these questions. Where is this scene/story going? What change would help it to get there? How will the characters react to that change?

Do maintain unity. Everything in your story should focus on the question "Will the focal character achieve their goal or not?"

Do build to a climax. Each step in the middle adds complications. To do this, build with scenes, don't confuse delay with complication, and tie the characters into the story. Balance the forces, so that both have to struggle. Make sure there is enough at stake. Force all of your characters to be doing continuing adjustments. Keep the action rising! Box in your hero, remove their freedom of action and force them to face the intolerable. Finally, drop a corpse through the roof. Use unanticipated, surprising twists and shock us.

Do strive for a balance in your writing. You want some ups and some downs, some thrills and some slow meditative parts. You need to know how to raise the tension, by grouping significant actions into one scene, making the situation demand action, and increasing time pressure. Foreshadow the climax. And mechanically – wording, perception, sentence structure – pace the presentation to increase tension. As tension goes up, what we see and how we talk about it changes. Use that in your writing. You also need to know how to lower the tension for those valleys in between the peaks. First, set the pace for reduced tension. Use longer phrasing, relaxed wording, look around and smell the flowers. Make the decision the issue instead of action. Reduce the urgency and the time pressure. Develop factors that are not high tension, drop back into routine every day stuff. Change the viewpoint – this automatically reduces tension.

Do snip threads. Subplots and other diversions can be tied up before the climax to let us really focus on what is going on with the climax.

Finally, don't rehash. It's easy to start repeating yourself, to have two scenes that play out the same way, characters that are repeating what they did before.

Next Swain looks at the end. He actually divides the end into two parts, the climax and the resolution. The key here is to satisfy the reader and release the tension. The climax which we will talk about first shows us what the character deserves, while the resolution shows us what the character gets. The climax is built around the question of principle, the dilemma of morals if you will. The question that drives the climax is very simple, does the character adhere to their principles or abandon them for self-interest? By focusing on this, fiction gives life meaning.

So to build the climax and bring the story to an end, you need to set up a situation where the focal character has to choose between two courses of action. The climax tests the character. On the one hand, you offer an easy way out but it is morally corrupt, he has to give up his principles to take it. On the other hand, there is a hard way, with the character sticking to their principles and walking into disaster. The typical problems with climaxes are:

1. The character is not boxed in. At the climax, the character really should only have two choices. The easy way or the hard way?

2. The easy way out doesn't require the character to abandon their principles. Make sure that there is a high moral cost to the easy choice.

3. The disaster isn't big enough and hard enough. Make sure that there is a high cost to the hard choice, to sticking with their principles.

4. The goal isn't important or attractive to the focal character. Make sure that the focal character really wants this goal, that they are motivated to achieve this goal no matter what.

5. The situation is not built up enough. This is usually rushing into the climax without building it up and setting it up. Go back and make it real.

Now the key to the climax is forcing the character to choose between the easy way out and the hard way out. You want to make this decision hard. How do you make it agonizing and difficult? Mostly by going slow, and making sure that the character really thinks about the decision. At the same time, how do you force the decision? Urgency. You want the bad guy standing there with a gun, a switch, the court order in his hands... Something forcing them to make that decision now. Finally, why does the hero pick the hard way? Rationally, the easy way makes sense. Usually, you use a gimmick. Early in the story, show the gimmick and the reaction of the character to the gimmick. Then in the climax, where they are trying to decide what am I going to do, flash the gimmick, let them have a glimpse of that picture of their mother, or whatever it is – and they decide to go the hard way, to stick with their principles no matter what.

Finally, the climax needs an irrevocable action. You character can't just decide in their head, they must do something. They have to choose and act.

After the climax comes the resolution. This is where you resolve the story issues. The biggest part of this is that you are going to reward or punish the character with poetic justice for the choice that they made in the climax. This is where we give the character what they deserve for the decision they made in the climax. If they adhere to principle and take the hard way out in the face of the disaster, they are going to get a reward. If they abandon principle for self-interest and take the easy way out, they're going to be punished. In most cases, heroes adhere to principle. Now, what happens after the climax? Usually, three steps:

1. There is a black moment for the focal character after the climax. Give them time to realize I chose the hard way out, that disaster is going to wipe us all out, I have lost everything. Don't skip this, you want the character and the reader to really feel that black despair of having chosen the right way, and knowing that disaster is going to crush us.

2. The reverse. Some unanticipated development, a bit character saying, "Hey!", the lights suddenly flashing, something... changes what we thought was going to happen. It should be desired, unanticipated, and logical. To do this right, you need to lay your groundwork. You, the writer, need to know the details of the climax situation inside and out. You need to know your characters. You need to remember that audacity wins, and that people really like unselfish actions. Finally, remember that you are the god of the story. Move it around, change the setting, the time of day, whatever you need to make the reverse work.

3. Give the character their due reward. You want to let them attain their goal, either in letter or in spirit. You don't necessarily have to have a happy ending, but you do want a satisfying ending. You're going to release the tension, show that the danger is over, and that their desire is fulfilled. Usually you fulfill their true goal, the emotional need that is behind their stated goal. How do you do that? Well, start by determining the emotional need that is behind their stated goal. Why do they want a million dollars, that new job, or whatever? What do they think it will provide? Now devise a way to satisfy that emotional need. Frequently, this means changing the outlook of the hero. Let the character see what they really want. Show the negatives, the problems, with the stated goal, and the positives, the benefits of the true goal, and then give them their true goal, their emotional need.

What about the weak character, the one who abandons principle and takes the easy way out? Basically, the resolution should punish them. It should deny them their goal. It's worth noting that this kind of story can be very hard to sell.

So after you reward or punish the character for the choice they made in the climax, what else do you need to do in the resolution? Well, tie up any loose ends that are left. You need to do this quickly, the story is already over and the reader is ready to stop. Go back and check your story, make sure you have tied up whatever you need to, but do it briefly.

Then focus the fulfillment of the story into a punchline. Take your time coming up with a good punchline. Some possibilities include earlier in the story, establishing some event or significant detail as meaning fulfillment to the character. Now use that. Another possibility is a comic or pointless punchline. Finally, sometimes a punchline shows that the hero believes everything is under control, and is ignoring present and future demands for a little bit.

Okay. Fill your middle with scenes and sequels. Build up to the climax, where the focal character has to decide between the easy way out abandoning principle or the hard way out, keeping principle and accepting disaster. Next comes the resolution, first with the black realization that disaster is coming, followed by the reverse that saves everything at the last moment, and the reward. Tie it all up with a punchline.

There you go. Outline, beginning, middle, ending climax and resolution. Next, Swain looks at characters, all the people running around in your story.

An exercise for this part? I suppose for the middle, sketch out the scene and sequel sequence, two or three try-fail cycles, that you are going to use. Then for the climax, define the dilemma. What is the easy way out, and what is the cost of taking it? What is the hard way out, and what is the disaster that will happen if it is taken? What is the gimmick that will remind the hero that he cannot abandon his principles, that will convince him to take the hard way no matter what? And at least think about that punchline.

There! Write!

FILL: Does nanowrimo mean you discard quality for quantity?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Oct. 29, 2014

Does nanowrimo mean you discard quality for quantity?

Well, I suppose it can be taken that way. After all, people say turn off your internal editor, nanowrimo focuses on word count, and the emphasis is on quantity, not quality.

However, I prefer to think of it as a question of order, of developing your process for writing, of answering the question, "When do I want to focus on the various parts of my writing?"

For example, in a brainstorming session, we often have to remind people that there is no criticism allowed, that every idea is good, that we are going for quota, not the best or the most accurate phrasing, not worrying about comprehensiveness or accuracy, just get those ideas out there. Later, we turned around and we do the criticism. We put on the black hat, we estimate and weigh costs and benefits, we consider feasibility, we remove duplicates... We do all that nasty critical work. But first, during the brainstorming session, we take off all the binders and let our imaginations soar, just get those ideas out!

I think it's the same thing with nanowrimo. The focus, for one month, is on getting ideas, getting the words out there, in whatever order, with whatever spelling and grammar and so forth happens to work. Spent one month just generating, being creative, letting the thoughts, the dreams, the ideas ... and the words come. Don't slow down, don't let the internal or external editors trip up the flow, just spurt those words.

With the plan to go back, to do the cleanup -- later! Yes, we will need to do a structural edit. Where does this fit? Does it even belong in this story? What's missing that needs to be filled in? What's the right order, and what pieces have to go in between to get us from here to there? Then we'll need to do a polishing edit. Look at the word choice, the spelling, the grammar, get out the fine sandpaper, the oil, and a little elbow grease and make it shine.

But it all starts with a session of unbridled creativity, getting the words out there so that we can clean them up later.

I don't think nanowrimo means that you discard quality. It does mean that you hold off on the editor, the criticism, the other revision urges until you've produced the underlying raw material that you can then craft and polish.

It's the same idea as doing a 30 minute or a two hour free writing session before settling into the routine work. The difference, of course, is that nanowrimo challenges us to a full month of creativity, of focusing on producing words. There's nothing that says you can't produce 2000 words in the morning for nanowrimo, and then spend the rest of the day cleaning up those 2000 words. But, for most of us, it's just easier to spend the month working on producing words, letting creativity run rampant. With the promise that we will stop later and come back and check we have done, do the revision and the cleanup.

Part of this is also the self-discipline. After all, the challenge of producing 2000 words every day for a month... When people are trying to build a habit, or trying to break a habit, one of the common suggestions is to do it for a month. Things that people do for a month often turn into lifelong habits. Acquiring the habit of writing 2000 words a day, for a writer, is not the worst possible habit to have?

It's an interesting question. How do you balance quality and quantity? How does your process work to let you produce with the level of quality that you want? Does focusing on producing 2000 words a day for a month help you to improve your process? If you do nanowrimo, do you set yourself a goal of going back over the 50,000+ words and cleaning it up later? Or perhaps do you decide to push on and finish whatever you started in nanowrimo, and then go back and revise it?

I think nanowrimo helps us begin working towards a process where we get the first draft out, in whatever shape it's in, out of order, with spelling and grammar and other problems, and then go back to revise.

Quite a few novelists, outliners and discovery writers, say that getting the first draft out, complete, from beginning to end, even though it may be out of order and full of problems, is the key to really doing the work. Then go back and revise. I know, Mrs. Grundy in fifth grade English would hit your fingers if you didn't fix up every sentence, every spelling word, every little bit as you went along. But the good thing about writing is that nobody needs to see all the problems as you go along. You can go back and revise and rework. No one has to see your work. They only get to see the final product that you release.

Something to think about. How do you balance the push for quantity -- the nanowrimo rallying cry -- with your own desire for quality?

TECH: Five Questions for nanowrimo...

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Oct. 30, 2014

I'm not sure where I came up with this list, but I think it's a good quick plotting set of questions:

1. What does your character want?
2. What's in the way?
3. What lights the fuse? What starts them struggling to get that?
4. What problems do they face on the way? This is a list.
5. How do they change and grow on the way?

Just five questions, and yet I think it does a pretty good job of making us think about what we want to do in our story.

Aha! I remember. I was going through some of the Nanowrimo prep pages, and saw this one

http://blog.nanowrimo.org/post/61412565075/no-plot-no-problem-five-secret-steps-to-story

Five steps to plot a story? What? And sure enough -- I turned his points into five questions. And I agree... it does provide a framework for a story.

So, answer the questions. What does your main character want, what's in the way, what kicks off the action, what are the problems that they overcome along the way, and what happens to the character in the process?

If I was going to add one thing to this, it would be the climax. That final problem that forces the character to put it all on the line and really learn what they want... I think that's the one piece of plotting that this list doesn't really include. Of course, if you have answered these five, making sure you have a climactic problem at the end shouldn't be that hard. Still, it's worth making sure.

So there we go. Still two days to go before nanowrimo. Are you getting excited?

TECH: Lists to make Nanowrimo go?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Oct. 31, 2014

Sure, why not?

First of all, there's the grand vein of lists where many a fine writer has gotten lost for hours or even days. I'm talking, of course, about tvtropes, that well of inside information about darn near anything. Over here

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage

Probably the best way to tackle this website is with a firm goal in mind, and perhaps a timer to keep you from getting lost in the sidetracks (I certainly get intrigued and start looking at cross references and also... just one more... yipes!).

But search for plots, and you'll find
plots http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Plots
the seven basic plots http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSevenBasicPlots
ten movie plots http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TenMoviePlots
or perhaps Master Plots http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MasterPlots
as well as Romance Novel Plots http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RomanceNovelPlots
just to get you started.

Then there's some other lists! For example, any of these might be useful, especially for genre folks

The Big List of RPG Plots

http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/plots.htm

Grand List of Fantasy Cliches

http://silverblade.silverpen.org/content/?page_id=73

The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clichés

http://dragonwritingprompts.blogspot.jp/2007/02/grand-list-of-overused-science-fiction.html

Fantasy Novelist's Exam

http://dragonwritingprompts.blogspot.jp/2006/11/fantasy-novelists-exam.html

The Not So Grand List of Overused Fantasy Cliches

http://dragonwritingprompts.blogspot.jp/2007/09/not-so-grand-list-of-overused-fantasy.html

What, that doesn't seem to scratch the right itch? Okay, how about one of these? Folks have been busy figuring out what causes us stress in our lives -- PROBLEMS! Yes, there are lists and lists of troubles, my friend, right here for you to use. Try a couple of different levels. One are the Life Stresses, usually represented by the Holmes and Rahe stress scale. Wikipedia has a convenient list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale

Now, sometimes people look at those items and say, "Yes, but I don't want a big event like losing the house. I just want some kind of small, ordinary hassle..."

You're in luck! The daily hassles, the ordinary stuff that bugs us, have also been studied. Lots of different lists.

Over here

http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/1950/65521/top-daily-hassles/

There are two lists. First a list of six frequent hassles

Concerns about weight
health of a family member
rising price of common goods
home maintenance
too many things to do
misplacing or losing things

Then another one from New Zealand:

Not enough time
Too many things to do
Troubling thoughts about the future
Too many interruptions
Misplacing or losing things
Health of a family member
Social obligations
Concerns about standards
Concerns about getting ahead
Too many responsibilities

There's another list over here

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201111/dont-let-lifes-hassles-get-you-down

1.  Misplacing or losing things
2.  Someone owes you money.
3.  Dislike co-workers
4.  Unexpected company
5.  Preparing meals
6.  Auto maintenance
7.  Too many things to do
8.  Legal problems
9.  The weather
10. Silly practical mistakes
11. Shopping responsibilities
12. Traffic
13. Rising prices of common goods
14. Not enough money for food
15. Difficult customers/clients

Threats to our sense of competence, threats to our sense of control, continuing threats to the ability to meet our basic needs, and all kinds of relationship problems?

But! The winner is over here. This is the Weekly Stress Items, Short Form (apparently there's a 80 plus item list, if you want the long form).

link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10862-006-9019-8.pdf

1. Had pet peeve violated (someone fails to knock, etc.)
2. Was excluded or left out
3. Was without privacy
4. Was ignored by others
5.Was stared at
6. Was lied to, fooled or tricked
7. Competed with someone
8. Had minor injury (stubbed toe, sprained ankle, etc)
9. Had too many responsibilities
10. Was forced to socialize
11. Did something you were not good at
12. Dealt with rude waiter, waitress, or salesperson
13. Was interrupted while talking
14. Was clumsy (spilled or knocked something over)
15. Not enough time for fun (movie, eating out or recreation)
16. Had someone disagree with you
17. Did poorly because of others
18. Argued with a friend
19. Not enough time to socialize
20. Forgot something
21. Was told what to do
22. Lost or misplaced something (wallet, keys)
23. Spoke or performed in public
24. Did not hear from someone you expected to
25. Had someone cut in front of you in line

There you go! Look over the plot lists, then consider some of the stress lists, and see if you can't make things hot for your characters!

For tomorrow, we WRITE! Nano, nano, nanowrimo! For the words!

TECH: Some prompts for Nanowrimo

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Nov. 1, 2014

Well, it's the first day of Nanowrimo, and I'm sure you're all scribbling madly. It's Saturday after all. Good day to get a jump on adding to your Nanowrimo quota, right?

But in case you're looking for something to give you a little kick in the words, try one of these. Pick a number from 1 to 6. Then see what you have chosen.

1. Change in eating habits.
2. About once a year, an old flame wants to see you. You are not really interested. Do you make an excuse?
3. Escort service.
4. Wish fulfillment.
5. A change in the number of family gatherings.
6. As a high school principal, will you hire a gay teacher?

Some of those are taken from a list of stresses, some of these are from my favorite set of ethical dilemmas, and some of these are just odd bits and pieces. In any case, see if you can work this into your scene. It might be something for your characters to discuss, it might be something that happens. Feel free to mangle and bend and twist to fit.

And I hope your words are flowing.