Sep. 30th, 2022

mbarker: (Burp)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 7, 2019

Lights Out!All is lost! There is no way to win. The forces against us are too strong. The dilemma that we face has no good choices. This is the beat that really makes your readers sweat. What's the worst thing that could happen? And it does!Now why do you put this in here? Well, looking at the Hero's Journey, this is death and rebirth. The final cleansing. And there's a real catharsis here. Beyond death, the recovery makes us sing.James suggests that whether you are a plotter or a pantser, keep looking for possible endings. Plotters may do this while outlining. Pantsers, do it all the time. Keep a list of your ideas. One of these may be your real ending. But one of the others may be your Lights Out beat, when everything seems to have fallen apart.And James's reminder? Well, endings often involve sacrifice. Rebirth comes after death. Death is often the sacrifice of what we want most. That's when the lights go out.Like Mounting Forces, this section provides examples, but is somewhat sketchy. It's very much going to depend on your story. Think about the death that your lead faces -- physical, professional, psychological -- what they thought they were going to do about it, and what could happen to make them sure they can't win. Betrayal, broken promises, the secret weapon isn't there, whatever makes the darkness blacker, blacker, blackest. Which makes the victory even sweeter and brighter in The Final Battle!It's interesting to me that he puts this after The Doorway of No Retreat #2. I'm not sure that it has to be quite that late. You may want to put this earlier, somewhere in Act II.What's next? The Q Factor!
mbarker: (Fireworks Delight)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 9, 2019

Deadline April 14! Just in time for taxes! Or maybe showers? Anyway...A private eye, struggling with the death of a close friend, learns something important. They face the moral issue that their 12-year-old son asks them to buy a copy of Playboy magazine. Do they buy it or not? The AI robot in their luggage might be helpful. At the same time, the private eye is trying to find and clean out a safe area. How can they remove the evil players, encourage the good players, and decide whether to let the locals run everything or keep control themselves?Which way did they go? Let's follow them! What, a clue? Or two? Yes, it's...
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[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 16, 2019

I'm sure you all remember Q in the James Bond movies, who carefully handed Bond some gadgets and told him not to play with them. Why? Well, at the end, Bond often escaped the doom descending on him using those gadgets. But, if he had just pulled them out of his socks at that point, we would all groan. However, Q handed them out way ahead of time. So…"In fiction, the Lead character reaches a point near the end when everything looks lost. Lights Out! What he needs is courage and motivation for the Final Battle. This is where the Q Factor comes in."The Q Factor is an emotional push, set up back in Act I, that provides inspiration or instruction at a critical moment in Act III. Sometimes it's an icon or a physical object. Sometimes it's just a memory, a voice in the head. Sometimes it's something that just reminds the Lead about… It's something that encourages the Lead. Sometimes it's a negative example, where the Lead thinks something like, "If I give up, I'll be as bad as…"Why is this here? Remember the death stakes. When you face death, you are afraid! When all that stands in front of the Lead, he's going to be tempted to run. What makes him stay and fight?The Q Factor, an emotional boost, just when it's needed.So, how do you figure it out? Well, James suggests brainstorming Q factors! Make a list of physical items, mentors, characters embodying cowardice and moral corruption. Then, choose one that you like. Write a scene early in Act I that ties this element emotionally to the Lead. You may want to put a reminder in Act II. Oh, you might have The Q Factor before or after Lights Out.James finishes with a reminder. The story is about a character using force of will to fight death. That's not just analytical. It's emotion that moves the main character to action, and The Q Factor is a spark for that fire.So. Doorway of No Return #2 slams behind us. Mounting Forces gather for the Final Battle ahead of us. Lights Out as we face the Final Battle. And... the Q Factor gives us a glimmer of hope, a beacon to guide us, a song to sing as we head into battle!
mbarker: (ISeeYou2)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 19, 2019

"Every great ending is a Final Battle inside or outside the main character. Sometimes a mixture of both."So, in Act I, we had Disturbance and Trouble Brewing to kick off the action and warn us that the final battle was ahead. In Act II, we had The Kick in the Shins to remind us, and the Mirror Moment when the main character really decides they have to do it. The Doorway of No Return #2 slammed shut behind us, Mounting Forces gathered, Lights Out made us sweat, the Q Factor gave us hope, and now…The Final Battle!Okay, so this is the focus of Act III, the ending or resolution of the whole story. Outside? We're looking at physical forces. Big or little, will the main character have the courage to fight? Will they win? Inside? A psychological battle! Will the Lead have the courage to be transformed?So why do we have this piece here? Well, this is the point of the story, what everything leads up to. It's the resolution, the satisfaction, the completion. The Final Battle is what makes the story happen.James gives us a hint. Go back and look at your Mirror Moment. If it was a "I'm going to die" moment, the Final Battle is likely to be physical. If it's "Who am I and what have I become?" Then the Final Battle is likely to be interior, a dilemma, psychological.And, we have a reminder. The arc of the story is a quest for courage. If it's courage to fight overwhelming odds, the Final Battle is against outside forces. If it's the moral courage to do the right thing, then the Final Battle is against inside forces. Don't forget you might have a tragedy, where the main character loses and dies (physical death!), or doesn't do what's right and dies professionally or psychologically. (I have to admit, I'm a Disney kid, I love a happy ending, though!)It seems to me that part of the trick to getting this right is really going back and looking at what you have promised in all the other pieces. Remember those pieces I mentioned at the start? Make sure that The Final Battle lives up to all those. Yes, it's a battle, so you can have loose ends and chaos, but… Try to take care of the issues you raised in those other parts. Of course, some people start by outlining or even writing up this part first, and then make the rest of the story match up with it.
mbarker: (Me typing?)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 20, 2019

I’m not sure what is the right word, but... here’s something you might use as a disruption point to kick off your story?Just pondering, there's a... I want to call it a social trauma, but I'm not sure that's the right phrase. Anyway, a phenomenon that goes with WWII in Japan. See, when they were being bombed, the government, companies, and families sent people out of Tokyo and other cities into rural areas.In the morning drama running now, one girl from a family got sent from Tokyo all the way to Hokkaido, to a dairy farm. She’s still there, as a teen, and doesn’t seem to know where her family, brother and sister, are. Other stories, Tottoro, for example, also mention this almost in passing. It’s a fairly common starting point for stories in Japan set in that era, the disruption and upset of being sent out to the country.I mean, think about the social churning when city people who know Tokyo is the best place to live suddenly become refugees, begging a place to live, in some cases food and work, from rural farmers and small towns. Think of the mixing, the conflict of country life and thought as these dribs and drabs flood out into the countryside.Imagine, if you will, what it would be like if we suddenly took New York city, all the people and companies there, and sent them out, in families or smaller groups, to West Virginia, to rural Alabama, to Kansas, to the small towns and farms across America. Maybe in response to a threat of bombing, or perhaps the predicted impact of an asteroid, or whatever? So suddenly these city folks are shoved out into Smalltown, USA, with little more than what they can carry in their hands or on their backs.Wow! It's no wonder that this dispersal, this diaspora of the city dwellers, still gets play in dramas and such about that time. 75 years ago, but I think the impact, the shock, if you will, is still working its way through Japanese society. And provides a great stock of characters trying to adjust to life in the country, of course.Just thinking you might use that kind of refugee from the wars (or whatever catastrophe you like) as a starting point or turning point in your tales, too.
mbarker: (Me typing?)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 22, 2019

Here's something to think about. First, go over to https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2019/4/235626-fighting-for-lava/fulltext if you want more details.Basically, they posit a possible set of tunnel-boring energy extraction companies who compete to (a) cool the lava fields in the US (b) make money, and (c) provide carbon-free energy! They tunnel from a power plant close to the lava fields, then run cool water into the tunnels where it is heated by the lava into steam, and the steam powers turbines. The steam is then recycled back into the tunnels. Now, they use this futuristic scenario as a setting for doing some fun mathematical puzzling over how to acquire segments for tunneling.But for our purposes, let's consider that the companies are doing their thing, tunneling away around the lava fields, then running water through the tunnels to drive turbines, feeding power to the electric grid of America! Wow, sounds almost like free energy, doesn't it? But...WHAT COULD GO WRONG?I mean, let's consider. The system is pretty simple, right? Digging tunnels (whoops, we got too close to the lava?). Running water through established tunnels (What do you mean, the tunnel stopped up? The steam blew a hole through the side of the tunnel? It's not supposed to do that!). Running turbines off the steam. (The turbines ran hot, and melted? Can that happen?) Or what happens when a terrorist reveals that they have mined the tunnels, and are prepared to blow a hole into the lava fields? Or maybe...Go ahead, what's your catastrophic prediction for this system? I mean, lava, superheated steam, high speed turbine, high voltage electricity... what could go wrong?ZAP!Tell us about it. And maybe tell us about the poor engineers, maintenance people, or whoever is trying to deal with your nightmare in the lava fields?
mbarker: (BrainUnderRepair)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 26, 2019

Transformation. The coda, resonance, final note…What makes this beat? Well, it's transformation! The character has changed in a significant way. They may be a whole new person, or just a stronger person. Go back to the Mirror Moment. "Who am I?" The transformation is into a different person. "I'm going to die!" The transformation is into a stronger person.Now, how do we prove the transformation? If they are a stronger person, often just by surviving and returning to normal life. If it was a fundamental change, though, we need to show it. Maybe they sacrifice themselves or something, maybe they give up the icon that has kept them going. One way or another, show that they are transformed.Now, why do we have this here? Basically, the story needs a character change. And here it is! Show the transformation. Readers want emotional engagement and completion. Give it to them.James suggests as a hint that you can plot starting with the transformation. What feeling do you want readers to have after they read your work? What change in the character does that? How do they go about surviving? What could they give up?Just as a reminder, readers want to worry about the characters. Get them engaged with the character, and then make them worry. Will this character get out alive? How has the experience changed them?So, we have come full circle, all the way through the 14 beats of Super Structure. Once more, quickly?Act I1. Disturbance. Something's happening here...2. Care Package. Hey, he's a nice guy!3. Argument against Transformation. No way am I going to change!4. Trouble brewing. Wow, that's not good!5. Doorway of No Return #1. We're off to see the Wizard!Act II6. Kick in the Shins. Ouch, there's a Final Battle up ahead!7. The Mirror Moment. What, me? No...8. Pet the Dog. I can't just ignore that call for help...9. Doorway of No Return #2. Slamming the lid on the boiler...Act III10. Mounting Forces. Everyone's here!11. Lights Out! And it looks bad for our hero!12. Q Factor. But... there's a ray of hope.13. Final Battle. And it's time to fight!14. Transformation. And here's the payoff...Look at how they tie together, too. Disturbance, Trouble brewing, Kick in the Shins, Mounting Forces... all lead up to the Final Battle. Care Package and Pet the Dog make us like the character. Argument against Transformation, Mirror Moment, Lights Out, Q Factor, and Transformation are all about the character and their change. The two doorways? Those are the transitions between Acts, one-way slides from one set of problems to the next. Cool, right?
mbarker: (Burp)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting May 1, 2019

Writer's Digest, August 1993, pages 25-27 and 59, have an article by Michael Orlofsky talking about discreet dialect. The subtitle is "When handled poorly, dialect can demean your characters and make them into superficial stereotypes. Follow these precepts, and you'll craft dialect that'll have editors saying, 'this dog will hunt.'"Michael starts by pointing out that dialect can be problematic. Substandard English, boorish concerns, perpetuate stereotypes and don't create good dialect! Basically, we all need to be honest and careful in the characterization that dialect portrays. "I think all writers need to take dialect personally. Our challenge is implicit in all the diverse and wonderful voices and sounds we hear." Beware of the natural tendency to try to write dialect that re-creates speech patterns verbatim. All too often, this undermines the character, making them parodies or stereotypes. Simply overusing contractions, dropped letters (a.k.a. elisions) and other misspelled words really doesn't make a dialect. "The best dialogue is rarely written exactly the way it's heard."So, how do we distill dialogue and dialect to their essence? Well, dialogue must reveal personality. "My cardinal rule is this: when it comes to dialect, a little contriving goes a long way." Personality and sound often come from just one word. It's easy to read, and it can convey the character. So, how do you create dialogue that has cultural verisimilitude but dodges the stereotyping bullet, the hard to understand bullet, and the bias bullet. Try these alternatives.Euphony and rhythm. No, not you phony, the sounds! Take a look at Hemingway. Standard English, but it has a Spanish flavor. Short sentences, simple clauses, no contractions.Word choice. Sometimes ethnic, cultural, and regional groups have words that are unique, but not quite slang. Valley girl talk might be a common example. Regional usage. You're going to need context clues to help the reader understand these terms, visual descriptions, whatever.Slang. This is word choice, pushed a little bit further. It's a quick and easy way to sketch dialect. Be aware, it's dated very quickly. "Basically, slang is the substitution of a usual word or phrase with an unusual word or phrase." Or, I would've said it's substituting an unusual word or phrase for a more usual word or phrase. Take a look at Shakespeare's slang. "The trick is to avoid obviously short-lived slang and to opt for slang that so classic or entertaining that it, too, lives beyond its own time."Foreign terms. Some of the immigrants will use their own words. A single word, sometimes a translated phrase, you can use the other language.Weltanschauung. A German word for world outlook, or philosophy of life. This is probably one of the most subtle, and yet very effective, ways to portray cultural identity. How does this individual look at life differently because of their culture or society? "You probably can't learn the sensitivity and sensibility needed to understand other cultures – you're born with it. But you can cultivate what you have. Listen. Watch. Interview. Research. Read."Jargon! Groups within groups often have special words or phrases, their own jargon. Workgroups, religious groups, all kinds of groups develop their own special language. "What a character does for a living should enter into his speech and help us know him."Simile, metaphor, and colloquialism. Certain parts of a country have their own phrases. Keep track of those similes and colloquialisms when you hear them.Gestures and underlining. Dialect is not always words, sometimes it's body language. Snapping fingers, gesturing hands, and so forth. Underlining gives a word a little bit more stress, which might be just what you need to remind us that it's dialect."Each of these techniques is designed to vividly render dialect while maintaining the honesty and dignity of the character."I'm not sure that I would say he has exactly defined how you use all these, but it's an interesting collection of tools for tackling the problem of dialect. You might use it as a checklist, see whether you can use one or more of his tools. He has a lot of examples in his article, but finding the article is probably going to be kind of hard. Anyway, it's something to think about. How do you use dialect to help with characterization, and what are the writing tools to build that dialect into your dialogue?

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