EXERCISE: Build a story?

[mbarker]

Original Posting 9/4/2019

Had a little spare time, and was considering what we need for a short story. So...

Let's see, we probably need a character, right? Well, let's start out by giving them a job. Strolling through the Internet, we find

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Classification_of_Occupations

Wow! 10 major groups, with lots of subgroups? Let's take the 10 major groups...

1. Managers
2. Professional
3. Technicians and associate professionals
4. Clerical support workers
5. Service and sales workers
6. Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers
7. Craft and related trades workers
8. Plant and machine operators, and assemblers
9. Elementary occupations
10. Armed forces occupations

So! Pick a number from one to ten! Then go look at the subcategories of that group. Pick an interesting occupation, and...

Feel free to embellish your character with a little back history. How old are they, where did they come from, what about family, relationships, friends? What's their name? And then consider…

Add a conflict!

So, a goal, and someone (or something) blocking it. What does our character want? Let's take a wander through the Internet again... Aha!

https://www.gbnews.ch/who-are-we-steven-reiss-16-basic-desires-that-motivate-our-actions-and-define-our-personalities/

Here we go! A list of 16 fundamental desires, with end goals that go with them. So, pick a number from 1 to 16, and... here is what you have chosen:

1. Power: achievement, competence, leadership
2. Independence: freedom, Ego integrity
3. Curiosity: knowledge, truth
4. Acceptance: positive self-image, self-worth
5. Order: cleanliness, stability, organization
6. Saving: collection, property
7. Honor: morality, character, loyalty
8. Idealism: fairness, justice
9. Social contact: friendship, justice
10. Family: children
11. Status: wealth, titles, attention, awards
12. Vengeance: winning, aggression
13. Romance: beauty, sex
14. Eating: food, dining, hunting
15. Physical exercise: fitness
16. Tranquility: relaxation, safety

So your character desires something. Go ahead and make it concrete, what is it that they want? How do they think they are going to get it?

And, of course, add someone or something getting in the way. An antagonist, someone jealous, angry, or whatever, certainly personalizes the conflict. But a flood, hurricane, comet falling from the sky, or some other impersonal disaster can also make life hard on your character.

And what is the endgame? We're doing quickie short stories here, so what is the change, realization, success or failure, what's the point? Considering what the character wanted, what are they going to get?

Hum? Stroll through the Internet again? Well... Oh, here's this. Achievements that matter the most?

https://www.cam.ac.uk/women-at-cambridge/chapters-and-themes/chapter-1-the-achievements-that-matter-most-and-why

1. Being able to pursue interesting, high-quality work that has a positive impact.
2. Securing awards, promotions, and other acknowledgments of achievement.
3. Maintaining a happy and healthy family life as well as a career.
4. Handling challenge, complexity, and change.
5. Being a role model or pioneer.
6. Exercising leadership, authority, and influence.
7. Having a positive effect on and engagement with others.
8. Demonstrating authenticity, integrity, and roundedness.

What the heck, those sound like they could be fun. So pick a number from 1 to 8, see what you have chosen, then consider that in light of your character and their desire, and… Figure out what they might achieve at the end of your story along those lines.

So, character, conflict, and at least a sketchy achievement/climax? It must be time to write your story! Go ahead and start sketching out that tale!

Bonus! Over here

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1thvbJEjTVYlkASPG7bTHvGdNaU8npypOhD7jr1yBGGo/edit?usp=sharing

There's a spreadsheet that will give you random mix-and-match of the three elements. Each time you open it, it will give you a new randomized triplet, or you can press CTRL-R to get a new combination. See if that helps spark some ideas!

TECH: Oh, don't do that! (230 words)

[mbarker]

 Original Posting 9/5/2019

Oh, that's so good. Go over here and read Sarah Hoyt's posting about how to break bad habits (bad fiction writing habits, okay?).

https://madgeniusclub.com/2019/09/04/how-to-break-bad-habits/

Here's a short summary...?

1. "And the whole city rejoiced." Characters are the center of their own story, and what some other character does, is viewed from their OWN POV. Don't project too much!

2. "Gaucheness equals pedophilia." Being mean to the main character does not mean they are all evil.

3. "Let's bang on my deathbed" Characters need to make internal sense. Don't play "I'm the author, so I can make you do anything" with your characters.

4. "Victimhood = Virtue." Just because a character is mistreated does not mean they are wonderful.

And from the comments, we can add...

5. Peeking at the GMs notes. Don't let your characters do something that only makes sense if they have information they couldn't have.

Hum. What other bad habits should we add to that list? Give it a catchy name, and describe the problem, okay? E.g.

Procrastination never finishes. Yes, it may not be perfect. Yes, you may have another idea, or even a better idea, tomorrow. BUT... go ahead and write now. Do what you can, finish it as well as you can, revise it as well as you can, and... call it complete for now. Go on. Yes, you can. DO IT!

Go on, what writing bad habits have you noticed?

TECH: Character Arcs (Part 4) (540 words)

[mbarker]

Original Posting 9/6/2019

Aha! In Chapter 3 of Creating Character Arcs, (another concepts behind the writing chapter) K. M. Weiland brings in a ghost! After all, we have the Lie your character believes, what they want, and what they need. But why does the character believe this lie? What is haunting him? What is his ghost?

Oh, what is the backstory behind all this! The character needs to change, but why? What made him or her believe this lie in the first place?

K. M. points out that we are all survivors, but often we are too tightly focused. "We rationalize our actions and convince ourselves -- rightly or wrongly -- that the end justifies the means." In other words, there's a reason for the lie! What is it? That the ghost, the haunting cause... also known as the wound. Sometimes these are shocking, traumatic secrets. Sometimes they are smaller, ordinary. But they are there....

"The bigger and more destructive the Lie, the more shocking and impactful the Ghost should be! Or, to flip that on its head: The bigger the Ghost, the bigger the Lie, the bigger the Arc."

Ghosts are often revealed as mysteries, bit by bit. Sometimes they are never revealed, just left as a mysterious secret. Or, on occasion, you might reveal the ghost right up front. Origin stories often do this. So. What is the Ghost haunting your character? Is it an ingrained belief, the result of a horrific event, or simple day-to-day belief?

Some questions to help you with that Ghost.

1. Why does the character believe the lie?

2. Is there a notable event, with traumatic memories, behind the lie?

3. If not, will there be a notable event in act one that traumatizes the character?

4. Why does the character nourish this lie?

5. How will the character benefit from the Truth?

6. How big is the ghost? Would a bigger ghost make a stronger arc?

7. Where in your story will you reveal the ghost? All at once in front? Slowly, through clues, with a big reveal late in the story?

8. Does your story need the ghost to be revealed? Or should it merely haunt the edges?

Now, we've got a chance to put together these concepts. There's the lie that the character believes, what the character wants, and what the character needs. Behind the lie, in the back story, we've got the ghost, the cause for the character to believe this lie. So, take a look at a story that you know very well with a positive character arc. You've already identified the lie, what the character wants, and what the character needs. Now look for the ghost. In this story, why does the character believe this lie? Is there a traumatic event in the past, or early in the story? Is the reason for this belief revealed in the story? At the beginning, or at the end?

There you have it. Four concepts that help us build inner conflict and a strong character arc. The lie, the want, the need, and the ghost. With those in hand, in Chapter 4, K. M. turns to writing a character arc, starting with the first appearance of the character, the protagonist. We'll look at that in the next episode of the series.

TECH: So What and Who Cares? SW2C? (270 words)

[mbarker]

Original Posting 9/10/2019

Over here, https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-write-stories-that-matter/, K. M. Weiland has a guest posting by Daryl Rothman. Plenty of people look for the "silver bullet," the "secret formula" that will make your writing good. Well, Daryl is giving it away!

"Writing's Secret Formula: How to Write Stories that Matter." WOW!

Daryl starts with a little pondering about a quote from Stephen King. It starts out "Writing is magic..."

Then he turns to the formula. Writing's Secret Formula: SW2C. So What and Who Cares. Make readers care about our characters and what happens to them.

But when you put together all the parts, characterization, plot, setting, POV, will the readers come?

Find your why! It's in that formula, So What and Who Cares.

Go read the article. I think you'll find his musing thought-provoking.

He ends up with five questions that he recommends to help figure out why your story matters.

1. Why does it matter to you?

2. Why will it matter to others?

3. How can you make it matter?

4. What effect do you want to produce?

5. Do you want readers to feel something, and if so, what?

You might want to start with his little exercise, near the end. Three steps. First, "consider what your favorite stories did for you, and how they did it." That's right, what stands out for you, and how does it work? Second, "Why do they matter to you?" Stop and think about why this means something to you. Third, "What are the things that matter most to you in life?" Oh, what are your stakes? What are your goals? Now...

WRITE!