TECH: Character Arcs (part 11) (750 words)

[mbarker]

 Original Posting 12/16/2019

In Chapter 10, Weiland tackles the second half of the second act. Got that? Take the second act, aka the middle, divvy it into two halves and a midpoint, and... we’re now slipping down the second half, sliding toward the second doorway of no return and the climax! So, what’s happening?

Well, start with the hero having gone through the midpoint, through that revelation, and now... he or she is active, is really trying! Got the Truth in mind, and is starting to do the right things. But... he’s still relishing a little lie. We need some strong action, the character starting to control the conflict, and... pull together all the pieces you need for the third act. Do watch out, there’s a pinch in here, where the antagonist shows they are still formidable, and might beat the hero. But...

Lots of action. The hero charges in, thinking they know what’s right now! But there’s still some blind spots...

Weiland lays out six pieces of the character arc that you can put into the second half of the second act (call it the second squared?). You choose where, you choose the pacing, you get to mix this up the way you like it. So what are the parts?

1 Let the character act enlightened! He or she has learned some things, and had the midpoint revelation, so... now they can do some things they couldn’t have done (or wouldn’t have thought of doing) before. The hero has some new tools to tackle things, and can make better progress.

2 But... trap the character between that old Lie and the new Truth! Go ahead and let him or her suffer with difference between that old lie and the new truth. They want to do the right thing, but... is it really the right thing? Doubts and fears...

3 Let the character fight to escape effects of the Lie. The character knows the truth now, and is trying to go that way. They are starting to do the right thing, but that may mean giving up some things they want! Show us that tension, the fight...

4 contrast the before and after mindsets. Watch for ways to mirror or reflect actions and thoughts, events, from the first half of the second act here in the second half. But reversed, with the change highlighted.

5 Provide a false victory! Maybe what he wants seems easily reachable? But now, there’s something wrong with that easy deal. To get it, he’s going to give up the thing he needs, turn back from the truth to the lie. And... he grabs it! But, naturally, it isn’t gonna be a good thing.

6 blatantly demonstrate the crux of your character’s arc. Just before the big third act, go ahead and make it explicit, what he needs, and what that Truth was. Dialogue, action, internal monologue, whichever works, but... play this up! The character will need this in the third act!

Weiland provides a set of questions to help you with this. Here we go!

1 How is your hero starting to control the conflict?
2 How does the midpoint revelation help the hero see the conflict differently?
3 What tools does the revelation give the hero to be more effective?
4 How is the character still holding onto the Lie?
5 How is the new Truth fighting the old Lie?
6 How is the hero still not quite in line with the truth?
7 How does the hero’s mindset still support the Lie?
8 How do the hero’s actions show increasing belief in the Truth?
9 What before and after scenes can show the difference in the character between the first and second half?
10 What false victory ends the Second act? What does the hero give up about the Truth to apparently get what he wants?
11 How have you blatantly shown us the Truth?

This part of the story is a chance for the hero to shine! Things are starting to go right, they have the Truth to figure out, he’s changed! Oh, there’s still a betrayal to come (the false victory), but... he’s on the right path, at last!

And he’s getting set for the third plot point, coming soon!

Exercise? Probably the best is to take a look at a story that you like, and see how these six points play out there. Maybe see how the questions got answered there? Then think about how they might work in your work in progress?

SUB: Old Man Murphy (550 words)

[mbarker]

 Original Posting 12/19/2019

Old Man Murphy (550 words)

By Mike Barker


What do you mean, you want to know if I knew old man Murphy?


Y'a know, when I was growing up, most of the kids were scared of old man Murphy. He lived in that funny house on the corner all by himself, and he didn't seem to do anything. Although everybody loved his Christmas lights. He took that old house, and just covered it with lights.


Did I ever talk to him?


Of course, I used to talk to him. He subscribed to the local paper, and I delivered it, so I had to go in and collect from him. He always had time to talk to me, and he had some really great stories. I mean I remember him talking about his pet that he called Growler, and the time that Growler got caught by some monstrous wasps. Growler got stung, and swelled up. But the vet gave him some kind of special medicine, and old Growler pulled through. I could see tears in old man Murphy's eyes when he was talking about it. I asked him about Growler, and he said he left him back on the home planet.


That's one of the things I liked about old man Murphy. He always talked about his home planet. It was almost like one of those science fiction books or something.


What about the Christmas lights?


Anyway, he covered his house with lights every Christmas. He had ladders of lights, lights that changed colors, all kinds of lights. People used to come take videos of all his lights. I've got several videos myself. He was always adding some things and moving other things around. It was the best light show in town.


I asked him about it, and he said it wasn't really for Christmas, it was because the intergalactic rescue ships always check for signals on the winter solstice. When I told him I didn't know what that was, he explained that the shortest day and longest night was the winter solstice, and that it was standard practice for the rescue ships to look for signals at that time, and for aliens to make signals. Then he would chuckle, and say that maybe this year would be the year that one of the rescue ships would notice his signal.


Why are you interested? Oh wow, that's quite a story.


So, you tell me that he put up even more lights this year? And the other night, the night of the winter solstice, he had them running all night? Matter of fact, they were running the next day? And when someone called the police, and they went inside, there was nobody there. Not surprising.


What do I mean?


Seems obvious to me. Old man Murphy went home.


What am I going to do?


Now, I have to admit, I'm going to try and get every bit of video that I can find about his house, especially this year. And then I'm going to start putting up Christmas lights myself.


See if I can get a rescue ship to land. I'd really kind of like to see Growler and old man Murphy, and the best way I can think to do it is with a bit of light.


Shining in the dark of a winter's solstice.


The End

(or maybe it's the beginning?)

TECH: Character Arcs (part 12) (400 words! A quickie!)

[mbarker]

 Original Posting 12/27/2019

And, in Chapter 11, Weiland tackles the third plot point. Also known as the second doorway of no return, I think. Let's see...

Third plot point is a low point for the character! At the end of the second act, they seemed to win a victory, but... it's false! Now, the Lie is going to come out and the hero is going to have to confront it directly. No more halfway measures, it's time to fight!

The antagonist is going to force things, and the hero is going to be forced into a full climax. There's often another revelation in here, too.

We're going to have a physical plot point, but also a major choice by the character. Usually, chose between what they want, and what they need. No compromise, which one are you going to go for?

In the positive character arc, of course, they hero chooses the truth, doing the right thing. Which means losing the thing he wants! The decision takes action, and the bridges burn behind him!

Metaphorically, the hero dies here... at least to their old self. There's often some real death, too, at this point. Or at least symbolic death, or threats of death.

So, what questions does Weiland recommend you ponder at this point?

1 What event or revelation turns the apparent victory at the end of the second act into a crushing defeat?
2 How did the failure to reject the Lie enable this defeat?
3 How does the defeat make the hero really look at all the ramifications of the Lie?
4 How does the defeat offer the character a path toward what he Wants?
5 If he took the path to what he Wants, how will it lead to losing what he Needs?
6 How do you set up a black-and-white choice between shat he Wants and what he Needs?
7 Which does he choose?
8 How can you literally or symbolically work death into this scene to reinforce the death of the old self?

Okay? We're going to force the hero to make another choice, and go to that climax. And strip away the illusions of the Lie!

Exercise? Probably the best is to look at two or three stories that you really like, and pull out how they dealt with this plot point. Then think about how you want to build this kind of plot point into your story!

And watch for the next episode, when we tackle the third act!?

TECH: The Mystery (moldy oldie) (750 words)

[mbarker]

 Original Posting 1/14/2020

Writer's Digest, March, 1992, on pages 36 and 37, had an article that was supposed to be the first of eight articles about genres. This one, by Michael Seidman, introduces the field of genres, and lays out the basics of the mystery.

He starts out by giving us a list of authors' names, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Stephen Donaldson, Arthur Clarke, Piers Anthony… He asks us what they have in common, and then tells us that "they're all best-selling authors who began their careers writing what John Gardner, in The Art of Fiction, called drugstore fiction." It's also called category, genre, popular, even formula fiction.

You know these categories. Romance, mystery, suspense/thriller, science fiction, fantasy, horror, action/adventure, Western. And Michael says each of them does "have a formula, a basic guideline or philosophy, that drives it." But, some people take the formula and push it, stretch the boundaries, and "become accepted in the mainstream." But even without that, "you can have a very successful, rewarding and profitable career writing category fiction."

Where do you start? Well, master the basics, learn the formula. Many publishers have tip sheets explaining what they need, or you can read their backlist. But, the general rules for the categories are pretty similar. So this series is going to describe these eight genres. Starting with mystery. But be aware, "few categories offer as much diversity as the mystery."

"At its simplest, mystery fiction is a puzzle story: the classic whodunit, with all the clues present for the reader." But… Mystery is about crime, solving puzzles, preventing criminal action. However, the range goes from cozies all away to spy novels. Michael suggests there are three basic forms, the cozy, the private detective, and the police procedural. Each of these has a protagonist, a crime worth solving, and a series of clues, information, and background (don't forget the red herrings, the false leads). Beyond that…

The cozy is the least realistic and most popular. The detective is an amateur, some sort of local citizen. Many of them are experts in some area. There's not much violence. It's power of deduction, individual expertise, knowledge of human nature, and curiosity, lots of questions, that lead the amateur detective to identify the murderer, and in a final climax, explain the solution. Fairly often the settings are less urban, but really they could be anywhere. Eccentric characters, police who don't know what's going on, and gentle or friendly storytelling make the cozy… Cozy?

Now, on the other side, we've got the hard-boiled mystery, frequently a private investigator. Licensed by the state, probably armed, and involved in the mean streets. "Tough, cynical and jaded, the PI deals with street people, petty criminals, and the down-and-out on a regular basis." The cases may be industrial espionage and security, the bad side of families, and murders. Their relationship with the police is often a bit rocky.

Finally, police procedurals are realistic mysteries. Deduction and investigation are still part of the game, but real police work is the focus. There is usually a larger cast, with several cops working together, along with other departments, district attorneys and politicians, and even civilians. Do your research if you want to write procedurals, because the fans insist on accuracy.

Now, Michael mentions a couple of other possibilities. Espionage novels are kind of procedural, but most of them belong to suspense. Romantic suspense? Well, it might be a cozy, but it's really part of the romance genre. And then there are mixtures. Private detective novels that read like cozies, or even other genres mixed in.

"Your own strengths as a storyteller, coupled with an understanding of what makes each category work with its audience, will allow you to experiment and move forward."

He also suggests several resources if you want to write mysteries. Starting with Mystery Writers of America. There are also quite a few books available on writing mysteries. Take a look in your bookcase, you may already have some. I know I do.

Obviously, this is a very quick introduction to the mystery genre. I took a chance, and dove into tvtropes, and found this page which might also help https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MysteryFiction (do beware! tvtropes can be a lot like quicksand, pulling you into the depths as you follow link after link... Oh, that's interesting!)

Whoa! Get back here! You're supposed to be writing, not diving for tropes... although they are shiny, aren't they?