TECH: The M.I.C.E. quotient?

[mbarker]

Original posting 2021/9/1

Over here, https://writingexcuses.com/2021/08/29/16-35-what-is-the-m-i-c-e-quotient/ is starting a series digging into the MICE quotient. You may have heard of this, it originated with Orion Scott Card some time ago. Basically, the notion is that stories are built around four elements, milieu, inquiry (idea originally, but...), character, and event. Typically, a milieu story thread starts when the character goes into some place and ends when they leave. Inquiry starts when the character asks a question and ends when they find the answer. Character? Who am I up to some kind of self-understanding. Event starts with something disrupting the normal and ends with either a return to the old normal or establishing a new normal. Now, in between these bookends, you get conflicts. Something keeps the character in the milieu, something keeps the character from finding the answer, something keeps the character from changing, or something blocks achieving a norm of some kind.

Anyway, it's one approach to stories. And Writing Excuses is going to dig deep into the framework, the elements and how they fit together, plus how you can use them to guide your writing...

I may have to dig out my copy of Orion Scott Card's book and review what he had to say about it...

Oh! For an exercise, take a short story you are working on or have written, and try to identify the MICE elements at work in it. Can you identify where you start a thread, and where it ends? Do you have them nested, so the inner ones end before the outer ones? 

TECH: M. I. C. ... oops, no E yet?

[mbarker]

Original posting 2021/9/23

Let's see. Over on Writing Excuses, they are walking through the elements of the M. I. C. E. Quotient. Next week, they'll hit the E (Event!) but... right now, they have milieu, inquiry, and character pieces. So, a quick roundup so far?

Milieu is place, or setting. Typically, it starts with the character crossing a threshold of some kind, entering the milieu, and ends when the character exits the milieu. Conflicts in the middle (or should that be muddle?) are mostly things blocking the character from leaving. Heist stories and survival stories. https://writingexcuses.com/2021/09/05/16-36-deep-dive-into-milieu/

Inquiry stories start with a question, and end when the character finds the answer. The conflicts in the middle are things blocking finding the answer. Mysteries, and many science fiction stories. https://writingexcuses.com/2021/09/12/16-37-deep-dive-into-inquiry/

Character stories start with the question "Who am I?" and end with the declaration "This is who I am!" Heavy on internal conflicts, an exploration of self-discovery. Wanting to change, to be somebody different. Coming of age stories. https://writingexcuses.com/2021/09/19/16-38-deep-dive-into-character/

There's a running attempt to talk about obstacles versus complications in these different types of stories. I think if you start with the old try-fail cycle, and the paired no-and, yes-but endings which often go with that, you might be able to figure it out. Basically, obstacles result in failure, the standard no, we didn't succeed, AND now we've got some new problems. Complications arise when yes, we succeed, BUT now we've got new problems. 

So in a milieu story, the obstacles keep the character from exiting, and add new issues. The complications look as if we're succeeding in getting closer to exiting, but... now we've got different issues.

In an inquiry story, the obstacles keep the character from finding the answer, and add new questions. The complications... well, we've gotten a little farther, but there's these other issues now...

And, of course, in character stories, the obstacles make the character want to turn back, to hold onto that old self-identity, and add more burdens, too. The complications mean the character may have moved a bit forward, but... now there are these other little problems, too!

Y'a know, I don't think I helped that discussion of obstacles and complications at all. Well, maybe the original podcasts will clear it up for you...

Anyway, probably the key to get from all this is these three (soon to be four!) elements of stories. They tend to be nested, so the character may very well step through a door, start looking for the way out, find a dead body on the floor, start trying to figure out who did it, find the killer, and now... get out of the house! Okay? 

How can you use this? Well, two possibilities. First, as you are writing, especially for those who prefer discovery writing, thinking about these elements provides at least a little guidance. Second, when you are editing, looking for the elements can help uncover problems, especially when threads are either not finished, or simply out of order.

Okay? So... there's three of the MICE elements. I'll try to remember to fill in the last one, event, next week. Events are mostly about changes in the status quo, something happens, and we gotta react to it. But we'll talk about that next week!

In the meantime, keep writing!

TECH: The E in MICE is EVENT!

[mbarker]

Original posting 2021/10/1

So, over at https://writingexcuses.com/2021/09/26/16-39-deep-dive-into-event/ this week, they took a look at the fourth element in the M.I.C.E. Quotient, E for event. Event stories focus on disruptions of the status quo, externally driven conflicts. Start with something that upsets the status quo, and finish with either a restoration of the old or establishing a new status quo. Obstacles are when every action seems to push the status quo further out of whack, while complications are opening up different problems. Remember that while big events may be attractive, small events and sequences of events and consequences are interesting too.

So, milieu, inquiry, character, and event. Going into and getting out of a place, asking and answering questions, the journey of self-discovery around "who am I?", and last, but not least, external changes a.k.a. events. Most stories involve more than one of these, although the emphasis is often on one of them. There also is a nesting to them, so the hero goes into a strange place, where he encounters various events and has to deal with them, or perhaps struggles with their identity or even looks for the answers to various questions, and eventually gets out of that strange place again. Or perhaps your detective is trying to find out who done it, and has to deal with various and sundry events along the way? There are certainly various ways to mix the four elements together in your stories.

Does anyone use this framework for your stories? Perhaps in outlining, or in revision? Maybe as a guideline while happily cranking out the words?