TECH: Getting Ready for 6x6? (800 words)
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writercisesOriginal Posting March 14, 2018
So, let's see. A likable character faces opposition or conflict, and by his or her own efforts, achieves a worthwhile goal. So we need a character, opposition and conflict, efforts, and a goal? Or maybe start with the character and goal, then the plan to get there, and finally the opposition or conflict, what's going to be in the way?
Heck, start with any of these. Characters, Setting, Plot, or even theme or purpose. Then brainstorm away at the others.
Here, start with a character. Who are they? What are their goals and desires? What are their problems and faults? In your story, what changes?
Or maybe a setting? Where are we? What are the scenes and locations?
Of course, plot is a really common starting place. What threatens the character's self-image? What can go wrong, and what will it cost? What blocks the character, and what are they going to do about it? Think about the events you want to have in your story, and especially the climax. Are you going to have some small try-fail cycles, bumps along the road, before you get to the climax?
Another simple plotting approach is:
1. What is the moment of change that starts the story moving?
2. What is the hook for the reader?
3. What is the story problem?
4. What is the first doorway of no return? What is the point where the main character, the protagonist, commits to solving the problem?
5. What are the complications that they are going to face in trying to achieve that?
6. What is the second doorway of no return? What is the twist, the revelation, the point where the main character figures out how to achieve their goal, and starts into the climax?
7. What is the ending? What is the climax, the character change, and the answer to the story problem?
8. Now go back and consider, what backfill and back story do you need?
Another way to brainstorm about it is answering questions. Here's one set:
1. Where are we? Setting!
2. Who is there? Characters, with their pluses and minuses.
3. Where are we going? What are their goals and motivations?
4. What blocks them? What are the obstacles or opposition?
5. What are they going to do? What are their plans?
That's all kind of background. The story itself revolves around:
6. What's the hook? What's the story question or problem?
7. What background do we need?
8. What's the build up? Lay out the scenes, the information, the turning points, the reveals, the surprises.
9. What's the climax? What is the character change, the plot resolution, the story answer?
10. What is the purpose or theme? You may not be able to answer this until you have written at least a first draft.
Or maybe you want to think about genres? Lots of different lists, here's one from Save the Cat:
1. Monster in the house: a monster, and the house. Something scary, and a restricted field.
2. The Golden Fleece: we are on a quest to get…
3. Out of the bottle: wish fulfillment.
4. Dude with the problem: ordinary guy, extraordinary circumstances
5. Rites of passage: life changes
6. Buddy love. Love stories, odd couples, mismatched…
7. Whydunit. A mystery by any other name.
8. The fool triumphant. The underdog wins!
9. Institutionalized. What happens inside.
10. Superhero. An extraordinary person in an ordinary world.
Take your character, your seed of a plot, or whatever, and try running it into some of these questions, or maybe brainstorm how you would write it up as several of these genres. Remember, it's still early, so you've got time to kick the tires. Next week, we'll start having to actually write a story every week! But, I'll let you do a little preparation if you want to. That way you just have to pick out a story idea and sit down and write, write, write.
Whoosh! All that for a little story? Well, you don't have to. You can just sit down and write by the seat of your pants. Many great writers swear that they just sit down and open a vein, and... the words come. The arguments between seat-of-the-pants writers (pantsers, or discovery writers) and outliners have been going on probably since the first cavemen sat down to tell a story over that new invention, the fire. Frankly, do whichever works for you. Some people swear that thinking about it, outlining and planning, takes all of the excitement and interest out of it, and they just can't write a story once they've done that. Others find that blank page terribly intimidating, and a little bit of brainstorming and planning helps reduce that terror.
And just think! Starting Sunday, March 18, we'll all be scratching our heads and churning out a story (or 6!). So watch for the submissions, starting March 24! Right here on Writers! Okay?
Okay? So who's with me? 6 stories. Any size, but write a story, okay?
Get on your marks...
So, let's see. A likable character faces opposition or conflict, and by his or her own efforts, achieves a worthwhile goal. So we need a character, opposition and conflict, efforts, and a goal? Or maybe start with the character and goal, then the plan to get there, and finally the opposition or conflict, what's going to be in the way?
Heck, start with any of these. Characters, Setting, Plot, or even theme or purpose. Then brainstorm away at the others.
Here, start with a character. Who are they? What are their goals and desires? What are their problems and faults? In your story, what changes?
Or maybe a setting? Where are we? What are the scenes and locations?
Of course, plot is a really common starting place. What threatens the character's self-image? What can go wrong, and what will it cost? What blocks the character, and what are they going to do about it? Think about the events you want to have in your story, and especially the climax. Are you going to have some small try-fail cycles, bumps along the road, before you get to the climax?
Another simple plotting approach is:
1. What is the moment of change that starts the story moving?
2. What is the hook for the reader?
3. What is the story problem?
4. What is the first doorway of no return? What is the point where the main character, the protagonist, commits to solving the problem?
5. What are the complications that they are going to face in trying to achieve that?
6. What is the second doorway of no return? What is the twist, the revelation, the point where the main character figures out how to achieve their goal, and starts into the climax?
7. What is the ending? What is the climax, the character change, and the answer to the story problem?
8. Now go back and consider, what backfill and back story do you need?
Another way to brainstorm about it is answering questions. Here's one set:
1. Where are we? Setting!
2. Who is there? Characters, with their pluses and minuses.
3. Where are we going? What are their goals and motivations?
4. What blocks them? What are the obstacles or opposition?
5. What are they going to do? What are their plans?
That's all kind of background. The story itself revolves around:
6. What's the hook? What's the story question or problem?
7. What background do we need?
8. What's the build up? Lay out the scenes, the information, the turning points, the reveals, the surprises.
9. What's the climax? What is the character change, the plot resolution, the story answer?
10. What is the purpose or theme? You may not be able to answer this until you have written at least a first draft.
Or maybe you want to think about genres? Lots of different lists, here's one from Save the Cat:
1. Monster in the house: a monster, and the house. Something scary, and a restricted field.
2. The Golden Fleece: we are on a quest to get…
3. Out of the bottle: wish fulfillment.
4. Dude with the problem: ordinary guy, extraordinary circumstances
5. Rites of passage: life changes
6. Buddy love. Love stories, odd couples, mismatched…
7. Whydunit. A mystery by any other name.
8. The fool triumphant. The underdog wins!
9. Institutionalized. What happens inside.
10. Superhero. An extraordinary person in an ordinary world.
Take your character, your seed of a plot, or whatever, and try running it into some of these questions, or maybe brainstorm how you would write it up as several of these genres. Remember, it's still early, so you've got time to kick the tires. Next week, we'll start having to actually write a story every week! But, I'll let you do a little preparation if you want to. That way you just have to pick out a story idea and sit down and write, write, write.
Whoosh! All that for a little story? Well, you don't have to. You can just sit down and write by the seat of your pants. Many great writers swear that they just sit down and open a vein, and... the words come. The arguments between seat-of-the-pants writers (pantsers, or discovery writers) and outliners have been going on probably since the first cavemen sat down to tell a story over that new invention, the fire. Frankly, do whichever works for you. Some people swear that thinking about it, outlining and planning, takes all of the excitement and interest out of it, and they just can't write a story once they've done that. Others find that blank page terribly intimidating, and a little bit of brainstorming and planning helps reduce that terror.
And just think! Starting Sunday, March 18, we'll all be scratching our heads and churning out a story (or 6!). So watch for the submissions, starting March 24! Right here on Writers! Okay?
Okay? So who's with me? 6 stories. Any size, but write a story, okay?
Get on your marks...