TECH: Working with ideas... (700 words)
Jan. 22nd, 2022 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarker posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
writercises Original Posting July 15, 2018
Okay, so someone suggested that ideas are hard to come by, or at least, hard to turn into stories? Let's see what we can do with that...
First of all, I love frameworks. For example, the MICE quotient, suggested by Orson Scott Card, provides four basic notions. Milieu stories (or arcs? plot building blocks?) are all about setting. They start when the character enters the place, and end when you leave that place. There and back again, journeys of all sorts! Idea stories, or sometimes Ask and Answer (which makes it MACE!) are about questions, and start when someone asks a question, and end when you answer the question. Mysteries are classic idea stories. Character tales start when the character is dissatisfied with something about themselves, and end with satisfaction or reconciliation. Romance, coming of age, lots of these stories around. Finally, event stories start with something wrong with the status quo, and end with a solution. From large-scale disasters to changing a flat tire, these are really well-known. Oh, and you can imbed or mix them! So you can have an event story about the asteroid hitting the earth, with a little character story about the romance in the control center inside it, and... Like that! So these are all about promises (or premises) that kick things off, and then eventually, the fulfillment of those promises.
How can you use those four types to help with ideas or with turning ideas into stories? Well, if you have an idea, try fitting it to those four frameworks? Is it about the milieu, idea, character, or event? Could you make it fit into those? How about going the other way, start with the four frameworks, and see if you can come up with some ideas? What kind of setting or place would be interesting to go? What kind of question or problem would you like to try answering? What could your character be dissatisfied with about themselves? And, of course, what kind of events could make trouble with the status quo?
Might as well haul out another framework, the story skeleton? How about this one? "A likable character faces opposition and conflict, and through his/her own efforts, achieves a worthwhile goal." Simple, right? Likable character, opposition/conflict, his/her own efforts, and worthwhile goal. Brainstorm a few possibilities for those, crisscross with the MICE elements, and see what happens!
So what the heck do I mean? Well, let’s assume you are sitting there, staring at your blank page, and wondering what to right about (or even what to write about!). Hey, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil (I prefer paper and pencil for brainstorming, but your methods may vary). Consider this.
Where could our likable character wander off to? Well, how about Shinjuku? Or maybe diving? The lost temple of the chimpanzees? Oh, into the looking glass? Or maybe... sure, make a list of some intriguing places. Some of them may inspire you...
Not doing it yet, huh? Okay, what kind of questions or issues might get your character involved? There’s the traditional dead body... who and where? Or maybe it’s an ethical issue? Your character hears a woman screaming in the alley out back, but they have been told never, ever go out back? What should they do? What about the question of just how many angels do dance on the head of a pin? No...
Character... ah, what could our character find dissatisfying about themselves? Well, being alone is an obvious one, which can be solved by romantic overtures and other fun and games before a happily ever after comes along? Or perhaps they can’t quite stand the way they talk? Or...
Events? Now that’s where the fires, floods, rain of frogs (no, not the reign of frogs, when the French ruled, that's something else), some guy with a shotgun, a flat tire, and almost anything and everything else could happen to your hapless character. Matter of fact, it’s almost too easy to drop a wall on your character and force them to struggle with it. But these can certainly be fun to consider.
Warming up a bit? I mean, setting, issues and problems, character flaws and other internal difficulties, and all the trials and tribulations of life are just waiting to help your character fill in their story. Take a heaping handful, and write!
Okay, so someone suggested that ideas are hard to come by, or at least, hard to turn into stories? Let's see what we can do with that...
First of all, I love frameworks. For example, the MICE quotient, suggested by Orson Scott Card, provides four basic notions. Milieu stories (or arcs? plot building blocks?) are all about setting. They start when the character enters the place, and end when you leave that place. There and back again, journeys of all sorts! Idea stories, or sometimes Ask and Answer (which makes it MACE!) are about questions, and start when someone asks a question, and end when you answer the question. Mysteries are classic idea stories. Character tales start when the character is dissatisfied with something about themselves, and end with satisfaction or reconciliation. Romance, coming of age, lots of these stories around. Finally, event stories start with something wrong with the status quo, and end with a solution. From large-scale disasters to changing a flat tire, these are really well-known. Oh, and you can imbed or mix them! So you can have an event story about the asteroid hitting the earth, with a little character story about the romance in the control center inside it, and... Like that! So these are all about promises (or premises) that kick things off, and then eventually, the fulfillment of those promises.
How can you use those four types to help with ideas or with turning ideas into stories? Well, if you have an idea, try fitting it to those four frameworks? Is it about the milieu, idea, character, or event? Could you make it fit into those? How about going the other way, start with the four frameworks, and see if you can come up with some ideas? What kind of setting or place would be interesting to go? What kind of question or problem would you like to try answering? What could your character be dissatisfied with about themselves? And, of course, what kind of events could make trouble with the status quo?
Might as well haul out another framework, the story skeleton? How about this one? "A likable character faces opposition and conflict, and through his/her own efforts, achieves a worthwhile goal." Simple, right? Likable character, opposition/conflict, his/her own efforts, and worthwhile goal. Brainstorm a few possibilities for those, crisscross with the MICE elements, and see what happens!
So what the heck do I mean? Well, let’s assume you are sitting there, staring at your blank page, and wondering what to right about (or even what to write about!). Hey, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil (I prefer paper and pencil for brainstorming, but your methods may vary). Consider this.
Where could our likable character wander off to? Well, how about Shinjuku? Or maybe diving? The lost temple of the chimpanzees? Oh, into the looking glass? Or maybe... sure, make a list of some intriguing places. Some of them may inspire you...
Not doing it yet, huh? Okay, what kind of questions or issues might get your character involved? There’s the traditional dead body... who and where? Or maybe it’s an ethical issue? Your character hears a woman screaming in the alley out back, but they have been told never, ever go out back? What should they do? What about the question of just how many angels do dance on the head of a pin? No...
Character... ah, what could our character find dissatisfying about themselves? Well, being alone is an obvious one, which can be solved by romantic overtures and other fun and games before a happily ever after comes along? Or perhaps they can’t quite stand the way they talk? Or...
Events? Now that’s where the fires, floods, rain of frogs (no, not the reign of frogs, when the French ruled, that's something else), some guy with a shotgun, a flat tire, and almost anything and everything else could happen to your hapless character. Matter of fact, it’s almost too easy to drop a wall on your character and force them to struggle with it. But these can certainly be fun to consider.
Warming up a bit? I mean, setting, issues and problems, character flaws and other internal difficulties, and all the trials and tribulations of life are just waiting to help your character fill in their story. Take a heaping handful, and write!