TECH: Yes-but, No-and, and Try-fail cycles?

[mbarker]

Original Posting 2021/11/12

(Hum, I started to sketch this out back on Nov. 10, and here it is Nov. 12, and I still haven't finished or posted it? Let's get on the ball!)

Let's see. 10 of 30... Yep, about one third. So that must mean...

Aha! Day 10 of Nanowrimo, and your potboiler is faltering? Well... you probably have some idea about the beginning, and maybe at least a thought about the ending, or where you're headed, but... how do you fill in the middle? Muddle through the middle? Yeah...

Okay, one suggestion that often comes up is try-fail cycles. See, at the beginning, your protagonist (aka the hero) gets some kind of challenge or goal in mind, and they are headed there. Towards the end, we get the dramatic climax, where things get worked out. But in the middle, well, fairly often, we have try-fail cycles. The hero is trying things, and failing! That's right, we don't want him or her to succeed the first few times. Which makes these good material for filling that middle. Just think of some things that the protagonist might try, and how they might fail.

Incidentally, those failures tend to come in two flavors. First is yes-but, and second is no-and. Let me see if I can quickly sketch those out for you.

Yes-but is sneaky. In this case, the protagonist seems to succeed, that's the yes part, but in the process, they learn that there is another challenge, more problems, something else that must be done. That's the but part. I'm going to climb the mountain! Yes, you climbed the mountain, but... there's another mountain behind that one, there's a monster at the top who challenges you with a riddle, or whatever new problem turns up.

No-and is a little more straightforward. In this case, the protagonist doesn't succeed, fails, which is the no part. Then, just to mix it up, they learn that there is another little bit to the problem. That's the and part. So, I'm going to climb the mountain. No, I didn't get there, and in the process, I broke my leg, I lost the jewels, or whatever added trouble you like.

Of course, you can also take side journeys, adding a new mystery, challenge, or whatever to the stew.

Whatever you do, keep writing!