The Place For My Writers Notes

Original Posting 1 Jan 2011

Over here, http://madgeniusclub.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-only-words.html Sarah Hoyt asked:

What do you think? Should an author shamelessly play with the audience's feelings? Do you read for the feeling of it? What makes you return again and again to an author?

Feeling peckish, I responded:

Should an author shamelessly play with the audience's feelings?

Okay... I'm going to say no. Not that an author shouldn't put feelings in, but that "shamelessly play" part is where I think this question goes astray. As you pointed out in your answer to Brendan, the author has to play fair -- give us characters that we can identify with, let them react realistically, and put them in situations where they struggle. That's also part of what I look for -- there are puzzle stories that are fun the first time through, but the next time... the cardboard characters are just boring, and I already know the solution. Other stories, hey, I can tell from early on where they're going, but I'm willing to go through that again with the characters, because we're having fun doing it. And those get read and reread.

So, short answer. Yes, I want real feelings from real characters. Give me that, and I'll come back. Play with it -- the tough character wading through blood and guts with no reaction, or the thriller that just keeps tightening the tension, and the character never reacts, or worse, just laughs it off? -- and I'm going to toss the book.

Should an author play with the audience's feelings? As much as he or she plays with their own. Should they be ashamed of doing so? Only if they don't do a good job. And should they shamelessly play with the audience's feelings? Not if they want us to keep reading... In that case they should engage with the audience's feelings, matching the audience's trust with well-written thoughtful caring.

And now I wonder....

What do you think? Authors, audiences, feelings? How do they play together?

Original posting 24 October 2008

[poking around in my files, I found this, and realized that I hadn't posted it. (Whoops! Never finished or posted this one. Sorry about that :-) Sometimes we aren't as organized as we might be, eh?]

Chapter 23: Your Protagonist's Emotional Thread

Wrapping up the last pieces of Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld, this chapter looks at the transformation of the character really across the scenes. Most narratives include some growth or change in the character, which really adds meaning and depth. This emotional thread cuts across the individual scenes, and Rosenfeld has some comments about it.

First, of course, is the point that changes in personality -- in beliefs, attitudes, and so forth -- shouldn't be sudden or easy. People don't change without a struggle. To make it feel authentic, to give credibility to each scene, you need to make sure that the change is motivated, and probably somewhat gradual.

In the early scenes, we're establishing everything. Characters, conflicts, problems, etc. Right up front, you can include character-related plot threads:

• Involvement. How is the protagonist related to the significant situation? Is it his fault, centered on him somehow? Is he integral to it or does he stumble into it?
• Stakes. What does the protagonist gain or lose because of events?
• Desires. What does the protagonist want?
• Fears. What scares the protagonist?
• Motivation. Why does the protagonist do things?
• Challenges. How does the significant situation challenge the protagonist?

At the end of the early scenes, you as author can ask yourself if the protagonist is shaky enough? Are there enough problems and conflicts that readers will be worried? Is the protagonist directly involved in a significant situation? Does the protagonist seem to be struggling, trying to act, being forced to change? Is there enough uncertainty -- readers should be trying to figure out what will happen, not betting on a sure thing.

Scenes in the middle make the reader and the protagonists work. This is where the protagonist gets tested and stretched. These scenes need to include:

• opportunities for crisis and conflict. Makes things harder, more complicated, add problems on top of the problems.
• opportunities for dramatic and surprising changes. Given the pressures and complications, the protagonist can start acting differently, perhaps in anger, perhaps in achieving more than seemed possible.
• opportunities for plot complications. Things were bad before, now they're going to get horrible. New complications and new complexity.
• opportunities to test drive new behaviors. Emotional reactions can start to pop under the pressure and stress. The protagonist can surprise us.
• opportunities for dramatic tension. Put the protagonist in danger, emotional or physical, and build an aura of tension -- tighten the suspense.

Desperation, uncertainty, trials and tribulations. Some protagonists get worse before they get better. That's okay. This is the part where the character shows how they really behave when things get hot and tough. The protagonist learns who their real friends are and what their own strengths and weaknesses really are, all in preparation for the final scenes.

The final scenes are where all of the changes get wrapped up. This is where we show who is left after the climax -- who has the protagonist become? So you need to know:

• what are the consequences of having desires met?
• what are the consequences of having fears realized?
• did what the protagonist wants change? What is it now?
• did what the protagonist fears change?
• how does the protagonist view the significant situation now?

This is where you demonstrate character change. You need to show through action or dialogue what has changed. You also need to answer any plot questions that are left. Tie up the major consequences. In most cases, this includes showing:

• the protagonist has learned something
• the protagonist's attitudes and behavior have changed
• the protagonist has started a new journey or direction

"The key to successful character transformation is to let your character changes unfold dramatically but also realistically. Let the reader see your characters change by how they act and speak, and by the choices they make within the framework of scenes, not through narrative summaries."

That's what Rosenfeld says about the emotional threads in the plot.

What shall we add? Well, how about taking a look at a story or novel that you like, and consider the growth of the protagonist? Even in a thriller or action story, we're likely to find that the protagonist learns something, changes, faces up to their fears and beats them down, etc. So start at the beginning, and track that golden thread of the protagonist's emotional fabric, beliefs, etc. How is it set up in the beginning? What happens to it in the middle? And at the climax, how does the writer handle it? Normally there is a definite shift from the well-worn emotions at the beginning through tearing and holes in the middle into a restructuring and rebuilding at the end. Something like that, anyway. How does it work in the stories you like?

Then, turn around and consider a story or novel that you are working on. Do you show the readers the emotions, the beliefs and attitudes of your protagonist? In the beginning, do you let them know how the hero feels, and where the flaw is? What about in the middle? Do you keep that thread going? And in the climax and ending, do you show how the person has grown and changed? You don't have to spend pages in internal turmoil and debate, but make sure that the reader feels for the protagonist.

S'aright?

How about a third one? Okay, let's start with picking two numbers from one to 12. Two different numbers, okay? You may roll two pair of dice if you like. Got your numbers? Now find them in this list:

1.  sadness  2. distress  3.  relief  4.  joy
5.  hate  6. love 7.  fear  8. anticipation
9.  anger  10.  guilt  11.  gratitude  12. pride

What you have there is two emotions. Maybe sadness and guilt. And here's the exercise. Consider how you might show a reader that the protagonist feels sadness, right at the start of a story. And then consider how you might show a reader that they feel guilt -- at the end of a tale. And for bonus points, consider how sadness transforms into guilt. Now can you put that together into a story? From sadness over his parents' death to a lurking sense of guilt? Or . . .

Get those writing neurons crackling, and write.

where were you when the lights went on?

Original posting 27 July 2008

[In case anyone hasn't been paying attention, this is another chapter from Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld. We're wandering through various specific kinds of scenes at this point. And today, we've got . . .]

Chapter 14: Dramatic Scenes

Rosenfeld says that dramatic scenes are where you bring emotional content to the readers. When you deliver stunning emotional consequences, pushing the protagonist and the plot into new territory, you use dramatic scenes.

Rosenfeld says the goal of drama is to get the reader's feelings involved, not fancy writing or even the characters' emotional range. Dramatic scenes often lead up to epiphanies or climax scenes and usually include:

• a focus on emotional intensity
• heavy relationship-oriented interactions, deepening connections or sometimes breaking connections
• actions that push the protagonist into reflection on inner consciousness
• indications of an upcoming turning point

There are lots of forms of drama, but they all push characters into change. Drama forces characters to make decisions and face complications that makes them think about their own behavior and actions and beliefs.

Dramatic scenes often counterbalance contemplative scenes or dialogue scenes, bringing out the emotional confrontation. Since they push protagonists into change, they're more likely in the middle and the end of the narrative than in the very beginning

Structure of Dramatic Scenes: dramatic scenes often open and close at a slow pace, although the emotional intensity and pacing should grow higher and faster until there is some sort of climax, and then may back off again. Often there are three parts:

1. Slow opening, with exposition, setting details, and interior monologues
2. Rising pace and emotional intensity, with dialogue, actions, and emotional content rising to a crescendo.
3. Slow down for reflection, with increasing interior monologue or exposition

Rosenfeld suggests thinking about emotions as hot and cold. Hot emotions such as anger and passion erupts and spillover, they're loud. Too much hot content leads to melodrama. Cold emotions like shock and hurt often results in silence and withdrawal. Too much cool emotion though can make the scene flat and frozen. You need a balance of both for a good dramatic scene.

Dramatic Scene Openings

Dramatic scenes often builds slowly towards the real crisis. Dramatic tension, the potential for problems and conflict, often needs a setup. Narrow the focus down, bring in actions and characters with a sense of foreboding and emotional intensity. Introduce the interaction with another character or with a larger force of opposition.

Then, through escalating events and their actions, push the protagonist to change. "Dramatic scenes put the pressure on your character to transform so that your plot can move forward." Some examples of emotional complications in dramatic scenes include:

• confrontations
• reunions
• borrowed or limited time
• crushed expectations
• the threat of bodily harm or death

"What matters most is that at the end of a dramatic scene, your protagonist has had a new or enlightening emotional experience that causes her to behave, think, or feel differently."

Keep in mind that dramatic scenes need to be based in the overall plot. Intense emotional conflicts should push this story forward.

Closing the dramatic scene: given the emotional intensity of a good dramatic scene, you don't want to end with a cliffhanger. Give the protagonist, and the reader, a moment to reflect on what happened.

Avoiding Melodrama

One of the concerns of many writers is that their dramatic scenes will slide over the line into melodrama. Melodrama, with over-the-top excessive emotional intensity is hard to believe. It's usually a result of a writer not quite trusting the readers to get the point. So to avoid falling into that trap, be subtle. Let your readers figure things out, let them put together the puzzle of the hints and images that you provide.

So where does melodrama happen?

• sentimentality, with cliches, trite, and corny dialogue and sentiments
• hysterics, too loud, too emotional, too far out
• grand or unrealistic gestures, with changed characters acting out their new understanding in bigger than life ways
• silver screen speeches, with the characters suddenly sounding more like actors than actors. When the reader wonders who is writing this dialogue, you're in trouble.
• knee-jerk reactions, with characters changing too easily
• an overabundance of descriptors, a.k.a. purple prose. A heavy layer of adverbs and adjectives sometimes contributes to melodrama.

Reducing the Melodrama Quotient

1. Check the emotional intensity. Are there sufficient grounds for the emotional responses?
2. Fine tune dialogue. Read it aloud, get someone else to read it, and work on it until it sounds like real people talking, not puppets for the writer's voice
3. Adjust character behavior. Make sure the motivations and the actions line up and are natural.
4. Keep gestures human scaled. Your characters need to do things, but they should seem possible.
5. Balance your characters. All of your characters need to be roughly in the same scale. Villains that are so much stronger, interesting, and so forth than the protagonists can make a scene unbalanced.

Checklist for dramatic scenes

1. Does the scene focus on characters' feelings?
2. Does the scene have an emotional climax that pushes the protagonist to change?
3. Are character relationships and interactions the focus of the scene?
4. Are the reactions intense without being melodramatic?
5. Does the dramatic scene introduced an epiphany or contemplative scene?

[Hum? Interesting that we had a whole chapter on dramatic tension that focused on delayed conclusions -- the truck barreling down the alley towards the protagonist, and postponing showing exactly what happens for a while. But now we're talking about dramatic scenes, which I sort of thought might be those that fill in that waiting time, and we've gone off into the emotions and feelings? Oh, well, I shan't let the hobgoblin of small minds hold me back :-]

So instead of Sergeant Friday's "just the facts," we're going to get some emotion into our dramatic scenes, right? One suggestion from me -- think about times that you've felt the emotions and feelings. Pick up details and bits that helped make you feel that way, then transform them for your stories. Maybe that picture of a mother frantically digging into the rubble where a child was buried in an earthquake makes you gulp? Okay, now how can you use that in your story? Or the proud stance when you listen to a song with a someone chasing that impossible dream? Put that into your story!

Assignment? Well, the obvious one is to check out a dramatic scene in one of your stories, and feel free to do that. But . . . let's find that song that makes you sniffle a bit. Might be someone lighting up the sky on Independence Day, might be someone saying "You can let go now, Daddy" or whatever, but take that song. And write up the scene. Go ahead and make it melodramatic if you want to, this is practice. Then tone it down. Can you make that tearjerker just hints and images? Just an impression that makes the reader sigh?

Go ahead, write!

The writer's job is to help readers see the invisible.