writercises | Entries tagged with hook

Original Posting 2022/3/24

Okay, here we go with chapter 2 of the Novelist’s Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes by Raymond Obstfeld. Title? Jump right in — the words are fine: Starting a scene. Raymond starts by reminding us that like a complete story, each scene has a beginning, middle, and end. So, what is the mission, the goal, of the beginning?

Simple, really. Hook the reader! Make the reader want to keep reading. Some of them also introduce conflict, establish stakes, or develop the theme, but the key thing is taht it makes the reader want more. So how do we do that?

One method is beginning in the middle, aka in media res. Grab the readers interest and make them care, then go back and fill in the details. Or sometimes start just after the action that kicks things off.

Or maybe you like dialogue? That’s action, too, you know? Which gets the reader involved in trying to figure out the context, and it’s interesting, and helps a little with characterization.

Or maybe you want to use a jump cut? After all, you may have just finished one scene, and now… give us a new bit of action or dialogue that seems disconnected from that old scene. Like a jump cut in a movie.

Yet another approach is the “big promise” opening. Often melodramatic, but it doesn’t have to be. Just give us a broad sweeping statement or claim, and make it interesting enough that we want to see how you follow it up.

Now, sometimes, you may want to just start at the “natural” beginning. For example, a description of setting when the setting plays a major role in what’s coming. Or maybe with someone waking up, although watch for the cliche… Or you might start with the catalyst action that kicks off the story.

Of course, another beginning is having one character describe another character. Often a side character describing the main character. You get immediate suspense about who is this character.

Which brings us to beginning with character description. Usually, either self-description in first person POV, or maybe just description via third person POV. Fairly often, the self-description is… shall we say unreliable? Not always, but often.

Hum, what about a dream? Well, Raymond warns that they can be irritating to readers, when you reveal that it was all a dream. But they can work.

So, wrap up. How do you know which one to use to start a scene? You don’t. You may have to try several different openings, and then pick the best.

Workshop? Raymond suggests you start with an opening line, and see where it takes you. Write an opening sentence that guarantees the reader will want to read the rest of the paragraph. Maybe more than one, then pick out the best. And then write the rest of the paragraph.

His suggestion for an exercise? Take this opening line, and write the next three sentences. Try writing it three times, once with a menacing tone, once with a comedic tone, and one with a combination. The opening line?

“Someone’s sitting there,” the man in the uniform said as Bill started to straddle the stool.

There you go! Write!

mbarker

Reposted 10/30/2020

Posted Saturday, October 29, 2016 7:15 PM

(You may think you saw this before! You're right! It's deja vu all over again! Still, I think it might be helpful as we rev up for nanowrimo!)

All right. Nanowrimo is just around the corner, but we've still got a couple of days to get prepared. And looking at the book Save the Cat! By Blake Snyder, I think we can get some pointers.

After all, Blake starts out in chapter 1 talking about the logline. The one line answer to the question what's it about. What's the heart of the story? In particular, you need to include four components.

The first one is what Blake calls irony, or the hook. Something unexpected, emotionally intriguing, something that makes you want to read that story.

The second one is a compelling mental picture. Something that sparks our imagination.

The third one is the one that you may not think you need. A good logline for the movie industry suggests who the audience is and how much it's going to cost. For your story, you probably want to think about the audience. Cost… Well, how big is this story?

Fourth, and final, a really good logline usually includes a killer title. Not generic, the headline of a specific story.

So spend a little time figuring out what your story's going to be about. You need some ideas?

1. Switcheroo -- take a dramatic, thriller, or horror story and make it a comedy. Or, take a comedy story and turn it into a dramatic, thriller, or horror story. Switch those genres, and see what happens!

2. Fish out of water -- name five places that no one would send an FBI agent to solve a crime, and then send an FBI agent there. Private eye, secret agent, teenager -- take a character and put them somewhere unexpected.

3. What kind of a school? Name five examples of unusual kinds of schools, camps, classrooms. What happens when someone tries to put your students in that school?

4. Opposites attract? Take a couple of people who would naturally be on opposite sides of a burning issue, and get them together.

5. Are you after me? Pick an unusual person, animal, or thing that someone might suspect of being a serial killer, murderer, arsonist, or something else. Why did your character suspect them? And what is your character going to do about it?

Psst? Let me toss in that Marion Zimmer Bradley said a good story is

1. A likable character
2. Overcomes almost insuperable odds (opposition, conflict!)
3. By his or her own efforts
4. Achieving a worthwhile goal.

I kind of think that filling in those four parts also makes a pretty good statement about what your story is.

All right. Once you've got your idea, your logline, you probably need to think about the genre. Maybe you already did, but take a minute and figure out which of these "standard" stories you're telling. It'll help you to figure out what needs to go into it.

1. Monster in the house -- there's some limited area, and a monster is loose in it.
2. The Golden fleece -- a quest by any other name.
3. Out of the bottle -- wish fulfillment.
4. Dude with a problem -- an ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances.
5. Rites of passage -- change of life.
6. Buddy love -- two people. Odd couple, starcrossed lovers, all kinds of two-somes.
7. Whydunit -- a mystery!
8. The fool triumphant -- when the clown wins, we all cheer.
9. Institutionalized -- the system or the individual?
10. Superhero -- the extraordinary guy in ordinary circumstances.

20 master plots, these 10 genres, add in your own favorites. Right now cross genre mash ups seem to be popular, so if you really want to do a steam punk
romance with vampires, go for it. But whatever it is, figure out the general type of story.

Now, with your idea and genre in hand, Blake suggests you focus on whom it's about. Who is the hero? What do they want? Who is going to have the most conflict, the longest and hardest emotional journey, and a primal goal that we can all root for? Who can the readers identify with, learn from, be compelled to follow, believe deserves to win, and has a primal reason that the readers will buy? What's the key to your good guy and your bad guy?

Idea, genre, characters. The next step is where Blake recommends a 15 step pattern. His very own beats. Some people use the hero's journey, other people use three act structure, or a seven step story structure. One way or another, a lot of people recommend hanging your story on a standard scaffold.

Blake Snyder's 15 Beats
1. Opening image
2. Statement of the theme
3. Set up -- who are the characters, and what's the hero missing?
4. Catalyst -- What kicks off the action?
5. Debate -- wait a minute?
6. Break into act two -- The hero takes that step
7. The B story -- changeup
8. Fun and games -- let's try it out
9. Midpoint -- raise the stakes, hit a false victory
10. The bad guys close in
11. All is lost! The mentor dies, friends turn away
12. The dark night of the soul.
13. The break into act three. Aha! There is hope!
14. The finale. The climax. The hero wins.
15. The final image

You can find the hero's journey or the seven step story structure out there on the web. Briefly, the hero's journey looks like:

1. Ordinary world
2. Call to adventure
3. Refusal of the call
4. Meeting the mentor
5. Crossing the first threshold
6. Tests, allies, enemies
7. Approach to the inmost cave
8. Supreme ordeal
9. Reward (seizing the sword)
10. The road back
11. Resurrection
12. Return with elixir

The seven step story structure is

1. Hook: where does the character start?
2. Plot turn one: what is the call to action?
3. Pinch one: what makes this difficult for the character?
4. Midpoint: when does the character quit reacting and start acting?
5. Pinch two: what makes this absolutely necessary for the character?
6. Plot turn two: what is the final bit of information, the aha! that lets the
character save the day?
7. Resolution or climax: where does the character end? Do they save the day, or
lose it all?

Heck, here's a quickie 3 act, 2 door version:

1. Inciting incident
2. The first door of no return
3. Conflicts and complications
4. The second door of no return
5. The climax

The key to all of these is realizing that they are suggesting some key steps in the plot, some scenes that almost always are there. Show where the character is starting, and what kicks them out of that. Make them struggle, and then... take the first step! Now, in the middle, there should be tests, struggles, conflicts, leading up to... taking the second step! And, now, we have the climax, the point of the whole thing.

But aren't there more than (seven, 12, 15) scenes? Of course there. Blake suggests that most movies have about 40. So you need to add more scenes around
and between the key ones. This is where Blake suggests using a cork board, index cards, and pushpins. But you can also do this on paper. A lot of people simply write one sentence for each scene, and move them around as needed. I used to recommend "stepping stone" diagrams. Put your beginning at the top of the page, and your ending at the bottom, then put bubbles in between with a
phrase for each scene. This works reasonably well for short stories, but for longer works, the page is likely to get pretty crowded. Whatever works for you.

Blake does suggest an interesting structure for his cards. He starts off with the setting, where are we. Under this is the basic action of the scene in simple sentences. Characters in conflict, mostly. And at the very bottom,
there's a plus/minus which is where you write the emotional change that occurs in the scene. The other one is >< and beside that you should write the conflict, what someone wants, and what's blocking them.

You might also want to think about scene and sequel, the idea that we have a scene full of action followed by a sequel where the character reacts, analyzes, thinks about what to do next, and makes a decision.

Idea, genre, characters, broadbrush outline, and a list of scenes, with setting, action, emotional change, and conflict? Hey, if you have all that...

YOU'RE READY TO WRITE!

Psst? I'll write something later about brainstorming before writing scenes. For right now, just get your scenes in order!

Nanowrimo, here we come!

mbarker

Original Posting 5/13/2020

Over here https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/critique-7-possible-hooks-for-your-opening-chapter/ there's a column about seven types of hooks you can use to start your story and get your readers engaged. Hooks? Something interesting, that makes readers curious about your story. Implicitly, a question... but which ones?

1. The "Why" hook. If you can get readers to ask, "Why is this happening?" you've got them hooked. Now reel them in...
2. The "Character" hook. A protagonist that the reader can identify with? Yes!
3. The "Catastrophe" hook. Kaboom! Wow! What happened?
4. The "Setting" hook. A really good, interesting place can work. 
5. The "Contradicting Emotions" hook. Wait a minute, this and that? No...
6. The "Inherent Problem" hook. There's trouble right here in River City...
7. The "Goal" hook. I'm going to climb that mountain...

There you go. I love lists like this. When you're looking at your beginning, trying to make it grab the reader, try taking this list and think about working those hooks into your beginning. Which ones do you have already? Can you add a little more bait? Go ahead, set those hooks out and catch yourself a reader or two!

mbarker

Original Posting 6/7/2019

Writer's Digest, December 1993, had an article on pages 37-39 by Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet with this title. The subtitle says, "Is straightforward linear structure (this happened, then that happened, then…) dooming your stories to rejection? Here's how to put your characters on a time machine, and catch the attention of jaded editors."It starts out by posing some questions. Suppose you wrote a story with 10 scenes, with the first eight building up to the climactic ninth and a denouement. Classic linear structure, but are all 10 scenes of equal dramatic value? Are they all going to get the same emotional response from your readers? No!All right, suppose the first five scenes are necessary back story, but they're just exposition, slogging details. Do you think the reader or editor will take the time to get to that high point in the sixth scene?Guess what. Readers want fast and early gratification. The Internet age means instant gratification. So… You gotta pay off early. Hook your audience early. One way to do this – tell the story out of chronological sequence. Pay attention to narrative time, flashbacks, and flash forwards.Then they outline a simple story in linear scenes. It's okay, straightforward sequencing, steady pace, climax. Continuity! The problem is that often the writer puts into many details.Okay, suppose you decide you want to try nonlinear. Start with three components. The present moment, the bridge, and the reflected upon moment. Present moment… Pick one! The bridge is when your point of view character starts to reflect or think about an event in the past or the future. Past event, flashback. Future event, flash forward. Be careful, flashbacks and flash forwards are not reminiscing or visions. You're going to dramatize, show us, that past or future scene. Establish setting, provide dialogue, describe the action.Okay, what can you build with those components? First, a frame. Starting the present, then jumped to a long flashback. You may or may not finish by returning to the present. Most of this is linear, just with the opening and closing frame out of joint. It's clear, as the continuity and pacing of linear storytelling, and you've got that hook that makes up the frame!Second, multiple flashbacks. Starting the present, and every now and then drop back to a scene from the past. How many flashbacks? Sometimes people say just two, some people have more, and you can always do a flash forward.So, when do you go time traveling? First, consider your audience. How sophisticated are they, are they going to enjoy a little rearrangement of time? Second, does it contribute to your story? Third, look at your story and figure out the best place to start. The flashback lets you start wherever you want, instead of strictly starting at the beginning.Now, don't play with time just because you want to try the technique. Sure, you're a great writer, but… Story first, technique should never be visible. Also, don't confuse your readers. Make sure that whenever you change times, you make it clear to the reader when this scene is happening. Work on effective bridges. Beware of the "had" problem. Stories are usually told in past tense, so it might seem as if a flashback should be in that nasty past perfect or whatever it is, with had jumped and so forth. But once you get over the bridge, drop back to simple past.Finally, experiment. Try out possibilities, combine reminiscences and flashbacks. Make yourself feel comfortable with these techniques, then use them to tell great stories.So, that's the article. It's basically a look at how you can use flashbacks and control of your time to rearrange your story to be more effective. Instead of "Once upon a time," start with, "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down..." then back up and tell us about the three little pigs building their houses…

mbarker

Original Posting July 13, 2018

Over here

https://madgeniusclub.com/2018/07/12/23238/

Margaret Ball has a short piece about beginnings, that elusive hook-the-reader part of your story. Introduce the character, give us a hint of setting, and something that makes us want to keep turning the pages and find out what happens next? All in say a page or less...

She starts with a little bit from one of her books, then gives us an analogy. Starting a new book is like starting a car with a stick shift on a steep hill. Give it some gas (Why should I read this?), engage the clutch (this is what it's based on), all while avoiding crunching gears, flooding the engine, or letting the whole contraption roll downhill...

Then she delves into three openings... a fisherman watching an old lady walk into a reservoir? Wait a minute... it's a mystery, and you do wonder why she chose to walk into the water! How about a YA VIP who just wants to be treated like a normal person as she joins a trip across to another world? Or maybe... a historical novel? About Roman auxiliaries sent to Britain... "We mutinied when we reached the ocean." Ouch, what a hook!

So, Margaret reflects on why these beginnings catch our attention and keep us reading. Go on, you can read it yourself.

And I thought... slipsliding over into exercise...

What's your favorite beginning? (Okay, a favorite beginning, I know picking the favorite can be hard).

Now, step back, and tell us why that beginning grabs you. What did the author do? What is the hook (or bait, or intriguing question, or...) that is embedded in that tasty little bit of writing?

Go on, give us a little insight into beginnings.

mbarker

Original Posting Sept. 19, 2017

Writer's Digest, July 1999, has an article on pages 48-49 and 60, by Brad Herzog, with the title Six Secrets to Finding Ideas That Sell. Admittedly, Brad is mostly looking at ideas for nonfiction features and columns, but I think they may be useful for any of us. So here's his guide to finding ideas.

1. Explore the fringes of knowledge. Take a look at odds and ends that turn up even in fields that you know really well. "The best way to catch the eye editor is by presenting an angle he or she hadn't considered or piece of information teeming with potential." Overlooked or underappreciated tales are out there, just begging for you to tell them.

2. Wait until you have a hook. Sometimes you might be interested in something, even collecting information and research about it, but it isn't quite there yet. Wait for that hook. "Diligence is a necessity for any successful freelancer."

3. Don't forget important dates. Anniversaries can be great. "If you decide to develop a story tied to an anniversary, make sure you leave enough time."

4. Sell no wine before its time. Timing. "The trick is to keep one eye on your files and the other on the news."

5. Be fruitful and multiply. Watch for follow-ups. Spinoffs, sequels, all of those odds and ends that can come out of research and writing you've already done. "Take some time to leaf through your old projects, keeping an eye out for patterns or intriguing subject matter you might have missed the first time around.

6. Become a world chronicler. "What do you find interesting or peculiar or funny or relevant? Chances are somebody else agrees with you.… Tilt your head at the world. Remember, just about any subject, with the right angle, the right outlet, and the right presentation, can be fodder for a paying publication."

That's all there is to the article, although you might want to read it for the little stories that Brad tells. Or, you might want to try exploring his six secrets – check out the edges, look for a hook, watch for dates, hit the right time, reuse, and keep your eyes open. Oh, you also better…

WRITE!
tink

mbarker

Original Posting Feb. 1, 2017

Writers Digest, March 2001, had an article on pages 32, 33, and 51, by Steven James with the title, "Put Punch on the Page." Basically it's about converting oral stories to written stories. I'm sure most of us have a personal story, a joke, an anecdote, some kind of a story that we tell people. However, when we go to write it down, somehow it just fizzles. So Steven lays out a way to go from the story we tell to the story we write.

1. Record your ideas. Brain dumping! Just get it out there on paper. Write it the way you tell it. Don't mess with it. And then take a look at what's missing.

2. Restructure your story. Find the hook, or as Steven prefers to call it, the gaff. Grab their attention. Start with action, energy, emotion, suspense, something to make the reader want to keep going. Hold off on the background and other stuff.

3. Reshape your story. Oral language tends to be immediate and informal. But now you're going for more complete sentences. Dialogue, keep it short and snappy, interruptions and all. Descriptive and narrative parts? Here you want sentences with detail, complexity, link. Be precise, make it good readable text.

4. Reveal your emotions. You've got emotion or an idea that you want to express. Show the reader through action and reaction what is happening. Remember, readers can't see your expression, so you have to give them the written hints. When you tell it, how do you convey the emotions, what do you do or say? Now, how do you translate that into text. You want the feeling and the mood, not just the same words, but through the story.

5. Reduce the confusion. Telling a story, we separate characters through inflection and expressions. Writing dialogue, you've got to add speaker tags. You may need to add new dialogue, additional transitions, details and descriptions. Don't get carried away, but do create images.

6. Remember the audience. Make sure your story is clear for the audience. Get someone else to read it, and give you a honest opinion about how it flows. Are there gaps, unanswered questions, unclear transitions? Now, reread it, and revise it until it's as exciting as the oral version was.

Incidentally, page 33 includes a "creativity starter." It's almost an exercise! So, put your writing hats on, and try this:

1. Select a personal anecdote you enjoy telling friends. Write it down.
2. Add structure. Is there extra background you should eliminate? Try making a brief outline of the story.
3. Review that outline. Do you need to revise some of the sentences so they work better together? Rewrite!
4. Add texture. Is there information about the characters or the setting that you can add to make this a richer story?
5. Check the transitions. What about those adjectives and adverbs? Can you drop some, make some more specific, or otherwise tweak them to help the story read smoothly?
6. Think about the audience. Who do you want to read this? What are they likely to have trouble understanding? How can you clarify? Go ahead, clean up your story and make it read like the wonder it is!

There you go! An anecdote, a personal story, turned into words!
tink

Current Mood: smeagles

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting Jan. 11, 2017

Writer's Digest, January 1996, pages 35 to 37, have a short article by Darrell Schweitzer with the title "Finding Your Short Story's… True Beginning." The focus here is on finding the right place to start your story. Darrell starts out with the proverbial Western writer's advice, "Shoot the sheriff on the first page." He adds "The science-fiction version may involve denting the sheriff's carapace, but it's pretty much the same." However, a common problem for stories is starting in the wrong place. So how do you tell where the beginning of the story is?

Well, Darrell suggests starting with Krazy Kat! Ignatz Mouse, in that old comic strip, kept throwing bricks at Krazy Kat to get her attention. So... you got it! "The story starts when your character gets hit in the head with a brick."

Not a long description of who the character is, a history of the world, or even what daily life is like. Short stories start "when the protagonist's life is disrupted. When the routine changes. When something extraordinary manifests itself."

Often, this is just a very obvious change. However, some stories do start with a description of routine, showing what life is like before the interruption. Why? It depends on the theme. But even there, it's kept tight. Basically, the archetype is:

"Routinely, Harold Hero went through the motions of his life, doing what he always did. And then, one day…"

Conflict. Get to it quickly. "So, to begin a story, think of the hurled brick: the intrusion, the disruption, the sudden explosion of conflict that yanks your character out of his daily routine, the extraordinary happenstance that gives him a story worth telling."

Now, a short story means everything needs to do multiple tasks. In fact, along with that brick, we need to introduce the tone, the emotional flavor. We need to present a point of view, how are we seeing the brick. And don't forget the setting! Along with some characters. So we're looking at:

1. Introduction. Who is the narrator, what's the point of view?
2. The hook, something unusual to get our attention.
3. Premise. A hint about what's coming.
4. Tone. What kind of a story is this? What emotional strings are going to be played?
5. Conflict. Internal, external, what's wrong?

So, if your beginning doesn't seem to have what you need, where should you look? Well, Darrell suggests looking at your ending. "All too often, the amateur story stops where the professional one starts." That's right, that climax might be the best place to start!

Darrell has an exercise to check this. Write a sequel! Suppose all the characters know and take for granted what happened in the original story. But now they are going on. Write that story. Don't build up to an idea, use that as the beginning.

And don't forget to throw a few bricks.

All right? WRITE!
tink

Current Mood: belated

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting March 3, 2016

Writer's Digest, April 2001, p. 35, 36, and 62, had an article by Joe Cardillo with the title, "3 Ways to Keep Your Readers Hooked." Basically, Joe is pointing us at an approach to keeping a reader's attention, similar to training a puppy! That's right. Three steps: arouse interest, delay (tease), and reward. Simple, right?

So, how do you arouse interest? Give details that make the reader ask questions. Bait! But then delay. Don't give it to them right away. Get them turning pages, give them a chance to try to guess what the answers are. And, when you do get around to answering -- set those hooks again! More details, more question, keep them coming.

Flashbacks make a fine delay, incidentally.

And the reward! Reveal the secret, open the box, show us what is going on.

So, the strategy is simple. Arouse the reader's attention, maybe with a glimpse of what's coming. Then delay, tell us about the history, setting, and whatever. And... satisfaction! We got the reward. But there's more waiting just around the corner, over the edge of the cliff...

Practice? Heck, just take a few characters and a scene, and consider how to get us hooked into wondering what is going on. Then describe the background and whatever else you want. And... reveal the secret and reward us.

Three steps to attention!
Write!
tink

Current Mood: teasing

mbarker.livejournal.com

original posting 19 March 2012

Here we go, just for fun...

Over here, Sarah Hoyt is running an online workshop about starting stories.

http://madgeniusclub.com/2012/03/04/hooking-your-reader-workshop-i/

She's up to number 3 now, but for the moment, let's take a look at that first one.

The key here is surprising lines. Nonsense? Well, okay. Or just edgy. Some of the examples she gave included:

The Stealth Chickens were back again.

It was Tuesday, and Smith was dead again.

And the key here is that the line should pay off. It's a hook, yes, but the story relates to the line, it isn't just a grabber that then gets tossed aside. And in the end, it needs to pay off. There needs to be something at the end.

Okay? Tell you what, here's the line I ended up playing with when I read her posting:

801 moths filled the porch.

But, feel free to pick your own hook, your own starting line. And then write... let's say a page. And at least suggest where you think you're going with the story.

I'll post my draft a little later, too. But try it yourself!

Okay?
WRITE!

Current Mood: unhooked

mbarker.livejournal.com

[I know, it's long, but... I thought you might want it for your Halloween writing pleasure! Don't forget, we've got a contest running! So you might just be in the mood to write a story -- and Blake has some advice about how to do that.]

Blake Snyder, in his book on screenwriting with the title "Save the Cat!" describes a process for writing that you might find useful. This is my summary. For more details, of course, read the book. I think you'll find it worthwhile.

1. What's it about? Summarize your story in one line. Blake suggests that great loglines -- one line summaries -- have four key qualities. They're ironic, meaning they hook your interest. They create a compelling mental picture. They tell you who the audience is. Finally, they have a killer title. That's right, a one line summary plus a killer title!

2. What genre is it? Audiences want the same thing only different. The way you do that is figure out what it's like. Now Blake doesn't recommend the standard genres -- romance, western, and so on. He's got 10 that he thinks covers things pretty well. You're welcome to come up with your own, or use his.

1. Monster in the house: a confined space, somebody did something wrong, and there is a monster loose!
2. Golden fleece: the quest! A hero, their search, and their internal growth.
3. Out of the bottle: a wish fulfilled, and then...
4. Dude with a problem: an ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances.
5. Rites of passage: growing up and other crises at any age
6. Buddy love: the odd couple learns to like it (romance fits in here!)
7. Whydunit: crime and digging into the hidden side of ourselves
8. Fool Triumphant: the underdog beats the institution
9. Institutionalized: the group versus the individual
10. Superhero: the extraordinary person in an ordinary world

3. Who is the main character? What is their primal goal? Who's the bad guy? What do they want? Use adjectives to let us know who these people are.

4. Fill out the beats. Blake uses 15 steps as the structure. I know, I know, that's so mechanical. But you can always start with these 15 points and then change it to suit yourself. Again, you'll need to read the book to get the details, but here's a short list:

1. Opening Image: the starting point
2. Theme Stated: someone poses a question or makes a statement that is the theme.
3. Set up: introduce the main characters, show what's missing, get ready
4. Catalyst: the life-changing event that makes things happen
5. Debate: the hero waffles. Do I really want to do this? Ask a question.
6. Break into two: the hero takes the step across the threshold
7. B Story: the love story, the other line.
8. Fun and games: the good stuff. Show off the idea and enjoy it.
9. Midpoint: up or down, the hero is at an extreme. Raise the stakes, and get set for all is lost a.k.a. false defeat.
10. Bad guys close in: the bad guys start to win.
11. All is lost: opposite of the midpoint, false defeat, everything has gone wrong. Often with a whiff of death, even in comedies.
12. Dark night of the soul. The main character really struggles.
13. Break into three: but maybe... The B story, the hero thinking it through, there is a solution.
14. Finale. The hero triumphs, the bad guys lose, and the world is changed.
15. Final image: usually the opposite of the opening image, shows that things have changed.

5. If that's too complicated, try this one. Blake suggests using a cork board and cards. 4 rows -- act one, act two, act two, and act three. Yes, act two gets split into two pieces, before the midpoint and after the midpoint. And there are five key parts -- the opening set piece, the break into two, the midpoint, the all is lost point near the end of the second act two, and the break into three. Aside from that, you can put about 10 cards on a row, 40 cards altogether. That's for a two-hour movie. Obviously, for short stories, multivolume epics, and other variations, you might have fewer or more cards.

Oh, and on each card besides a short description of the scene, you need two notations. One is the +/- notation. This is the emotional change in a character that happens in this scene. Second is the >< notation which is where you indicate the core conflict of this scene -- how are two people butting heads in this scene.

6. With those five, you're ready to write. So go ahead and write it out. Now in Blake's chapter 6, he suggests some helpful rules to consider:

1. Save the Cat: early in your story, have the hero do something so that the audience likes him and wants him to win.
2. The pope in the pool: exposition, infodumps, backstory are boring, so bury them in something funny or exciting.
3. Double mumbo-jumbo: audiences only accept one piece of magic. One incredible coincidence. Two times is too much.
4. Don't lay too much pipe: too much set up before you turn on the water
5. too much marzipan: too many great ideas spoil the broth
6. watch out for that glacier: slow danger is
7. covenant of the arc: every character must change
8. keep the press out: keep it cozy, not a worldwide mess

7. Last, but not least, revise your draft. Take a look at these questions

1. Does my hero lead? Strong goal stated, works to get information, active, tells people what to do?
2. Do I "talk the plot" or do the actors do things?
3. Is the bad guy bad enough? Does he challenge the hero?
4. Turn, turn, turn -- do things go faster and more intense as we move along? Are there more and more revelations, changes, and twists?
5. Emotional rainbow: mix it up!
6. Do you have flat dialogue? Take the names off and see if you can tell who's talking.
7. Take a step back: does the hero grow? Start far enough back to let the hero change.
8. A limp and an eye patch: even minor characters should be memorable. Speech, look, manner -- make them stand out.
9. Primal urges. Do your characters act out of primal, basic desires? Love, survival, protecting family, revenge?

That's it. Simple, right?

Now sit down and start writing.

Current Mood: furry

mbarker.livejournal.com

original posting 6 June 2011

While I was traveling recently, I acquired several books. Among them was a book with the title "Save the Cat!" by Blake Snyder. It's got a subtitle, "The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need." I've seen it mentioned several places as a good book for writers, even if you're not interested in screenwriting. And being something of an omnivorous reader, well, I'm going to read it.
( Save the cat? )
More exercises, coming soon!

Current Mood: fiddly

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 11 January 2010

A.k.a. Titles

Writers DIgest, June 2008, pages 71-72, has an article by Steve Almond with the title "Titles." It starts out with a little reflection from teaching writing fiction, where Steve says usually the day that people turn in stories for the first workshop, someone apologizes for not having a title. And usually a chorus of other people join in, with mention of how much they hate titles. At which point Steve apparently goes into his rant about how cool titles are!

And a key note of that is "a story without a title is like a doll without a head!" And then he gives his lecture on titles, with the title, "Who wants to play with a headless doll? No one, that's who."

So what's a title for? Well, Steve says they serve three purposes. First, they introduce the story's crucial images and ideas. Second, they initiate the rhetorical pitch of the prose. And third, they act as an inducement to keep reading. Now, all titles don't do all three, but the best titles catch them all.

Then he looks at some famous titles, and how they do on these three points. E.g. The Catcher in the Rye, Pride and Prejudice, and Lord of the Flies. But... don't be fooled, titles don't always come easy.

Good titles are organic, not imposed. They should grow out of the story, the vernacular that's used, the language and imagery and ideas.

But... avoid using a character's name as a title. Don't just recycle the last line, or something -- make the title original. Beware the pun, or the famous quote.

Think about details, or bits of dialogue. Look for images that grab you, and make a hook for the story. What's at the heart of your story? What kind of promise do you want to make to the reader?

And the sidebar has some exercises just for fun...

Take a look at your most recent work. Underline phrases that resonate for you. Try them as titles. Do they change the way you envision the story? How do they measure up to Steve's three points -- key image, rhetorical intro, and keep reading?
Make a list of your favorite novels and/or stories. Look at those titles. How do they work? What do they promise?
Consider what expectations -- in terms of plot, theme and tone -- the following titles provoke: The Day I Became a Virgin; Blue Falls; First Month, Last Month and Security; Sacrifice Fly; Sylvia Plath is My Love Goddess
Gather any old stories lying around, particularly ones that employ puns, famous allusions or character names. Now think about how to retitle them.

So, there you have it. Don't just expect readers to get interested in "Untitled Work #9" -- put your titles to work.

And write.

Current Mood: nameless

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 26 Dec. 2009

The other evening, I stumbled over a short session on TV with an artist working with two students. This particular artist apparently is of the manga comic persuasion. He was helping the students develop four panel comics. What I found intriguing was the broad descriptions of each of the panels that he gave while they were drawing.

Basically, he said that the first panel needs to show something happening -- the setting and a problem. So one of the students drew someone in their bed with the sun shining through the windows -- the person is stretching, throwing the covers back, groaning it's morning! The other student drew a washing machine that was leaking and the kids looking at the leak.

Then, he said, the second panel shows the first reaction of the characters, with the problem getting worse. The first student had their character getting a small milk carton out and not being able to open it. Frustration! The other student showed one of their characters climbing into the washer, headfirst, to find out where that leak was coming from.

The third panel is catastrophe, with the problem getting the upper hand and the stakes going up. The first student had their character yelling and violently trying to pull the carton open. The second student had the upside down character madly spinning around in the washer gone crazy.

The fourth panel is the punchline, with some kind of resolution or release. The first student had their character taking a chainsaw to that stubborn milk carton. The teacher pointed out that there should be a small geyser of milk to let us know that the chainsaw did the job. The second student had the character hanging on a clothesline in the sunshine, drying out.

What I thought was fun about this is the way that it parallels a short story. That initial hook, some action, in media res, and a hint at the setting to get us started. Act one, if you will. Followed by complications and frustrations as things get worse. That's act two all the way. And then the climax, the resolution as the character does something incredible. Act three.

The other thing that was interesting to me was the problems that these two students used for their comics. The frustration of getting up, and a  leaking washing machine. Neither one is earth shattering great issues, and yet the comics were fun. In some ways, I think using these kind of little everyday problems that we can all relate to is really better than the huge crises.

Anyway, something to think about. Four panel comics as a pattern or template for stories.

Current Mood: stubmling

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 24 April 2009

Writer's Digest, September 2005, page 52 offers a small exercise to go with a column about series. They simply suggest you go through the list and pick a plot hook to help get started. I think it might work better if you pick a number from 1 to 8. Have you got your number? Good, because here's the plot hook that you picked:

Job-related. Plot arises from your main character's job or hobby. What might inflame someone's passions enough to kill?
Take it on the road. A vacation or job-related trip lets you work in new characters and settings.
Change in romantic status. A breakup gives you the chance to bring new characters into play.
The locked-room mystery. Variations include the mystery set on an island, in a snowstorm or even on a train, as in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.
"Stop me before I kill again!" Any "ticking clock" type of plot naturally turns up the heat.
Second chance. The main character must confront his weaknesses or troubles from the past.
"But she didn't do it!" The main character must prove her own innocence, or the innocence of a close friend or relative.
Can't go to the authorities. They're corrupt, they won't understand, the hostage will be killed -- but still our main character must solve the crime.

There you go. Eight little seeds to help start a mystery garden. Add some water, a little fertilizer, let the little grey cells do their magic, and...

Write!

Current Mood: fishing

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 26 March 2009

YA writing?

Writer's Digest November 2005, pages 56 and 57, talks about teen fiction -- young adults. Liesa Abrams lays out several suggestions about how to write for the commercial teen fiction market.

"First and foremost, what makes a good YA book is a core coming-of-age story. No matter what genre -- from straight fiction to horror to fantasy -- the characters must confront basic questions about their identities and their relationship to the world."

You need a hook. A one line concept that makes your story stand out. This isn't just genre. Liesa suggests that "taking a story and adding vampires or flying cars could transform your idea into a horror or a science-fiction genre book, but it doesn't necessarily provide a commercial hook." [tink shudders -- nor would most genre readers or authors agree that such a simple conversion does the job. Just because your cars fly doesn't mean you are writing science fiction!] Liesa recommends thinking about your own and other people's experience for stranger than fiction stories. Think of interesting, quirky headlines. Dig out those hot button topics. What about wish fulfillment for teens?
Keep it authentic. Make sure that your teen characters' emotions and behavior are real. This emotions are close to the surface and intense. Teams don't diss themselves for being teens. In fact, one of the real dangers is teens that act like adults. Precocious, smart -- that's okay. But make sure they're teenagers, not mouthpieces for an adult.
Tighten it up. Commercial YA manuscripts average 40,000 to 65,000 words. Sure, there are exceptions, and post-HP, that length is more open, but keep it tight. "The story she's quickly with a minimum of extraneous detail." Scenes need to move the story forward. Get someone with fresh eyes to identify anything that you can cut.

A sidebar suggests some ways to make sure your teens talk right. First, read teen books and magazines; watch teen TV shows. Keep the dialogue fast-paced, with plenty of interruptions and colloquial speech patterns. Especially for older YA books, think about cursing and talking about sex -- it's all the rage. Be careful of graphic sex, though. And watch your cultural references -- actors and songs get old pretty fast. For that matter, slang dates itself is very quickly and often feels like an affectation. Get a teenager to check.

Authentic characters, a concept that people want to read, and a tight, well-written manuscript. Sounds like a good recipe for any novel.

So get out there and write.

The magic age of science fiction is ...

Current Mood: flying car
Current Music: Moments, Emerson Drive

mbarker.livejournal.com

original posting 22 April 2008

Ramp up the action: Keep your scenes active to give your readers the heart-pounding intensity they demand.

That's the banner headline on the Writing Clinic article by Paul Bagdon in Writers Digest, Oct. 2004, pp. 55-57. Bagdon looks at the first chapter of a thriller , but I think the advice is good for any writer.

First, open with action. The piece that Bagdon is looking at has a little teaser about what that day was supposed to be, setting the stage for something cataclysmic to happen, but then it spends several paragraphs on background material. Bagdon says, "The problem is that now -- on the very first page -- isn't the time to present that material. The reader needs to be hooked -- dragged directly into the adventure --to the point where there's no possibility of her putting the book back on the shelf."

So the initial problem is to avoid spending too much time doing setup and background. Jump into the middle of the action and keep going. Especially in a novel, there's plenty of time later to come back and explain whatever background is really necessary, but the beginning of the story -- the place where you are convincing a reader that they really want to read this book -- that's not where you want to slow down and dump that information up all over the page. So cut, cut, cut.

"It's the writer's obligation to create dynamic and engaging situations and scenes in the first paragraphs and pages of an action-adventure novel. Readers (and editors) not only expect such leads --they demand them."

Second, consider the mix of Active vs. Passive. Readers of thrillers are looking for action, what Bagdon calls "good ol' spine-tingling, I-can't-put-this-book-down action." But he adds that in the mix of the thriller we also need a fully articulated protagonist and a plot with rich enough dynamics to support all that tension, intrigue, and violence.

Next, Bagdon points out that action needs to be written in an active way, presented as direct experience perceived by a character through physical senses, emotions, fears, and feelings to make it vital and engaging. Don't let up -- keep the reader right there beside the person having the experience. Beware of stepping back and narrating or describing, keep it acutely active. Write totally in the protagonist's senses and emotions. Make it purely active, a vehicle that lets the reader move, feel, hear, and see what the protagonist does.

But ?

Not just nonstop feverishness and vehemence. "Unintrusive narrative is as much an essential part of a successful thriller as is dialogue or description."

"Visceral, active scenes keep your thriller focused and provide the reader with the heart-pounding intensity he seeks."

So, we've really got two simple pieces of advice. Start with action, and then make sure that your action is really active!

And, of course, write!

When we write, we act.

Current Mood: running

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 26 February 2008

(I think the shrimp, or maybe those little red eggs. Worms work pretty good, too? Oh, you don't want fishy readers, you want them warm and comfy? Does that mean you won't be using the good lines?)

How do you get the reader to start reading? There are many recommendations to hook the reader, but what does that mean?

Nanny Kress, in a column entitled Your Opening Quest in Writer's Digest, Jan. 2005, pp. 20-22, talks about ways to create compelling openings. Ways to set that hook, to raise questions and suggest change is coming.

First, try out-of-the-ordinary. "The easiest way to raise a question in the reader's mind is by opening with an action that's clearly a change from the normal or expected." Start with action, and make sure:

1. The action suggests that a change has just occurred or is about to happen in the character's life
2. The action makes the reader wonder why it is happening, what the character will do next, or what the consequences will be

Second, hook the reader with provocative details about characters or setting that suggest change is upon us. Make sure the details:

1. Are very specific
2. Promise conflict to come
3. Indicate a change from the norm - something special - for this place and characters
4. Make readers try to figure out what's going on, and then keep reading to find out if they guessed right

Third, try starting with a grand sweeping statement of universal truths or assumptions. This used to be popular, and it still grabs the attention and raises questions about the story to follow. Some suggestions if you want to try this:

1. A bit of humor helps, because modern readers are likely to see such grand statements as a bit pompous
2. Quickly get down to specifics and action.
3. Make sure the opening raises questions that will absorb the reader

"Questions that require answers are what keep readers going -- and the place to start raising those questions is with your very first sentence."

So, take a look at a few stories that you really like, and see how they get started. Then try putting that same hook-and-jerk into the starting lines for one of your own stories. Polishing that beginning - once you get the reader going, they'll come along for the ride, but if you don't snag them at the start, they aren't likely to see the rest?

When we write, we learn about ourselves.

Current Mood: wriggly

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 3 October 2007

Slithering along in Plot and Structure (17)

So here we are again, with James Scott Bell and a fine book Plot & Structure. We're looking at scenes in Chapter 7, and have already talked about action and reaction, setup and deepening. Now we're about to charge on into Bell's advice for making sure that your scenes always give readers the best they can. What you need are hipboots!

Well, not exactly. Bell suggests that your scenes need to be hip -- hook, intensity, and prompt (HIP).

Hook? Yup, just like we used at the start of the story, you need to make sure that each scene grabs the reader's attention and pulls them into the narrative. It may seem logical to start with a lengthy description of the location and characters, but that's not really a good way to start. Instead, think about dialogue, teasers, action, or even careful mood setting description. Don't always use the same thing. Try different approaches, vary the methods, and keep the reader interested in what is going to happen next. Whether you call it hooks or bait, make sure that the beginning of your scene catches the reader's attention.

Once you've got them paying attention, that's where intensity comes in. Whether it's physical tension or danger or emotional turmoil, keep the tension climbing. The key to this of course is conflict. Characters with opposing agendas, environmental dangers, make sure that your scenes have intensity.

The last ingredient for scenes that sizzle is prompts. This is the ending of the scene, where you need to provide the reader with a hint of what's coming so they keep reading. Make them turn the page and stay up an extra hour reading your book. Don't let your scenes trail off, give them a twist that makes the reader keep going. It's a hint of impending disaster, a flood of emotional release, or a haunting image. A mysterious line of dialogue, a secret revealed, a decision or a vow, an announcement of something unexpected or disasters, new information that reverses and surprises us with a new understanding of the story, or even a question that's just left hanging. Any one of these can provide readers with a reason to keep reading, and that's the prompt. And if you're having trouble because the scene just wants to trail off, try cutting a paragraph or two. Maybe the scene ended before you stopped writing.

Okay. Bell is going to talk about The Intensity Scale next, but I think we'll devote a full posting to that, especially since he uses diagrams that I'm going to have to figure out how to describe in words. Not to worry, for now, practice taking a scene that seems a bit slow or flabby and making it HIP - tighten up the hook, wind up the intensity, and make sure that the ending has a prompt to keep the reader going.

And keep writing!

Current Mood: miniskirts

mbarker.livejournal.com

Let's see. Writers Digest June 2004 has a page and a half selection from someone's submission, along with a critique by G. Miki Hayden on pages 54-55. We won't bother with the submission, but the critique is kind of interesting.

"The main contribution the first few pages of any novel must make is to hook the reader. So often, as writers, we focus on developing our characters were being splashy, when, really, at this point, we have to ask ourselves what effect our writing will have on our audience. Have we provoked a question that needs to be answered?"

The heading on this first section is called "Set out the Bait." That's the critical question. "Readers must have a strong need to know what happens next." You need to entice, reach out and grab the reader, make them want to keep reading. Being smooth, clever, interesting dialogue, nice description and so forth is good, but somewhere you need to set that hook, to get the reader involved.

Hayden's second point concerns using flashbacks in the early story. Hayden says, "Flashbacks can have a kind of dead or irrelevant quality about them. They aren't immediate and don't incite a reader's emotion in the way a current (past tense, of course) scene will do. ? Any backstory injected for development early on mustn't stop the forward motion dead in its tracks."

Hayden suggests that the regurgitation of past incidents may come from authors trying to show too much. Sometimes motivation, explanations for action or emotions, and similar background really doesn't need to be shown to the reader in detail. Don't get lost on the side trips, at least until the reader knows where the main action is going.

Third point concerned the setting. This particular story was in a small city, Midwest setting. Unfortunately, it could've been any small town or city anywhere in the world. While Hayden doesn't recommend encyclopedic descriptions, there need to be some details that help us realize that this is a unique town and unique characters. Instead of looking down the street and seeing people, policeman, firemen, the character needs to look down the street and see Helen Winters wearing a flowered hat even in the middle of winter. Or something else that gives us the essence of this town, this city, and the people who live there. Not anytown, but yourtown!

Since this story was a mystery, the other pieces of information that need to be there are the clues, the trappings of the genre that let the fans know you are going to play square with them. So there are two kinds of information that should be there. Information that the readers need, and information that the readers of the genre expect. Make sure there are enough bits to give the readers the setting and characters and genre, and no more!

Finally, Hayden talks about how to rewrite the beginning. The first question is whether we've picked the best point of departure. Think about the alternatives, think about whether starting a little earlier or later would work better. Do we have reasons to be interested in the characters, and to keep reading? Hayden suggests that one of the best tools for rewriting is a sharp scalpel, and that we excise anything that doesn't contribute to the story.

"While details helped to build pictures in the reader's mind and make the characters and story real and concrete, painting in a sentence or two with key elements can be worth more than several paragraphs that detract or distract from the actual plot line. The balance here may be a fine one, but such an equilibrium between blabbing too much and establishing a foundation is worth seeking."

So there you have it. From the titles of the sections: set out the bait; don't stop the progression; give them the info; and how to rewrite. Four suggestions about points to look at when you're working on the beginning of your story. Make sure you get the reader interested, avoid distractions, put in the details that need to be there, and don't be afraid to rewrite.

Write!
tink

Current Mood: starting

Profile

The Place For My Writers Notes

Navigation

February 2025

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28

Syndicate

Page Summary

mbarker - TECH: Crafting Scenes (2)
mbarker - TECH: Save The Cat Meets Nanowrimo (Replay!)
mbarker - WOW: 7 Hooks?
mbarker - TECH: A Switch in Time (moldy oldie) (650 words)
mbarker - TECH: Beginnings!
mbarker - TECH: Six Secrets to Finding Ideas That Sell (Moldy and Oldie!)
mbarker - TECH: Put Punch on the Page (moldy oldie!)
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: True Beginnings? (A moldy oldie)
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: Keeping Your Readers Hooked! (Moldy Oldie!)
mbarker.livejournal.com - EXERCISE: Hooking your reader?
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: Save the Cat!
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: Save The Cat! (1)
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: A doll without a head
mbarker.livejournal.com - FILL: A Four Panel Tale
mbarker.livejournal.com - EXERCISE: Pick a Plot
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: Young adult writing
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: Over the top and into ACTION!
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: Getting Readers Hooked
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: Slithering along in Plot and Structure (17)
mbarker.livejournal.com - TECH: A Critique of Beginnings?

Style Credit

Base style: Heads Up by momijizuakmori
Theme: A Brighter View by zaluzianskya and skylark_photos

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Aug. 10th, 2025 08:09 pm