The Place For My Writers Notes

original posting 4 January 2009

Just in case you were wondering, today's the first day of the 2009 Writers 6x6!

Yeah!

So what does that mean? Well, some of us are going to write one story each week for the next six weeks and put them up here. Somewhere between 300 and 5,000 words. And we will be posting on Saturdays -- so keep your eyes open.

That doesn't mean that we have to stop all the other fun and fantasy. If you want to talk about an interesting insight, go ahead. But I have to admit I'm probably thinking about this week's story. Nothing up this sleeve, and, well, yeah, there's a little pile of scribbly notes in that pocket, but ignore them, here, just pull the curtain across them.

Hey! If you'd like some hints about putting together a story, let's take a look at some of the bits and pieces from Plot And Structure.

The intro talks about the need to get motivated, try stuff, play, get those first drafts out there, and keep going. Good thoughts for the 6x6 scribbling, eh? See http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/157549.html for a little summary, or read the book -- James Scott Bell.

Then there's the notion of LOCK. Lead character, Objective, Confrontation, and Knockout ending. Someone that we want to empathize with, who wants to go somewhere or do something, and runs into conflicts, complications, and problems on the way. And then there's the climax, the knockout ending that makes the reader say, "WOW! I didn't expect that, but it's really satisfying." Over here http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/158673.html is a summary. And this one http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/158902.html talks a little bit more about it, including this handy template:

• My lead is a [fill in the blank]
• Her objective is to [fill in the blank]
• She is confronted by [fill in the blank] who oppose her because [fill in more blanks]
• The ending will be a knockout when [fill in the final blank]

Fill in the blanks, and you're partway to a story!

But what about the plot? Well, we can use the old standby three act structure. Over here's there's more details http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/159814.html but for now, let's consider it as a disturbance and two doorways. The disturbance is at the beginning, when something takes the hero out of their normal routine. It could be small, or it could be catastrophic -- your choice. But the hero starts moving. The doorways are one-way doorways. The first one commits the hero to the action. This is where the hero decides they are going to do it. And then the complications really start! The second doorway ushers in the climax -- and usually has the hero at their worst, beaten, bleeding, and close to surrender. But then, they turn around, and . . . beat the odds, win the impossible gamble, do it! Simple, right? But it's amazing how many stories and novels use this structure.

What, no ideas yet? Okay, okay, take a look at these. http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/160687.html and http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/160805.html and http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/161770.html all provide some approaches to the fun of ideas. The first one talks about digging into your own beliefs and attitudes. The second one has a number of suggestions about ways to spark ideas. What if, borrow a plot, flip a genre, randomize, and have fun! And the third one helps you decide which ideas are really good -- hook, line, sinker!

And you probably thought this was going to be a quiet session of introspection? Huh. Pick a number from one to six? Got it? Good, here's your quote:

1. "Determine never to be idle... It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." Thomas Jefferson
2. "We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them." Abigail Adams
3. "I have witnessed the softening of the hardest of hearts by a simple smile." Goldie Hawn
4. "My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." Oprah Winfrey
5. "For me, it's that I contributed,... That I'm on this planet doing some good and making people happy. That's to me the most important thing, that my hour of television is positive and upbeat and antidote for all the negative stuff going on in life." Ellen DeGeneres
6. "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." Rodin

Okay? Now, take your quote. What does it mean to you? Can you imagine a character trying to live by it, and having trouble? What kinds of trouble? Go ahead, build on that. Mix well with the LOCK and the disturbance with two doorways. Scramble well, season as needed, and . . . we'll be posting on Saturday.

Do it. Talking about it isn't enough.

Come on, six weeks, you can do it. One little story this week. See you at the storyboards.

Originally posted 11 June 2007

I'm slowly working my way through Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. Right now I'm on page 8, with a section about the power of story. This is where Bell talks about "telling a story in a way that transports the reader." Let's face it, most readers want to get away from their world. They want an experience that is different than their normal day-to-day routine. Or as Bell puts it, "what the reader seeks is an experience that is other." A story gives the illusion of a different side of life events. And we want conflict, story, experience. The plot is a structure that helps readers get into the fictional dream and stay there. Okay? I don't think we need to pound this little two page section to pieces, but it is important to think about it.

Bell says we'll be going over it again, but his basic approach to plot is called the LOCK. Lead, Objective, Confrontation, and Knockout. Simple, right? Just four letters to remember to get a lock on your plots!

L is for Lead. I am pretty sure he means lead character, not lead pencils. So a strong plot needs an interesting lead character. "In the best plots, that Lead is compelling, someone we have to watch throughout the course of the novel." Not necessarily sympathetic, but someone that we want to watch. Okay? So that's our Lead, the L in our LOCK.

O  is for Objective. Where is the character going? He needs an objective, a want, a desire. Normally the character either wants to get something or get away from something. The story question is pretty simple -- will the lead achieve their objective? Note: the objective needs to be important to the lead. So now we have LO in LOCK, our Lead and their Objective.

C is for Confrontation. Opposition, obstacles, something gets in the way. Make it tough for the lead to get to their objective. Confrontation! That's the LOC in LOCK - a Lead with their Objective and the Confrontations on the way.

Last, but obviously not least, K is for Knockout. What Bell is talking about here is the ending. A clean finish, with one person standing and the other knocked out. It shouldn't be obvious, necessarily, but it should have a real knockout finale that makes the reader satisfied. Send the lead over the top, let them find a hundred yellow ribbons round the old oak tree,  blow the bad guys into little balls of juicy hamburger, whatever, but don't wimp on the ending.

And that, in a nutshell, is Bell's basics. A Lead, with an Objective, who faces Confrontations, and has a Knockout ending. LOCK that up and write!

Page 13? And there's over 200 in the book. We are going to be reading a while, aren't we?