The Place For My Writers Notes

• The main character is someone who is incomplete in his ordinary world.
• the thing searched for must be of vital importance.
• there must be huge obstacles preventing the protagonist from gaining it.
• The quest should result in the protagonist becoming a different (usually better) person at the end. A fruitless quest may end in tragedy.

• the lead character shows some inner deficiency that the quest will help to remedy.
• There are often a series of encounters, giving the plot an episodic feel. The character encounters setbacks, struggles to overcome them, moving step by step closer to the objective.
• the final act often has a major crisis or setback, with a discovery or major clue transforming or providing a revelation.
• "The quest is a powerful pattern because it mirrors our own journey through life. We encounter challenges, suffer setbacks and victories but move on."

• the lead character should be sympathetic, because revenge is often violent.
• the wrong done to the lead that initiates things usually isn't his fault or is out of proportion.
• desire for revenge affects the inner life of the lead character.

• Act I introduces the protagonist in his ordinary world. It's usually comfortable, making the violent disturbance sharper.
• the initiating incident is the wrong, breaking the ordinary world.
• following the wrong, the protagonist has a period of suffering, which helps the readers empathize.
• the wrong often occurs through betrayal by an ally, and may involve framing the protagonist unfairly.
• the protagonist needs to discover who did it and how they can punish them.
• the obvious motive is revenge, but the deeper motive is to restore order. To try to return to the ordinary world.
• Act II focuses on a series of confrontations, frustrating the protagonist by circumstances or opposition, leading up to an opportunity to punish the opponent. But the protagonist is defeated.
• achieving revenge can be satisfying, although sometimes sacrificing the desire for the greater good can restore the balance.
• revenge plots explore human nature. You need strong characters.

• one or two people have to be in love.
• something has to separate them.
• do they get back together or not?
• one or both of the lovers grows because of the conflict.

• the structure changes a little bit based on what kind of story you are telling.
• Act I may have the lovers meet for the first time, and one falls in love. Act II then becomes the struggle to convince the other to love them in return.
• Or Act I may have both of them falling in love, while Act II introduces something that forces them apart. The lovers struggle to get together against opposition.
• sometimes lovers hate each other when they first meet. Then the challenges of act two teach them to love.

• The protagonist sets out on a journey. There is no particular quest for an object, just a desire for an adventure.
•  There are encounters with interesting characters and circumstances.
• the protagonist usually gain some insight because of the adventures.

• Act I briefly introduces the life that's being left behind, and then the protagonist leaves in search of adventure.
• Act II often consists of a series of mini plots or adventures, with colorful characters and settings.
• the challenge of the adventure plot is avoiding simple episodic stories without any relationship.
• often the character change or reflection, the new understanding, ties it together

• the protagonist embodies the moral code of the community.
• There's a threat to the community from the opposition, who is much stronger than the protagonist.
• the protagonist wins by inspiring the rest of the community.
• that inspiration may come through self-sacrifice.

• Act I presents the protagonist as hero. It also presents the threat by the opposition, or the declaration of their fight.
• Act II develops the conflict, with characters passionately committed.
• Act III is where the community stands up to the opposition.

Write a linear story, in which a strong main character is on a quest for something important and specific (e.g., a shelter for the baby, medicine for a sick mother, or the key to the storehouse where a tyrant has locked away all the grain from a starving populace). The object is a given -- don't explain its importance. The main character starts acting immediately. She then meets a (specific) obstacle; finally she triumphs over the obstacle by means of a magic or supernatural element that comes from the outside (like Dorothy's red shoes in the Wizard of Oz). You may introduce minor characters but the narrative should never abandon your main character. This story should be told through action and dialogue.

1. main character is on a quest for something important and specific
2. Start with action
3. Have them meet at least one specific obstacle
4. Have them triumph over the obstacle by means of a magic or supernatural element that comes from outside
5. Focus on the main character
6. Action and dialogue