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Saturday, 02.04.2012 |
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| Beginnings, Middles & Ends |
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Product Details
Notes
there's always a gap between the story in your head and the one that gets written
words are read slower than the imagination, so it takes longer to build the picture
some people say you need to write a million words to become a good writer
another key is knowing which parts of your story are conveying the vision or not
books on writing won't improve your vision, but craft is translating that vision
there are hundreds of decisions along the way:
how to start, how much background, what scene next, which plot direction, etc.
three patterns of stories that don't work:
1) the slow start (beginning)
2) the sluggish bulk (middle)
3) the dull conclusion (ending)
BEGINNINGS
you have about 3 pages in a novel to capture the editor's attention to read on
interesting openings have: character, conflict, specificity, and credibility
"the implicit promise"
emotional promise: you'll be entertained, thrilled, etc, and always absorbed
intellectual promise has three possibilities:
1) you'll see the world from a different perspective
2) you'll have confirmed what you already want to believe about the world
3) you'll learn of a different, more interesting world than this
the beginning should present the implicit promise
the middle should develop that promise with specificity and interest
the ending should deliver on that promise, emotionally and intellectually
even if it's a surprise, the ending is satisfying because the beginning set it up
give the character personality right from the beginning, not just actions
conflict - against a character, nature, society, family, economy, or oneself
details anchor your story in concrete reality
details set your opening apart from hundreds of others similar to it
details convince the editor you know what you're talking about
grammar and prose add credibility, makes the reader think you are capable
diction - choosing the right words, avoiding cliches, economy of words
proper sentence construction, avoiding dangling modifiers, subsidiary phrases
varying sentence length to achieve rhythm and flow
minimize adjectives and adverbs and use strong verbs and nouns instead
appropriate tone, the focus should be on the story, not the writer, don't preach
avoid author commentary, grandiose language, excess slang or punctuation
ask yourself: "Would 9 out of 10 people behave and think like this?"
if the answer is yes, maybe the character isn't unique or individual enough
look for vague or ordinary details and make them more personal or specific
scene goal - what will be different at the end of the scene from the beginning?
the first change - new information, setting, character, task, event
power position - end with a telling detail that is emotional and has meaning
the prologue is useful is there's a big time or viewpoint jump to chapter 1
but the prologue must be interesting in and of itself, with strong conflict
don't just set the scene with the prologue
if there's a prologue, write two strong openings, the prologue and chapter 1
it's okay to revise your opening before continuing, then you'll know the direction
a common problem with scene 2 is whether to do background or more action
the swimming pool theory - a strong opening kick can let you glide slower later
don't use a flashback as a opening, setup the character and present time first
a flashback could be scene 2, as long as it relates to the opening scene
in any flashback, make it clear how far back in time you are taking the reader
you always lose immediacy in a flashback, so bring depth and clarity to it
not every scene should be high energy, constant explosions get tiring
don't make scene 2 the same intensity and type of conflict as the opening scene
always ask - what do my characters want? something must be at stake
fiction is life rearranged into clearer patterns and meanings than real life
the particular conflict says a lot about the personality of the characters
the goal of every paragraph is to advance the story or develop the characters
characters reveal who they are in six ways:
1) the actions they initiate, they choose specific actions based on personality
2) their reactions to other characters' actions, reveals both characters
3) dialogue shows basic social class, education and style
4) thoughts reveal inner personality, even things the character doesn't realize
5) gestures and body language can show awkwardness, fear, or other traits
6) physical appearance, avoid cliches, pick things they control like hair, clothes
don't throw too many characters at the reader in the first scene, it's confusing
introduce secondary characters at the point where they do something important
then don't give full background, let them establish their personality through action
once the reader cares about this secondary character, then give background
you can also have other characters talk about a character before they arrive
if they say he's mean and nasty, then when he arrives, it will be interesting to see
if you get stuck during a two-person story, try adding a catalytic third character
don't think of the beginning as just setup, it should be interesting on its own
narrative modes: dialogue, description, action, thoughts, exposition
try quickly writing different story openings by varying the narrative mode
try quickly writing new openings by starting from a different point in the story
MIDDLES
maybe you don't have enough interesting events to get you to the end you want
the middle develops the implicit promise by dramatizing incidents that:
1) increase conflict
2) reveal character
3) put in place all the various forces that will collide at the story's climax
the middle is a bridge, though maybe a long, winding one
ask yourself three vital questions:
1) whose story is this?
2) who is the point-of-view character?
3) what is the throughline?
the middle is when you figure out the right viewpoint, based on the full story
throughline is the main plotline - what happens to the protagonist
what will be different at the end of this story from the beginning?
think in scenes, not what happens but what scenes do you want to show
you have to translate the events that occur into actual scenes that play out
some events will be quickly summarized, while others may take multiple scenes
Orson Scott Card outlined for 2 years for Ender's Game, then wrote it in 2 weeks
define the climax - the culmination of the throughline, the collision of forces
think about how the reader would say that the book ends
the climax affects the middle, you choose scenes that build toward the climax
define all of the actual forces at work, and figure out how they collide
a short story can have an understated climax with emotional character change
formal structural designs:
1) straight chronological - usually one viewpoint, no time jumps
2) regularly recurring viewpoints - multiple viewpoints consistently shown
3) multiviewpoint chronological sections - each section covers a time period
4) parallel running scenes - alternating chapters from two story lines
character change requires that the reader must see four things:
1) the character's initial personality and motivation for being that way
2) evidence that the character is capable of change
3) a pattern of dramatic experiences that might reasonably effect change
4) a plausible new motivation to replace the old one
what characters want (motivation) --> what they do (action) --> the story (plot)
two types of character motivation:
1) motives that are easily understandable to the reader because it's natural
2) motivation that is counter to our expectations, we wouldn't think that way
the hidden motives are often more interesting, we have to discover the reason
if it's a counterintuitive motive, we need lots of explanation to make it credible
there are more good novelists than good short story writers, hard to be concise
through the middle scenes, think about why your characters do what they do
often we have self-conflicting motivations, we want the best of both worlds
foreshadow your protagonist's major change by:
1) showing he's capable of other changes
2) showing values he holds that make changing his mind plausible
change occurs over a repeated pattern of events throughout the novel
show the villain's self-justification, motives, beliefs, and rationalizations
there can be different reasons for getting stuck in the middle
fear of failure, fear of success, literary fogginess, wrong direction, overwhelmed
method of Robert Sheckley - write a "simulation" of a story, quick and easy
maybe you don't know what comes next, or you've written yourself into a corner
symptoms of going the wrong plot direction:
1) your characters behave oddly, they overreact emotionally to simple things
2) they say or do things out of character, but necessary to continue the plot
3) they make long speeches to explain why they're doing what they're doing
characters who overreact indicate that the situation itself is not dramatic enough
out-of-character actions indicate your plot is wrong, or the people are wrong
long speeches indicate a lack of characterization, they shouldn't have to explain
solutions:
let your characters go where they want naturally, despite the outlined plot
go back to an interesting point in the story and continue there, dump the rest
techniques for breaking writers block:
1) don't let yourself read any other books until you have written more
2) set a minimum number of pages or words to achieve a daily quota
3) set a minimum amount of time to focus on writing and nothing else
4) read good fiction to trigger your own inspiration
5) read bad fiction to recognize that you're better
6) use specific music that inspires your creativity
7) work on multiple books, and when one gets stuck, switch to the other
8) use physical activity to prove your willpower to exercise and unlock ideas
9) relax and let your mind naturally ferment during the slow periods
10) use rewards to entice yourself to reach certain goals
don't try changing your external circumstances to get unstuck, it's internal
break down a novel into small chunks, focus on one scene at a time
track your progress so that you can see measurable output
deadlines don't compromise quality, use them to motivate and make progress
Annie Dillard says it takes 2-10 years to write a novel
try to build up a habit of steady writing that you can trust will hold over time
ENDINGS
the middle should have brought forces so strong that it can't go on like this
some endings that don't work:
1) a peaceful compromise where major forces of opposition should collide
2) breaking the implicit promise of ultimate conflict and collision
3) not using the characters we developed, i.e., a surprise cavalry shows up
4) not following the main conflict, i.e., some random other conflict occurs
think carefully about your implicit promise, both emotional and intellectual
think about the forces you've set in conflict throughout the middle
what ending would provide the most plausible, satisfying conclusion?
the climax is the payoff, the one filmmakers like when they option the novel
the climax should satisfy four requirements:
1) it should satisfy the view of life implied in your story - the implicit promise
2) the climax must deliver emotion, we should feel what the characters feel
3) the level of emotion should be appropriate, consistent with the full story
4) it must be logical to the story and grow naturally out of the preceding plot
the climax should be plausible and inevitable, not depending on coincidence
a litmus test - if my protagonist were different, would the story end the same?
the answer should be No, the ending should depend heavily on the character
the climactic scene should be in proportion to the length of your story
so in a novel, the climax usually takes at least a chapter, maybe several
everything after the climax is the denouement, wrapping up the story
if you have questions unanswered or characters dangling, add a denouement
a successful denouement should have three characteristics:
1) closure - the book should feel like it's really over, not still left hanging
2) brevity - end while your reader is still emotionally affected by the climax
3) dramatization - make it feel like part of the story, not something tacked on
set the denouement apart in an epilogue if differs greatly in time or place
there are three types of series books:
1) the same protagonist - they stay the same professionally and emotionally
in this case, with each new book, invent a new plot problem for the character
2) the same setting, family or universe - the protagonist can keep changing
here you leave something in the plot situation unresolved (The Foundation)
3) same protagonist who changes over time - more literary and less formulaic
for this option, leave us with "unfinished business", unsettled personal issues
series novels basically extend the middle developments over multiple books
the last few paragraphs of a novel are relatively unimportant
novels almost always have a denouement, so the end has decreasing tension
short stories can have very important, highly symbolic endings
there are two broad, overlapping categories of short stories:
1) the traditional plotted story - like a novel, ending with plot resolution
2) the contemporary literary short story - can't resolve, ends with resonance
resonance is individual, striking chords of recognition and meaning in the reader
"I have felt that" or "I always thought that too" or "I've wondered about that idea"
resonate by suggesting connections to a larger context through symbols
the climax means more than just the simple actions, it has larger meaning
the implicit promise in the beginning suggests resolution or resonance
for a traditional plotted story, the change should occur through an action
literary stories can show change just in the character's thoughts or feelings
try to choose an ending action that will also resonate emotionally
in a literary story, consider using a full circle with the symbol at the start and end
there is a power position in the last paragraph, and the very last sentence
you get a powerful, resonant ending through revision
revision is the single most important thing you can do for your work
one organized approach to revision has the following six steps:
1) becoming the reader - put the story away for a while first
you'll know how long when you no longer think it's absolutely brilliant or stupid
now read the story like it's the first time, jot quick notes, where does it drag?
what might be unclear if you didn't know the ending?
is the character too sketchy in the beginning, or fully developed?
are there places you tell us about important action rather than showing it?
potential problems with feedback from friends or family:
some will love anything because they know you, some will attack anything
some won't like your genre or won't understand it, some can't verbalize reactions
some will mark up every page trying to rewrite it the way they would have done it
what you want at this stage is an overview from a sensitive reader
you don't need the reader to tell you how to fix problems, just point them out
2) tracing the promise
read the first two pages and think about the implicit promise
what kind of experience does the reader expect?
are these characters he can identify with? what is their personality?
is there an intellectual puzzle to solve? thrills or excitement to expect?
do we expect to get a glimpse into a different world? insights into human nature?
will the reader be rooting for the protagonist, is there a character they will hate?
ask your sensitive reader to stop after the first few pages to say what they expect
now move into the middle and see if opposing forces develop
what forces were suggested by the beginning? are these developed?
do the forces that are developed move into opposition for a major conflict?
again, ask your sensitive reader similar questions about the middle
now move to the ending and see if it fulfills the implicit promise
do the forces come together in a satisfying clash at the climax?
does the denouement account for loose ends and clean up any details?
are the expectations raised at the beginning satisfied by the end?
3) scene analysis
make a list of every scene by location or major event
build a table with headers: Scene, Place, Event, and Point of View
now see if there's any scenes you can cut, combine, add, move, swap or rewrite
pay attention to areas that seem to drag, speed up the pace by cutting scenes
figure out which scenes are important to the implicit promise and strengthen them
4) major rewrite
revise things in order, starting from the beginning
this will affect later parts of the story, so keep going back as often as needed
rewriting involves hundreds of decisions, both big and small
make each decision as best you can, each change will be an improvement
if you're overwhelmed by the amount of changes, break it down into small parts
if you're stuck on what to do next, put it away for a few days and come back
if you keep getting stuck, maybe the story's done, don't overwork it
5) image patterns
symbols and imagery must fit naturally into the action and theme of the story
image patterns contribute to the unity of the beginning, middle and end
don't force images onto your story just for literary effect
look for something already present in one area that you can reinforce in another
see if there's a prop, aspect of setting, or cultural symbol that exists
let it repeat earlier or later with a slightly different meaning
keep it unobtrusive, it should be subtle, not overpowering or replacing action
6) polishing the prose
now that the plot and theme and story are all good, look at your prose
go through sentence by sentence and check diction, grammar, and spelling
check facts like consistent age of characters, dates, locations, science
cut excess words wherever you can, revision often adds wordiness
remove adverbs and adjectives and replace them with strong verbs and nouns
make the writing tight, trim the verbal fat
occasionally, you may encounter a "gift story" - one that flows like a gift from God
these stories are usually short, they write themselves in one sitting
they may not require much revision, if any, but this is the exception
new writers especially almost always need major revision to improve their craft
when your story is truly finished, the best thing to do is to forget about it
send it off, and then start on the next one right away
market the first novel, but put your creative attention on the second one
this way you're always growing as a writer, focus on your writing not your past |
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