Tip #24: Medium Stakes

the consequence will change the life of the protag, but not in any long-lasting way. It'll have an effect on the bigger story, will probably make things a bit tougher, but failing isn't going to change the protag that dramatically. Common medium stakes include choices where the protag knowingly makes things tougher on themselves for the sake of something that matters to them... It's not about worrying if the protag will win, but how this choice is going to make things worse down the road.

Given example: risking capture to rescue a friend.

http://storyflip.blogspot.com/2010/12/up-up-and-away-raising-stakes.html

Tip #23: Low Stakes

Low stakes {involve} a consequence, but it doesn't change the life {or story} of the protag all that much... It's not about if they've made the right choice, but curiosity about what that choice will be.

Given example: someone choosing between two potential loves, where either will make them happy. 

http://storyflip.blogspot.com/2010/12/up-up-and-away-raising-stakes.html

Tip #22: The Haunting Specter

all good stories hold up some haunting specter to the reader: loneliness, poverty, ostracism, death, unjust prosecution, betrayal, damnation, humiliation, and so on.

David Farland’s Daily Kick in the Pants – Writing the Gory Details, 17th May 2010

Tip #21: Act Three

What’s Act Three? Act Three is your protagonist’s nightmare scenario, the worst thing that could possibly happen. If it had happened to her in Act One, she’d be curled up on the floor whimpering.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/

Tip #20: How to "Show" (not "Tell")

{Put} the reader right in the middle of the action and {describe} the events{*} as they occur, in real time, along with the characters’ reactions, feelings, and actual words.

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2010/12/show-dont-tell-guest-post-to-be-used.html

* the events = everything (important) that happens.

Tip #19: Want your story to become a blockbuster movie? Then...

If this character never gets to say or do anything cool or interesting, why the hell would an actor want to play this part?

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/ 

Tip #18: Setting writing goals

I often find that I do well if I set “quality” goals. In other words, I say, “I’m going to write a scene tomorrow, and I’m going to focus on making it beautiful, with perfect pacing, a powerful climax, a beautiful metaphor, depth and duality, lyrical language, and so on.”

David Farland’s Daily Kick in the Pants: Setting Writing Goals, 5th May 2010

Tip #17: Using plotting to find a twist

Plot your basic story in a predictable manner ( ie the ending which most readers would expect)

Review key events or decisions characters make within the story and look past shallow perceptions to find a deeper, or darker motivation for those events to take place.

Keep thinking of misconceptions and different points of view until you come across one you like and then plot the basics of your story.

With that knowledge, review the ending and rewrite your sketched out finale.

http://writeanything.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/a-twist-for-your-short-story/

Tip #16: The Smoking Gun

If you fire a gun in Act III, it must be seen on the wall in Act I; and if you show a gun on the wall in Act I, it must be fired in Act III.

Chekhov’s major principals of the Smoking Gun.


Also see: Tip #9: Foreshadowing

Tip #15: Speed things up

don't write the parts that people skip.

Elmore Leonard, Source: http://sistersinscribe.blogspot.com/2010/12/blast-from-past-art-of-pacing.html

Tip #14: Stakes that feel high

high stakes do not equal high action. Stakes work best on an emotional level... This is why thousands of people dying can feel boring, but letting a sister down can be gripping.

The more compelling your stakes, the more compelled your reader will be to see what choice{s} your protag will make--and how it'll all turn out.

http://storyflip.blogspot.com/2010/12/up-up-and-away-raising-stakes.html

Tip #13: Interaction

The way a character sees and interacts with their surroundings reveals a lot about them and how they're feeling.

Paraphrased: http://www.magicalwords.net/stuart-jaffe/writing-character-development-via-location/

Tip #13: Antagonists

For a period of eleven years, I worked in a large downtown church, and part of my job was giving pastoral care to members of my congregation. It was my great privilege to share in their joys and sorrows, their victories and defeats. I've seen the best in people, and I've seen the worst. I've watched helplessly as people I cared about went to pieces under the crushing weight of their burdens, and I've stood in awe as others have picked up the shattered pieces of their lives and become stronger because of what they've endured. I've seen good people go off the rails, and people that society has written off make a miraculous recovery. I've known rapists and murderers, swindlers and suicides. I've prayed with them and worshiped with them. But most of all, I've learned from them. I've learned not to be judgmental. I've learned that the line separating good from evil is very fragile. Ordinary people, nice people like you and me, have the capacity to live like angels, but we also have the capacity to do the opposite.

This is what I try to bring to the characters in my books. Of course, the hero and heroine are destined to overcome all the flaws in their characters and the obstacles in their path. Lucky them. But my poor villains, well, my poor villains are destined to become villains.

They're not mad. Somewhere in their past, they took a wrong turn, or they made a choice that led to the disintegration of their characters. It could so easily have gone the other way.

http://www.likesbooks.com/wb12.html

Tip #12: Clichés

learn to recognize when you are using a cliché. If you do it, do it consciously, only after careful deliberation. Ask yourself, “What do I gain here? What do I lose?”

David Farland's Daily Kick in the Pants: Those So-called Clichés, 4th May 2010

Tip #11: How do you set up a good twist?

How do you set up a good twist? Same way a stage magician performs a trick. First, establish the stakes. Then ramble, obfuscate, distract — whatever it takes to make sure they aren’t watching your hands.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/

Tip #10: The Evil, The Impossible, The Supernatural

show how the evil/impossible/supernatural intrudes on the characters’ every-day lives, disrupting even the simplest of activities (brushing their teeth, dropping the kids off at school, etc.). It’s an easy trick, and it works.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/

Tip #9: Foreshadowing

If someone is going to die at the Crisis towards the end of the Beginning, make sure you introduce the concept of death as early as possible -- preferably first scene -- either as a metaphor or some sort of death, not necessarily big. Could be as simple as a dead insect or small bird or whatever. 

If the protagonist decides to get a job in the Middle, be sure the idea of no money, need for a job, or the concept of working is introduced in the Beginning (1/4) of the project -- this can be done by some other character and does not have to be obvious. None of what I'm talking about here is blatant, but more subtle = foreshadowing.

http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/2010/03/foreshadowing.html

Tip #8: Remember your audience

if you’re writing comedy, dedicate an entire rewrite to adding more jokes. If you’re writing horror, up the levels of dread in every scene, etc. Make the genre obvious on every single page.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/

Tip #7: Creating memorable characters

What kind of character would be most interesting in this story?

I was throwing a modern girl into 1815. What kind of modern girl would struggle the most in that situation? Little Callie, who had once been 18, snarky, and fashionable, became a 15 year old clumsy geek girl struggling to fit in. Because if she can’t fit in 2010, how in the world will she feel in 1815?

http://writeoncon.com/2010/08/creating-memorable-characters/

Tip #6: Parts of a plot

a great plot isn’t just a plot—it’s several pieces to a story. I’m always looking for a strong opening hook, a tremendous inciting incident that turns the story in an unexpected direction, compelling try/fail cycles for each major conflict, a gripping climax, a moving denouement, and so on.

David Farland's Daily Kick in the Pants: Creating Great Plots (1st Nov 2010)

Tip #5: Ramble, obfuscate & talk around the point

People in real life ramble, obfuscate, talk around the point — they don’t just state facts at each other. Trust me: there is NOTHING more boring than a scene in which two characters carefully, politely tell each other the truth.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/

Tip #4: Why trees are important

New writers will often say that “The trees bunched together, casting deep shadows over the lonely trail.” Well, there are thousands of kinds of trees. Do you mean pines? Then say pines. Or did you mean coconut palms, or willows, or eucalyptus? Each type of tree creates a very different image. If your character is being chased by a “pack of dogs,” for heaven’s sake, tell me what kind of dogs I should be imagining. Are you talking about wolves? Dingoes? Mastiffs? Hounds? Tail-wagging Chihuahuas?

David Farland's Daily Kick in the Pants: Word Choices, 8th Dec '10.

Tip #3: Make your novel addictive

On every single page:

1. Make something exciting happen.
2. Give one of your main characters something brilliant, insightful, hilarious, heart-breaking, or completely baffling to say or do or see happening.
3. Give your other main character a completely unexpected response.
4. Give your reader an experience they don’t want to forget.
5. End the page with something to make your reader curious.

Now, you ought to notice something about these ways to make your novel addictive: it’s a whole lot to pack into a single page. Why, if you did all this on every single page, you’d never have room for anything else! None of the other stuff you’ve written, none of the extra description, the unimportant actions, the insignificant dialog, the explanatory exposition, the filler. . .

Yep, there it is. The lightbulb.

http://victoriamixon.com/2010/10/04/5-ways-to-make-your-novel-helplessly-addictive/

Tip #2: The Six Standard Antagonists

1) Protagonist against another person
2) Protagonist against nature
3) Protagonist against society
4) Protagonist against machine
5) Protagonist against God
6) Protagonist against him or herself

http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/2010/07/beyond-character-action-and-theme.html

Tip #1: Before you start...

Before you start, make a list of everything that’s cool about your concept; everything that gets you excited. Try to hit most of it in the outline. Refer back to the list as needed during scripting — it’ll keep you on target

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/