Tip #329: Using characters' desires to create character arcs

How far will that character go to fulfil their desires? Will he sacrifice the life of a member of his family to stay alive? Will she sacrifice her own life to kill him?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/crime-writing-competition/10159834/Telegraph-Harvill-Secker-Crime-Writing-Competition-masterclass-Stuart-Neville-on-plot.html

Quote taken from video so may not be word perfect.

Character arcs often build up to this question.  It's something we often grapple with daily: how far will we go to satisfy our desire for calorie-rich food?  Will we sacrifice our spare change/diet/figure/health/self-respect/love?  Where is the point when one desire battles with another and we start to question if the original driving desire is worth it?  Where is the point when we decide YES, it's worth it, or NO, it's not?  And what are the consequences of this decision?

The main character arc in Star Wars IV is different.  It's about Luke learning to believe in the Force (and therefore himself) culminating in his choice to trust it (and his own judgement) for a vitally important gamble (and foreshadowing the same decision in Star Wars VI).  But Han Solo has a desire character arc, discovering offscreen he can't abandon his friends in their attempt to destroy the Death Star -- even for money/long life.

Tip #327: Battle & fight scenes

There are many different reasons for a good battle scene. Am I trying to give a proper end to a beloved character? Am I trying to resolve the grudge, or to determine who, in the end, is better? Am I using a fight to leave a cliff-hanger...? Am I writing a personal fight between two enemies, or a grand-scale battle which can determine the fate of a city? Or am I simply trying to wake up the readers after a long pause in the action? I do that. I admit it openly. There are times when I just want a reader to get his or her pulse pounding.

http://blog.shelfari.com/my_weblog/2011/08/ra-salvatore-on-how-to-write-a-damn-good-fight-scene.html

Keep in mind that the injuries sustained during a fight will linger... Even if a person is never touched, and inflicts all the damage, there can be an emotional toll that character will walk away with

http://www.maxwellalexanderdrake.com/ClassHandouts/Old%20Handouts/Handout%20for%20Anatomy%20of%20a%20Fight%20Scene%20Pt1%20by%20Maxwell%20Alexander%20Drake.pdf

Tip #322: Character motivations

to sift through an array of possible motivations... The way to do that is not to ask, “What would make one man kill another?” Unless you’re a telepath... Better to ask, “What would make me kill someone?”

http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/you-and-your-characters/

Tip #315: The secret of great set-pieces

Audiences don’t love set-pieces. They love characters who do amazing things during set-pieces.

http://screenwritingtips.blcklst.com/2013/03/screenwriting-tip-1215/

Tip #306: The romantic climax

the implied statement {of a proposal}: I want to spend the rest of my life with you, forsaking all others, etc, from someone you feel the same way about - that is where the emotion comes in. If you want to up that emotion, a really romantic proposal works to an extent, but you get the most impact from... the reader {and character(s) themselves being} unable to see a way for these two characters they really care about to live happily ever after, so when it happens, it blows them away

...if {the readers are} in secret of the planning, then they get to anticipate and fear the proposal scene

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/plot-doctoring/threads/101328 Comment by inkpawprints.

Tip #300: Problems with endings?

Does the plot build from... inciting incident to an inevitable climax? 

http://annerallen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-biggest-problem-facing-beginning.html

If you're having trouble answering this question, try separating your various story arcs/problems (external, internal, etc) and thinking as abstractedly as possible.  Different arcs may have different inciting incidents (but as many as possible should share a climax).

e.g. Inciting Incident: Boy learns his parents were murdered -> Climax: Boy comes face-to-face with the murderer is only a tiny part of the Harry Potter story and certainly not the main story arc, but the additional arc (and its dictated requirement) gives the climax additional emotional power.

Tip #295: Is your theme a question?

instead of using the theme “justice,” let the events of the story pose a more engaging question: “What’s more important, telling the truth or protecting the innocent?”

Rather than giving the advice, “You should forgive others,” let your story explore a dilemma: “How do you forgive someone who has done the unthinkable to someone you love?”

Let your story do more than reiterate the cliché, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Instead, challenge that axiom by presenting your characters with situations that raise the question, “When do the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many?”

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/5-story-mistakes-even-good-writers-make

Tip #287: The antagonist

The Big Boss Troublemaker is whoever or whatever causes the hero’s world to turn upside down {inciting incident}. The BBT creates the story problem that must be resolved by the end of your tale. The BBT is also who or what must be present at the Big Boss Battle. In Star Wars, the BBT was the Emperor. It is his agenda that causes the inciting incident and it is he who must be faced in the final battle or the movie ain’t over... In the beginning, your protagonist should be weak. If pitted against the BBT, your protag would be toast…or actually more like jelly that you smear across the toast...

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/structure-part-3-introducing-the-opposition-2/

Example:

In Fried Green Tomatoes, Evelyn is her own worst enemy. She is spineless and weak. But, the real enemy resides in those who desire to control and bully Evelyn. In each act of the movie, we see Evelyn learning confidence so that by the end, the BIG battle, she can tell her abusive mother-in-law to stuff it.
 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/structure-part-4-testing-your-idea-is-it-strong-enough-to-make-an-interesting-novel-2/

Tip #272: Compelling emotional stakes

Emotional stakes are created by a character acting to prevent the loss of something important to themself and/or others.

Given examples of Important Things:

Love, a loved one, a secret, safety, life, a long-time goal, an emotionally important object, a pet, integrity, self-appreciation...

To make those stakes compelling, add in or increase one or more of the below:

Feeling of responsibility for risk/character at risk
Love/respect/strong emotion for character at risk
Risk/fear of failure
Difficulty of character recovery from failure
Another important thing/character at risk from the same threat (house of cards)
Importance of IT to character at risk physical/mental well-being
Character at risk deservingness
Act of bravery (overcoming fear)
Act of sacrifice (character accepts & bears a loss/hurt)
Catch 22 (has to choose to sacrifice one character for another character, or one IT for another. No decision = both lost.)
Failure

All increase how far the acting character is prepared to go, what they are and aren't willing to do. Like spices, a little goes a long way. 

H.R. Filmore's Reminders to Self, July 2012


...Is it just me or is that also the definition of a story up there?

Tip #268: Writing emotion

let the emotion come from the subtext. If we, as readers, know how a situation is going to affect the character—how this will make their goals harder to achieve, how this will hurt them, how their subdued reactions hide their true pain—then we will sympathize

http://jamigold.com/2012/06/3-tips-for-writing-heavy-emotional-scenes/

Tip #241: Sensation & experiences

IDENTIFY THE SENSATION AND EXPERIENCE YOU WANT TO EVOKE IN YOUR READER – AND THEN MAKE SURE YOU’RE EVOKING IT.

I cannot possibly stress this enough. We read novels to have an EXPERIENCE.

http://thedarksalon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/something-has-to-happen.html

Tip #211: Action scenes

emotion... {is} what makes a fight scene interesting, and it’s what gives the reader a stake in its outcome. The rest, the technical stuff (the mechanics of throwing punches, of laying down sentences, of word choice), that’s just window-dressing.

http://www.stinalindenblatt.com/2012/01/writing-kickass-action-scenes-part.html

Tip #200: Character desire/goal

Given example:  Saving Private Ryan

The desire/goal of the story is not what the character wants in life/generally (to leave war behind and go home).  The desire/goal is the one that's specific to the story (saving Private Ryan).  When the character realises their desire, the story ends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XgnOpZBuLE

This tip has been paraphrased.

Tip #171: Fireworks

You know how in a typical fireworks display there will be some rockets that burst into colorful circles, others that will send a sparkly streak skyward, and others that will make a loud BANG? And then at the end of the show there will be a big finale where every kind of firework is thrown into the sky all at once?

That’s the idea behind the Fireworks Ending in film. It means you throw all the elements of your movie on screen at the big climax. You’re hitting the peak of the action, emotion, and visuals all at once.

http://letsschmooze.blogspot.com/2011/08/fireworks-endings.html


Or try thinking of the story as fuses leading up to an explosive climax:

You know what we call fuses that aren’t followed up on? Loose threads... spend some lengthy, intense, brain-breaking hours figuring out exactly how all those wild ideas can come together in the most thrilling, wonderful CLIMAX ever

http://victoriamixon.com/2010/09/13/5-ways-to-make-your-novel-unforgettable/

Tip #168: Set pieces +

don't just go for the standard car chase or love scene. Build your set pieces on what's original to your story. 

http://letsschmooze.blogspot.com/2008/11/set-pieces-sell-scripts.html


Douglas J. Eboch's definition of a “set piece” is:

“the big, audience pleasing scenes that deliver on the genre elements of the movie.” In a successful comedy they’re the scenes that have you clutching your sides with laughter. In a good action movie they’re the scenes that put you on the edge of your seat holding your breath. In a horror movie they’re the scenes that make you cover your eyes in terror. In a romance they’re the scenes that have you reaching for your loved one’s hand.

He recommends 5-10 set pieces per movie.

Tip #151: Turning points

Make sure your audience can feel it when the story has reached a turning point.

http://www.gointothestory.com/2011/07/writing-question-what-is-single-best.html?spref=tw
Comment by yyyyyyyyy.

TIp #89: Deepest secrets

What won't your character do?  What would they die before doing?  And what do they say they would die before doing? 

H. R. Filmore's Reminders to Self, March 2011

Tip #53: Lackluster endings

Low points, defeats and the dark point can be used to develop a surprising or twist climax by threatening and taking away (one by one) the things that the protagonist (their mentor/allies, their antagonist, and the reader) think of as "essential" to victory.  Each permanent loss raises the stakes for every scene - not just the final showdown - and makes the climax and result harder to guess.  The Dark Point comes when the protagonist thinks they have lost everything and haven't a chance in hell. Then give them a glimpse of hope; a glimpse of insight into the strengths they have been forced to develop as a consequence of the losses, or have alway had and never taken seriously/thought about; into the antagonist's weakness... and let them off the leash.

H.R.Filmore's Reminders To Self, February 2011

Tip #50: Stakes: Don't Go Too High Too Fast

{If t}ensions can't rise because the stakes can never increase... there's nowhere to for the story to go... escalating stakes is a sure way to suck a reader in.

Mixing up the types of stakes is good, as it gives you the ability to pace your story so things keep getting worse and worse... save your biggest risk for the climax, and... build up to that. Waves of low to high stakes, peaks and valleys like a roller coaster.

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


Also see: Low Stakes, Medium Stakes and High Stakes.

Tip #26: Just when your heroes are celebrating...

Take a cue from videogames and slasher flicks and give your antagonist a ‘final form’. Just when the protagonist thinks the bad guy’s defeated, bring them back as the worst, most threatening version of themselves.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/