in language... subjects act, objects are acted uponhttp://www.upworthy.com/being-a-sex-object-is-empowering-oh-wait-no-it-s-not-here-s-why-2
I think one of the most important transitions a writer makes is when they stop relying on the idea to prop up the story and start thinking about how the story reads as {a whole}... In fact, most writers don’t get that far, and you can tell that their fiction is all a lead-up to the reveal of the end, or in support of a strong moment that isn’t actually a whole story.
Desire + Conflict = Dramahttp://www.danacameron.com/for-writers.html
The before is the yardstick that allows the reader to measure the protagonist progress toward after.
How To Move From IDEA to CONCEPT to PREMISE
1. IDEA asks no questions and presents no action or character
2. CONCEPT asks a question (‘what if’) and the answer to that question is your story *
3. PREMISE is a concept that brings character into the mix; it defines hero’s quest.
* Use as many ‘what if’ sequences as necessary to reach your concept
"A story is designed," according to Cron, "from beginning to end to answer a single overarching question. As readers, we instinctively know this, so we expect every word, every line, every character, every image, every action to move us closer to the answer."
It has to matter to {the protagonist}, or it won’t matter to {the reader}.
For me, the point of a novel is the end. Everything is structured to give emotional weight to that end, to resonate with it.
Hero, problem, antagonist, respond, change, attack, regroup, grow, DO SOMETHING HEROIC, solve the problem.
A story is about characters DOING things... The sequence and sum of what they DO is the story.
Plot is the stage upon which your characters reveal themselves.
Emotional stakes are created by a character acting to prevent the loss of something important to themself and/or others.
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.
Middle grade characters are focused internally; it's about self-growth, learning who you are. Young adult characters are focused more externally, noticing the world around them and how they fit in, how they affect things. Often, that's a huge part of a YA character's growth throughout his or her story; moving from a naturally selfish stage in life to becoming more aware of the feelings and situations of others.
“Who’s your reader?”...http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/who-is-your-target-reader
When an editor or agent asks... they aren’t just looking for a demographic – they’re looking for your motivation.. the implied question...“why are you the right writer to tell this story?”
See this question as an opportunity to show both the businesslike and passionate sides of yourself – i.e., why this is a marketable book and why you alone of all the souls on earth were born to write it... {to e}xplain where your ideas come from and how they develop over time.
“Who’s your target reader?” ... “9-13 year old girls. It really bothers me how they’re pressured to grow up too fast. Last Christmas I was talking to my niece and it hit me that her childhood is so different from mine, that….”
who is {your protagonist}? Is he the brilliant young doctor that he imagines that he could be, or is he the pond scum that past evidence shows him to be? Well, that’s what the story is about.http://www.davidfarland.net/writing_tips/?a=81
if you look at a tale as being about a character moving from one phase of life to another, you can immediately begin to see some of the conflicts you might want to establish, and you’ll get ideas for what needs to happen.
Gladiator... our protagonist moves from being “Most trusted general and family man,” to “accused traitor,” “to widower/bereft of family” to “slave” to “gladiator” to “arena champion” to “avenger” to “gaining heavenly reward.”http://www.davidfarland.com/writing_tips/?a=79
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.
Adding a love interest is an easy way to add a bit of extra suspense, drama & conflict, to darken the dark point and sweeten the resolution of the main plot.
women who make mistakes and take action based on those mistakes. Then they realize those mistakes, and they must come to terms with the consequences.http://www.cherylklein.com/id18.html
in the end.. it’s more as a reward for the knowledge they gain through the mistakes
What you want to strive for in your ending is a sense of the inevitable. That somehow, based on who your characters are at the beginning, this ending and only this ending is what had to occur.
There have to be (at least) two things going on {in each scene/story} that can play off against each other, inform each other, head off and rejoin each other, twist around and complicate.
story development separates into two sequential realms: the search for story… following by the rendering of story.http://storyfix.com/a-mindset-shift-that-can-get-you-published
That first realm – the search for your story – can happen in many ways. It can happen in your head. It can happen through a series of drafts. It can happen through an anal-retentive and madly obsessive process of story planning. Or some combination of the above...
an effective... story {is} written in context to a full understanding of the Big Picture from the very first page.
