Workshop: Premises (Part 2)

The following post originally appeared in the June 2018 newsletter. If you're not already a subscriber, the link is in the sidebar. -->

Did you miss part one? Catch up here.

After determining to write something that may change your life, looking for what’s possible, identifying the story challenges and problems, and finding the designing principle, John Truby’s (The Anatomy of Story) next piece of advice is to:

5) Determine the best character in the idea

The character that tells your story should be the one who is able to sustain the audience’s interest. He should be fascinating and challenging and complex.

To discover your best character, consider the story you are aiming to tell and ask yourself: “Who do I love?”

Truby says that this question can even be expanded to include:

“Do I want to see [this character] act?”

“Do I love the way he thinks?”

“Do I care about the challenges he has to overcome?”

Then . . .

6. Get a sense of the central conflict

In this step, we need to know who is going to fight whom, for what, and why, and how this cause and effect pattern will play out in the story. Which brings us to:

7. Get a sense of the single cause-and-effect pathway

Remember: the plot of the story should flow logically with a “because X happened, Y happened, and because Y happened, Z happened” pattern. The story should not follow an “X happened and then Y happened and then Z happened” pattern.

“And then” statements don’t progress the story; in fact, they (most likely) only serve to link random events. If a scene has no effect on or outcome related to the key events that unfold, it’s probably best to delete it. It’s unnecessary.

8. Determine how your character will change throughout the story

In my opinion, one of the most satisfying things about reading novels is seeing characters grow and change as they undergo struggles and face their demons. A good protagonist will not remain static through a dramatic arc.

In fact, Truby says: “the basic action [in a story] should be the one action best able to force the character to deal with his weaknesses and change.”

Go ahead and brainstorm any number of potential challenges and weaknesses, and be creative in how you link the two. Your first few ideas will likely be clichés, so dig deep.

9. Figure out the hero’s possible moral choice

A moral decision is made based on a person's ethics, manners, character, and what they believe to be “proper” behavior.

“To be a true choice, your hero must select one of two positive outcomes or, on rare occasions, avoid one of two negative outcomes,” says Truby.

The options should be as equal as possible, with only one seeming slightly better (or worse) than the other.

10. Determine the audience appeal

Once these steps are taken, it’s time to ask yourself: “Is this story unique enough to interest a lot of people?”

Ten easy steps, right? Well, maybe easier said than done, but if you can at least get a few of these nailed down before you begin writing, you’ll be in a better position to craft a solid story.

Happy Writing!

Resources:

John Truby. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. Faber and Faber. New York. 2007

Just Do It

Following the Rules

There's a balance, you know, between being creative and keeping the structure necessary to be successful.  

It's possible to be too open and accepting--too "fly by the seat of your pants."

Consider the risks. Consider the costs. Consider the potential rewards. 

Choose wisely.

Not all rules are bad--especially not the ones that support us.

Order and structure just might be the backbone of our goals and dreams.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~   

16 Character Archetypes -- Writing Tips

So (Nerd Alert!) I'm pretty interested in personality profiles and archetypes, and I love when people apply them to writing. I can't take credit for these 16 common character archetypes--numerous people have written about them, and they all point back to psychoanalyst Dr. Carl Jung (whose work I adore), but if you need to create a character, here are 16 types to consider:

Male:

The Chief: the "alpha" male, tough, decisive, and goal-oriented
The Bad Boy: dangerous, but fascinating, charismatic, shuns rules
The Best Friend: a "beta" hero; kind, decent, and responsible
The Charmer: a smooth talker; fun, irresistible, but not always reliable
The Lost Soul: tortured and secretive, but vulnerable and discerning
The Professor: logical, introverted, sometimes inflexible, but always honest and loyal
The Swashbuckler: active and adventurous, physical and daring
The Warrior: a reluctant rescuer, dark and dangerous, but driven

Female:

The Boss: the "take charge" female, outspoken, confident, and competitive
The Seductress: mysterious, manipulative, distrusting, and cynical
The Spunky Girl: spirited, loyal, supportive
The Free Spirit: fun-loving, impulsive, original, and genuine
The Waif: the "damsel in distress," sometimes naive and innocent
The Librarian: conscientious and bright, leads with logic
The Crusader: tenacious, headstrong, and courageous
The Nurturer: altruistic, calm, and optimistic

Of course, one of the first rules of writing is that characters should surprise us, but if you need a foundation on which to build, these are a great place to start.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Don't Answer!

That was yesterday.

This is today.

It's never too late to make a change or try something new and different.  

Forgive yourself, learn from your mistakes, and stay focused.  

When the past calls, sometimes it's okay not to answer.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~  

Be a Beginner

On Comparing Yourself to Others

He just got a six-figure book deal.

She self-published her latest book and hit the top 100 in the first week.

He just signed with my dream agent.

Her book is going to auction.

Remember when we were in grade school and our teachers told us to keep our eyes on our own papers?

This was to discourage cheating, obviously.

But what if we peeked at our neighbor's paper and the answers on the sheet weren't for us?

For instance, what if the teacher was sneaky and passed out different versions of the test? Then my "true" for question three might be your "false."

Or what if I didn't have the right answer at all, and you began to second-guess your correct answer, changing it at the very last minute?

One of the fastest ways to become discouraged in the creative world is to compare ourselves with others. And it doesn't even have to be their "successes," because I've read some amazing books that never got the attention they deserve, closing that book wishing I was half the writer/storyteller he or she was.

There's a big difference, though, in using someone's success to motivate us and in stealing a glance at their paper and making changes to our own work when we may not even be looking at the right information.

The former is okay. 

The latter? Not so much.

Trust your gifts. Trust your skills. Trust your instincts. Trust that today's work will be better than yesterday's. Trust your own path and your own growth.

My test is different from yours. Your test is different from his. Sneaking a peek isn't likely to help. In fact, it might do more damage in the long run.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

Tension -- Writing Tips

I recently read a book (no names, sorry!) that I had some trouble getting into. The premise seemed interesting (nothing amazing or too dramatic--just a nice, contemporary love story), but the only thing that kept bringing me back was what would happen when "the world" found out the girl was with this guy she wasn't supposed to be with. Other than that, there wasn't much tension in the story.

So tension is kind of a weird thing because, as a people, we don't like it our real lives. In fact, many of us flat-out avoid it. 

Tension, conflict--these are things we could do without on most days.

The problem? We love to live vicariously. Tension is fine as long as it's not happening to us, and we especially love to read about it.

Your reader wants to return to the story you're telling (otherwise, why would they have picked your book?), and they can only do that when they're anticipating what's going to happen next. 

How do we create that suspense?

First, we can't make things too easy for our characters. They need to struggle, and they need to fail (to a point).

Second, characters shouldn't get along with 100% of the people 100% of the time. Pit them against each other. Let them disagree, argue, and "duke it out"--literally or metaphorically. 

Third, when you do introduce conflict, don't resolve it too quickly. Draw it out (not unnecessarily so, but maybe character one shouldn't accept character two's apology so soon).

Finally, as conflicts are resolved, make sure new ones have been introduced. At least one over-arching conflict should take us all the way to the end of the novel, but there will be sub-conflicts popping up all over the place. Use them to keep the reader coming back for more.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~   

Be Grateful

Sometimes the job takes longer than we plan, and the recognition is less than we feel we deserve. 

On the surface, the world might see a finished book or painting or beautiful quilt. 

But no one knows the hours upon hours of work--the proverbial "blood, sweat, and tears"--it took to bring that creation to life.

A lot of the hard work that goes into producing something is never seen or acknowledged, and if the work itself isn't acknowledged (in that it doesn't sell or isn't reviewed or even if it's flat-out rejected) it's easy to become discouraged.

A reward at the finish line is great--it can be amazing, even--but sometimes the finish line has to be enough.

Stay passionate about the work you do. It's important.

Make your contribution.

Be grateful for the opportunity to create.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~