Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers
A Simple Novel Outline - 9 questions for 25 chapters & H.E. Roulo - StumbleUpon
Just as every tree is different but still recognizably a tree, every story is different but contains elements that make it a story. By defining those before you begin you clarify the scope of your work, identify your themes, and create the story you meant to write. At Norwescon 2011 I sat in on a session called Outline Your Novel in 90-minutes led by Mark Teppo. I’ll give you the brief, readable, synthesized version. Answer 9 questions and create 25 chapter titles and you’re there. Here are the 9 questions to create a novel: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) Now, with those 9 questions answered to your satisfaction, try to fill in a 25 chapter, 75,000 word outline. Chapters 7-18 are the middle of your book. Chapters 19-25 depict the heroic act to victory. Wasn’t that easy? Okay, sure, the work isn’t done yet. Using the idea that there are 25 chapters, I outlined my current work in progress. I hope that was helpful. Tell me what works for you. Related 6 Steps to Masterful Writing Critiques
Twain's Rules of Writing
1. A tale shall accomplish something and arrive somewhere. 2. The episodes of a tale shall be necessary parts of the tale, and shall help develop it. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. An author should 12. More on WritingHome
Cracking the code of writing
What’s the secret to good prose? What makes it work—not just on the aesthetic level of vivid and poetic word choices, but on the deeper and ultimately more important level of functionality? In short, is there a method authors can learn to create clear and powerful prose—or is it all luck and gut instinct? All prose—whether it’s the elaborate poetry of William Faulkner or the straightforward sentences of Cormac McCarthy—will always be instinctive on some level. Our word choices and sometimes the direction the sentences themselves end up taking can surprise even us sometimes. What’s a motivation-reaction unit? Dwight V. For all that it sounds like part of an airplane engine,motivation-reaction units are an insanely simple concept. What’s a motivation? The motivating factor is an outside stimulus that affects your character. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The possibilities, of course, are as varied as your story’s needs. What’s a reaction? The reaction happens in response to the motivating factor. 1. 2.
The Thing About Sub-Plots
Certain storytelling questions keep popping up. One of them, and a goodie, is this: does a sub-plot follow the same principles of linear structure as the main plotline? In other words, does the sub-plot also – like your main plotline – unfold over four contextually different parts, each separated by a succinctly defined milestone story-point? This can be tough to wrap one’s head around. Which is why this is considered art. Setting Up Your Sub-Plot Great stories give us deep and compelling heroes. The opening act of your story – Part 1 –exists for the purpose of introducing and defining that life as it exists prior to the arrival of the First Plot Point. Which, by the way, is only foreshadowed and set-up – and, at best, only partially defined – in Part 1. Then comes the First Plot Point, and it changes everything. Sometimes the First Plot Point defines a completely new life for your hero. How you string out your sub-plot, then, depends on which of those cases it is.
Top 10 Sentence Slip-Ups
Good writing comes down to two totally different factors: solid prose and “it.” The latter is that special something that brings stories to life, infuses vibrancy into characters and themes, and just basically makes stories work. But an author who has been blessed with all the “it” in the world still won’t make it if he isn’t also able to convey the essence of his genius in well-ordered, properly structured sentences and paragraphs. Creating correct sentences is a technical process that offers set guidelines for getting the structure right. 1. What is it? Example: Grabbing her pet flying monkey, Jana jumped onto its back. What’s wrong with it? How to fix it: Usually, all you have to do is rework the sentence with the events properly ordered: “Jana grabbed her pet flying monkey and jumped onto its back.” 2. What is it? Example: Jana grabbed her pet flying monkey, she jumped onto its back. What’s wrong with it? 3. What is it? Example: Jana grabbed her pet flying monkey. 4. What is it? 5. 6.
25 Things Every Writer Should Know
An alternate title for this post might be, “Things I Think About Writing,” which is to say, these are random snidbits (snippets + tidbits) of beliefs I hold about what it takes to be a writer. I hesitate to say that any of this is exactly Zen (oh how often we as a culture misuse the term “Zen” — like, “Whoa, that tapestry is so cool, it’s really Zen“), but it certainly favors a sharper, shorter style than the blathering wordsplosions I tend to rely on in my day-to-day writing posts. Anyway. Peruse these. Absorb them into your body. Feel free to disagree with any of these; these are not immutable laws. Buckle up. 1. The Internet is 55% porn, and 45% writers. 2. A lot of writers try to skip over the basics and leap fully-formed out of their own head-wombs. 3. 4. I have been writing professionally for a lucky-despite-the-number 13 years. 5. Luck matters. 6. Nobody becomes a writer overnight. 7. Your journey to becoming a writer is all your own. 8. 9. 10. Value is a tricky word. 11. 12.
The 4 Story Structures that Dominate Novels
All stories contain four elements that can determine structure: milieu, idea, character and event. While each is present in every story, there is generally one that dominates the others. Which one dominates? The one that the author cares about most. Let’s take each element in turn and look at the structure that would be required if that were to be the dominant element in your story. STRUCTURE 1: THE MILIEU STORY The milieu is the world—the planet, the society, the weather, the family, all the elements that come up during your world-creation phase. Milieu stories always follow that structure. This structure is most common in science fiction and fantasy, but it also occurs in other types of novels. Likewise, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz doesn’t end when Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the West. STRUCTURE 2: THE IDEA STORY Idea stories are about the process of seeking and discovering new information through the eyes of characters who are driven to make the discoveries. You might also like:
Twenty Rules of Thumb for Creativity
Twenty Rules of Thumb for Creativity 1. The best way to get great ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away. 2. Create ideas that are fifteen minutes ahead of their time...not light-years ahead. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. If you have some other rules of thumb for creativity, Send them to me e-mail Return to Tools Page here.
