Writing Thoughts

There are only a limited number of simple plots with situational variations. Your strategy depends upon where you want to go, what changes should occur, and what you want to stay the same. Define the problem and goal, the past, the present, and the future. These changes are important.

There are always several different workable strategies to achieve a goal. Often they are most dependent upon timing. If you’re in a timelock and have antagonists outflanking you, your strategic options differ vastly from a situation where you are in control and have ample time. Give your protagonist perspective so s/he is aware of the situation.

The messenger is as important as the message. The realism of your story, the manner in which you present it, the language you use, and your reputation as an author all come together to support or degrade your credibility. Remember the three H’s: humanity, humility, and humor.
Be sure your characters’ motivations are believable. The reader must believe your message, believe this could happen to them, and believe it is important. Generating true motivation and belief is one of the most challenging aspects of writing.

Clarify the relationship between ends and means. Don’t change character behavior unless there is an incentive to change. No character (or human being) will undergo change without strong motivation. Incentives change behavior when characters have stakes (emotional or monetary, tangible or intangible) that are either threatened or increased. In other situations, a solution will collapse if it is pushed too fast. Certain steps may be involved.

If you’re having problems with your story, ask yourself if you have chosen the right problem FOR your story.

Human beings are hardwired to see the world through stories. To grab their attention, you need to add a touch of entertainment mixed with information. The right mix of the two elements is powerful. The emotional narrative of song and dance passed down the liturgy of the tribe in the ancient world. A tribe’s survival depended upon the shaman’s storytelling prowess. This was not soulless information but memorable experience.

The same thing is true today. Not much has changed since the days of that flickering campfire. It’s not the 0s and 1s of the digital revolution, but the oooh’s and aaah’s of the heart.

All great films are nothing more than manipulated changes in state. They create a gap in consciousness between where the audience enters and where it leaves. These giant interruptions to the pattern remove us from the mundane to a promising energetic, imaginative, and passionate experience! Faith, passion and emotion are the key ingredients of the journey to alter the emotional landscape of the moviegoer.

The poets, not the engineers, are responsible for the bonding of human beings. Success depends upon the never-ending search for a link to other human beings. Let go of aversion to risk and capture the zeitgeist of an entertainment-hit mentality. It’s not a journey for the faint of heart. The chance of touching a reader is worth whatever the cost. The rewards are beyond imagination. The secret is to create a compelling, emotion-based story.