Where do you get plot ideas?
The truth provides a good basis for a story. Good writing is about imagination, fueled by actual events, real life experiences or dreams, daydreaming and fantasies. Nostalgia, childhood memories
Seemingly well-intentioned yet horribly misguided friends may offer half-hearted advice.
Complexity adds a larger margin for error. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. Why are things like this? Why are x and y here?
Write about what haunts you. What do you wonder about, think about when you’re alone? Write about what horrifies you, what fascinates you. Write about your passion.
Plots of both comedies and tragedies are the same. It’s the ending that’s different. Act One gets a man up a tree. Act two has a bear at the base of the tree. In a tragedy, in act three, the bear eats the man. In a comedy, in act three the man gets away. Simple as that.
A mistake is often the beginning of the best ideas. Look at all the inventions that were the products of mistakes – errors in formulas, heating or cooling. A mistake is unplanned so it can’t contain a cliché. Think of a reason why the mistake isn’t a mistake at all. Did you reveal something in your story prematurely? Did you fail to give the reader an important piece of the story puzzle? What is fresh about your mistake, the something that can stimulate your story in a way you never thought of before? What do you discover in this mistaken way?
From observations of the crime scene one can infer behavioral characteristics of the individual who created it. Then one can predict how the offender will behave in the future, and even what their physical appearance is likely to be. What was the offender’s mental state at the time of the offense? Could he form criminal intent?
Two characters who have nothing in common are linked together on a dangerous mission, and after a lot of close calls they survive, prevail and become buddies.
Mystery plot -- Mystery can be both exciting and unsettling, not to mention frustrating.
“It is a mistake to confound strangeness with mystery. The most commonplace crime is often the most mysterious . . .” —Sherlock Holmes A Study in Scarlet
Hidden story -- What takes place before the story opens. Tells events leading up the to murder. Victim’s and antagonist’s point of view.
Open story -- Tells of the murderer’s detection from the protagonist’s POV.
Opening scene is usually where the protagonist comes on board. Protagonist uncovers a clue and antagonist reacts. Protag. Is prompted to do x and antag. Protects himself by . . .
Sleuth motivation
What is the compelling reason for your protag. To get involved in sleuthing?
Did s/he know the victim?
Is s/he risking life and limb? Better be some d... good reason, then.
Motives:
Revenge (for being fired, jilted, etc.)
Personal profit
Power
Love
Security of job
Stupidity
No one knowingly does wrong. People always think they have a good reason for what they do. Those who make wrong choices generally aren’t monsters, freaks, or devils. They’re only people sharing the flaws we all possess.
Thus, it’s the battles between rival Goods that leads to the special insights and the really hard choices.
Imagine two genuine loves – one of which dominates the loved one, the other of which liberates but ends in the lovers separating.
Dominating love: never let her think one thing for herself; jumped when he said to
Separating love: let her think for herself; let her make her own decisions; there to back her up and support her, but not to prop her up.
Clues:
“The observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents, should be able accurately to state all the other ones, both before and after.” —Sherlock Holmes “The Five Orange Pips”
The clues to your murder/theft/mystery are the errors the antagonist makes. Where did s/he go wrong in the commission of the crime? Analyze why s/he made these flaws. These are the puzzle pieces found by the protagonist.
Clues are inserted in the best possible order with the pivotal clue at the end.
A red herring plan draws attention away from the real scheme
Insert a significant clue near the beginning that won’t be recognized for what it is until the end – when that pivotal clue meshes with the one you planted earlier and the pieces fall into place. Aha!
Sources of information:
Family
Friends
Current and former employees
Competitors
Other law enforcement agencies (federal, state, local)
Vendors – people doing business with him/her
Ways of collecting information:
Monitor hotel rooms and public areas
Listening in on phone lines
Set ups eg meeting with an undercover spy
Looking at papers, etc. secretively (intrusion)
Surveillance
Snooping around trash and garbage
Travel partners who strike up conversations
Why must there always be a problem so that nothing can go smoothly?
. A good story needs a problem in order to be interesting. A mark of the young author or youthful writer is the romance story where everything goes right, boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, they live happily ever after.
. Conflict (obstacles, antagonist, reactions).
. In a crisis, the problem demands immediate action. The Protagonist did not choose the trouble but finds himself in it. There is a deadline involved, for example, running out of time.
. In a challenge, the protagonist created the trouble for himself. Find, discover, build, or create something.
. Problem examples – pride swallowing, sabotage, jealousy, anger, disloyalty, revenge, bitterness, instability.
. Climax (tension increases, good/bad, yes/no, do/don’t, conflicting forces meet)
. Resolution (ease the tension, protagonist is changed, satisfied ending). Do the characters have a long relationship between them? Reconciliation is the resolution.
Troubles
Trials
Living is hard
Hardship
Financial pressure
Family trouble
Health issues
Business difficulties
Opposition at work, church, or home
Tough times
Difficult situations
Slavery (enslaved, bondage)
Pain
Worries
Fears
Vulnerabilities
Abuse
Lashing out
Blame
Anger
Resentment
Bitterness
Emptiness
Jealousy
Persecution
Hostility
Victim
Criticism
Gossip
Slander
Irritations
Rebuking
Wickedness
Prison
Enemies
Complaining
Distrust
Adversity
Soul-searching
Toleration
Intolerable
Brokenness
Pride
Self-centeredness
Low self worth
Ineffective
Badly beaten
Chaos
Outcry
Mugged
Raped
Lost wages
Poor performance
Lawsuit
Accusations
Arguments
Dirty secrets
Investigation
Torture
Politics
Oppression
conspiracy
It’s trouble to change, to learn things we don’t want to know (like being cheated by our employer) or realize we’ve fallen short or figure out that we need to improve.
What does the protagonist want most: for things to stay the same (status quo). S/he resists change because it’s scary, disruptive and too much trouble. But change is how s/he grows. The disaster or external conflict forces her/him into an opportunity to change.
S/he tries to avoid trouble (not take risks) and seems to get deeper and deeper into it. By putting off trouble, s/he just made more and more of it.
Vulnerable – security
Loneliness – touch
Wandering – home
Grumbling – caring
Attitude – gratitude
Affection – heart
Aging – renewal
Selfish – character
Patience – troubles
Treachery – allegiance
Pride – humility
Fearful – courage
Should my characters be “characters”?
Yes, without a doubt. Your reader must connect with your character, so don’t draw them too shallow or superficial. Make them real in your own mind so you can make them real to your reader. (I guess it helps to have a good fantasy life full of imaginary friends.) Give your characters a “backstory” even if you don’t share it with your reader.
What men and women want: a sense of accomplishment through taming the unknown, be it land or idea.
Show character’s conflict through what s/he is doing.
Fear, Lust, Frustration, Anger, Shame, Unforgiveness, Confidence, Courage, Tranquility, Joy.
How does she grow? She is responsible for her own tragedies. What is her heroic flaw that leads to greater enlightenment and power?
We grow only through and because of our flaws. The heroic flaw (the other side of the heroic strength) is what brings her down.
Be sure that every major external action sparks internal reaction and in the direction you want this character to change.
Have enough of a cast to keep the reader guessing. Beware of the process of elimination. Why wouldn’t X kill? What is X’s motive? Leave your options open.
Humans work in their usual ways, doing their usual things, reacting in their usual ways to others’ actions. Therefore, when first faced with an external situation that challenges his/her problem area, s/he does what s/he’s always done – whatever that may be – run, hide, resist, avoid. Default mode. Why change? It’s always worked before? Note: you need a BIG problem in order to change a person’s “personality.”
Internal reaction to big problem: terror? Excitement and thrill (adrenaline rush)? A good stressful challenge? Then dismay when s/he realizes this is the very situation s/he’s been trying to avoid. Like a secret is out?
The first real decision s/he makes is his/her default mode, the decision s/he’s always made before. This can succeed (he likes where he is) or fail (he is lonely). The character cannot and will not give up the pattern of a lifetime in a single moment.
Design the next events to confront him with choices. Change the events so each choice he makes takes him away from his default response. Don’t make the choices black and white, pure evil or pure good.
Do not fall into a nurturing companionship. This is the Mary Sue syndrome.
Do not make one character weak so the other character can be strong. E.g., nursing the injured soldier back to health, he realizes he needs her because she is so good. Or its variant, when the rascal nurses the sweet character through some illness and almost loses her, thereby realizing he really does love her. Do not make an invitation to lifelong hypochondria.
Take a longer road to intimacy, one that owes more to strength than to weakness, and relies on choice, not duty.
Tempt your hero/heroine. The ability to resist temptation can be weakened by idleness (no responsibilities, staying home, inactivity), weariness (physical or spiritual), pride (controls thinking), lustfulness (dominates emotions), times of neediness, and even emotional emptiness.
"I can resist anything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde
When temptation comes, you succumb to it by taking action, looking, lingering on the desirability, finding out more information, fantasizing, and finally acting.
Being tempted is not a sin. Acting on it is. (Giving in.) Enticement is always masked as something we want. When you yearn for something so badly it becomes lust, then that something controls you and enslaves you.
Then he has to have some rebound. It shouldn’t come too easily. He has to take a step back with every couple of steps forward, as is human nature, because committing to forward motion is painful. So when he gets too close (singing, laughing, loving?) it scares him and he retreats into hermithood.
Now, because he’s facing real change, no longer just incremental, temporary and goal-oriented change – it’ll take something drastic to get him going again.
The big plot crisis – when the worst that can happen happens.
Foreshadow any important character, location, or object early in the story. The trick is to put the plot element into your story without making the reader excessively aware of its importance.
If we know the hero is doomed, his downfall should stem from a factor we know about but have not given sufficient weight to.
Every story is about a search for identity. Show a person moving from social isolation (lack of position in society, symbolized by poverty, lack of recognition, and single status) to social integration (wealth, status, and marriage to one’s beloved).
What do you want your reader to know about your heroine? That she’s shy but determined. That she thinks no man could ever love her.
About your hero? That he’s perceptive about other men but baffled by women.
What motive has s/he for such conduct?
Behavior of your characters under different forms of stress should be especially revealing. Provide opportunities for your characters to be brave or cowardly, stupid or brilliant, generous or mean.
Find the casual environments or situations where people let their guard down.
Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.
There is a cultural overemphasis on sensuality, sexuality and perversion. The primary focus in our culture is on things that give pleasure or comfort.
Make your villains as real as your protagonists. Don’t go for the standard evil. In your own mind, give your villain a background story, even if you never write it out for your reader. Why is the villain evil? What are his/her motives for being so bad? What does s/he want?
The first rule of warfare is to know your enemy. Have a good idea of what you want your villain to be like. The villain should awaken our deepest and strongest emotion – that of fear, especially of the unknown or the strange, the outsider, the alien.
A false sense of security can leave you even more vulnerable to attack.
Offense is much easier and less expensive than defense. Therefore, people with evil intentions have an edge.
For a surprise ending, use “a taste of your own medicine,” or the “digging your own grave” type revenge thing where you only plant a seed and he drives himself mad.
You shall be destroyed from within. Your greatest strength shall defeat you and be your downfall.
You are your own gravest danger. Your greatest threat is your own approach to the world.
An ability or talent kept hidden until some circumstance demands its use is better than an ace in the hole
Is your character genuinely comfortable not looking like other people? Hair that is not a natural color?
You won’t follow someone you don’t trust. You must know his character, his plans, and how he’s going to carry them out.
Decision making styles: charismatic, thinker, skeptic, follower, controller.
Interview questions: hobbies? Best job? First job? Favorite quote? Famous people you’ve met? Last book read? Prettiest city? Neat things you’ve accomplished?
Ask the following questions and “show, don’t tell” your characters’ answers:
· What do you dislike about yourself?
· What do you do well?
· What is the worst thing parents can do to their children?
· What’s your favorite time of day?
· What’s the best way to treat meddlesome people?
· What’s something you’re optimistic about? Pessimistic?
· What is your most indispensable possession and why?
· What’s something that really bothers you?
· What’s something that really makes you angry?
· What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
· If horses could talk, what would you want to ask one?
· If you came into a whole lot of money, say an inheritance from an unknown distant relative, what would you do with it?
· If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you want to live?
· What do you think courage means?
· What do you think makes a good friend?
· Do you think men and women can be friends? Just friends?
· What do you think makes a happy family?
· What do you like to do in your free time?
· What are you afraid of?
· What makes you feel safe?
· What makes you laugh?
· What four things are most important in your life?
· What advice would you give to a new __occupation__?
· How would you change the world to make it better?
· I wish I had enough money to . . .
· I wish there was a law against . . .
· I wish there were no more . . .
· I wish I could go to . . .
· I wish I could hear . . .
· When was the last time you cried and why?
· Who or what has a strong influence in your life?
· Who do you talk to when you have a problem?
· Why do you think tact is an important quality?
How is Setting important? Where is the story taking place?
Setting – Ask yourself, where is the most vivid and interesting place this scene can take place that can contribute to the events?
Environment – air – wind, sun, heat water – rain, storm, waterfall
earth – mud, dust fire – sunheat
smog, air conditioning, hearth fire, open-window breeze
what’s it feel like? Sound like? Smell like? Look like? Taste like?
Brick street clicking under horse hooves Chill creeping in through chinks in log cabin
Character interaction with environment Stumble in pot hold
Avoid edge of cliff Swat at flies
Character use environment Dig hole for the body
Lean wearily against the wall Slam the door
Environmental props Real of symbolic purpose
Fallen leaves to stomp angrily on Several telephones to make simultaneous calls from
A crowd to push through A knife and fork to wave around
Audial – hearing Visual – seeing
Tactile – to touch and be touched Olfactory – smell
Nervous – jump at noises, peer warily around corners “Try not to get too overheated.”
A tempestuous relationship might have stormy imagery and vivid sharp details . . . but the most romantic moment might be when he tenderly puts a blanket over her sleeping body.
Why is Outlining is crucial for proper story development?
There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.
You should know where your story is going. What problems are your characters going to tackle? What is the mystery they will solve? What clues do you need to leave a crucial points in your story that will tie in later?
I always use some kind of outline. As I think of characters interacting in scenes I would like to portray, I insert them in the proper place in my outline. I have a tendency to write in scenes, then make connections later on. It’s as if a movie is going on in my head, but it’s all out of order, neither in chronological order nor sensible order.
Where to Begin – Begin at the Beginning (well, not exactly)
1. The story itself should begin at the latest possible moment before the climax, at a point when events take a decisive and irreversible turn. We may learn later, through flashbacks, exposition, or inference, about events occurring before the beginning of the story.
2. Usually do not begin when things go wrong.
3. Usually do not being with catastrophic events.
4. Begin at the point where the person most crucial to sorting things out enters the action.
5. Who is the Main character?
a. Who is hurt the most?
b. Who has the power and the freedom to act?
6. Start the story as close as possible to what changes the status quo – the precipitating event.
a. If the hero must perform well under enemy fire in the climax, show him being shot at in Chapter One and performing badly.
b. If the heroine must resist temptation at the end, show her (or someone else) succumbing to temptation in the beginning.
7. Nothing should happen at random.
The Middle -- Climax
1. the protagonist faces his/her problems
a. natural events
b. antagonist
c. internal problems of the character
Where to End -- The Ending – the Resolution
1. The falling action where things return to “normal”. Denouement.
a. The wrong has been righted
b. The evil is banished
2. The world returns to order (not necessary the same world)
Scenes – Every scene is a little story.
Every scene is a little story (want + obstacle + action) in which the character is trying to make something happen, get information, etc. Each scene has a scene resolution but no final resolution. In the scene, things are still worse at the end than they were at the beginning. If they’re not, the story is standing still.
End your scene with a cliffhanger or a “bang!” Then resolve it either in the next scene, or the one after that.
Tension and drama rise from scene to scene and chapter to chapter. When the story ends, at the final resolution, things get better or end in disaster.
If early on a character gets his/her hopes up, it is dashed later on in the next encounter.
You can use scenes to switch your characters’ point of view, but you should never shift point of view in the middle of a scene. If Scene 1 shows what’s happening through the eyes of Dick, and we know all his thoughts and emotions, then wait until Scene 2 to show what’s happening through the eyes and thoughts of Jane.
Each scene and chapter can end in the mind of the character, who is stewing over his/her plight and trying to figure out what it means and what to do next. Ending in the character’s mind, we know where we’re at and where the character has moved to.
Descriptive Development – Make your story interesting to read.
Mere words are the most powerful form of communication in the world when it comes to playing with people’s emotions. The pen indeed is mightier than the sword. Write what’s in your heart.
You return again and again until you’re more familiar with your imaginary landscape than your own backyard.
Explore each sense: seeing (sights), hearing (sounds), smelling (scents), touching (textures) such as silk, lace, leather, cotton, wool; tasting (food)
“Voice” is the unique worldview of the person (narrator) mixed in with self-image, mood and intention. Voice can be either Optimistic/pessimistic, Naïve/cynical, Suspicious/trusting, Comedy/tragedy, Political/religious faith, Liberal/conservative.
Your voice views the world as: a puzzle, a prison, An oppressor, a mark to be conned, a lover to be seduced, A cynic in the special sense of the failed romantic, idealistic illusions, and attitude can be sassy, angry, contemplative, ironic, or even insane.
“Scarlet,” said the blind man, “must be something like the sound of a trumpet.”
Pepper your story with analogous adjectives:
· Tarnished memories, Golden loaves of sweet smelling cinnamon bread, Copper-nosed beagle, Silver bullet, Metallic chimes ringing in the breeze, Iron will, Steel (not magnolias) – Solid Steel, Bronzed suntan, Brassy woman.
· Lavender dreams, Purple passion, Saffron stillness, Ebony nights, Emerald excuses, Jungle justice, Ruby rages, Lilac lies, Turquoise tempest, Scarlet secrets, Forest fantasies, Indigo inspiration.
Do proper grammar and punctuation matter?
An English professor wrote the words, "Woman without her man is nothing" on the blackboard and directed the students to punctuate it correctly.
The men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing."
The women wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing."
The thesaurus is your friend, your ally, amigo, bedfellow, buddy, chum, and pal, not to mention sidekick. Use it. There are many available free online. You can get used ones at Goodwill or Salvation Army Thrift Stores for a pittance.
What are some examples of other Genres?
Examples of SHORT STORY GENRES, where plot is not developed:
1. A Slice of Life
Attempt to reveal a certain way of living – a time, a place, a social context – demonstrated by the experiences of a given set of characters. Each character and event has a significance beyond the merely individual.
Because plot is moved to the background, these stories have a tendency to yawn. Don’t allow that!
2. Character Sketch
Present a series of situations that bring out the character’s possibilities and essential attitudes – all the relevant parts of who that person is. The scene may be a fragment, but the purpose is not to develop a plot but to let the character demonstrate his or her basic nature.
Confine relationships to those which add further detail to the developing picture of the character. If his dead father is important, there may be recollections or even flashbacks of that relationship.
Gradually reveal your character’s problems, for example, what keeps this character from relating to people in more effective personal ways; charter’s ability to live on his/her own terms without compromise, but also without anger or love.
Perhaps gradually reveal unexpected or unusual traits.
3. A Mood Piece
Dark tone uses gloomy, grim, dusky words
Light tone uses amusing, ridiculous, clever images
Gothic or horror – horrible revelations and surrealism create a mood of feverish foreboding coming to a dreamlike crisis. Tales of terror. The lurking dead. Build and sustain a particular mood. Plot is not developed.
Inspirational and religious fiction – uplift and give reassurance that all is well in the world.
The mood must be strong, closed, and claustrophobic to sustain even a short story. The major objects become luminous, significant to each of the major characters. Much opportunity for symbolism, some object standing (or representing) either for the whole spectrum of attitudes being considered or a particular element.
The landscape and surroundings appear nearly alive. They seem imbued with menace or hope, haunted for either good or ill. When you’re gloomy, the whole world is drab; anxious, and the world seems bright-edged, sudden and threatening; happy, and it is wonderfully hopeful.
Very short shorts or flash fiction is less than 1000 words or more often less than 500 words. Allusion (references to things outside the work itself) increases their impact, reducing the number of words required.
A short story is less than 7,499 words to maybe 15,000 words.
Novelette is 7,500 – 17,499
In stories over 17,000 words, you can add reversals or setbacks.
Novella is 17,500 to 39,999
Novel is more than 40,000 words
The Milieu Story (examples: Gulliver’s Travels, At Play in the Fields of the Lord)
1. character travels to a strange/unknown place
a. send your character to a place of deep significance or fascination
2. observes the culture, geography or whatever is interesting or significant
3. character is somehow affected or changed
4. character returns home a different person
The Event Story
1. something is wrong with the world/universe
a. a great evil has come into being
b. someone important has died
2. things are falling apart without them
a. an enemy has taken over
b. something dire has come to light or happened
60,000 or 80,000 words.
Plot formula:
Suspense romance is built around a love story
Modern or historical setting
Involves mystery, intrigue, fast action
Strong and resourceful, hard working, loyalty and respect for the environment
Woman meets irresistible man, charming handsome and athletic but with hidden emotional wounds
Emotional sparks fly
Determine the degree of emotion and sexual tension
They acknowledge their love
Circumstances tear them apart
Conflicts: heroine’s job, her family, a former mate or lover, social status
They reunite in a good and natural relationship
They resolve their problems
Sharing love is the way to happiness
They commit themselves to marriage
And before or after, they consummate their passion
