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Showing posts with label story structure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story structure. Show all posts
Monday, April 19, 2010
Tension in Writing the Individual Scene
There are both plot-driven and character-driven stories, but in my humble opinion they both need tension in order to move forward. Tension must be in every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence. Tension is the uncertainty of at least one issue in the story. For example, here is a conversation between character A and character B:
A: Do you like eggs for breakfast?
B: (answer #1) Yes.
B: (answer #2) My mom used to make eggs, soft boiled, you know, and she'd break them over toast so that the egg yolk would soak in.
B: (answer #3) Why is it any of your business?
Answer #1 stops the conversation, and the story. There are times when this answer might be appropriate -- say, to establish an abrupt interchange -- but in general, #2 or #3 might be a better choice. #2 opens up a chance to deepen character background in a natural way, and #3 suggests a brewing fight. My general rule for questions in writing, whether spoken or implied, is *never* to put down a direct answer.
When I write, I like to plan out the broad outlines of a chapter before I start in. I often end up changing it, mind you, but I at least start with a direction.
According to Jack Bickham there are two units of story construction: a SCENE and a SEQUEL. Very roughly speaking, the scene follows the advancing plot, and the sequel describes the POV character's reaction to it. Bickham describes that all stories are beads of Scene-Sequel-Scene-Sequel, although many times the sequel can be pulled to speed up the action.
While I don't agree with everything he describes, his thoughts were quite helpful, and allowed me to develop a technique for planning each chapter. Here's my technique, for what it's worth:
At the top of the page, I'll copy in my little outline:
POV:
GOAL:
CONFLICT:
DISASTER:
POV stands for the point of view character, in whose head I am writing from. Hmm, maybe I should write a blog on character viewpoint. Basically, since I prefer the 3rd person limited, everything is told from that character's perspective: what HE can see, what HE knows.
GOAL: what is the short-term goal that my POV character is trying to achieve within the next few pages? When writing the draft, I try to have the character actually state his goal clearly close to the beginning of the scene.
CONFLICT: what obstacles will stand in the way of this goal? Obstacles can be both EXTERNAL (other people, physical obstacles) and INTERNAL (fears, worries, lack of knowledge). I like to come up with at least 5 conflicts. Even though I can't always come up with 5, and even if I do come up with them I don't always incorporate them into the draft, they are still helpful to prevent writers block -- if I'm stuck I can always throw another problem at my poor POV character.
DISASTER: the scene should not end happily. Even if the POV character is successful with his goal at the beginning of the chapter, he should be in a worse situation at the end of the chapter. More questions are raised! The reader thinks, I'll read just one more chapter...
*
I also use sequels, the emotional reaction of the POV character, although often find that I can use an abbreviated form before starting the next scene or after finishing the last scene. When I'm ready to write a sequel, I post this outline at the top:
EMOTION:
THOUGHT:
DECISION:
ACTION:
EMOTION: refers to the POV character's emotional state immediately following the previous scene. Is he frightened, worried, angry, desperate?
THOUGHT: once he's had some emotion, he's able to logically evaluate the circumstances.
DECISION: the character is in a bad situation, and must decide what he is going to do.
ACTION: He begins to do what he decided.
*
There is no easy way to write, but doing this little bit of preplanning at least for me is quite helpful to prevent writers block. Often my scene shapes up differently than what I'd thought, but that's OK too -- I go with the flow.
So, how do YOU go about facing the computer screen every day?
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Some Thoughts on Writing the Individual Scene
There are both plot-driven and character-driven stories, but in my humble opinion they both need tension in order to move forward. Tension must be in every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence. Tension is the uncertainty of at least one issue in the story. For example, here is a conversation between character A and character B:
A: Do you like eggs for breakfast?
B: (answer #1) Yes.
B: (answer #2) My mom used to make eggs, soft boiled, you know, and she'd break them over toast so that the egg yolk would soak in.
B: (answer #3) Why is it any of your business?
Answer #1 stops the conversation, and the story. There are times when this answer might be appropriate -- say, to establish an abrupt interchange -- but in general, #2 or #3 might be a better choice. #2 opens up a chance to deepen character background in a natural way, and #3 suggests a brewing fight. My general rule for questions in writing, whether spoken or implied, is *never* to put down a direct answer.
When I write, I like to plan out the broad outlines of a chapter before I start in. I often end up changing it, mind you, but I at least start with a direction.
According to Jack Bickham there are two units of story construction: a SCENE and a SEQUEL. Very roughly speaking, the scene follows the advancing plot, and the sequel describes the POV character's reaction to it. Bickham describes that all stories are beads of Scene-Sequel-Scene-Sequel, although many times the sequel can be pulled to speed up the action.
While I don't agree with everything he describes, his thoughts were quite helpful, and allowed me to develop a technique for planning each chapter. Here's my technique, for what it's worth:
At the top of the page, I'll copy in my little outline:
POV:
GOAL:
CONFLICT:
DISASTER:
POV stands for the point of view character, in whose head I am writing from. Hmm, maybe I should write a blog on character viewpoint. Basically, since I prefer the 3rd person limited, everything is told from that character's perspective: what HE can see, what HE knows.
GOAL: what is the short-term goal that my POV character is trying to achieve within the next few pages? When writing the draft, I try to have the character actually state his goal clearly close to the beginning.
CONFLICT: what obstacles will stand in the way of this goal? Obstacles can be both EXTERNAL (other people, physical obstacles) and INTERNAL (fears, worries, lack of knowledge). I like to come up with at least 5 conflicts. Even though I can't always come up with 5, and even if I do come up with them I don't always incorporate them into the draft, they are still helpful to prevent writers block -- if I'm stuck I can always throw another problem at my poor POV character.
DISASTER: the scene should not end happily. Even if the POV character is successful with his goal at the beginning of the chapter, he should be in a worse situation at the end of the chapter. More questions are raised! The reader thinks, I'll read just one more chapter...
*
I also use sequels, the emotional reaction of the POV character, although less frequently. When I'm ready to write a sequel, I post this outline at the top:
EMOTION:
THOUGHT:
DECISION:
ACTION:
EMOTION: refers to the POV character's emotional state immediately following the previous scene. Is he frightened, worried, angry, desperate?
THOUGHT: once he's had some emotion, he's able to logically evaluate the circumstances.
DECISION: the character is in a bad situation, and must decide what he is going to do.
ACTION: He begins to do what he decided.
*
There is no easy way to write, but doing this little bit of preplanning at least for me is quite helpful to prevent writers block. Often my scene shapes up differently than what I'd thought, but that's OK too -- I go with the flow.
So, how do you go about facing the computer screen every day?
A: Do you like eggs for breakfast?
B: (answer #1) Yes.
B: (answer #2) My mom used to make eggs, soft boiled, you know, and she'd break them over toast so that the egg yolk would soak in.
B: (answer #3) Why is it any of your business?
Answer #1 stops the conversation, and the story. There are times when this answer might be appropriate -- say, to establish an abrupt interchange -- but in general, #2 or #3 might be a better choice. #2 opens up a chance to deepen character background in a natural way, and #3 suggests a brewing fight. My general rule for questions in writing, whether spoken or implied, is *never* to put down a direct answer.
When I write, I like to plan out the broad outlines of a chapter before I start in. I often end up changing it, mind you, but I at least start with a direction.
According to Jack Bickham there are two units of story construction: a SCENE and a SEQUEL. Very roughly speaking, the scene follows the advancing plot, and the sequel describes the POV character's reaction to it. Bickham describes that all stories are beads of Scene-Sequel-Scene-Sequel, although many times the sequel can be pulled to speed up the action.
While I don't agree with everything he describes, his thoughts were quite helpful, and allowed me to develop a technique for planning each chapter. Here's my technique, for what it's worth:
At the top of the page, I'll copy in my little outline:
POV:
GOAL:
CONFLICT:
DISASTER:
POV stands for the point of view character, in whose head I am writing from. Hmm, maybe I should write a blog on character viewpoint. Basically, since I prefer the 3rd person limited, everything is told from that character's perspective: what HE can see, what HE knows.
GOAL: what is the short-term goal that my POV character is trying to achieve within the next few pages? When writing the draft, I try to have the character actually state his goal clearly close to the beginning.
CONFLICT: what obstacles will stand in the way of this goal? Obstacles can be both EXTERNAL (other people, physical obstacles) and INTERNAL (fears, worries, lack of knowledge). I like to come up with at least 5 conflicts. Even though I can't always come up with 5, and even if I do come up with them I don't always incorporate them into the draft, they are still helpful to prevent writers block -- if I'm stuck I can always throw another problem at my poor POV character.
DISASTER: the scene should not end happily. Even if the POV character is successful with his goal at the beginning of the chapter, he should be in a worse situation at the end of the chapter. More questions are raised! The reader thinks, I'll read just one more chapter...
*
I also use sequels, the emotional reaction of the POV character, although less frequently. When I'm ready to write a sequel, I post this outline at the top:
EMOTION:
THOUGHT:
DECISION:
ACTION:
EMOTION: refers to the POV character's emotional state immediately following the previous scene. Is he frightened, worried, angry, desperate?
THOUGHT: once he's had some emotion, he's able to logically evaluate the circumstances.
DECISION: the character is in a bad situation, and must decide what he is going to do.
ACTION: He begins to do what he decided.
*
There is no easy way to write, but doing this little bit of preplanning at least for me is quite helpful to prevent writers block. Often my scene shapes up differently than what I'd thought, but that's OK too -- I go with the flow.
So, how do you go about facing the computer screen every day?
Monday, May 4, 2009
Why Should the Reader Care About Your Story?
On Thursday I talked about the importance of the Story Question: the question that the reader or viewer wants answered, and so eagerly devours your story. The Story Question is something that can be unequivocally answered yes or no by the end of the story: WILL Taylor be able to convince Kristen to marry him? WILL Donna be able to realize her dream of being a rock star? Will the X-Thumpers be able to save their home world Terranthia from the invading evil aliens? Your protagonist will actively pursue this story goal, encounter many obstacles, bravely fight, learn something about him- or herself, and ultimately triumph (or not, although failure stories don't tend to be popular unless there is a compensatory win -- think Rocky).
Once you have a good story question you're almost there: you only need to make the reader CARE about whether the story question is answered. To do this, you simply have to make the reader care about the protagonist, and therefore since the protagonist cares about the story question the reader or viewer will also.
OK, so how do you make someone care about your protagonist? The quick answer is not necessarily to make him likeable, but instead to make him someone with whom the reader or viewer can identify with to understand why he does what he does in the story. There are several techniques you as the writer can use:
1. Create Sympathy -- if your protagonist suffers from something, whether an injustice, a physical defect, or a terrible loss of some sort, this will go a long way to create reader identification because the reader will feel sorry for him and therefore of course want him to win.
2. Jeopardy -- any time a character is in real danger, whether physical or emotional threat, the audience is riveted.
3. Likeable -- we all tend to want to be around pleasant rather than unpleasant people, and this is no different in stories. The person may behave well, or be funny, or be good at his job, or whatever -- he has likeable traits that the viewer can appreciate.
Another thing to remember is that a story question (which at the beginning can be a bridging question rather than the main one), and the protagonist, need to be established in your story as early as possible. Your audience needs to know who to root for, and what they're rooting for -- otherwise your story is irrelevant drivel that your audience will only have so much patience to plow through before throwing your book down in disgust. (Unless, of course, your reader is being forced to read this for a literature course in High School, but if this is the case you as the writer are probably dead now anyway :-)
Once you have a good story question you're almost there: you only need to make the reader CARE about whether the story question is answered. To do this, you simply have to make the reader care about the protagonist, and therefore since the protagonist cares about the story question the reader or viewer will also.
OK, so how do you make someone care about your protagonist? The quick answer is not necessarily to make him likeable, but instead to make him someone with whom the reader or viewer can identify with to understand why he does what he does in the story. There are several techniques you as the writer can use:
1. Create Sympathy -- if your protagonist suffers from something, whether an injustice, a physical defect, or a terrible loss of some sort, this will go a long way to create reader identification because the reader will feel sorry for him and therefore of course want him to win.
2. Jeopardy -- any time a character is in real danger, whether physical or emotional threat, the audience is riveted.
3. Likeable -- we all tend to want to be around pleasant rather than unpleasant people, and this is no different in stories. The person may behave well, or be funny, or be good at his job, or whatever -- he has likeable traits that the viewer can appreciate.
Another thing to remember is that a story question (which at the beginning can be a bridging question rather than the main one), and the protagonist, need to be established in your story as early as possible. Your audience needs to know who to root for, and what they're rooting for -- otherwise your story is irrelevant drivel that your audience will only have so much patience to plow through before throwing your book down in disgust. (Unless, of course, your reader is being forced to read this for a literature course in High School, but if this is the case you as the writer are probably dead now anyway :-)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
What is the Story Question?
A story, whether novel or screenplay, has two tracks that influence and guide each other:
Internal Story
External Story
The Story Question is the question asked by the External Story:
Will Van Helsing be able to destroy Dracula? (Dracula)
Will Tyler be able to find and bring back the Nazi Enigma encoder? (U571)
Will Indiana be able to find the Holy Grail? (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
Will Toula be able to get happily married? (My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
Will Phil be able to break out of February 2nd? (Groundhog Day)
Will Frodo be able to destroy the Ring? (Lord of the Rings I, II, and III)
Will Luke be able to destroy the Evil Empire? (Star Wars IV, V, and VI)
Will Harry be able to destroy Voldemort? (Harry Potter series)
Will Rocky be able to *go the distance* fighting Apollo Creed? (Rocky)
Will Forrest Gump be able to convince Jenny to stay with him? (Forrest Gump)
I'm blanking on more films/novels, but you get the idea.
If a story is going to be engaging, it must have a clear-cut story question. This is the goal that the protagonist is motivated to pursue -- it is a tangible goal and something that will be answered at the end of the story with a clear Yes or No. There are sub-goals in the story, of course: for example, Frodo must get through the Dead Marshes, but these sub-goals are steps to complete the main goal.
The story goal doesn't have to be established right up front, but if not there should be another goal that's very important to the protagonist, and the story goal needs to be put in place pretty quickly. For example, in the Wizard of Oz Dorothy starts with a bridging goal: in Kansas Miss Gulch has taken Toto, and Dorothy is determined to get Toto back. She succeeds but then is quickly lifted up by the tornado into Oz where she immediately develops her Story Question: will she be able to get home?
The Story Goal should be something that your hero wants desperately, and will give maximum effort to achieve. Instead of just being blown around, he will act and cause events to occur in order to achieve this goal. He will struggle: the goal should be something very difficult that takes a great deal of courage to achieve. The story goal should have a number of obstacles, including a *chief obstacle* of some sort, often an antagonist, but it can also be a situation.
You need to make your protagonist sympathetic so the reader or viewer will care deeply about whether your hero actually achieves his goal. I'll talk about facilitating reader-identification tomorrow.
Internal Story
External Story
The Story Question is the question asked by the External Story:
Will Van Helsing be able to destroy Dracula? (Dracula)
Will Tyler be able to find and bring back the Nazi Enigma encoder? (U571)
Will Indiana be able to find the Holy Grail? (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
Will Toula be able to get happily married? (My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
Will Phil be able to break out of February 2nd? (Groundhog Day)
Will Frodo be able to destroy the Ring? (Lord of the Rings I, II, and III)
Will Luke be able to destroy the Evil Empire? (Star Wars IV, V, and VI)
Will Harry be able to destroy Voldemort? (Harry Potter series)
Will Rocky be able to *go the distance* fighting Apollo Creed? (Rocky)
Will Forrest Gump be able to convince Jenny to stay with him? (Forrest Gump)
I'm blanking on more films/novels, but you get the idea.
If a story is going to be engaging, it must have a clear-cut story question. This is the goal that the protagonist is motivated to pursue -- it is a tangible goal and something that will be answered at the end of the story with a clear Yes or No. There are sub-goals in the story, of course: for example, Frodo must get through the Dead Marshes, but these sub-goals are steps to complete the main goal.
The story goal doesn't have to be established right up front, but if not there should be another goal that's very important to the protagonist, and the story goal needs to be put in place pretty quickly. For example, in the Wizard of Oz Dorothy starts with a bridging goal: in Kansas Miss Gulch has taken Toto, and Dorothy is determined to get Toto back. She succeeds but then is quickly lifted up by the tornado into Oz where she immediately develops her Story Question: will she be able to get home?
The Story Goal should be something that your hero wants desperately, and will give maximum effort to achieve. Instead of just being blown around, he will act and cause events to occur in order to achieve this goal. He will struggle: the goal should be something very difficult that takes a great deal of courage to achieve. The story goal should have a number of obstacles, including a *chief obstacle* of some sort, often an antagonist, but it can also be a situation.
You need to make your protagonist sympathetic so the reader or viewer will care deeply about whether your hero actually achieves his goal. I'll talk about facilitating reader-identification tomorrow.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Story Telling Basics
Story Telling Basics
This weekend I found myself up to my elbows in unpubbed hopeful manuscripts through digging through the authonomy.com slush pile. It's an interesting journey, but frankly I don't think I have the stamina for much more because I have other pressing things: writing my own novel, marketing Lever, and kid stuff. Template's got to be picked up again soon also. Let me just say that I have a new appreciation for editors and agents who wade through this unpubbed stuff all the time.
In my humble opinion, and recognizing that I'm not an expert (although I have wrestled mightily with writing issues), I am picking up two common problems that recur in almost all of the manuscripts I've looked through so far. They are:
1. Too much backstory!
2. The lack of a compelling story question.
*
These aren't surprises, I'm sure: just like knowing that if you want to lose weight, you've got to eat fewer calories than you burn. Let's talk first about backstory. I once had it explained to me that backstory is like meeting someone at a casual event where you have to chitchat. If a person comes up to you and starts telling you his life story: I was born in Arizona, my mom was a supervisor in a nursing home that was shut down after twenty-one years because of the suspicious deaths of five patients, I'm researching laws for importing Chinese kumquats and kumquats are often categorized as citrus and are grown on evergreen shrubs or short trees that produce 80 to 100 fruits each year, you'd probably start eyeing the door. (Think of Adrian Monk's annoying neighbor Kevin, who won't shut up). Similarly, in a story the reader wants to WATCH the character and make his own judgments, not be told a lot of stuff that he's not sure what parts are relevant. Why the heck should he even care? He doesn't know the characters! Pretend you're filming your story: Would your scenes show lots of flashbacks?
The second problem is a little more difficult to do well, but it's GOT to be done well if you want your story to be published (or at least traditionally published; you can publish anything yourself). You need to start by intriguing your reader with a situation or a character, and then maintain tension throughout the story. Beautiful writing is nice, but it doesn't cut it.
I have a few tricks for developing story questions, but since these each take a little explanation, let me start in on these on my next blog entry. In the meantime, keep writing :-)
This weekend I found myself up to my elbows in unpubbed hopeful manuscripts through digging through the authonomy.com slush pile. It's an interesting journey, but frankly I don't think I have the stamina for much more because I have other pressing things: writing my own novel, marketing Lever, and kid stuff. Template's got to be picked up again soon also. Let me just say that I have a new appreciation for editors and agents who wade through this unpubbed stuff all the time.
In my humble opinion, and recognizing that I'm not an expert (although I have wrestled mightily with writing issues), I am picking up two common problems that recur in almost all of the manuscripts I've looked through so far. They are:
1. Too much backstory!
2. The lack of a compelling story question.
*
These aren't surprises, I'm sure: just like knowing that if you want to lose weight, you've got to eat fewer calories than you burn. Let's talk first about backstory. I once had it explained to me that backstory is like meeting someone at a casual event where you have to chitchat. If a person comes up to you and starts telling you his life story: I was born in Arizona, my mom was a supervisor in a nursing home that was shut down after twenty-one years because of the suspicious deaths of five patients, I'm researching laws for importing Chinese kumquats and kumquats are often categorized as citrus and are grown on evergreen shrubs or short trees that produce 80 to 100 fruits each year, you'd probably start eyeing the door. (Think of Adrian Monk's annoying neighbor Kevin, who won't shut up). Similarly, in a story the reader wants to WATCH the character and make his own judgments, not be told a lot of stuff that he's not sure what parts are relevant. Why the heck should he even care? He doesn't know the characters! Pretend you're filming your story: Would your scenes show lots of flashbacks?
The second problem is a little more difficult to do well, but it's GOT to be done well if you want your story to be published (or at least traditionally published; you can publish anything yourself). You need to start by intriguing your reader with a situation or a character, and then maintain tension throughout the story. Beautiful writing is nice, but it doesn't cut it.
I have a few tricks for developing story questions, but since these each take a little explanation, let me start in on these on my next blog entry. In the meantime, keep writing :-)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Hidden Need
One of my favorite descriptions of story comes from the late Gary Provost, a prolific writer and creative writing teacher. Here it is from How to Tell a Story by Peter Rubie and Gary Provost:
Once upon a time, something happened to someone, and he decided that he would pursue a goal. So he devised a plan of action, and even though there were forces trying to stop him, he moved forward because there was a lot at stake. And just as things seemed as bad as they could get, he learned an important lesson, and when offered the prize he had sought so strenuously, he had to decide whether or not to take it, and in making that decision he satisfied a need that had been created by something in his past.
Isn't that great?
There's a lot that can be discussed in that paragraph, but today I want to focus on the hidden need.
Stories in general showcase a weakness or need in the protagonist. When the protagonist (usually) solves the hidden need, he is then able to achieve (or not) the story goal which is the external thing or outcome that he is pursuing. These two branches are cleverly called the Inner Story and the Outer Story. Dominance of one or the other of these branches changes with genre: for example literary stories tend to be inner or psychologically driven; aggressive action stories are externally driven; but the best stories balance these two elements.
The protagonist's hidden need comes from a weakness within the protagonist: for example he can't trust, or he spends too much money, or he can't forgive. The best hidden needs further reach out so that the protagonist hurts other people: for example, because he can't trust he is causing his girlfriend to break up and marry her old boyfriend; because he spends too much money, his mom who cosigned a loan for him will be kicked out of her house; because he can't forgive his friend, the friend becomes cynical and starts behaving badly.
The story goal is the external thing or outcome that the protagonist is pursuing. It can often, although not always, stem from the hidden need. For example, because the guy's girlfriend is leaving him, he's got to get her back; because his mom is losing her house he must find a way to pay her back and/or a new place for her to live; because he can't forgive his friend, he misses an opportunity for his friend to help him with a business he is forming. All of these might be worked into a main story goal, but at least could easily be important sub-parts of the main story.
In the story, the protagonist starts out solving problems by using his old way of thinking. I found that the hidden need was often addressed in three stages right after the midpoint:
1. the hidden need is, once more, clearly demonstrated
2. the hidden need is solved
3. a small problem is addressed using the protagonist's new way of thinking
For example, in the movie U571 (a classically structured, very exciting, World War II era submarine story), second-in-command Tyler's hidden need is that he is unable to take complete authority, since he values the people under him as individuals when he needs to lead. At the midpoint Tyler's captain is killed and Tyler takes command.
Hidden need is demonstrated: Tyler and his crew are in a dire situation, and he admits to them that he doesn't know how they're going to make it.
Hidden need is solved: the chief petty officer takes Tyler aside and tells him to never, ever, tell his crew again that he doesn't know. He must inspire complete confidence. He must lead.
A small problem is addressed: On deck, a Nazi plane flies over them. Tyler tells his crew to wave. One of his sailors tells the gunner to shoot. The gunner doesn't shoot, the plane flies past, and Tyler punches the sailor. "This isn't a democracy!" he growls.
You get the idea. The second part of act two is the most difficult part of the story to write, but this is a helpful device to use to take up at least some of that white space.
There is also often a second hidden need that is solved towards the end of the story, right before the climax. For example, in the film Iron Will (also a highly recommended film!), Will is in a dog race to win money that will pay off his mom's home and his college tuition (valuable stakes). His main hidden need -- fear of a bully/confidence -- has already been solved in act two part two, but he has a second fear, to take his sled across a frozen river. Throughout the movie he has avoided rivers, sometimes with disastrous consequences. However, he can only win this contest if he crosses the ice. So, will he?
Hmm.
Once upon a time, something happened to someone, and he decided that he would pursue a goal. So he devised a plan of action, and even though there were forces trying to stop him, he moved forward because there was a lot at stake. And just as things seemed as bad as they could get, he learned an important lesson, and when offered the prize he had sought so strenuously, he had to decide whether or not to take it, and in making that decision he satisfied a need that had been created by something in his past.
Isn't that great?
There's a lot that can be discussed in that paragraph, but today I want to focus on the hidden need.
Stories in general showcase a weakness or need in the protagonist. When the protagonist (usually) solves the hidden need, he is then able to achieve (or not) the story goal which is the external thing or outcome that he is pursuing. These two branches are cleverly called the Inner Story and the Outer Story. Dominance of one or the other of these branches changes with genre: for example literary stories tend to be inner or psychologically driven; aggressive action stories are externally driven; but the best stories balance these two elements.
The protagonist's hidden need comes from a weakness within the protagonist: for example he can't trust, or he spends too much money, or he can't forgive. The best hidden needs further reach out so that the protagonist hurts other people: for example, because he can't trust he is causing his girlfriend to break up and marry her old boyfriend; because he spends too much money, his mom who cosigned a loan for him will be kicked out of her house; because he can't forgive his friend, the friend becomes cynical and starts behaving badly.
The story goal is the external thing or outcome that the protagonist is pursuing. It can often, although not always, stem from the hidden need. For example, because the guy's girlfriend is leaving him, he's got to get her back; because his mom is losing her house he must find a way to pay her back and/or a new place for her to live; because he can't forgive his friend, he misses an opportunity for his friend to help him with a business he is forming. All of these might be worked into a main story goal, but at least could easily be important sub-parts of the main story.
In the story, the protagonist starts out solving problems by using his old way of thinking. I found that the hidden need was often addressed in three stages right after the midpoint:
1. the hidden need is, once more, clearly demonstrated
2. the hidden need is solved
3. a small problem is addressed using the protagonist's new way of thinking
For example, in the movie U571 (a classically structured, very exciting, World War II era submarine story), second-in-command Tyler's hidden need is that he is unable to take complete authority, since he values the people under him as individuals when he needs to lead. At the midpoint Tyler's captain is killed and Tyler takes command.
Hidden need is demonstrated: Tyler and his crew are in a dire situation, and he admits to them that he doesn't know how they're going to make it.
Hidden need is solved: the chief petty officer takes Tyler aside and tells him to never, ever, tell his crew again that he doesn't know. He must inspire complete confidence. He must lead.
A small problem is addressed: On deck, a Nazi plane flies over them. Tyler tells his crew to wave. One of his sailors tells the gunner to shoot. The gunner doesn't shoot, the plane flies past, and Tyler punches the sailor. "This isn't a democracy!" he growls.
You get the idea. The second part of act two is the most difficult part of the story to write, but this is a helpful device to use to take up at least some of that white space.
There is also often a second hidden need that is solved towards the end of the story, right before the climax. For example, in the film Iron Will (also a highly recommended film!), Will is in a dog race to win money that will pay off his mom's home and his college tuition (valuable stakes). His main hidden need -- fear of a bully/confidence -- has already been solved in act two part two, but he has a second fear, to take his sled across a frozen river. Throughout the movie he has avoided rivers, sometimes with disastrous consequences. However, he can only win this contest if he crosses the ice. So, will he?
Hmm.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Shape of the Story
My daughter has been learning about Joseph Campbell's *The Hero's Journey* and *The Monomyth* in her classroom, and I've been enjoying reading her notes over her shoulder.
Let me preface my commentary this morning by saying that I think Campbell was quite insightful to have extricated a generalized structure out of myth, and his work was groundbreaking. The rumor is that George Lucas wrote Star Wars with his notepad in one hand and Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces in the other. Campbell certainly discovered a deep truth about story.
Still, I'm struck by just how clunky his *set of rules* is. For a lengthy homework assignment my daughter recently had to fit an already-produced story into the *Monomyth* model. She chose Ironman, one of my current favorites, a beautifully done film that is as classically structured as a fairy tale. And with this just-about-perfectly-structured movie, with the midpoint falling right at the 51 through 54% mark (you can't get much better than that!), she still had to do a little shoe-horning in order to make this movie fit into the following 17 (!) stages:
1. The Call to Adventure
2. Refusal of the Call
3. Supernatural Aid
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
5. Belly of The Whale
6. The Road of Trials
7. Mother as Goddess
8. Woman as Temptress
9. Atonement with the Father
10. Apotheosis
11. The Ultimate Boon
12. Refusal of the Return
13. The Magic Flight
14. Rescue from Without
15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
16. Master of Two Worlds
17. Freedom to Live
It made me realize why people don't tend to use Campbell's story structure anymore. A common complaint with this model, related to the fact that it IS so rigid, is that the stories produced tend to all look the same. It gets boring after awhile.
I've also studied story structure, but I see story as a fluid thing, not hammered down by any stereotyped *stages* as Campbell does. The posts that I've identified -- such as the inciting incident or the midpoint -- do not have a particular shape, so much as they guide the story to move in a certain direction. Does this make sense? If I draw the analogy of a stream, Campbell places specifically shaped rocks along the path of the water. I'm looking, instead, at the direction the water flows. The event doesn't matter for itself, but rather with how it guides the story. The flow of the story, I've found, is remarkably similar, but the events are infinitely varied.
Very cool stuff, IMHO. Every storyteller has a unique voice and vision that cannot be duplicated. The storyteller must imagine the events truly, as he or she sees them, and not force them into a box. Dear reader, learn from writing models, experiment with them, but don't slavishly follow them. Trust yourself. Believe in your vision, and then just write.
Let me preface my commentary this morning by saying that I think Campbell was quite insightful to have extricated a generalized structure out of myth, and his work was groundbreaking. The rumor is that George Lucas wrote Star Wars with his notepad in one hand and Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces in the other. Campbell certainly discovered a deep truth about story.
Still, I'm struck by just how clunky his *set of rules* is. For a lengthy homework assignment my daughter recently had to fit an already-produced story into the *Monomyth* model. She chose Ironman, one of my current favorites, a beautifully done film that is as classically structured as a fairy tale. And with this just-about-perfectly-structured movie, with the midpoint falling right at the 51 through 54% mark (you can't get much better than that!), she still had to do a little shoe-horning in order to make this movie fit into the following 17 (!) stages:
1. The Call to Adventure
2. Refusal of the Call
3. Supernatural Aid
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
5. Belly of The Whale
6. The Road of Trials
7. Mother as Goddess
8. Woman as Temptress
9. Atonement with the Father
10. Apotheosis
11. The Ultimate Boon
12. Refusal of the Return
13. The Magic Flight
14. Rescue from Without
15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
16. Master of Two Worlds
17. Freedom to Live
It made me realize why people don't tend to use Campbell's story structure anymore. A common complaint with this model, related to the fact that it IS so rigid, is that the stories produced tend to all look the same. It gets boring after awhile.
I've also studied story structure, but I see story as a fluid thing, not hammered down by any stereotyped *stages* as Campbell does. The posts that I've identified -- such as the inciting incident or the midpoint -- do not have a particular shape, so much as they guide the story to move in a certain direction. Does this make sense? If I draw the analogy of a stream, Campbell places specifically shaped rocks along the path of the water. I'm looking, instead, at the direction the water flows. The event doesn't matter for itself, but rather with how it guides the story. The flow of the story, I've found, is remarkably similar, but the events are infinitely varied.
Very cool stuff, IMHO. Every storyteller has a unique voice and vision that cannot be duplicated. The storyteller must imagine the events truly, as he or she sees them, and not force them into a box. Dear reader, learn from writing models, experiment with them, but don't slavishly follow them. Trust yourself. Believe in your vision, and then just write.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Story Structure
In my studies of story structure, the biggest surprise I found was how little story development varies. My dear friends, we are such very boring creatures! No matter the genre, the same development of story events occurred, over and over and over.
For this blog entry I wanted to give a quick summary of story structure according to me. Much of this is not original work -- I'm not that brilliant -- but I've synthesized the work of smart people with my own humble observations to come up with a model of story structure that works for me, during my work in coaching writers.
During my studies, I tore apart about 20 *good* modern novels (ie novels that I enjoyed), ranging in genre from literary to adventure to mystery to YA to science fiction, plus a bunch of movies. I did word counts or timed scenes with a watch, listed everything into columns, and then analyzed the commonalities of story progression across genre.
The story can be divided into four more-or-less equal parts, each part with a distinct theme. Furthermore, there are definite story POSTS that occur reliably in the progression of the story, and land reliably within a range of a few percentage points of the whole. I'll put them down very briefly, and use the film *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* to illustrate. BTW I could have picked just about anything to illustrate, but this is a cute movie :-)
ACT ONE: demonstrates the original or starting position of the protagonist, plus the set up to show how he moves into the main story.
Ordinary World -- shows what the protagonist's *normal life* is like. Toula is a 30 year old unmarried Greek woman working in her (extremely intrusive) family's restaurant.
Inciting Incident -- shows a potential change offered to the protagonist, either a choice or an assignment. Toula finds a college brochure that might offer her an opportunity to achieve something different by taking a few classes.
Argument -- the protagonist isn't sure if he will enter the new world or not. Toula must convince her father to allow her to take some courses at the college.
Door -- represents a *journey* into the new world. Toula enters the college campus and starts taking classes.
ACT TWO FIRST PART: the protagonist learns how the *New World* works, and also thinks that once this little journey is over he will be *unchanged* (able to straddle or return to the Ordinary World). This is often shown as a series of three encounters, each increasingly involved.
Toula is shown changing her image to become more glamorous (hair, clothing, ditching the glasses, makeup etc.), answering questions competently in class, and socializing with other students (something she couldn't do as a kid).
Midpoint: an often flashy event that represents either a false high, or a devastating loss, that makes it clear the protagonist can no longer go back to his Ordinary World.
Toula meets Ian, a high school English teacher, and starts dating him even though she knows her family will *never* accept him because he isn't Greek. Shortly afterwards, Nikki tells Toula that the family knows about her romance with Ian, and then Toula must sit before the disapproving family committee that tells her to break it off.
ACT TWO SECOND PART: the protagonist scrambles to regain equilibrium while the antagonistic forces gain power. Toula's family tries to match her with other *suitable* bachelors without success. Finally Ian proposes to Toula, who joyfully accepts, but her family only reluctantly agrees. Ian yields to these powerful forces by becoming *Greek*: becoming baptized and participating in Greek family activities, including a fabulous party in which Ian's conservative parents are contrasted with the noisy Porticullis clan.
Slide: another often flashy event that serves as a funnel. The nature of the climax is now clearly seen. Often there is a sort of *death* present here; think Obi Wan against Darth Vader in the first Star Wars movie. (observation courtesy of Blake Snyder in his Save the Cat!, a book I highly recommend). Toula comes home with her wedding plans, only to learn her family has already ordered the invitations and the bridesmaids' dresses.
ACT THREE: the protagonist gears up for the final encounter, although it looks unlikely that he will ever win. Toula is dismayed that her family is so intrusive, and that her family and Ian's are so different.
Darkest Moment: The very worst position that the protagonist can possibly imagine. While preparing for the wedding that morning, Toula realizes she will never be free of her family.
Help from Outside: a small action that allows the protagonist to regroup and win. This story post I recognized courtesy of Nancy Rue and Angela Hunt in a NANGIE writing class I took a few years ago. Toula's grandmother shows Toula her own wedding crown, and Toula realizes that her family all love her and that she is connected to her family in a deep and profound way.
Climax: an often flashy sequence in which the protagonist ultimately wins, if not the outer conflict then certainly the inner (think Rocky). Toula and Ian have a beautiful, Greek, wedding and reception. Toula's father makes a joke that shows how Toula's family and Ian's family, although different, are ultimately the same.
Resolution: tells how the protagonist's life will go on. Toula and Ian are shown several years later in a house next door to her family's house, walking their daughter to Greek school.
******
OK, there is the story structure in miniature, sort of. Try laying these story points over any story you like -- you'll be surprised at how well they'll match!
This column is for dear friends. I hope it provides some food for thought.
***
copyright 2008 by Amy Deardon
all rights reserved
For this blog entry I wanted to give a quick summary of story structure according to me. Much of this is not original work -- I'm not that brilliant -- but I've synthesized the work of smart people with my own humble observations to come up with a model of story structure that works for me, during my work in coaching writers.
During my studies, I tore apart about 20 *good* modern novels (ie novels that I enjoyed), ranging in genre from literary to adventure to mystery to YA to science fiction, plus a bunch of movies. I did word counts or timed scenes with a watch, listed everything into columns, and then analyzed the commonalities of story progression across genre.
The story can be divided into four more-or-less equal parts, each part with a distinct theme. Furthermore, there are definite story POSTS that occur reliably in the progression of the story, and land reliably within a range of a few percentage points of the whole. I'll put them down very briefly, and use the film *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* to illustrate. BTW I could have picked just about anything to illustrate, but this is a cute movie :-)
ACT ONE: demonstrates the original or starting position of the protagonist, plus the set up to show how he moves into the main story.
Ordinary World -- shows what the protagonist's *normal life* is like. Toula is a 30 year old unmarried Greek woman working in her (extremely intrusive) family's restaurant.
Inciting Incident -- shows a potential change offered to the protagonist, either a choice or an assignment. Toula finds a college brochure that might offer her an opportunity to achieve something different by taking a few classes.
Argument -- the protagonist isn't sure if he will enter the new world or not. Toula must convince her father to allow her to take some courses at the college.
Door -- represents a *journey* into the new world. Toula enters the college campus and starts taking classes.
ACT TWO FIRST PART: the protagonist learns how the *New World* works, and also thinks that once this little journey is over he will be *unchanged* (able to straddle or return to the Ordinary World). This is often shown as a series of three encounters, each increasingly involved.
Toula is shown changing her image to become more glamorous (hair, clothing, ditching the glasses, makeup etc.), answering questions competently in class, and socializing with other students (something she couldn't do as a kid).
Midpoint: an often flashy event that represents either a false high, or a devastating loss, that makes it clear the protagonist can no longer go back to his Ordinary World.
Toula meets Ian, a high school English teacher, and starts dating him even though she knows her family will *never* accept him because he isn't Greek. Shortly afterwards, Nikki tells Toula that the family knows about her romance with Ian, and then Toula must sit before the disapproving family committee that tells her to break it off.
ACT TWO SECOND PART: the protagonist scrambles to regain equilibrium while the antagonistic forces gain power. Toula's family tries to match her with other *suitable* bachelors without success. Finally Ian proposes to Toula, who joyfully accepts, but her family only reluctantly agrees. Ian yields to these powerful forces by becoming *Greek*: becoming baptized and participating in Greek family activities, including a fabulous party in which Ian's conservative parents are contrasted with the noisy Porticullis clan.
Slide: another often flashy event that serves as a funnel. The nature of the climax is now clearly seen. Often there is a sort of *death* present here; think Obi Wan against Darth Vader in the first Star Wars movie. (observation courtesy of Blake Snyder in his Save the Cat!, a book I highly recommend). Toula comes home with her wedding plans, only to learn her family has already ordered the invitations and the bridesmaids' dresses.
ACT THREE: the protagonist gears up for the final encounter, although it looks unlikely that he will ever win. Toula is dismayed that her family is so intrusive, and that her family and Ian's are so different.
Darkest Moment: The very worst position that the protagonist can possibly imagine. While preparing for the wedding that morning, Toula realizes she will never be free of her family.
Help from Outside: a small action that allows the protagonist to regroup and win. This story post I recognized courtesy of Nancy Rue and Angela Hunt in a NANGIE writing class I took a few years ago. Toula's grandmother shows Toula her own wedding crown, and Toula realizes that her family all love her and that she is connected to her family in a deep and profound way.
Climax: an often flashy sequence in which the protagonist ultimately wins, if not the outer conflict then certainly the inner (think Rocky). Toula and Ian have a beautiful, Greek, wedding and reception. Toula's father makes a joke that shows how Toula's family and Ian's family, although different, are ultimately the same.
Resolution: tells how the protagonist's life will go on. Toula and Ian are shown several years later in a house next door to her family's house, walking their daughter to Greek school.
******
OK, there is the story structure in miniature, sort of. Try laying these story points over any story you like -- you'll be surprised at how well they'll match!
This column is for dear friends. I hope it provides some food for thought.
***
copyright 2008 by Amy Deardon
all rights reserved
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, there was a king riding in the woods. In the distance he saw a peasant maiden. She wasn't beautiful, but even so he fell in love with her and decided he wanted to marry her. He rode away, thinking about how he might be able to do this.
He was a good and wise king. The king was so wise that he knew love --true love, sacrificial love -- was more valuable than anything else. If he came to the maiden, majestic in his kingly robes and surrounded by servants, then of course she would go with him, but he didn't want this. He wanted her to go with him without being overwhelmed, because she wanted to. He wanted her to love him.
After long thought, he decided he might be able to have her fall in love with him if he came to her door dressed as a peasant, and humbly wooed her. However, this posed a tremendous risk for him: he might be rejected. As king, he was used to having his slightest wish obeyed instantly. Dare he risk rejection?
He dressed himself in rags and knocked at her door. The maiden almost shut the door in the king's face, but he smiled at her and she decided to take a walk with him...
**
This is the fragment of a fairy tale that I don't know where I heard it from. It's all I remember, and I've never run across it again -- possibly when I was very little my babysitter just made it up for me. I've always loved it. I've kicked around the idea of adapting this into a premise for a modern novel, so if I do this you'll know where it came from.
Story is a powerful medium, I believe, because it can resonate. At its best, story touches something deep within our hearts and therefore allows messages to penetrate into the mind. While writing my first novel, I became fascinated with the structure of story, and in my typical obsessive-compulsive manner tore apart more than 20 films and novels to see how they were put together. I timed or word-counted each scene, calculated percentages etc., then laid different stories side by side to understand the patterns that might be present.
Recognizing the pattern in story is not a formula. I liken it to sketching a face. An artist will tell you that a person's eyes are about halfway down the head, and are separated by another eye width. The tips of the ears land at an imaginary horizontal line about eyebrow height. The bottom of the nose lands an eye-width below the bottom of the eyes, and so forth. Faces are infinitely varied, yet if the artist ignores these rough proportions, no matter how beautifully drawn the face will always look "wrong."
As I analyzed story after story, I was struck with how there was only one pattern. It is as if we humans have an innate sense of story that is detailed, yet unvarying. The closer the novel or film conforms to this innate pattern, the more it resonates within us. I am currently developing an algorithm for step-wise story development, and writing up my findings that I hope to publish next year.
Interestingly, the story of the last week of Jesus' life before crucifixion as recorded in the Bible completely follows the story pattern. Jesus is an itinerant preacher (ordinary world) who decides to enter Jerusalem for the Passover by riding in on a donkey (inciting incident). He antagonizes the Jewish authorities who don't know how they can get rid of him. Then, Judas approaches the authorities and offers to betray Jesus (door). In the meantime, Jesus preaches, visits friends, then prepares with his disciples for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Last Supper). Judas runs off to tell the authorities where Jesus is (midpoint). After dinner Jesus leads disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane and prays for strength (solving hidden need). The authorities arrest Jesus (antagonists get stronger) and at trial find him guilty and worthy of death. In the morning Jesus appears in front of Pontius Pilate so that Pilate can ratify the verdict (slide; Snyder's whiff of death; nature of climax is now clearly seen). Jesus is crucified and dies (darkest moment). Two days later Peter and John go to the tomb and find it opened (help from outside). Jesus appears as a conqueror of death that demonstrates his death was sufficient payment for sin (climax), then stays on Earth 40 more days before ascending into Heaven (resolution).
Since I believe that everything is related to everything else, sometimes I wonder why it might be that the story is shaped like this. I've previously mentioned that I came to faith in the Christian God under protest through study of the historic circumstances surrounding the death of Jesus -- there is good objective evidence for the resurrection; check out my website at http://www.amydeardon.com/ I like to think that maybe God Himself placed this story structure within us as yet one more way that humans may respond to His call.
Hmm. It's nice to think about, anyway. Have a wonderful day, my dear friends.
He was a good and wise king. The king was so wise that he knew love --true love, sacrificial love -- was more valuable than anything else. If he came to the maiden, majestic in his kingly robes and surrounded by servants, then of course she would go with him, but he didn't want this. He wanted her to go with him without being overwhelmed, because she wanted to. He wanted her to love him.
After long thought, he decided he might be able to have her fall in love with him if he came to her door dressed as a peasant, and humbly wooed her. However, this posed a tremendous risk for him: he might be rejected. As king, he was used to having his slightest wish obeyed instantly. Dare he risk rejection?
He dressed himself in rags and knocked at her door. The maiden almost shut the door in the king's face, but he smiled at her and she decided to take a walk with him...
**
This is the fragment of a fairy tale that I don't know where I heard it from. It's all I remember, and I've never run across it again -- possibly when I was very little my babysitter just made it up for me. I've always loved it. I've kicked around the idea of adapting this into a premise for a modern novel, so if I do this you'll know where it came from.
Story is a powerful medium, I believe, because it can resonate. At its best, story touches something deep within our hearts and therefore allows messages to penetrate into the mind. While writing my first novel, I became fascinated with the structure of story, and in my typical obsessive-compulsive manner tore apart more than 20 films and novels to see how they were put together. I timed or word-counted each scene, calculated percentages etc., then laid different stories side by side to understand the patterns that might be present.
Recognizing the pattern in story is not a formula. I liken it to sketching a face. An artist will tell you that a person's eyes are about halfway down the head, and are separated by another eye width. The tips of the ears land at an imaginary horizontal line about eyebrow height. The bottom of the nose lands an eye-width below the bottom of the eyes, and so forth. Faces are infinitely varied, yet if the artist ignores these rough proportions, no matter how beautifully drawn the face will always look "wrong."
As I analyzed story after story, I was struck with how there was only one pattern. It is as if we humans have an innate sense of story that is detailed, yet unvarying. The closer the novel or film conforms to this innate pattern, the more it resonates within us. I am currently developing an algorithm for step-wise story development, and writing up my findings that I hope to publish next year.
Interestingly, the story of the last week of Jesus' life before crucifixion as recorded in the Bible completely follows the story pattern. Jesus is an itinerant preacher (ordinary world) who decides to enter Jerusalem for the Passover by riding in on a donkey (inciting incident). He antagonizes the Jewish authorities who don't know how they can get rid of him. Then, Judas approaches the authorities and offers to betray Jesus (door). In the meantime, Jesus preaches, visits friends, then prepares with his disciples for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Last Supper). Judas runs off to tell the authorities where Jesus is (midpoint). After dinner Jesus leads disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane and prays for strength (solving hidden need). The authorities arrest Jesus (antagonists get stronger) and at trial find him guilty and worthy of death. In the morning Jesus appears in front of Pontius Pilate so that Pilate can ratify the verdict (slide; Snyder's whiff of death; nature of climax is now clearly seen). Jesus is crucified and dies (darkest moment). Two days later Peter and John go to the tomb and find it opened (help from outside). Jesus appears as a conqueror of death that demonstrates his death was sufficient payment for sin (climax), then stays on Earth 40 more days before ascending into Heaven (resolution).
Since I believe that everything is related to everything else, sometimes I wonder why it might be that the story is shaped like this. I've previously mentioned that I came to faith in the Christian God under protest through study of the historic circumstances surrounding the death of Jesus -- there is good objective evidence for the resurrection; check out my website at http://www.amydeardon.com/ I like to think that maybe God Himself placed this story structure within us as yet one more way that humans may respond to His call.
Hmm. It's nice to think about, anyway. Have a wonderful day, my dear friends.
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