7 Point Plot: Big Finish

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      The whole book leads up to the Big Finish. The battle can be primarily internal external, or a cunning blend of the two. But even in a book without a villain, the main character struggles against something or someone outside of herself.

      The Big Finish is the lowest, most grueling point of the book for your main character. For this reason, it can be rough on the writer, too. The writer may care deeply for this character. Not only that, the writer knows the character will finally win it all (or almost all). On top of that, it you write your stories sequentially, you may be ready to just get it over with. So it can be difficult to write a convincing Final Battle.

      Winning the final battle does not necessarily mean that everything goes the way your main character wanted. After all, the reader has needs too. Some writers prefer a bitter-sweet ending where a much-loved ally dies selflessly. Or ends with a cliff-hanger. But no matter how the Big Finish ends there still needs to be a Big Finish. And your main character needs to be the star.

      It can be tempting to give too much of a role to allies that you bring to the conflict. They can't just stand around, right? But the book is about your main character. It might be a good idea to stall or neutralize your reinforcements.

      Theme usually comes into play during the final show-down. Theme is what your book is about so it only makes sense for the Big Finish to validate what your book is about. In fact, if you don't know what your book is about and you've already written this plot point, your theme is probably floating around there somewhere.

7 Point Plot: Crisis

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      In the last plot point, the main character came out with a win. The most story-logical next big plot point must, therefore, be a failure. After all, where's the tension for the reader otherwise?

      This Crisis marks the end of the middle of your book. This failure fires
your main character from a catapult right towards the supreme
show-down.

      For this transition to be inevitable, the stakes must be raised. There is usually either a destruction or threat of imminent destruction of a
person, object, or world. Imminent destruction usually has a time
limit attached that the hero must race against – thus also raising
the suspense level.

      The Crisis drives the main character towards the bad guy (or bad event).
The character typically makes a decision because of the Crisis that
causes the final conflit either directly or indirectly. It
depends on your story. Action-focused stories tend to take the direct
approach while character-focused stories may or may not take the
indirect approach.

       The Crisis ends badly for the character but the lessons of the Middle
have been learned. Mostly. This means your character isn't going to
do much more growing in the last section of the book. Which is just
as well since the last section of the book is pretty short and
usually action-driven.

       The Crisis is usually followed by some down-time when characters can
romance, gather resources, and make final plans. But that does not
mean that there is no tension. Your character has already started on
her trajectory towards the final battle. The clock (if you use one)
is ticking. For added tension, I like to place the Crisis for my
romantic subplot during this downtime.

7 Point Plot: Pop Quiz 2

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       This is the second pop quiz. If the Midpoint was about changing from reacting to acting, then Pop Quiz 2 is about changing from loosing to winning. Readers everywhere see this as a sign that ultimate victory is possible for the main character.

      This doesn't mean you make it easy for your character. It needs to look like your character is going to loose – to the reader and the character both – until the big turn around. Sound familiar?        Yup, kinda like the big finish only less intense.

      So why the big turn around? I think there are two reasons.

      First, reader psychology. A win now will make the next defeat – the one that triggers the final battle – all the more painful and unforeseen. After all, the reader has seen that the character can win and there is an emotional high from winning that will make the crash of defeat all the more bitter.

      Second, the character has changed and both character and reader need to know
that the character's goal, growth, or plan is on the right track. If the plan fails, then you switch to another plan, right? So if you want your character to stick with it then she needs a little positive reinforcement.

      But how does the character solve the problems posed by Pop Quiz 2? n a very character-driven approach, the character listens to her heart. She is figuring out her inner conflict, trying to do the right thing, and the insight given by the struggle is what she realizes she needs.

      In the other extreme, the main character can pull out a win at the last minute by learning a new skill, grabbing a weapon, or through the help of hard-won allies (so long as the main character is still the main character of the scene).

      In my own fantasy, I like a tense battle here decided by the inner conflict element. You don't have to choose one over the other, you see. You can combine both approaches. Just keep it tense.

7 Point Plot: Midpoint

         I love the midpoint of novels. I tend to be a proactive person. It is like Midpoints were made for me.

         On the outside, the Midpoint can be new information and/or a confrontation. It is the second-most tense time in your story.

         But what I love most is the inside of the Midpoint.

         The characters have been reacting to their circumstances. During the Midpoint (sometimes in the reaction section) the characters transform from reactive to proactive. Because readers see partly through the character's eyes (but also through the narrator's voice), the reader's perceptions also transform.

         For the joyful adventurer, the Midpoint is usually some kind of revelation. “Oh no, Voldemort is after the Sorcerer's Stone, guys. We have to protect it!” Tension here may come from rapid revelations, prophecies, or a string of clues unraveled.

         For the reluctant adventurer, the Midpoint is usually a face-off against a bad guy – maybe the main antagonist or his stand-in. This is especially the case when the character is so unwilling that it takes an immediate life-or-death situation (with the threat of a future one) to get the character to become proactive about her situation.

         The Midpoint usually comes halfway through the middle. Sometimes it happens sooner but rarely later because readers love excitement. So give them what they want.

7 Point Plot: Hook and Ordinary World

Prickily Hooks (Photo credit: derekGavey)

      Beginnings are wonderful. They really are. Because a book doesn't really begin there. A book usually begins in the middle of action of some kind. Dialogue, a search, a chase, something that grabs the reader's attention.

It begins with a Hook.

       A Hook is usually the first hint of trouble – trouble the hero doesn't recognize or isn't willing to admit. The Hook relates to the main plot – either the internal conflict or the external conflict.

       A Hook's mood will set up reader expectations. A Hook's pace will set up reader expectations. A Hook's conflict will set up reader expectations. Expectations for what? For the rest of the book. So when writing a Hook, think about what is typical for your book.

       The Hook is your stepping stone to introducing your character and that character's Ordinary World.

       The Ordinary World is the setting, characters, tensions, and rules that surround your hero before the Inciting Incident. The Ordinary World shows your hero as he is before he begins to change. It shows the flaws he doesn't recognize or doesn't try to change (yet). It shows the inner conflict that he is doing nothing to resolve. It shows his relationships with supporting characters.

       The Ordinary World is the setting for all action from the Hook until the advent of Big Trouble. Often writers build on the Hook by 1) dropping clues about the Big Trouble, 2) having the hero make choices that make the initial situation worse and worse – eventually causing the Big Trouble, or 3) having the Bad Guy thwart the hero's goal no matter what the hero tries. And within the Ordinary World, the hero's balance of normalcy becomes more and more difficult.

       When you design your Ordinary World, keep in mind that it would be as different as possible from the Adventure World. Even if your character stays in the same town for the entire book, after the Big Trouble hits his world will change – inside and out.

Setting: Bind the Diamond to the Ring

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So you have your characters and your plot. Your characters are are multi-faceted, they are clear to the reader. Your plot is well-planned and connects seamlessly. Both have been polished to a sparkle and a shine. But the two won't fit together without a little help. The characters need a setting to join them with the plot. Just as with a diamond ring, setting joins the two elements into a whole.

Setting is more than just a place to stand. Just as the setting affects the final appearance of the diamond, setting also affects character. Your setting may be flashy or unobtrusive but it helps define your character's shape and limits. Your setting shows off your character. Your character shows off your setting.

As with a ring, the setting in a book is often the weakest point. It is easy to skimp on materials when creating your setting but if you do this, your project may not hold up in the long-term. A solution is to take just as much care with your setting as you do with your characters and your plot. The readers of your book will thank you.

Benefits of a Journal

Journal 2 Feb 2005 pg 2 (Photo credit: Terry Bain)

I started a stream-of-consciousness journal as a form of therapy and heightened self-awareness but soon saw improvement in my writing. I began keeping a typed journal. At first, I wrote maybe 20 pages a month. I didn't know what to write. A year later I write freely and my page count last month was 120+. This included random thoughts, what was happening during my day, how I felt and what I thought about that, blog posts, book and character ideas, and self-motivation, just to name a few topics. But back to how a stream-of-consciousness journal can help your  writing.

• Speed: The more often you write, the faster you will get. It may not pay off right away but think in terms of months and years.
• Fluidity: You will find that you write with fewer pauses, less thinking “what should come next”, because you are training your mind to write without hesitation
• Voice: I found my writing voice in my stream-of-consciousness journal. If you are struggling with this topic, look to where you write most naturally and with the fewest inhibitions. That is where you will find your voice.
• Twists and turns: You can use your journal to brainstorm alternative paths the action in a scene can take. Sometimes writing down the ideas instead of just thinking them can make all the difference.
• Characters: Once your thoughts begin to flow, you'll find yourself writing about whatever is on your mind – like the people around you and your characters. You find yourself writing background and attitudes for those people that you didn't realize you knew. And your knowledge deepens.
• Theme: Looking at my journal showed me what I often wrote about, what were my preoccupations. I realized that the same beliefs and attitudes were imbedded in my books. You can develop these into themes.
• Philosophy: This is somewhat tied to theme but goes a bit further. After a while, you find yourself asking yourself why you write. The answers you come up with are part of your personal writing philosophy.
• Encouragement: When you find it difficult to get around to your WIP, you can remind yourself why you write. What you get and give by writing. What you hope to accomplish. You can be your own cheerleader or bully (whatever works) and be your own motivator.

Revision Step 1: Delete for Conflict!

This blog post looks at what to delete from events in order to improve clarity, voice, logic, and flow. By deleting content in your first step of revision, you won’t waste time polishing material you will only remove later on. And if deleting content leaves holes, you can brainstorm and fill the gaps with something even better.

The blog does NOT delve into different types of conflict, a break-down of what a scene is and is not, or types of transitions. Again, each of those would need its own post. The post carries the subtitle “Delete for Conflict!” because most of an event is made of conflict (I know you know this). But remember to look at the entire event – both before the conflict starts and after it is resolved – because the entire event can benefit from these warning signs.

• Ignores main story goal. The characters are not trying to reach (or prevent) the main story goal. Every sub-goal needs to tie back to that main story goal.
• Lacks conflict, tension, or suspense. The three are not the same. Conflict is a struggle between two or more characters. Tension is the physical, mental, and emotional strain caused by the conflict. Suspense is the reader's uncertainty about how the conflict will end. If you are missing any of them, the reader will probably loose interest.
• Takes tangents. A tangent differs from a valid digression. Sometimes a character will get deflected from the initial scene goal – and that can be fine. BUT: Is the scene goal answered by the finishing event? Can you justify the diversion? Was it somehow caused by the last event or did the even “just happen”? (Hint: the second scenario is bad.) Does the tangent serve some purpose? Ex., foreshadowing, essential backstory. If not, it needs to go.
• Story still drags. When this happens, then the pace may be too slow. Use all the articles as a check-list to see what can be removed. But don't stop there. Also try shortening the length of sentences and paragraphs. This alone will make the story flow faster.
  
  

This is Part 2 of a series of five blog entries that look at deleting to improve Style, Events, Summary and Description, Characters, and Dialogue.

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Three very different book on planning events…

Bell, James Scott. Conflict & Suspense. Cincinnati, Ohio: Wiriter's Digest Books, 2011.

Dibell, Ansen. Plot. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1988.

Franklin, Jon. Writing for Story. New York: Plume, 1994 (republished).

The Excitement of Writing in Any Genre

I definitely agree with the Robin McKinley quote that a friend recently posted. Even with a plot, I don’t know any authors (and I know a few) who are in complete control of the story. The feeling — I’m told — doesn’t go away. Even for award-winning, New York Times best-selling authors. (Which I’m NOT.) I think this excitement goes hand-in-hand with a certain amount of fear. But also like that McKinley says, “if books are going to get written, authors have to be able to write them.” It’s a good chance for personal growth.

Bringing Subplots Back to Life

English: The Thinker (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Even though I have spent my whole month doing just that, I’m having trouble articulating the steps I used. I’m going to pull up Scrivener, look at my notes, and try to reverse the process by listing 5 of the strategies that I used.

• Plan, plan, plan (if you’re a plotster) the subplot’s progress so it never reaches a point of stasis. Create set-backs in the long-term goal that lead the character inevitably towards Points of No Return.
• Try changing the POV (and thus who has the greatest stakes) in an already written scene to that of your subplot character. (This can also help tie the subplot back into the main plot.)
• Introduce an inner conflict that starts off static – until the central conflict knocks it (the inner balance) off kilter. He didn’t like it but accepted it until…
• Show character’s unmet needs. At least one of these probably motivates his/her main goal, even if he/she isn’t aware of it. Have the character take risks to achieve these needs. Consider having the motivations change in response to changes in self-awareness. I’m protecting her for her own good —> I need to be needed but am driving her away. —> I have to change/ make her understand/ make her more dependent on me.
• When writing, don’t take the easy road. Brainstorm and choose a less obvious reaction. Person A: “I hate you.” Person B: “Took you long enough.”

This list quickly got long (20 or so) so I’ll save some for later.