Some writers start out writing a story knowing exactly who and what they are writing about and stay true to that vision from beginning to the end. Others write about one character doing one thing, then switch to another character doing something else, and then switch back to the first character or switch to an entirely new person with different action. Switching viewpoints reveals a multitude of sides to a story. Switching too many times leads to a tangled mess.A writer works on the same …
Crisis versus Climax
She's confused about the difference between the crisis and the climax, and this is after a 5-hour plot intensive (where we began with the climax first and then moved to the beginning). She admits to having reread chapters in my book and watched a couple of videos again. Still confused. "What is the difference between the crisis that brings the protagonist to her knees and the climax?"Then she briefly relates a beginning with unusual characters and a protagonist with a concrete and relatable …
Back to Plot Basics
She reports that some members of her critique group love the beauty of her language. Others complain about her story moving too slowly, that all the scenes seem the same, that the protagonist is "reporting" the story rather than living it. The group gives the piece a B+ for the beautiful language. They call the structure and the pacing poor and give both elements of the story a D.She starts off with two different beginnings. Her desire is to give readers the choice to pick which beginning they …
Memoir and Plot and Structure
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is a character-driven memoir and motion picture of the same name. In this story, the protagonist (I use the term character and protagonist even with a memoirist in order to make the reference less personal and to remind memoir writers to develop their character to show change and transformation) attempts to achieve her goals (outlined below). She also, on a much deeper level, undertakes an intensive spiritual investigation. As a seeker, her focus is on the …
Writers Block
I don't believe in writer's block. From my own personal writing experience and from all the writers I've worked with, I've come to believe that writer's block is more aptly described as a writer who does not know her story well enough.Rather than succumb to the feeling of blockage and to learn more about your story, writers spend time outlining and/or pre-plotting, tracking scenes and/or creating a plot planner. Often, such strategies help to stimulate ideas and the writing begins flowing again. …
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