A plot consultation this week reveals to the writer that the scene sequence she believed was rising to the Crisis rather represents the Halfway Point... perfectly.Undoubtedly she was disappointed to find she is only halfway through writing the 1st draft of her story rather than 3/4 finished. Still, she knew the story needed the additional page count and by the time we hung up she sounded enthusiastic and empowered to write her way to the Crisis.Thanks to my background with working with children …
Depicting Character Emotion
To depict character emotion beyond the cliches -- slamming things down and shouting when angry, dancing and singing when joyful -- takes having felt the emotion yourself as a writer or the intuitive ability to detect the subtle exaggeration of common external behaviors that signal deeper emotion.We are not always encouraged to acknowledge our true emotions -- especially so, women, or so I wonder. Women of a certain generation, mine, were taught to be the peacemakers at all cost, to sweep the …
Authentic Details Reflect Character’s Inner Life & Change within the Story
Once you have your first, second, third + drafts written and you're set on the overall plot, major scenes and turning points, character growth and transformation, and have a sense of your overall theme, turn your attention to "every word perfect."I know, by the time you've written countless drafts, you're eager (desperate!) to send your story out for feedback from your agent or to query to entice an agent to request your manuscript. If you can hold back, take the time to print out a hard copy of …
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Freedom for Writers in Santa Cruz
As you write forward toward the Climax of your story, a little voice in your head whispers the need to go back and fix what you now know is awful, horrid or simply not working in the beginning. Over and over you silence the voice, stumbling to the End of the Beginning, the Halfway Point, the Crisis, the Climax, the Resolution.It's difficult to resist the pull to go back and start again.I'm feeling the pull big time right now. I followed the energy to do this wacky YouTube Plot Series. If you ask …
3 Major Plot Lines + 1 in Novels, Memoir, Screenplays
For a story to have meaning, the dramatic action forces the character to grow and change at the least, transform at best.Each of these threads = dramatic action, character emotional development and thematic significance runs through every great picture book, middle grade fiction, young adult and adult novels whether genre or literary, all memoirs and screenplays. All other plot lines are determined by age and type of story. However, one other plot line is in most stories, other than picture …
3 Major Plot Lines + 1 in Novels, Memoir, ScreenplaysRead More
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