One of the more difficult aspects of creating a compelling Dramatic Action plot for highly creative, so-called right-brained writers is to come up with concrete goals for the protagonist.I have written an article for March issue of The Writer magazine that will be out in bookstores mid-February and will not go into all the details about the importance of goals, examples of goals in literature, and how to create them -- you can read the article for more.What I do want to cover here is the …
Flashback versus Memory
A problem I often find in the plot consultations I provide to writers is the misuse of flashbacks.During a plot consultation, a writer outlines her historical novel to me. Before long, the story takes a u-turn into flashback. My immediate reaction is to refocus myself. I quickly scan the Plot Planner I am creating for her for what I know of the story so far ~ the time frame, the place, and the characters ~ in order to keep in perspective the time and place change.If you've read Blockbuster …
Writers on the Hero’s Journey
Last Saturday I taught the 1st in a series of 3 Plot Intensives in Capitola, CA. I covered plot at the overall story level. This Saturday I teach the 2nd plot workshop to cover plot at the scene level. Next Saturday I teach the 3rd and final workshop; Plot for Meaning at the overall plot level.Saturday for the first time I asked writers to fill out the Character Emotional Plot Profile for more than just their protagonist and antagonist. This time, they also filled out one for themselves as a …
Crossing Thresholds
Take advantage of every moment your protagonist crosses from one symbolic place to another. Every threshold has the potential to alert the reader, audience that the character is transitioning from the known to the unknown = creates excitement, expectancy, and an element of fear of the unknown in both the character and the reader.The use of crossing a threshold is especially effective when the character moves from the Beginning (1/4) to the Middle (1/2). After the scene that represents the End …
Blah Protagonist
Character makes the story. Character draws us into the story. The reader and the audience have to like the characters before they will commit to the story.A blah protagonist, passive, and pretty quiet (like writers often tend to be) makes for a blah, passive, quiet story.To spice up the protagonist, give her a goal. The goal has to be specific and quantifiable. Gets her moving. Gets the story moving.Give her something to do.Start the story with a dramatic question:Is she going to... or not? Will …
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