Continued from 8/22 blog post: One of the most gratifying aspects of reading and going to the theater is the experience of living someone else's life (meaning to enter into the protagonist's skin) and surviving a Crisis. Stories give us the idea that we, too, can survive the dark night of the soul and know that moment when consciousness slays the ego. Suspense builds as we read or watch for what the character does next. When we, in real life, get hit with a Crisis, we can either accept what is …
Plot Question & Answer; Meaning of the Crisis
(NOTE: I often use this forum -- the Plot Whisperer -- to answer questions I receive from writers I've worked with. I know each writer's entire story and, since I do not believe in divulging writers' plots, I change the writer's question about her own specific story to the universal.QUESTION:At the Crisis point [between the protagonist and her father]... does she need to confront him any further at that point? Later in the Climax, [she shows -- in action -- the transformative power of her …
Fall Line-up; Writers to Watch, Their Books to Read
WRITERS TO WATCH (books with a Fall 2009 release date by authors who have credited my plot support as helpful to their publishing success): Sounds Like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey (Penguin) Love in Translation by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga (St. Martin's) The House by Anjuelle Floyd (Neptune Publications) The Lodge by David Brandin (iU -- Editor's Choice Award) (If I neglected to mention your book, please let me know and I'll add you to the list.) …
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The Zen of Plot Twists
Even knowing what I do about the Universal Story form and plot, or perhaps because of what I know about the Universal Story form and plot, I marvel all the more at the creative ways authors push at the edges, play with the unexpected, build excitement, and provide plot twists.Creative writing is an art. Writings' artists -- writers -- balk at structure and rail against limitations, discipline and order. (I've written extensively in earlier posts about the biology and rebellious nature of …
Writer’s Journey Mirrors Hero’s Journey
The middle of the Middle is the territory of the antagonists both for the writer and for the protagonist, too.Antagonists, internal and exterior, sabotage the protagonist from reaching her goals. The very same antagonists plague the writer as well. In the Middle, the writer begins to doubt herself. Her way becomes murky. She looks to others for validation. Old beliefs of not being smart enough, good enough, or productive enough turn from a murmur to a roar. She rails against never receiving the …
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