Goals create the front story or dramatic action plot of novels, memoirs, and screenplays. A goal tied to a need is even more emotional (readers and audiences connect to characters through honest "shows" of emotion). Tie that need to a higher good is even better.The exotic world of the film, Winter's Bone, adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's novel and screenplay by Debra Granik, and the protagonist mesmerized me to the very last moment, though rarely am I attracted to dark and bleak movies. The …
Behind the Veil
Personal themes pulse from the belly of the novel, memoir, screenplay you're writing.One of my own I wrote in the thematic significance section of the up-coming Plot Whisperer book:Speaking up and speaking out come at a price worth paying.Now, with the book nearly finished, I find the gem promised in stories waiting there in real life for me.Speaking up and speaking are not punishable. Silence is.Speaking out and speaking up are living one's truth, a truth from behind the veil.Write down a theme …
Three Key Scenes
There is the holy trinity in the Christian religion, the holy trinity as a culinary term in all sorts of cuisine and, I hope it is not sacrilege, the holy trinity in stories. Perhaps it's a bit wacky to use the term in plot... what can I say? The three cornerstone scenes in all novels, memoirs and screenplays are:The End of the BeginningThe CrisisThe ClimaxHowever, there is another trio that is my very favorite in the Universal Story because of the power these three scenes produce in stories …
Writing the Crisis
The Crisis of a story hits about 3/4 of the way through the page or scene count and marks the highest intensity scene in the entire beginning and middle of the story. On the plot planner, this highest point signifies the dramatic action plot though keep in mind it is the lowest point in the story for the character emotional development plot.The crisis can be thought of as the climax for the antagonist.I've got two new videos on the youtube Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, …
More than One Draft
Do you understand that writing a novel, memoir, screenplay involves not just writing one draft but many?Therefore, the quicker you write a draft the better. Each time you write a draft all the way through to the end you have a better sense of what the story is truly all about. Do NOT make every word perfect in the first draft, especially not the beginning one quarter of the project. Until you have written a couple, or more, drafts all the way to the end, you have no idea of what is needed in …
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