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#how to write a book
raindropsfromheaven · 22 days
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character writing tips
if y’all don’t agree w some of the stuff on this then pls. Be respectful becuz I’m a minor and I’ll report u to cps >:(
ok let’s go! 😭😭
give a character likeable traits but also give them flaws
if the character is meant to be a protagonist then give them more likeable traits than flaws
if they’re an antagonist then give them more flaws than likeable traits
note that that’s not really necessary. And you CAN make ur antagonists nicer and cooler than ur protags but tbh ion think anyone would read that story 😭😭😭
UNLESS the characters change over time 😃 (+ points for character development yay!!!)
Speaking of character development…. Make there be sum. Ion care if there are fifteen plot holes in the fanfic im reading but if Y/N is STILL self destructive by the end of the 70th chapter then blud what was I even reading for (I do actually care about the plot holes but whatever that’s for another day)
p.s., character development is not always the IMPROVEMENT of a characters personality… maybe Ellie grew into a vindictive revenge seeker after the villain murdered her entire family idk who knows
give them strengths and weaknesses
are they super strong? Well maybe they’re super slow too. Are they really smart? Well maybe they’re really physically weak. Balance it out peoples
plsplsplspls don’t make them cringe “u don’t wanna see my dark side 👿👿” sis no
don’t make them hypocrites… the biggest example of this is prolly Zade Meadows when he has sum big ass organisation who saves girls from getting trafficked and rape but then LITERALLY RAPES ADELINE MULTIPLE TIMES … like dude no that’s not kewl ! 😐
“Alastor Evan Thorne” is an acceptable name but “Violet Misty Ebonia Raven Syringe Cornelia von Darke” is not and for the love of god please don’t say that this needs further explanation
this was kinda shit but some of it was useful so yah I guess have fun guys
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davidfarland · 10 months
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David Farland’s Writing Tips: Plotting Your Story
We often begin a story with very little in mind—a powerful image from a dream, a play on words overheard during a conversation, an emotion that we want to capture, a clever idea for a twist. As these ideas coalesce, we begin to form a story.
I often feel that the ideas that give me the genesis of a story are like pieces to a puzzle—a puzzle that I will create. Yet when I first imagine them, I only glimpse parts of a complete image—a flash of blue sky here, the eye of a monster there, a mouse in a meadow.
As I imagine the story piece by piece, a novel eventually takes shape. But I want to emphasize that, for me at least, books don't "take shape" by accident.
I was reading an article recently about Madeline L'Engle, who wrote about how she once went through a five-year dry spell as a new writer. In her memoir The Summer of the Great-grandmother, Madeline recalls telling her mother about people who say they'd like to write books, yet somehow can't. "The reason they don't ever get around to writing the books is usually, in the young, that they have to wait for inspiration, and you know perfectly well that if an artist of any kind sits around waiting for inspiration, he'll have a very small body of work," she said. "Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it."
I agree. Most of my inspiration comes while plotting and composing a book.
Now, as I’ve said before, your plot arises in part from your characters. By that I mean that as you create your characters, you will give them personality traits, a level of genius, a voice, and certain ways of perceiving and responding to the world that limit the scope of how they will handle the conflicts that you throw at them.
Your plots are intricately tied to the conflicts that the characters are faced with. If your character is facing a wife who cheats on him, you will have to deal with that in your story. Your character must somehow come to recognize this as a problem—by discovering that she is cheating. He will then have to figure out how to resolve the problem. He might try getting counseling with her. He might try beating her. He might opt to push her lover into a meat grinder. He might decide to go to the gym and make himself more attractive. Ultimately, he will win his wife back, lose her completely, or perhaps realize that she was no danged good in the first place. But once you select your major conflicts, you're locked into dealing with them.
A novel doesn't have just one plot. A complex novel may have a dozen plots. As I'm plotting my novel, I take each of my main viewpoint characters and create a plot chart for each one. Each important conflict gets charted out.
For example, let’s get to our cheating wife. Maybe that is an external conflict. Our character has to figure out how to handle the powerful and sexy athlete who is courting his wife.
Meanwhile, my protagonist might have other problems. He’s lost his job as a truck driver, and he needs to figure out how to make money—fast! His romance conflict and his monetary conflict will each get their own plot chart.
Perhaps he has an internal conflict. He’s never had great self-esteem, and these double blows are making him feel suicidal. Maybe he tries to figure out how to build his self-esteem. He goes to the gym, listens to Forrest Wolverton tapes, and has an affair with floozy at the local bar. That gets its own plot outline.
Then I go through that same process for every one of my viewpoint characters, and I draw their story arcs in different colors so that I can track them visually. When I’m done, I get a huge piece of paper and put all my plots onto one paper.
By doing this, I can establish a timeline. I can see visually who is going through trouble, what they’re trying to do to resolve their conflicts, how they are affecting one another. This way, I can see how the novel will progress from chapter to chapter, so that I can control my pacing throughout the entire novel.
Thus, I might actually chart nine or ten plot lines for a single novel. In fact, secondary characters who are not viewpoint characters often have stories happening to them, and these too might figure into my outline.
I can recall one novel, Brotherhood of the Wolf, where I outlined twelve plot lines before I began to write. (But please note that when you create that many stories in an individual novel, the book tends to expand dramatically. It is often best to keep your novel down to three main characters. Some writers prefer to deal with only one or two protagonists.)
So, as you plot, consider the value of sketching several story lines at once, recognizing that in pivotal scenes your characters will confront one another and, as a result, change their course of actions and the outcome of the novel in interesting ways.
As Madeline L'Engle said, inspiration for writing nearly always comes when you are doing the work itself. For me, most of my inspiration comes not during the research or brainstorming phase, but during my heavy-duty plotting phase. My inspiration comes as I try to take my roughly drawn characters with their basic conflicts and try to figure out how to plot my story.
With every decision that a character makes, with every course of action they begin, I search for interesting ways that the story might diverge from the norm. In short, I want to find ways to surprise the reader.
A great character is surprising. As a writer, I might give a character surprising motivations to act a certain way. I might have them act in way that is unanticipated, or I might have them react in a surprising way. Can you see that with each decision a character makes, there are multiple opportunities to create surprise, and draw the reader deeper into the tale?
But I have a confession here to make. I don't plot my whole story and then write it all exactly as outline thereafter, at least not in most cases. Some people like to pre-plot a novel, but I find a lot of joy in “discovery writing,” making some things up as I go.
Years ago, I wrote a Star Wars novel where I had to create the plot and sell the book based on an outline. I had a lot of fun outlining the novel, but halfway through writing it, I realized that composing it felt too much like real work—like digging fence-post holes or working on an assembly line. I'd had all of my fun up front, in creating the outline, and thus the writing became drudgery. So, I don't write strictly by plot anymore. Instead, I will have a vague notion of how my novel will end. I then sit down and plot the first third of my novel, write it; outline the next third, write it; and then outline and write to the end.
To my surprise, a few years ago I spoke on a panel on plotting at Gencon in Indiana with nine other New York Times bestsellers. I was surprised to find that all of them were plotters, too, but that we all faced the same problem: we’d plot a novel and discovered a third of the way through that the novel had grown and changed in ways that we hadn’t imagined, so we all had to stop and plot the next third or half of the book. I have theories about why this happens, but let’s just say that it does happen to most writers. So my answer to the problem became, “Plot your novel in thirds.”
Thus, as I write my opening, I find myself getting ideas for the rest of the novel, so that the next third pretty much plots itself—and so on. This lets me keep my creative juices flowing throughout the book while taking advantage of a structured approach to writing.
You see, it’s while I’m deep into writing my work that, quite often, my best ideas come to me. It’s only after pondering and considering alternatives over a period of weeks and months that I suddenly have those “flashes of inspiration.”
I like to announce the books that my friends and students are releasing, and today I have a big one to announce: Elizabeth Chatsworth’s delightful Victorian fantasy The Brass Queen will be released tomorrow. Elizabeth started this manuscript while taking my story puzzle course a few years ago, and I knew from the start that this could be a great one. This one has been featured on the cover of Publishers Weekly twice, so I think that they agree. It’s just so much fun! Check it out there.
Check out www.mystorydoctor.com and www.davidfarland.com for more info!
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thatsbelievable · 2 years
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writing-with-gore · 1 month
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Writing A Story Part 1: What Are Themes In A Novel? 
Hello! Today We’ll be talking about themes in storytelling, and what that means for our novel, book, or hell, even fanfic!
I used to think that a book ‘theme’ was unnecessary, since, yknow, the plot is there to do the theme's job.
But now? I realize that a theme is there for the plot to happen. If the theme wasn’t there, it would be like the writing’s genre was missing. So, themes are very important!
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What Are Themes?
A theme is the main idea that a story tries to convey to its readers.  It can be the message, or a moral that a story is pushing to its readers. The theme is the underlying message in everything that happens. If you can immediately tell who the bad guy and the good guy are, then the story is probably about Good VS Evil. 
So, themes can be both simple and complex, and it is not uncommon for a story to have more than one theme. It’s okay for your theme to be complicated.
However, it is important that the theme is not confusing. 
Here are some examples you can use in your novel!
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1- Forbidden Love:
Forbidden love happens when two people are in love, but shouldn’t be.
Maybe it’s the parents? Maybe it’s society? Class structure, rules, or maybe personal biases? 
Forbidden love can be used in royalty settings, or in a story about homophobia within society. 
EXAMPLE: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2- Coming of age
I’m sure we’re all familiar with this, but let me explain it for anyone who hasn’t heard this term before: 
This is the most universal experience. The coming-of-age literary theme centers around a character who is growing up in some manner. Sometimes, they’re literally growing from a child into an adult.
Other times, they are an adult and are simply stepping into another stage of their life or passing a milestone. This common theme explores self-discovery, change, and growth, and leads to a character’s inner metamorphosis.
A coming-of-age story always shows how the protagonist overcomes internal conflict, so you should be careful to pay attention to the characters’ personal development is critical when writing about this literary theme.
EXAMPLE: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
3- Righteous Justice
In stories about justice, there is a main character who is entirely driven by getting the justice they think they deserve.
Maybe some sort of revenge? Maybe fixing a problem in the system they live in?
In the righteous justice theme, most readers should agree that the character in question is in the right and feel a sense of satisfaction when (if) the character gets what they want.
If you write this theme right, then your readers should feel sympathy for the main character.
EXAMPLE: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4- Corruption
The corruption theme shows how an external influence changes a character throughout a story and serves as a warning to the reader that they, too, could become corrupted if they’re not self-aware.
EXAMPLE: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
5- Family dynamics
Family themes in literature often challenge readers to look beyond blood and to analyze what the true meaning of family is. For the trope lovers out there, consider this as something resembling found family.
Characters may lose their biological family in some manner and then discover a new one, either with another literal blood family or with a group of friends.
A character’s biological family may also become threatened in whatever way.
Whatever the case may be, a family unit is always an important part of the story and pushes the plot points and conflict foreword.
Interpersonal relationships and character development should be at the forefront for these types of stories with these recurring themes.
In the family dynamics theme, the story examines how family members interact with one another, and how those dynamics are capable of driving a plot.
EXAMPLE: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
6- The power of family
The power of the family theme is always positive. 
These stories show how family is a powerful force that can help a character overcome challenges, both internal and external. 
There are many challenges in a Power Of Family theme. However, by the end of the book the conflict has been dealt with and the main message is that with the power of family, anything can be overcome. 
EXAMPLE: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 
Gore's note: I absolutely love this book. I read it when I was nine and I’ve been obsessed ever since!
Hey! I hope you enjoyed today's topic and that it was helpful to you. If you did, then please leave a reply and tell me your thoughts!
Reblogs and Likes would also be very appreciated <3
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noahhawthorneauthor · 3 months
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Patreon News
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Welcome to Noah's Place, where I share resources for indie authors and content for readers. You can find writing resources like character and worldbuilding sheets, indie publishing talk, and how-to posts. For the readers, you can find short stories, excerpts of upcoming work, art, NSFW writing and art, and many other things. Book recommendations and the art museum are free!
I've been wanting to open a Patreon for awhile now, but I didn't feel like I was in the right space to do it. But with a few more books under my belt and a bigger community than ever, I feel that now is the perfect time. This year I plan to expand on the ways I support indie authors, and this is a step in the right direction. Also, it's a good way for readers to become involved in new projects.
Speaking of new projects, do you like choose your own adventure? That's on the roster for this year, along with the next Noah Hawthorne book, a Levena novella, and book three of the Levena series.
Explore Noah's Place here!
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writers4life · 9 months
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Advice For New Writers
Writing is the long game. I've been passionate about writing for around ten years and I'm still a beginner, but I have some useful tips I've picked up that ACTUALLY help you write. So in no particular order...
1. Stop thinking your writing is fragile.
You might have the best idea of your life and jump in full steam ahead, when suddenly you see someone online criticising a genre, or your friend says "sci fi isn't my thing" or you decide that no one will like your book, that it's too tropey, or something like that, so you completely ditch the idea and move on to something new. This isn't going to help you write! You can never write something that everyone likes, so focus on writing something that you want to write for whatever your reasons are. There are some people who like romance, some people like historical fiction, etc. You can't listen to everyone. If you decide you don't like something about your story, CHANGE IT. You're the author, you get to make decision, and change and edit things, and that's fine. Just keep working on it.
2. Write from life doesn't mean write your autobiography.
Most writers will have had people tell them "write what you know," or "draw from your own experiences," and this can be really annoying. When you want to write an epic high fantasy and your relative tells you to "write what you know" it's not very encouraging. But I have a different take on the advice. Rather than writing a play-by-play of your real life, or writing about something mundane that happened to you, take the metaphorical and abstract instead of the literal. If writing about your real life isn't working, instead write a fictional version of something. Example: instead of writing about the event you went to where you hung out with one person because neither of you liked it, write about a character finding friendship when another character is also struggling during a fantasy apocalypse. Change the setting to fit your novel, then take the bones of the thought, the feelings or the interactions, and put it in your story. This will help you make it more real and human, or elf if that's your jam.
3. Keep a journal.
Planning your novel with a word doc dedicated to it and specific plot points can often be stressful because of the pressure to get it right. So instead, keep a journal in which you can write about anything, including your novel or story. This way you can explore ideas and write anything related to them, and get in a creative state where you're more free to brainstorm. You can also write about your life here and use this to feed your writing, by taking bits of your life that you wrote down and translating them to your novel.
4. Break it down to small tasks.
It can be hard to beat procrastination, and sometimes the best way is to break it down into simple tasks. People tell you this all the time, like "break it down to small tasks, just write a chapter and then you'll have one more chapter," but that's not helpful when you're a grade A procrastinator like myself. I mean REALLY SMALL tasks. Just think of a sentence in your head for the next part of your novel, and write it down. Just write at least one word.
That's all folks. Happy writing!!
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juliangreystoke · 1 year
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Have you ever set down to write that book you've had in your head forever? But then you couldn't seem to get any words on the page. Maybe some of these tips can help!
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chaoticcreationfire · 5 months
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Detail is the Key
Detail: It is the key to any book. Us readers fall in love with the world that is built in our minds by the words on a page. It is the detail and depth of the descriptions that captivate our minds. It allows us to accurately feel and experience the turmoil of events the protagonist or characters do.
A few best-selling novels that I believe became the sensations they are today because of the vivid world building their authors underwent are Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Throne of Glass, The Hobbit, The Poppy War, Alice’s Adevntures in Wonderland, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Northern Lights…etc All of these books ooze detail and with detail we can build a world. After all that is why we read: to discover other worlds.
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undercoverwriterlog · 2 years
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1 FREE writing tip that makes you potentially more happy with writing
Are you someone who when asked, 'how's the writing coming?' you immediately get flustered, or say something about your work, and take people's reactions (or lack thereof) like true criticism?
I know I did. And it wrecked my momentum in writing completely. I got deflated so quickly when trying to write novels, and I didn't know why.
TIP: If you don't think it's necessary to update people on your progress, or you just don't want to, you don't have to. Realise that you CAN just say 'it's going well' every time someone asks you so.
Sharing is wonderful, and so is feedback from family and friends, but getting this in the middle of writing your book can stunt your momentum, passion, and story altogether. It might cause you to change your plans, go back and edit the book, or just get writer's block trying to write for other people unconciously.
TRUST ME. Here's my motto:
Trust the process as you're writing your book.
And get feedback before and after it's done.
(of course, this isn't law, you might NEED help and in some cases, feedback from a different perspective helps if you're truly stuck. but in the case where it's just people asking you or you aren't sure on your progress, trust it, at the very least, as you're the only one to have the intentions you desire for your story.)
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clashgraphicsga · 1 year
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How to Write a Book
Researching or preparing to write a book? Understanding how to organize and get your ideas on paper will help you develop and tell your story in an appealing and marketable way.
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clashgraphics.com gathered information and tips to create a step-by-step guide on how to write a successful book that keeps you focused and maximizes your creativity.
Step 1. Why
Define what you want to write about. It may be your own story, a personal struggle with relationships or addiction, a profound or revealing experience, a new perspective on a significant or old issue, or a story from your imagination. Whatever you choose, people adore stories, and we've been learning from them for centuries.
Before you start writing, typing, or overthinking about your book, be honest with yourself about your reasons for writing it. Consider the following:
Are you seeking riches and fame?
Is writing a necessity for advancing your career?
Do you dream about seeing your name printed on a book cover?
Do you have a great story that you want to share with the world?
Can you solve a problem for a portion of the population?
What is my book about?
Why is the story interesting or important?
Who will want to read my book?
Once you’ve defined your writing subject, it’s time to set yourself up for success.
Step 2. Set up Your Workspace
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Successful writers work best with minimal distractions and easy access to materials and references they may need. Also, make sure the location you select works with your writing medium. If you want to write on a desktop or laptop, make sure you have a sturdy desk, adequate lighting, and an easily accessible power connection.
Tip: Pick a comfortable, sturdy, and supportive chair. You may be sitting for hours, and an uncomfortable chair can become a significant (and painful) distraction.
Step 3. Outline Your Story
The writing process is not fixed, but accomplished writers spend considerable time outlining their books before physically writing them. Outlines can be highly detailed chapter outlines or simple guides in which sections of the book are plotted. Regardless of your method, you must have a roadmap or guide for your writing.
Step 4. Research Your Idea
If you’re writing a nonfiction book, you must deeply research your subject matter and location to write about it effectively. Even a fictional work should be grounded in some degree of reality. For example:
A sci-fi adventure (set in space) will be more effective and relatable if the physics and technology draw insights and definitions from reality.
If you’re writing a crime story, research how police typically investigate crime scenes and protect the evidence chain of custody while seeking their perpetrator.
Tip: Interview people associated with your topic. An astronaut can give you valuable insight into what someone experiences during takeoff or weightlessness, while a police detective can help you understand the importance of preserving a crime scene.
Step 5. Establish a Writing Routine
Writing your rough draft requires consistent routines and productive writing habits. Consider the following:
Treat writing like a full-time job
Establish daily word count targets
Schedule writing time and put it on your calendar
Set alarms to help you structure start, stop, and break times
Tip: Set your writing goals based on your speed and deadlines, and avoid adjusting them after you’ve set them.
Step 6. Write Your First Draft
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Write your first draft without worrying about editing. Focus on writing something now, and figure out if it’s a keeper or how it needs to be polished later. To finish a book, you’ll have to get used to writing fast and leaving the editing for later.
Note: Be prepared to spend as much time editing your book as you did writing it, so leave the editing part for later. Focus on getting your story written, and don’t worry about spelling or grammatical mistakes.
Tip: Whenever you experience writer’s block or feel stuck, try referring to your notes, outline, or research to get inspired again.
Step 7. Solicit Feedback
Requesting feedback on your book, starting early and from as many reliable sources as possible, is crucial. Collect their feedback and apply relevant suggestions to the chapters they’ve read and wherever else they may apply.
Tip: Avoid letting your ego keep you from absorbing good or critical feedback. Your friends and fellow writers are trying to help you, not offend you.
Step 8. Edit Your Work
Good books go through several rounds of editing and revisions. You can go through the editing process yourself or ask a qualified friend, fellow writer, or a professional editor to help. Whichever path you choose, you need an honest, ruthless perspective on your writing so you can know what needs re-tooling.
Step 9. Write the Second Draft
The second draft is an opportunity to apply more extensive revisions and edits. It’s also an opportunity to consider more significant, overarching questions that can only be answered after completing your first draft. Consider the following:
Does your book have a consistent tone?
Is there an overarching theme that needs developing and strengthening?
Are there weak parts of the book that can be entirely omitted?
Your second draft provides an opportunity to address more granular questions; Does the book have an appealing opening hook? An impactful conclusion?
Step 10. Publish Your Book
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Now that you’ve finished your final draft, it’s time to publish. Self-publishing is easier than ever with the popularity of online marketplaces and e-readers like the Kindle. If you prefer the traditional publishing route, you can submit a literary proposal to a publishing house (ideally through a literary agent).
Once you’ve successfully published your book, sit back, relax, and start considering ideas for your next book.
Writing a Book
In this article, you discovered essential information, tips, and steps to help you stay focused and on track to successfully write and publish your book.
Knowing how to structure your ideas and workspace will help eliminate annoying distractions while maximizing your writing potential and creativity.
Your lack of structure and preparation will likely result in a lost train of thought, poor writing, unfinished work, and your failure as a writer.
Sources: northcentralcollege.edu/news/2021/05/26/how-write-and-publish-book students.aiu.edu/submissions/profiles/resources/onlineBook/Z3G9E6_How%20to%20write%20a%20book%20AIU.pdf writing.ku.edu/writing-process
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How to Write a Book: 13 Steps From a Bestselling Author
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institutewriters · 2 years
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Series are more popular than ever. We’re in the age of binge-watching television shows and instant gratification. Following TV trends, planning a series can be beneficial for writers too. There's a lot to consider when planning a series, author Jamie K. Schmidt shares her tips for planning your next successful book series.
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davidfarland · 10 months
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David Farland’s Weekly Kick in the Pants—A Story as Argument
When I was a young college student trying to figure out what makes a great story, it soon became clear to me that a story wasn’t just a tale about people in opposition, or characters wandering about in the woods discovering magic rings.
Great stories explore ideas. They help us see the world more clearly, and they expose us to new possibilities.
I recognized that most clearly when I began studying Shakespeare and paying close attention to what his characters did and said, and how they functioned in relation to one another. For example, in “King Henry IV parts 1 and 2,” we follow a young prince, clearly the protagonist, who starts out on his reluctant journey to become a king. He’s a prince who runs about with highwaymen robbing people for sport. Meanwhile, a rising antagonist, Hotspur, is a minor lord who thoroughly believes that the devil has blessed him so that he can become the king.
Each of the potential kings is irresponsible and dangerous, and it begs the question, “What makes a king?” Is it a function of birth? Is the king a pawn of the deities? Or is it a matter of character?
Each of the protagonists of course is surrounded by various other players who have their own supporting roles. Hotspur has a lord who is a skeptic, who doesn’t believe that god or Satan is involved in his quest for kingship at all. Young Henry has a drunken knight who aids him, a complete lout who believes that his own petty thefts are very similar to what kings do when they tax the citizens, and so on.
Thus we see an argument being made, and that argument becomes furthered as we hear from various kings, knights, lords, fools, farmers and whores. Indeed, we see the argument from several sides—emotional arguments, intellectual arguments, pro and cons, and even the inane babbling of fools.
Yes, there’s more than just an argument going on. There’s a story of a young man growing toward kingship, taking on the mantle of authority, becoming a representative of the people, learning to lead, risking his life against those diabolical French and against traitors in his own backyard. But the story, essentially, is an argument.
As I studied, it became more and more apparent to me what Shakespeare was doing and why I liked it. Just as Chaucer originally created the “epic” story in the late 1300s, expressing the views of various types and classes of characters in order to “capture” the world, Shakespeare sought to do much the same by examining various moral and intellectual arguments through his characters.
At the time that I began dissecting stories, it became obvious that contemporary literary theory wasn’t very helpful in describing how Shakespeare’s stories work. For example, why did Shakespeare tend to have pairs of protagonists and antagonists in his stories? What was the function of each of the sidekicks and helpers?
It became obvious that something was missing in literary theory. The ideas expressed by Aristotle just weren’t quite expansive enough to thoroughly understand what was going on in Shakespeare’s stories. It also seemed apparent to me that Shakespeare’s handling of stories was . . . necessary. If one wanted to thoroughly explore an idea, one needed to have several characters who expressed differing views. Without a sizeable cast, the intellectual idea would feel as if it was flat, or even lopsided. You know what I mean. Have you ever read a story where only the protagonist’s viewpoint was expressed? Where one felt as if the writer was merely going off on a rant?
Well, the only way to overcome intellectual flatness is to thoroughly examine the theme.
For the past few years, I’ve been hearing of others who are basically saying, “Hey, let’s start at the beginning and figure out how literature really works,” with the result a new model, called “Dramatica” has evolved. It looks at a story as an emotional and intellectual arguments, and tries to make sense of why archetypal characters seem to come into play in such stories.
My friend Tracy Hickman has embraced a new model, in part, I’m sure, because it provides more answers than many of the old models. I’ll give you a link to Dramatica in a moment, where you can learn more about both the new storytelling theories and learn about some of the products that they have produced for writers.
But here is basically what I want to say about the “argument” form of storytelling: First, it’s just one way to approach storytelling. Maybe you’re not the kind of author who is interested in examining ideas and looking at them from a number of different directions. Maybe you feel it’s wrong to reduce your characters, in effect, to mouthpieces for each side of an argument. You might be more interested in exploring the feelings of young lovers, or reveling in an imaginary setting. Those things are fine, too.
But this approach is helpful for me, for the kinds of stories that I want to tell. So let me just show you the value of this approach.
Early on as a writer, I was introduced to the ideas of the “protagonist and the antagonist,” the idea that every story has two major characters who are placed in opposition. They typically want the same thing: perhaps they are fighting for the control of a kingdom, or the love of a good woman.
These terms have been around for two thousand years, but I realized soon that the story wasn’t that simple. There were other characters involved, characters that your subconscious dredges up and thrusts upon you. These characters often take on different roles—the wizard, the trickster, the faithful guard, the heroine, and so on.
Joseph Campbell of course spent decades studying these characters and their roles, and you can see what he learned about them by reading “Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Campbell’s theory is that these characters or types of characters exist in the mind as “archetypes,” perhaps as a result of racial memories.
I personally believe that there are some racial memories. You can take a baby and put your finger into its hand. When you do, the baby will cling on tightly, just as a young monkey will cling to a vine. That’s an example of a racial memory. But do we have racial memories of shamans, of faithful knights, and so on?
I personally suspect that these come from somewhere else. We have a brain with two different hemispheres—left and right—and these two separate brains are connected by a bundle of nerves that allows the two halves of the brain to talk to each other. So in effect, each of us is two different people.
The right hemisphere of the brain tends to deal with emotional issues. The left tends to dominate when it comes to logic.
So perhaps the right brain says, “I want to be a good person.” The left brain says, “Yes, but we need a lot of money, and the easiest way to get it is to con grandmother out of her fortune.”
Suddenly the two halves of the brain are in conflict. They want different things. Sort of.
Now the right brain replies by saying, “I want lots of money, too, but not enough to act sweet to that miserable old bag of a rotten grandmother.” To which the left brain says, “Look, you don’t have to like her. In fact, what better way is there to display your contempt for her than to take all of her money and then bury her in a pauper’s grave?”
So the argument begins. Do you see that the argument is about two things, how you want to FEEL about yourself, and what you DO? That’s very often the source of internal conflict. Logic dictates one path, decency dictates another. Or perhaps we can put it another way: our sense of decency is stuck trying to figure out which of the logical paths we should choose with our lives.
Thus, with young King Henry, he wants to feel that he’s an honest young man. He wants to be a good king. He tells himself that by hanging around with robbers and lowlifes, he is seeing the world through the eyes of such people, and eventually he will pay back everything that he has taken, and when he unmasks himself, they’ll love him all the more.
So the central conflict in every story, the deepest and most personal INTERNAL conflicts, take place as a character begins acting in an unfamiliar way, is forced toward a course of action that rouses confused feelings. The protagonist must continually answer the question, “Will I be the hero, or will I be the villain?”
But the answers aren’t always black and white. Luke Skywalker might say, “I don’t want to be evil.” But there are shades of gray between good and evil. Do you want to be in the middle? Sometimes being trapped in the middle is worse. For example, in the opening of Star Wars Episode !V, Luke Skywalker is pitted against Darth Vader. Vader seems like the ultimate evil, until we learn that he is only a servant to a greater master.
We eventually discover that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, and that he is fighting some weak but powerful impulses to do good. In short, Darth is caught in the middle between good and evil (as are we all) and is something of a damned character. He may be the chief devil in hell, but he’s still stuck in hell.
Darth Vader then isn’t really the antagonist, the antithesis of Luke. He serves another function in the story, the function of “contagonist.” He works for the emperor and wishes that he could break free. His role as a character is to show us what might become of Luke Skywalker if he goes astray. Luke could become a damned character.
Yet there’s another character that Luke could become, and he has a faithful guardian to show him the way—the Wizard character, Obi Wan Kenobi. Ancient, wise, venerable, Obi Wan is much like Gandalf Greyhame. He is not a great light, a heavenly character, but only a guide, someone who can point the proper path toward enlightenment. In short, Luke could become the “anti-Emperor,” someone who brings new light and order to the universe.
Along with the guide character, there is often a heckler, something of a dark prophet who doubts the hero’s ability to finish his quest. There is also a “sidekick,” which I’ve spoken of before, who works hard to help support the protagonist in his quest.
In short, if you view your story as an argument, then there are a couple of levels to each argument. There’s e intellectual level to the argument, and the emotional level to the argument. The protagonist and antagonist are in essence fighting an battle, but their helpers provide the intellectual and emotional impetus for that battle.
So we have protagonist vs. antagonist; contagonist vs. guardian; heckler vs. sidekick, and all of these are necessary “roles” for a story. By that I mean, not every role requires a different character. For example, you could have a contagonist who also serves as a heckler. Or maybe you might decide that the sidekick and the heckler are the same person, alternately building up your protagonist at one moment, and then tearing him down the next.
In any case, the reason that I mention this is simple. Sometimes when you’re developing a story, you’ll find that it feels that something is “missing.” Somehow, your story isn’t deep enough. So my exploring whether you’re character roles have all been included, perhaps you’ll discover what’s wrong.
Here’s a link to the Dramatica web site, so that you can learn more about this approach to storytelling.
http://www.dramatica.com/theory/what_is_dramatica/index.html
- Previously published
Find Farland’s books and writing tips at:
www.Davidfarland.com
www.Mystorydoctor.com
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johnwickpromo · 1 month
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How to write a memoir?
Learn the essential steps and techniques to write a compelling memoir that captivates readers. Discover the art of storytelling, structuring your narrative, and effectively conveying your personal experiences in this comprehensive guide. Start your journey towards preserving your memories and sharing your unique story with the world. Look here for How to write a memoir
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noahhawthorneauthor · 10 months
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authormdluna · 3 months
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No book will ever be perfect, but I can do my damned best to ensure I do right by each story.
MD Luna, How To Write A Book: From Rough Draft To Finished Manuscript
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