From Sharon... 8 Tips for a compelling conflict from ICL

1. Be certain your main character has a worthy, noble goal -- no one likes a shallow greedy protagonist.
2. Consider the tension of a ticking clock. Time limits for reaching a goal will create an urgency that readers find compelling.
3. A plot is one obstacle after another -- never make it too easy for your protagonist.
4. Your main character needs to solve his own problems. Readers like active protagonists who do something, not passive kids who are done to. Yes, parents solve problems in the real world. Guess what? Stories are not the real world.
5. Your main character must act consistent with the person you have created him to be.
6. The story outcome has to matter to the main character. Something must be at stake if he fails -- something big. Look at your story and ask yourself, what happens if my protag fails? Are the consequences great enough to create strong motivation to overcome?
7. Jump into the story at a moment of action, conflict, or excitement. Jump right into a scene where something is happening instead of backing into the story by explaining stuff to us. Even the best conflict won't help a story if your reader abandons you before he gets to the exciting part.
8. Resolution of the story must not leave reader with a lot of loose ends or questions. Readers expect to see the main character reach his goal, or abandon the goal in favor of a more desirable goal. Never give the reader the impression that you just got tired of the story and ended it -- the ending should be emotionally satisfying and logically drawn from the characterization and story details.

Challenging myself to 1k words/day - following sage advice of fellow writers - Promo is good. Keeping up with your WIPs? That's BETTER! Who's with me?! http://tinyurl.com/c4ybmd

Plot & Point of View Discussion - March 23, 2009

Good morning, everyone!

Great session last night - and so glad to have seen all of you. Take a second to find that "Comment button" at the bottom of this post, and press it. "Sign In" and fill out a comment with your name if you showed up!

We're just the TemeculaWriters.blogspot.com - my mistake. Go to TemeculaWritersToolbox, and that is where Bev lives. :)

ANYWAY for those of you who didn't make it (as I often don't) I just wanted to give a quick over view of our session:

A few notes: We had a new member - Kelly - who is an inspirational romance writer - Welcome, Kelly! Ashley is back after several months off - thanks for the warm welcome, everyone.

After Sandy led us in prayer :) we had a group review of James Bell's Revision and Self Editing chapters 3 & 4 - Plot and Point of View, respectively.

Plot:
A review of the LOCK method. (Starts with Lead, ends with Knockout! Read it!)
An animated review of "The Hero's Journey"
Description of the three acts, and the two doors to propel readers forward.

Point of View:
A review of Omniscient Narrator, First Person, Third Person, and How tense the tense you choose can make your story (present tense or past tense).

Finally - we had time (!) to plot out a quick story - which was LOADS of fun for this author anyway. Feeding off each other's creativity, we plotted a story to make any lover of fantasy, romance, adventure, and Christian fiction proud. :) Well done. I'd call dibs on writing it, but I might have to arm wrestle Tyler, Pat, or Sharon and I'd lose to all three!

Have a wonderful day and PLEASE post a comment here. Ask a question if something is still nagging at you - and we're looking forward to our next exercise next month!

Many blessings on each of your writing as you attempt to work these lessons into your craft.

~Ashley

AND Please e-mail me if you need more information on Blog Posting! or would like to Blog--this is an open forum for the WHOLE group.

Next meeting: March 23, 2009

March 23
Review Chapter 3 & 4, Plot and Structure and Point of View (POV)
* Discuss.
* Group plot a novel

Should be lots of fun! See you there at 7PM

~Ashley

Meeting Review Tuesday May 27 2008

What drives your interest in a novel -character or plot? This was the beginning focal point for our Tuesday writer's session. It's a Catch 22 or a round-about if you try to answer the question "Does plot creater character or do characters drive the plot?" We all agreed a well-written combination of plot and character creates the best of winning stories. So don't neglect either one when you're laboring over that blank my story sheet.


Before diving into our 15 word 'catch an editor in the elevator' story line and 250 word synopsis, Dan presented Hunt's basic plot skeleton that describes the movement of 98% of story plots (see diagram below - click to view larger image).

The eyes have it; two problems complete a story structure
one problem for the characters on the surface (Dorothy gets trapped in Oz)
one problem that is less obvious that the reader identifies with (the Wizard isn’t who everyone thinks he is).

The body of the work moves with at least three conflicts after a primary incident that traps a compelling character into a situation from which they can’t escape. The character progresses through the pages to a final conflict – their largest and bleakest moment. This generally ends with an epiphany where realization of the struggle produces a change in character.
So when you have finished your final draft, put a tux on the skeleton and go accept the prize for your award winning story.

Here’s the summary for our 15/250 exercise:

15 word pitch includes:
· protagonist (ex: an archeology professor)
· story problem (saves the Arc of the Covenant from unholy war mongers)

250 word synopsis includes:
powerful, colorful words
character voice, author voice
presented in present tense
plot, setting, main characters
does not exceed one page (page and one-half for high concept novels)

Next week we will be discussing characters. Please email any reviews of this topic to the members of the group.





~Sharon

You're invited...

Welcome, writer's group members!

You're all invited to take part in adding to this blog. A few suggestions before you add your words of wisdom and thoughts of the day, writing news, prayer requests, and anything else you care to discuss...

This is what they call a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) format. You'll notice the text area looks just like word - or your standard e-mail browser. Feel free to play around and jot in an entry.

I also suggest you label your post - either with your name, or the topic you want to discuss - simply choose "Show all" to see post option labels.

Click on the picture to see the highlighted areas for text entry. If you have any questions, drop a comment here, and I'll be happy to help.

The topic next time is Character Development... so, blog to your heart's content! ask questions - post potential reference sites, and we look forward to seeing how we can work together to make our characters "round" as they say...

Sharon will be posting about our Plot Development discussion - and our 15 word pitch and 250 word synopsis or back cover blurbs...

We missed all who didn't attend - and also need votes on how many people are going to need a July/August "summer vacation!"

God bless, and good writing...

Ashley

Elevator Pitch

Hey gang.
Time to get your 15 word pitch in.
Here is the one I'm thinking about for the next book.

A culinary boot camp diva gets a taste of the ultimate comfort food-- grace.

If you are struggling as much as I am with the 250 word, it may be because you don't know your plot.

If you are finished with your book and feel it would help to write a back cover synopsis, go for it. I look forward to reading them. But if this seems impossible don't worry we are planning on discussing plot this month. We will go over a simple plot skeleton. This will serve as an outline for your 250 word back cover and hopefully help your story stay on course.

The next two months will be devoted to the two most vital elements of novel writing. Plot and character. I look forward to all your input.
See you Tuesday,
God bless,
Dan and Denise