| WEEK #2:
The Parts of a Story Note: Hyperlinked terms let you click through
to the site's Writer's Glossary.
DISCUSSION Plot. We discussed the main
plot, subplots, and the so-called 20 master plots. Characters. We discussed the
three main types of characters and the
three basic aspects that make
characters interesting.
- THREE MAIN TYPES:
- Protagonists - We covered
protagonists last week and reviewed them this week.
- Antagonists - We covered
antagonists last week and reviewed them this week.
- Supporting characters
- Those characters who are not the central characters, but who are
central to the plot.
- THREE BASIC ASPECTS THAT MAKE
THEM INTERESTING:
- Character flaws - Those
challenges characters have that make them human and interesting.
Character flaws should also impede the character in his quest to resolve
the plot, or make it more challenging for him to do so.
- Character motivations
- What drives a character. In particular, what drives a character to
resolve the plot.
- Conflict - Conflict is the
friction between the protagonist and the antagonist, who are often
working towards different goals and are in opposition to each other.
Setting: We discussed setting, and the importance of the
where and the when of a story. We also discussed the importance of not
faking background details. Action. We discussed action, which is what moves a plot
along.
- Action doesn’t have to be car
chases or gunfights; it’s anything that happens, such as a car chase,
a gunfight, arm wrestling, an intimate encounter, the detective
discovering clues, etc.
- Action should rise and fall;
each action scene should be more exciting than the last, and should
advance the plot towards its resolution.
- The final climactic scene should be the
biggest, and the point at which the
resolution to the plot occurs.
- Short stories tend to have
fewer action scenes than novels,
but the above points still apply.
Resolution. As discussed last
week, the resolution is the end
of the plot: solving the mystery, escaping the bad guys,
rescuing the princess, or whatever.
- The plot must be
resolved.
- The protagonist must
participate in the resolution and not be a bystander. But Watson was
a bystander in Holmes stories, right? Yes, but Holmes was the
protagonist.
- The protagonist must grow or change in some
fundamental way; achieves a goal, learns a lesson, defeats the bad
guy, escapes danger, etc.
Theme: Theme is the broad idea, message, or
moral of the story. I’m a believer that theme will follow a well-written
story containing the above elements. Also, a theme that is forced tends to
be obvious, like being kicked in the face. You can plan a theme if you
like, but it will likely show itself if you follow the above. Dialogue:
- Watch for contrived
dialogue. Dialogue should sound real, not like something from a
bad B movie. To be sure your dialogue isn't contrived, read it
aloud. Chances are you'll notice it sounds bad.
- We'll cover dialogue and
dialogue tags in
detail next week.
Flash fiction: We discussed flash fiction, which is
extremely short fiction.
Depending on who's defining it, flash fiction can be up to 1,000 words
(usually called short-short fiction) or as little as 50 words or even
less. Writing within a set of rules:
The exercise we did in Week #1, where we chose words from lists and wrote
stories, is an example of writing within a set of rules. Flash fiction is
also writing within a set of rules as it insists on a very tight word count. Shorter stories are
easier to sell than longer ones, so no matter how free you are with your
writing, you'll still likely have to observe such rules. The anthology for which you'll be
writing your class stories will be a lot more open, but you'll still be
writing stories that reflect the title.
EXERCISES Reviewing last week’s assignment: We reviewed the
500-1,000-word stories students wrote over the
past week. Students traded off their stories and readers explained to the
class what the stories were about, and identified the protagonist,
antagonist, plot, resolution, and change. I then collected the stories. Flash-fiction assignment:
Students wrote complete stories in exactly 200 words that contain
protagonist, antagonist, plot, resolution, and change. We then read them
aloud. Afterward, we did further exercises with those brief stories. ASSIGNMENTS
Class project: We covered the
publication you'll write stories for. The name of the publication is The
First Line. Visit
www.TheFirstLine.com and read the submission guidelines very
carefully. The key feature behind TFL is that you must use the assigned
first line for the spring, summer, winter, or fall entries. The 2013
lines may not be posted on the front page at the Web site, but you'll
see the CONTEST WINNERS at the upper left to see the lines. In class, we will observe
the TFL guidelines except
for two things:
- TFL says stories should be between 300 and 3,000 words,
but for class purposes, your stories should be between 2,500 and 3,000
words.
- TFL does not require protagonist,
antagonist, plot, resolution, and change. I do.
Outline: For
next week, outline the basics of your proposed story. I'd like to see
your protagonist, antagonist, and basic plot idea, in email before the next class;
otherwise, have them ready by next class. If you know your resolution
and change, that would be good, but many of you will likely not know
what that will be yet. That's okay. But you should at least know who the
protagonist and antagonist are, and at least a skeletal idea of the
plot. REMEMBER: Your story must begin with one of those first
lines! IF YOU MISSED CLASS Write
a 200-word
flash-fiction story that contains the five elements and email it to me ASAP. I will email you further
instructions. |
