"Where to Begin'

    One night, day or dawn you get this great idea to write a book about something that has made a difference or impact on your life.  But, if you are like most people it just stops there.  How do you carry on? --  you need to write down your idea right away on anything you can find - notebook, steno, used printer sheets, a chalkboard, dry erase board, whatever-- don't let a creative thought slip away.  I carry a small notebook with me all the time to jot down creative ideas when they come to me.  You have to capture them immediately or you won't remember them!  Then copy it into a word document.
     You do not have to start your story at the beginning.  You can start with an event that prompted the idea: A person who has that magnanimous personality that should be a literary figure:  Write about it or them and there your are - you are started!
     You can build your story around that little morsel of meat.  Reflect on your life, listen to conversations of strangers; focus on how they express themselves when in a conversation with someone they are very comfortable with.  The most important bones to a good book - its skeleton - is that the story was meaningful enough to someone to write it down. It will not only make your soul grow, it will have a profound effect on many souls throughout the world!
     Listen to Kurt Vonnegut's letter of response New York Xavier High School in 2006:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2014/apr/11/kurt-vonnegut-letter-students-make-your-soul-grow-new-york

The Starting Point

     Now that you have an idea for a story -- think of a way to begin it.  My college professors always said the best way is to start the story already in progress, right in the middle of something going on.  Perhaps a party taking place or other event and then have your main character enter the scene as a participant or as the celebrant;  I have found this approach to be the most popular. 
     The beginning can always be reconstructed as the story progresses but it is good to have a good focus for where in the timeline of your story to start the plot.  Is it going to start in the present and flashback to the past?  Will it start with just one character doing something?  Will it begin with an event?  Will it be narrative describing the town from a distance and working the description into a room somewhere to begin the action?  There are many questions to ask how to begin and which way to move toward the plot of your story idea. 
     So, today get some paper and figure out where to begin.  Draw a picture in your mind and write it down; do some historical research if necessary to make it time accurate and focus on where the action begins.
     I also suggest getting a shoebox (boot box is better) to store all the items that will be accumalated as you write and research the story.  No need to be fancy about this; it is to keep it all together.

Irvington Press

The Ending

     Now that you have composed the beginning, it is now time to focus on an ending point in your story.  This is not an easy task.  But limit your story line right now and decide how this is going to wrap up.
     This is a good exercise - and it might change as you write - but every good tale has to stop somewhere.  Think of the main idea and where you decided to begin your story and where it will lead.  Maybe the end will  be a lead into a sequel story.  To focus on the point in time to stop will narrow down the timeline and help develop details to the other chapters.
     Make it a simple pargraph to pull the story together.  This is a great exercise to complete the simple framework of your literary piece of writing.
     Take your time and focus on this today.

Getting Started Ideas

January 1, 2011

Gather your thoughts together.  You have a main idea, a beginning point, an ending point so it is now time to use creative writing techniques that I have developed.  These techniques are for short stories and for plays.  Usually for those more interested in submitting writing for contests around the United States.  I know there are deadlines for these writing contests.  Tennesse Williams Literary Festival http://tennesseewilliams.net/ has a one-act play and short story contest deadline is in November.  Ernest Hemingway Festival  http://www.insideflorida.com/event/hemingway-days/  and http://www.sloppyjoes.com/lookalikes.htm Short Story contest deadline is March - so you still have time for that.  Two local Indianapolis playwrighting events are the Diva Fest and the Fringe Festival  - deadline is January 15, 2011 for the Fringe Theater - http://indyfringe.org/

Lesson 1 - Find a growth chart at least 6 feet long (preferably laminated) to hang on your wall.  You can make your own or buy a fun one and have it laminated at a local teacher store.  If laminated an erasable marker is great and you can use different colors for ideas.  When something is definite it can be written in permanent marker on your growth chart.  This is a really great way to outline and focus on the sequence of events in your story. 

Write the Beginning (short idea version) and remember this will most likely change settings.  Then fill in the Ending.   Now let's divide the growth chart into five sections - we will use (Wikipedia) Freytag's Analysis:

 Freytag's analysis

Freytag's pyramid.

According to Freytag, a drama is divided into five parts, or acts, which some refer to as a dramatic arc: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement.
Although Freytag's analysis of dramatic structure is based on five-act plays, it can be applied (sometimes in a modified manner) to short stories and novels as well.

 Exposition

The exposition provides the background information needed to properly understand the story, such as the protagonist, the antagonist, the basic conflict, and the setting. It ends with the inciting moment, which is the incident without which there would be no story. The inciting moment sets the remainder of the story in motion beginning with the second act, the rising action. While the exposition may employ the rhetorical mode also known as exposition, the two are not perfectly synonymous.

Rising action

During rising action, the basic internal conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist's attempt to reach his goal. Secondary conflicts can include adversaries of lesser importance than the story’s antagonist, who may work with the antagonist or separately, by and for themselves or actions unknown.

 Climax

Main article: Climax (narrative)

The third act is that of the climax, or turning point, which marks a change, for the better or the worse, in the protagonist’s affairs. If the story is a comedy, things will have gone badly for the protagonist up to this point; now, the tide, so to speak, will turn, and things will begin to go well for him or her. If the story is a tragedy, the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from good to bad for the protagonist.

 Falling action

During the falling action, or resolution, which is the moment of reversal after the climax, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action might contain a moment of final suspense, during which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt. Summary: The falling action is that part of the story in which the main part (the climax) has finished and you're heading to the conclusion.

 Dénouement, resolution, or catastrophe

The dénouement (pronounced /deɪnuːˈmɑ̃ː/, /deɪnuːˈmɒn/) comprises events between the falling action and the actual end of the drama or narrative and thus serves as the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. Etymologically, the French word dénouement is derived from the Old French word denoer, "to untie", and from nodus, Latin for "knot." Simply put, dénouement is the unraveling or untying of the complexities of a plot.
The comedy ends with a dénouement (a conclusion) in which the protagonist is better off than at the story's outset. The tragedy ends with a catastrophe in which the protagonist is worse off than at the beginning of the narrative.

I think that this is a big chunk of information to analyze for today.  So keep those creative thoughts flowing.

Creating the Conflict

CONFLICT:

Kurt Vonnegut on the shape of stories:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ#t=17

conflict--The primary ingredient that weaves all the other elements together.  The situation that will keep your characters interesting to your reader.  Cause and effect, action and reaction, play key roles in fostering change and facilitating conflict. Conflict creates tension within the plot.  It is the one element that keeps the reader intrigued to your story.

• Conflict is the fundamental element of fiction, fundamental because in literature only trouble is interesting.  It takes trouble to turn the great themes of life into a story: birth, love, sex, work, and death.  -Janet Burroway

I want to help you to focus on your main character today and to decide what type of conflict will build within the plot of your idea for a story.  What type of obstacles your character will face and have to resolve as a basis for the resolution of your story.  There are so many ways to creat conflict:

Yourke's Conflict Checklist:

• Mystery.  Explain just enough to tease readers. Never give everything away.
• Empowerment.  Give both sides options.
• Progression.  Keep intensifying the number and type of obstacles the protagonist faces.
• Causality.  Hold fictional characters more accountable than real people. Characters who make mistakes frequently pay, and, at least in fiction, commendable folks often reap rewards.
• Surprise.  Provide sufficient complexity to prevent readers predicting events too far in advance.
• Empathy.  Encourage reader identification with characters and scenarios that pleasantly or (unpleasantly) resonate with their own sweet dreams (or night sweats).
• Insight.  Reveal something about human nature.
• Universality.  Present a struggle that most readers find meaningful, even if the details of that struggle reflect a unique place and time.
• High Stakes.  Convince readers that the outcome matters because someone they care about could lose something precious. Trivial clashes often produce trivial fiction.

By balancing the opposing forces of the conflict, you keep readers glued to the pages wondering how the story will end. There are five main types of conflict in literature.Conflict is drama between two opposing forces: The protaganist; the main character--the story usually focuses on this characters experiences.  The antagonist is usually prtrayed as the "bad" guy, or the person that goes against the protagonist and what he is trying to do.  When you have sufficient conflict you will be able to move the plot forward and keep the attention of your reader.  If your writing lacks conflict, it will lack tension and will fall flat.

The five most common types of conflict are:

1. Character struggling against anothe character: arguments, conflicting desires, opposing goals, physical confrontations or emotional dilemmas.

2. Character struggling internally with self: internal conflict struggles with moral dilemmas, emotional challenges or desires - the conflict is the character's own soul or conscience.

3. Character struggling against forces of nature: forces out of the characters control.  The characters are the good guys and the conflict is a force out of their control.

4. Character struggling against society: repressed by society or exploited by society.

5. Character stuggling against fantasy/ supernatural/ technology: found in specfic genres such as, horror, science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, mystical books. The conflict is between aliens, poltergeists, robots, divine forces, or supernatural villains where characters call upon thier own strength to defeat the fantastic enemy confronting them.

After thorough analysis of the main idea and the main charcter - the conflict of the story can be intertwined into the first part of the story.  The inciting moment where the real interest begins and the reader is engaged.

So write and start some trouble.

Let Creativity Take Course

Let's Write a bit together:

Write - now is the time to begin to start your first chapter or scene.  Just let your creativity go and begin where you thought you would like to begin or make changes.  Introduce your characters to us and let the action lead up that inciting moment where some tension is created to lure the reader's interest so they want to know how this is all going to develop.

Remember; try to keep the charaters mysterious - don't tell to much.  The ending or other chapters should reveal some events that have been foreshadowed, but that can also catch the reader by surprise.  Let your thoughts flow and try to write off and on whenever you can take an hour or 15-20 minute segments of your day to let your thoughts flow.

If you find yourself sitting and staring at the monitor instead of just letting your creative words flow from the keyboard you might want to try some activities to help get your mind open.  Check out "The Writer's Block" at this link http://www.sff.net/people/LisaRC/  it is very interesting and will help if you have writer's block or if  you just can't get started.  There are exercises to do.

You can also research books or plays that have similar themes as your main idea and see if there are situations or ideas that will spark creative ideas for your story.  This is really a good exercise - just skim through.  You can also read critiques on books that are of the same theme as your story or play and learn the positives and negatives that were discussed.

Some people become afraid that they are revealing too much of themselves and shy away.  Please don't do that-- the imagination is a real thing and is what makes reading so much fun for everyone. A good story stirs the imagination of the reader.  If you enjoy writing, your imagination will help make your creativity less personal and seem more universal to the reader.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish"

Developing the Characters within a Story

Develop your characters:

Your job, as a writer of short fiction--whatever your beliefs--is to put complex personalities on stage and let them strut and fret their brief hour. Perhaps the sound and fury they make will signify something that has more than passing value--that will, in Chekhov's words, "make [man] see what he is like." -Rick Demarnus

Write meaningful Dialogue

Make your readers hear the pauses between the sentences. Let them see characters lean forward, fidget with their cuticles, avert their eyes, uncross their legs. -Jerome Stern

Tips on developing your characters:

• Appearance.  Gives your reader a visual understanding of the character.
• Action.  Show the reader what kind of person your character is, by describing actions rather than simply listing adjectives.
• Speech. Develop the character as a person -- don't merely have your character announce important plot details.
• Thought.  Bring the reader into your character's mind, to show them your character's unexpressed memories, fears, and hopes.

      Point of view is the narration of the story from the perspective of first, second, or third person. As a writer, you need to determine who is going to tell the story and how much information is available for the narrator to reveal in the short story. The narrator can be directly involved in the action subjectively, or the narrator might only report the action objectively.

Yourke on point of view:

• First Person.  "Unites narrator and reader through a series of secrets" when they enter one character's perceptions. However, it can "lead to telling" and limits readers connections to other characters in the short story.
• Second Person.  "Puts readers within the actual scene so that readers confront possibilities directly." However, it is important to place your characters "in a tangible environment" so you don't "omit the details readers need for clarity."
• Third Person Omniscient. Allows you to explore all of the characters' thoughts and motivations. Transitions are extremely important as you move from character to character.
• Third Person Limited.  "Offers the intimacy of one character's perceptions." However, the writer must "deal with character absence from particular scenes."

     On your growth chart help your story develop by adding the conflict from the first chapter that you have started writing and write some character characteristics. Like she cracks her knuckles when she is nervous, she likes espresso, she is fit and athletic...

Dialogue is what your characters say to each other (or to themselves).
Each speaker gets his/her own paragraph, and the paragraph includes whatever you wish to say about what the character is doing when speaking.

Write Meaningful Dialogue Labels
"John asked nervously" is an example of "telling." The author could write "John asked very nervously" or "John asked so nervously that his voice was shaking," and it still wouldn't make the story any more effective.
How can the author convey John's state of mind, without coming right out and tellinig the reader about it? By inference. That is, mention a detail that conjures up in the reader's mind the image of a nervous person.

John sat up. "Wh-- where are you going?"
"Where are you going?" John stammered, staring at his Keds.
Deep breath. Now or never. "Where are you going?"

Go back through your first chapter and edit any dialogue that explains too much and re-write it in a way that doesn't tell --but makes the reader feel the tension.

And contiue to wrtie your story because it will just keep getting better.  Start on the second Chapeter where the rising action begins developing.

The following is a video by one of America's most prolific writer's on "Writing Characters"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgJ809QKmas