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Writing A Book - Tips From An Author: Tip 1
by: www.GetPlotted.com
Any good work of fiction has a basic set of components. Without these various
elements, your book will be unsatisfying, or worse, unreadable. Many new authors
make the mistake of copying or 'aping' an existing writer's style, or a popular
genre - this can result in formulaic or cliched stories that probably won't be
easy to sell to agents and publishers. The one thing to remember above all else
is that any story, when reduced to it's most simple and basic level, can be
described as 'There is a problem. The problem gets solved.' Of course, you need
other components apart from a problem and a solution. You need characters,
participants who can both create and solve the problem. These characters also
serve another role - they allow the reader to 'identify', and make the story
come to life in a way that would otherwise be impossible.
Many good stories rely on the '3 act' structure. Other structures are
possible, of course - as an example, the plot generation software over at www.GetPlotted.com
allows you to extend your novel in any direction your like. The 3 act story has
a beginning, a middle and an end. Each act serves a different purpose, but all
are equally important. Let's examine the opening act. This is a place for you to
set the scene - introduce some of the main characters, for example. You can also
'foreshadow' here - that is, give the readers clues to things that will probably
be happening later in the story. A story about a vigilante superhero, for
example, might open with the young and terrified junior version of the character
witnessing his/her parents being gunned down pointlessly in the city. This
'foreshadows' the development of the child into the vigilante later in the
story.
It is also possible to set up conflict potentials at this point. By this we
mean that a good character always has flaws. For example, if your hero is an
Olympic champion swimmer, it might be useful to create a stress in the character
by showing him almost drowning as a child. The hero has overcome a daunting flaw
in order to reach a goal. Throughout the rest of the story, the character can
always be stressed again to heighten tension, as the reader will never be quite
sure if the flaw has actually been overcome, or simply suppressed. Character
responses to temptation are good ways of demonstrating stress too. Having fallen
once, the reader can never be sure the character won't fall again. You can short
circuit the character generation process by using the character screens at www.GetPlotted.com
- these have literally billions of random characters that you can use or tweak
until they are perfect for your purposes.
In the opening act you should also show the reader who your protagonist and
antagonist are. Most good stories have a 'hero' and a 'villain'. You want the
reader to identify strongly with the hero - a good page turner novel will force
the reader to invest emotionally in the hero from day 1. Note that heroes don't
have to be perfect - the contract killer in 'Gross Point Blank', for example, is
immensely likable because although he is a ruthless killing machine, he is also
emotionally vulnerable and confused about his life. He's also nice to his mum -
i.e. he has characteristics we can empathize with.
You should also set up the basic conflict that will run throughout the story
- what is actually at stake here? In the Lord of the Rings, for example, after
the pleasantries of a birthday party, it becomes apparent that nothing less than
the fate of the entire world is at stake. And while we are on it, which world?
Middle Earth? Modern day New York? Ancient Rome? The far flung future? Explain,
because the seriousness of any conflict is very dependent on the setting. Your
synopsis will need this scene setting - any editor or agent will need to be able
to understand instantly what's at stake, without ploughing through 10 pages of
story. The 'preview' section at www.GetPlotted.com
generates a first pass story synopsis for you, and this can certainly reduce the
time needed to do a good job.
And of course, you can set the overall tone for the novel, and foreshadow the
ending. A Terry Pratchett novel is a comedy from the first paragraph. A Stephen
King novel screams horror / unpleasantness / darkness from page 1. If your hero
marries the heroine at the end of your story, you might shadow this by showing
them as childhood sweethearts in the opening act. You get the idea - build
layers into your storytelling (but don't become TOO complicated!). That way, the
reader will feel like they are getting a full three-course meal in a fancy
restaurant, rather than a Big Mac and fries. At www.GetPlotted.com
stories are generally assigned a genre, and there are many of them, from romance
to crime, to sci-fi or horror. By deciding on your genre first, you won't
confuse the reader later.
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