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Once you have the scene outlined, it is time to develop the content.1. Opening Line: Set up the conflict in the scene.
2. First paragraphs: Orient us: where are we, when is it, who is present, and what do they want?
3. Introduce theme and make sure the goal is understood.
4. Follow a logical chain of events: The action or conversation is followed by a visceral response, then a conscious response, then recovery/thinking/planning, then the outcome which should result in a new goal.
Make sure you show a recovery after all key scenes and turning points.
5. Vary the speed to create a flow that keeps a reader interested.
1) Slow, fast, slow.
2) Slow, medium, fast.
3) Fast, medium, slow.
4) Medium, fast, slow.
Vary sentence structure. Vary the speed within the scene. Nonstop action without resting beats is too fast. All internal narration and narration without action beats is too slow. Highlight the fast parts. Are there peaks and valleys? Have quieter, slower conflicts between big turning points and reveals.
Every tense action scene should have a rise, impact, and fall. Every tense conversation should have a lead up to a tense exchange, a verbal zinger, and a response. Show the recovery, leave a hook with the new complication.
Slow speed includes blend of description, narrative, internal dialogue and narrative, and exposition (i.e. background information). Long cumulative sentences are slow (use sparingly). Facts, review, summary, backstory, and flashbacks are slow.
Use Medium/Normal pacing when the story is progressing but nothing special is happening. Good for setting a scene or transitioning between two dramatic scenes. Give readers a break from the action and slow down the pace. Use an even blend of description, dialogue, narration, and exposition. Include step by step detail. Use compound sentences with limited detail. Use fleshed out dialogue interposed with action beats and short internal thoughts. Focus on a specific encounter or activity.
Use Atmospheric pacing to create a mood or feeling in a chapter. Set a scene, establish tone, or foreshadow events, often all at the same time. Blend physical and psychological description to set the mood. The story is moving forward but the blend of descriptions suffuses the scene with the desired effect.
Use Suspenseful pacing to keep readers on the edge of their seat. Focus on step by step detail and action that work toward but delay the ultimate payoff. Use short, choppy rhythm, then long beats, then short, choppy beats. Suspense is slow but seems fast because the reader speeds up as he rushes to see how events play out.
Someone is being hunted or struggling. Allow the reader to feel anxiety. Dialogue with a little action and description thrown in can be suspenseful, tense. Use description to set up scary mood. Drag out tension. The verbal camera is at a wide angle. The catalyst could be sights, smells, sounds, touch, anxiety. Zoom in closer until on the face or inside head. The climax should be in virtual slow motion, blow by blow focus on the words and actions.
Use fast pace to create tension. Dialogue is fast with little action or thoughts and lots of white space. High action scenes or characters engaged in emotional confrontations are fast. Short summary can be fast. Short dialogue and action beats, base clauses, and short sentences add speed. The verbal camera is zoomed in all the way. Save high speed for important turning points. Focus on one element to the exclusion of all others, just dialogue or narration of action. Leave out description beyond physical action. Use short snappy sentences. Avoid details like left and right that force your reader to think about it. Once involved in the action, switch to longer compound and cumulative sentences. Pause when characters pause to maintain the illusion.
6. Closing line: End with a hook to set up next scene and convince the reader to turn the page.For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
Now that you have the basic concept for your plot and have developed ideas for scenes, it is time to write them. Let's examine what constitutes a scene.
A scene consists of specific characters in one location going after a specific goal at a specific time. Characters can enter and exit a scene. Characters can move from one location to another. The important part is to not waste page time on the boring details of transport from one place to another and to avoid timeline plot holes with starting out in the morning and having it pitch black night ten minutes later. In every scene, we need to know where we are, when it is, who is present, and whether they get what they want.
SCENE WORKSHEET
Scene# ___
Goal:____________________________________________________________
POV:_________________________________________________________________
What are the obstacles involved?:
_____________________________________________________________________
It the goal achieved? ¨Yes ¨No ¨Yes, but ¨No and furthermore
Type of Conflict: ¨External # __ ¨Antagonist # ___ ¨Interpersonal #____
or ¨Internal # ____
Source of Conflict:_____________________________________________________________
Who is involved: ¨ Protagonist ¨Antagonist ¨Love Interest ¨Friends # ___________ ¨Foes#_______________
¨Main Plot or ¨Subplot____
Setting/Timeline:________________________________________________________
Physical Location:(geographic, room or building, outside, inside, in a vehicle, etc.).
____________________________________________________________________
Date: ____________________ Day of Week:_________________________________
Time ___ o’clock
¨ Morning ¨ Mid Morning ¨Noon ¨Afternoon ¨ Evening ¨Night
Season: ¨ Spring ¨Summer ¨Fall ¨Winter
Holiday or other special occasion_____________________________________
Weather or Room Conditions:____________________________________________________
Opening Line: __________________________________________________
Closing Line:___________________________________________________
For downloadable forms please visit http://www.dianahurwitz.com.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
Once you have the premise, the antagonist, the friends, foes, and overall story problem. It is time to break it down into layers. By coming up with at least ten scene ideas for each conflict layer, you can keep the plot moving forward in satisfying curves and twists, keeping the verbal camera on the move.
Layer One: External Conflict
What is the main story problem that all of your characters are dealing with?
These conflicts will test the protagonist’s courage, nerves, and determination.
List at least ten things that will happen to escalate this conflict: snags in the plan, unexpected discoveries, increasing levels of threat, and arrange them in an order that will make the most impact with the final scene being the resolution.
(Examples: finds gun, interviews suspect, confronts best friend, goes on date, looks for answer, can’t find someone).
At each step is the protagonist moving toward or away from the goal?
Layer two: Antagonist Conflict
How will the protagonist and antagonist face off? Use these scenes to reveal how they will pursue and evade or influence one another.
These conflicts will test the protagonist’s knowledge, ingenuity, and strength.
They are battles of will and wit. If the story involves multiple points of view and the antagonist is one of them, these scenes would be written following his or her point of view. All of the conflicts lead to the climactic confrontation with the protagonist.
List ten ideas.
Is the protagonist moving toward or away from his goal?
If these scenes follow the antagonist's POV, is he moving toward or away from his goal?
Layer three: Interpersonal Conflicts
How will the protagonist be affected by his friends and foes?
These conflicts will test the protagonist’s friendships, and loyalties.
Friends and foes can be used in any combination of scenes that fit with your story line. Make a list of Interpersonal Conflicts and who they will be with. Remember, not all are negative. There can be positive encounters.
List ten ideas.
Which friend or foe is involved? Are they helping or hindering?
The fourth layer: Internal Conflict
These scenes test the protagonist's will to continue the fight.
These scenes explore the personal dilemma of the protagonist that will lead to the point of change. He can do this through internal dialogue or dialogue with someone acting as his foil.
This is where you reveal the event that happened in the past and how it changed him. This is him dealing with the death of his partner, the loss of his wife, the child he didn’t save. These scenes can show him struggling with a habit or addiction or an ailing parent or wife.
This often culminates in the section after the climax, where we find out if the protagonist is going to live happily ever after. It can also culminate just prior to the climax. That does not mean other characters cannot be in these scenes or that he is not doing anything. It means his thoughts, reactions and actions illustrate the dilemma that is driving him toward his point of change.
List ten ideas. Is the protagonist solving or complicating his dilemma?
Now arrange the conflicts in the order that work best for your story. Try not to stack too many scenes of any one type together. Keep the flow steady.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
Let's take the information we've developed and place it into a basic synopsis.
In my (word count) _________________ (genre)_______________________ novel,
(title) ____________________________________________________________,
(protagonist)____________________________________________is confronted by
(inciting event)_______________________________________________________,
leading to (overall story problem)______________________________________
and forcing him/her to (story goal)_______________________________________
Along the way he/she needs to resolve (personal dilemma)_____________________
which results in (point of change)________________________________________
Standing in his/her way is (antagonist)_____________________________________
who is determined to (antagonist’s goal)___________________________________.
As a result, the protagonist:
o succeeds and feels good about it
o succeeds and feels bad about it
o fails and feels good about it
o fails feels bad about it)
and learns (theme)___________________________________________________.
These are the bare bones of a synopsis. Making it sparkle requires your word polish.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
Last week, we began our story architecture process with the protagonist and antagonist. This week, we continue to answer questions and add layers.
FRIENDSList the friendly characters and their motivations and/or opinions on the central theme.
Friend #1 Character Name: ____________________
Enters the story in Scene#___________ Exits the story in Scene#___________
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by: ________________________________________________
Friend #2 Character Name: ___________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#_____ Exits the story in Scene#____
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:__________________________________________________________________
Friend #3 Character Name:________________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#_____ Exits the story in Scene#____
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:_________________________________________________________________
Friend #4 Character Name: ___________________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#______ Exits the story in Scene#____
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:__________________________________________________________________
Friend #5 Character Name: ___________________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#______ Exits the story in Scene#______
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:_________________________________________________________________
Friend #6 Character Name: ___________________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#________ Exits the story in Scene#______
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:___________________________________________________________
Friend #7 Character Name: ______________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#______ Exits the story in Scene#_____
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:___________________________________________________________
Friend #8 Character Name: ______________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#______ Exits the story in Scene#_____
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:______________________________________________________________
Friend #9 Character Name: ____________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#_______ Exits the story in Scene#_________
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:____________________________________________________________
Friend #10 Character Name:______________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#_____ Exits the story in Scene#_______
This character complicates or advances the protagonist’s achievement of his goal by:____________________________________________________________
Next week, we continue to add layers by developing the foes.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
Over the next few weeks, during the month of NanoWriMo, I thought I'd walk you through my process of outlining a story based on my theory set out in the Story Building Blocks series of books.
By working through a series of questions you can build a basic story skeleton.
1) What is your initial premise or set up?__________________________________
2) Which will drive your story?
1 If your story is plot driven, it will sit on a genre shelf.
1 If it is character driven, it will most likely sit on the literary shelf.
3) In my story the main character struggles with the overall story problem and learns
(Theme): ___________________________________________________________
4) My protagonist is: __________________________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#___________ Exits the story in Scene#___________
5) If there is a love interest, he or she is: ___________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#___________ Exits the story in Scene#___________
6) As the result of the (inciting event) the protagonist is forced to face the overall
story problem:_______________________________________________________
7) The inciting event forces the protagonist to make a decision or take action to (story
goal): ______________________________________________________________
8) Achieving this goal is complicated by his/her having to deal with (personal dilemma): ___________________________________________________________
9) In achieving (or not achieving) the story goal, the character resolves his/her personal dilemma in this way (point of change): _____________________________________
10) The characteristic/ability that keeps the protagonist from ignoring the story
problem is (character flaw or weakness):
__________________________________________________________________
11) The characteristic/ability that enables him to solve the story problem is (secret
weapon):___________________________________________________________
12) Directly opposed to the protagonist’s goal is the (antagonist or antagonistic force
such as god, society, nature, self) ___________________________________________
Enters the story in Scene#___________ Exits the story in Scene#___________
13) The antagonist’s wants to (antagonist’s goal): ____________________________
14) The reason the antagonist is capable of stopping the protagonist is (antagonist’s
secret weapon):______________________________________________________
15) But in the end the antagonist is unsuccessful because of (antagonist’s character
flaw):______________________________________________________________
16) The antagonist fails in his goal and (antagonist point of change if there is one or his disposition at the end: changed, dead, locked up, free to strike again):
__________________________________________________________________
Tune in next week as we continue to build our story skeleton.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
We have picked a subgenre, developed external scenes that affect the story world, antagonist scenes where the hero and evil face off, and interpersonal scenes where friends and foes help and hinder.
Internal Conflict scenes are where the protagonist debates his belief in ghosts or wrestles with his depression over the death of his mother.
The scientist wonders if he should finally ask his co-researcher out for a date.
He struggles with whatever force is driving him to kill the monster or prove that aliens are out there.
These scenes are sometimes missing in the horror story, unless it is psychological horror. Personal stakes and character change enrich any story.
Whatever his internal struggle is, it should make solving the overall story problem difficult, if not impossible.
For more information on the Horror genre, visit http://www.horror.org.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
We've selected a subgenre, created external scenes and antagonist scenes. Now let's take a look at how the friends and foes complicate the situation.
Interpersonal Conflict scenes are where the protagonist consults a priest about banishing the demon.
He learns from the librarian that all ghosts have unfinished business.
His buddy tells him he is crazy for believing in ghosts in the first place.
This is usually where they learn the monster’s Achilles heel.
The hero finds someone to let him into the witch’s castle.
People will encourage him to stay and fight and some will beg him to flee.
Some people will act for him or against him.
Next week, we'll finish up with internal conflict scenes.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
You've chosen the subgenre and developed ten scenes dedicated to the impact the evil has on the entire story world.
Antagonist Conflict scenes depend on what kind of antagonist you have chosen. There can be a person or an entity that embodies the horror they are confronting.
A dire threat like a virus is better if there is someone who wants the virus to run its course. I am reminded of a film that I saw called The Happening. Even though it was directed by one of my favorites, M. Night Shyamalan, the antagonist was a breeze that killed people and wasn’t really menacing enough. There were no clear stakes in the game either. The horror was caused by spores from trees carried on the wind. The deaths were random. Random isn’t as effective as intentional.
In these scenes, the evil and the protagonist face off with each other.
In these scenes, the protagonist comes into contact with the ghost and asks the ghost why it is haunting the house. The evil entity attempts to kill but misses the hero.
These scenes can also follow the evil entity.
The antagonist POV is rarely followed in this genre, but if your verbal camera is following the antagonist, this is the place to do it.
The object of horror’s motivation is rarely examined. You see the vampire creeping toward the sleeping girl because you know vampires suck blood. The sea monster slithers down a city street from the manhole and will eat people, because that is what monsters do. The serial killer kills because he must. We rarely follow the swamp monster as he goes about his swampy day. That’s not to say you can’t. If the antagonist is a person or represented by a person, you can follow them in these scenes and explore their agenda.
These scenes are a direct confrontation with the horror that has been unleashed. The verbal camera narrows its focus to the protagonist and the source of the horror facing off or the person or entity enacting their agenda.
Next time, we'll look at interpersonal conflict scenes.For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.<
External Conflict scenes follow the effects of the evil on the entire cast or story world.
The intent of these scenes is to scare the pants off of your readers. You have to confine them, torture them with something suspected but just out of sight. The menace has to be believable and constitute a mortal threat to one, some or all. Panic rises. Suspicion shifts.
In these scenes, the protagonist and/or victims are chased down a dark corridor, finds the journal with the ghost’s picture, or searches the library for who used to own the creepy house. They get locked in the cellar by the demon as the house goes up in flames.
In the final external scenes, the threat is removed, unless it is banished to return in the sequel.
List ten scene ideas for how the protagonists and the rest of the cast confront the evil, gain ground, lose, then win (or lose?).
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
No story makes your skin crawl more than the horror story. The horror story takes suspense to a higher, usually more explicit, level and generally contains more graphic material than the Thriller.
The overall story problem in this genre is a mortal threat to an individual or group. Therec can be a mystery at the heart of it, but it is separate from the mystery genre.
Antagonists include the abnormal and paranormal: ghosts, zombies, vampires, serial murderers, killer sharks, giant spiders, viruses, vampires, werewolves or clowns. The antagonist must be nearly impossible to beat and to fail means death.
The reader expects to be not only thrilled and anxious, but horrified and you need to start from page one. You can start slow and build on the horror, but true fans won’t appreciate a slow, horror-free build-up to a final, horrible truth.
The point of the Horror story is to make the readers squirm, scream, and confront their fears either individually or as a group. The fears can be everyday things such as fear of being alone, of the dead, of the unknown, or of the dark. The horror genre magnifies our fears so we can examine them safely.
There must a sense of being trapped in a room, a house, a town, or on a planet that you can’t escape and therefore must turn and face the threat. It’s scariest if the reader doesn’t know where the threat is hiding or where it will strike next. It’s that feeling of “there’s something in the dark, I can’t see it, how can I protect myself from it?” that preys on our elemental fear of being defenseless.
It can also be the “who will die next” plot.
The reader asks: What brought the danger near and how will they get away from it?
There are several subgenres of horror from suspenseful to gruesome.
Alien Horror takes Science Fiction to a darker place. The source of the horror is either on another planet or something brought to Earth from outer space.
Creepy Kids Horror features children who turn out to be evil, possessed by demons or Satan himself.
Erotic Horror features explicit content: sadomasochism, torture, the dark side of sexuality and the sex trade.
Extreme Horror contains explicit violence and is often a “who dies first plot” with no real rhyme or reason other than to kill the victims off in horrendous fashion.
Holocaust Horror contains mass deaths, either in the past or future. They can be due to human slaughter, a rogue virus, monsters, zombies, etc. They are often dystopian or post-apocalyptic settings.
Humorous Horror combines the horror structure with the comedy structure. It is scary, but also funny.
Mind Control Horror plays on our fear of not being in control – especially of our own minds. The mind can be taken over via sorcery or via technology. Victims are forced to act against their will and nature and are horrifying aware of it – unlike a mindless zombie.
Noir Horror uses a gritty, urban setting with cynical protagonists who must fight the horror facing himself or everyone.
Paranormal Horror features a mortal protagonist who must fight off immortal or supernatural threats. These include exorcist tales, possession, ghosts or demons.
Psychological Horror keeps the verbal camera in tight focus on the protagonist. He and the audience are kept in the dark. They aren’t certain what they are fighting until the end. This subgenre can also follow the evil or insane protagonist such as a serial killer, where the protagonist actually turns out to be the antagonist.
Rampant Technology Horror examines our fears that man has gone too far in their technology or achievements. It can feature monster toasters or robots that kill. It can be the ghost in the machine or the machine that steals your soul.
Satanic Bargain Horror features a protagonist who strikes a deal with the devil, like Dorian Gray. They end up paying a horrible price for their decision.
What are your favorite horror subgenres? Can you think of others?
You can learn more about the genre through Horror Writers Association at http://horror.org/
You can join their group on Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/Horrorwritersassoc/.
For the month of October, we will examine story building block layers as they pertain to the horror genre.
For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
Physical obstacles prevent movement, communication, access to a person, the retrieval of an object, and necessary exchanges.
Physical distance prevents access which increases tension.
Time limits put the tension level at full throttle.
These are the types of action scenes that leave your readers biting their nails. The harder the task, the greater the anxiety level for the reader.
1. A physical barrier, like having to break into a safe or out of a cell.
This is a key tool in every genre from thriller t0 romance. Yes, romance. In the Outlander series, there are numerous times when Jamie and Claire must rescue one another from captors. And what is a heist movie without obstacles to the theft?
2. A situational barrier, such as trying to enter an area that is off limits.
Whether you character succeeds through sweet talk or stealth, waiting for them to get past this barrier can be funny, thrilling, or heartbreaking.
3. Physical restraints, like being stuck inside a car, plane, or train.
Or trying to break free from handcuffs or a straight jacket. Your character does not have to be a magician to use this tool. They can be tied up or boxed in. Everyone can relate to the need to escape.
4. Missing the target whether it is a boat, train, airplane, or opportunity.
This is another situation your audience can relate to. The nearer the miss, the higher the tension. Will they get another chance or have to find another way?
5. Limited mobility due to a temporary or permanent physical disability.
Self-healing thriller characters aside, when your character is shot, stabbed, or otherwise hobbled, they will have difficulty doing what comes next.
6. Misunderstanding the time frame involved or being given an impossible timeline.
The ticking clock is arguably the most intense tool in the tension toolkit. There must be an "or else" for it to work properly. Nothing is worse than setting a ticking time bomb that doesn't go off.
7. Physical distances that make accomplishing the task difficult or impossible.
Whether you character has to traverse a hall, a flight of stairs, an eighty-story building, or rush from country to country, your readers feed on the the adrenaline rush your character experiences as he tries to accomplish the impossible.
8. Being misled about the correct destination.
Friend or foe, antagonist or love interest, missing the bus gives your readers a feeling of let down. They can relate to that moment when you realize you've taken the wrong turn, the wrong plane, or walked into the wrong bar.
9. Not being able to touch.
Truly, nothing is more agonizing than watching characters who desperately want to touch each other being kept apart. It can be lovers who are forbidden to love, or a mother reaching for a child who is slipping through her hands, literally or figurative. It can be the grieving loved one trying to reach the dead or dying. This tool can gut your reader or fill them with longing.
10. Different places or times.
This tool works best in the science fiction and fantasy realms where characters are literally worlds or time periods apart. From Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series to the movie Somewhere in Time, nothing keeps people apart more effectively than being in different eras. Your characters can be placed in different planets, starships, or fairy realms. Your readers will hang on to find out how they resolve these great distances.For more about how to craft plots using conflict check out, Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of conflict available in print and e-book and check out the free tools and information about the series on my website.
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