Another example of what I call the "magic of writing." I just love it when this happens!
In going over scenes with a writer, I ask for the
1/2 way mark / recommitment scene and lo and behold, the scene she tells me about fits the recommitment parameters perfects. She did not consciously write it that way but she also did not get in the way of letting it come naturally.
I find the less our egos interfere and the more clearly and cleanly we can act as a conduit for the muse, the more "magic" like this occurs.
Brings about a pleasing read for a reader and movie for an audience when these natural moments are let to shine.
Used Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak with a group of 15 8 - 10 year old kids. 7 kids opted for private secretaries made up of teen volunteers and other Friends of the Library board members. One of the seven needed brainstorming support only. The other six benefitted from someone else performing the fine motor skills necessary to actually write the story down on paper. Whether they wrote the story themselves or used the help of another, all the kids finished stories in 2 1/2 hours which will now be made into a book by a local publisher for the kids and local library.
Where the Wild Things Are is a simplistic example of the Universal Story form (the paradox of life = that which is simple/small is actually huge. That which is big is actually not much at all.)
The Beginning (1/4) introduces Max, establishes his goal = to be a wild thing, shows his flaw = stubborn and belligerent, and strength = enormous imagination.
The End of the Beginning (page twelve of 37 pages) occurs when his bedroom is no longer a bedroom but a forest.
The Middle (1/2) begins at the precise moment Max undertakes his journey. In the Middle, Max encounters antagonists = dragon of the sea, rough water, Wild Things. The entire middle (6 pages), has no text and shows the unusual, exotic world in which Max now resides = Wild Things making wild rumpus.
Crisis ensues ((3/4 mark = page 29) when Max turns lonely and longs to be where someone loves him best of all.
The End (1/4) begins when he smells good things to eat from far across the world. Though his new friends beg him not to leave, off Max sails.
The Climax comes one page before the end of the book when he is able to shed his wolf suit (metaphor for his wildness) and settle down enough to eat his dinner (something he was completely unable to do at the beginning of the story. He needed to go through everything he does in order to gain the skills necessary to appreciate his ordinary world.)
Simple? Yes. Timeless? The book has lasted for 46 years and the movie is soon to be released.
Sometimes we as writers make things too hard. This simple story is about character transformation which is the basis for every great story. Analyze the plot and structure of your story with this in mind. Hope it helps simplify the underpinnings so you can work your magic in the details.
In the 60s, Curtis Mayfield sings of a new world order, a change of mind for the whole human race. Marie Elena Gaspari dances to it in the 90s. The old world order falling away.
Isn't that what the
Universal Story form is really all about? Okay, go ahead. Roll your eyes. But stick with me here.
The old world order (ordinary world) falls away at the 1/4 mark. The story launches into a new world order (exotic world of the antagonists / the Middle 1/2).
Antagonists from each of the
Five Standard Antagonists serve to trip up the protagonist on her way toward her life goals. The concept of all the other characters (because for the most part, all the characters are antagonists -- perhaps shapeshifting from ally to antagonist, but nearly all the characters challenge the protagonist in one way or the other).
Each of the characters hold up a mirror for the protagonist to better see herself. Yes, even the antagonists. Especially the antagonists.
I am a devout student of plot, the elements of great fiction, the Universal Story form, Character, Action, and Theme. I also am a devotee of physics / the study of energy. Forgive me when I interchange the two.
The energy of a story pretty much ebbs and flow like the energy of our lives. It takes until the Crisis (3/4 mark) before the protagonist comes to understand what the antagonists represent in her life. For us? Sometime, it takes until the very end of our lives before we finally understand what the antagonists in our own lives really represent to us and about ourselves.
In the end, the character and, in turn, we come to understand that the antagonists, be they someone else, society at large, nature, machines, time is nothing more than a reflection of us giving up our own individual power to what we perceive as an authority over our lives.
In real life, we can play the victim.
Not possible in stories. No matter how insecure the protagonist may act, or fearful, no matter how small they play their parts, how much power they relinquish, how poor, how weak, characters in a story never let themselves be victimized, at least not for long. Ever.
An interesting message.
The lesson, gift, elixir the protagonist is given in the depths of despair -- Crisis -- (thanks to the very antagonists who caused her the most grief) she eventually brings back to the ordinary world which ultimately, because of the character's transformation, also transforms and allows for a new world order to emerge.
The work of heroes and heroines in stories and... of common folk, like you and me...
In the End -- the final 1/4 of the entire page or scene count, the protagonist still has foes to confront and overcome. Only now, she is armed with a new understanding of herself. For the first time, her goal is within reach.
The Climax at the end serves as the light at the end of the tunnel. The protagonist moves toward the light -- one step forward toward the ultimate transformation, three steps back, a fight for a couple of steps, being beat backwards.
The Climax is the crowning glory of the entire project. The Climax is where protagonist "shows" in scene her acting in a transformed way -- in a way she could not have acted in any other part of the story because she first needed to experience everything she does in the book to get to the final stage.
The Climax spotlights the character in full transformation demonstrating the necessary new skill or personality, gift or action.
Ask yourself what scene will most dramatically show her demonstrating her transformed self?
Thanksgiving came quickly. Not much advance planning except in brief contemplation when I plotted out vague ideas of food and events. Tradition dictated lunch and Thanksgiving dinner at home. Old family friends to join us for dessert. Next day, leftovers at the beach. Fingers crossed that once again Northern California would offer up one of the best beach days of the year.
Decisions made for who brings what, where and when.... Pre-plotting gives me a feeling of control over that which I know is uncontrollable. As much as I can plot out the events, the dishes, grocery lists, and sleeping arrangement, I know from experience that with the characters involved, disaster loomed.
The End of the Beginning arrives the Monday before Thanksgiving as the first family members trickle in.
Old friends invited say yes. Wednesday spent pre-cooking with Sister One, Mother, and Niece One. The doorbell rings. Niece Two beams at my look of surprise. Niece Three arrives. More sleeping arrangement plotted out. Grocery lists grow longer.
The big day arrives. Antagonists and allies align. Yes, predictably, the fun and surprises led to a Crisis, but this year there was also a personally satisfying Climax at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk on a glorious ride on the Big Dipper, the oldest wooden roller coaster in America.
One of the benefits of working with writers about plot is knowing the Universal Story form inside and out. As weird as it sounds, I live plot. That means I, as the protagonist of my own life, have the power to create Climax after Climax of my own liking.
Sounds simple, doesn't it? The challenge is to stay conscious of my own Character Emotional Development. If I get too caught up in the Dramatic Action of others in the moment, I lose clarity.
In This Show:
2nd graders take social action to go on a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium
Learning with real world effects
Podcasts Mentioned:
100% KIDS
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In this show:
A podcast created with second grade students!
Podcasts and Podcasters Mentioned:
100 Percent Kids, Just One More Book, Mostly News, LD Podcast, Chris Brogan
Thanks To:
Carol Felderman and 100 Percent Kids , Frank for the station ID.
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Another example of what I call the "magic of writing." I just love it when this happens!
Bravo! Fantastic post, thank you. I would love to have met Maurice Sendak.
This is a wonderful way of thinking about you story before writing a word.
The organization can begin from the start, before the mind confuses all else.
Thanks so much.