The Rules Of Romantic Comedy

Michael Hauge's Analysis Of Romantic Comedies

1. Hero's goal is to win the love of another character

This is the hero's main goal. He can have other goals, but this one needs to be introduced first and this conflict has to be the last one resolved. When it is, that's the end of the story.

2. The hero must have another goal, one besides winning the affections of his/her romantic attentions.

For instance, in Groundhog Day Bill Murray relentlessly pursues a relationship with Andie MacDowell but he also very much wants the day (it repeats Sisyphus-style) to end.

Two goals are better than one because they keep the pace lively. I thought some of the best scenes in Groundhog Day were those where Bill Murray was trying to escape the town. (BTW, rumor has it that Mr. Murray was bitten by the groundhog and had to have rabies shots!)

Another benefit of the hero having two goals is that the writer can make sure, at some point, they become mutually exclusive.

For instance, in The American President the president wants his crime bill passed but it turns out the only way that's going to happen is if he sells out his romantic interest.

3. When the people on the screen are laughing the audience isn't

Michael Hauge writes,

The driving motivations in romantic comedies actually grow out of immense pain and loss. The plots of the most successful romantic comedies of all time involve unemployment, disease, prostitution, physical abuse, physical deformity, humiliation, ridicule, the loss of one's children, attempted assassination, suicide and death.

The humor then arises from the way the heroes OVERREACT to their situations. They devise fantastic plots, pose as women, adopt false identities, juggle two lovers simultaneously, tell enormous lies, fly across the country to meet a voice on a radio, or do everything imaginable to sabotage their best friend's wedding. (Writing Romantic Comedies)

4. Romantic comedies are sexy

At some point your characters are going to have to confront their sexual desires for each other. The important thing is that if they end up going to bed, "we must see the events that lead to that decision, at least until the moment the two lovers embrace and the camera dissolves away".

5. There must be a happy ending

This doesn't mean that the hero always has to win over the heart of his object of desire and walk off with her/him into the sunset. It does mean that the audience must be left feeling satisfied with the resolution. You want them to feel that the ending was the best and most appropriate one.

6. Romantic comedies always involved deception

Most romantic comedies involve deception. One of the two people involved in the relationship, usually the hero, is lying to, or withholding information from, someone--usually the person the hero is falling for.

This lie will, of course, be found out but this usually happens after the midpoint. Michael Hauge writes:

When the secret is finally revealed or the lie exposed, it will split the lovers apart. In You’ve Got Mail Joe Fox doesn’t tell Kathleen Kelly that his corporation is the one threatening her independent bookstore. In The American President, Sydney Ellen Wade doesn’t know that President Shepherd is using her to get his gun control bill passed. (The 6 Categories Of Romantic Comedy)

5 Things That Must Be True Of All Romance Characters

I'll just list the major points, I encourage you to read Michael's article.

1. The audience must identify with the hero's desire for the romance character.

2. You must convince the audience that the hero and his/her romantic object are a perfect fit, that they are destined for each other.

3. Insurmountable obstacles must separate the two lovers.

4. The romance character must be intertwined with the hero's other goal. For example, in The American President the president's love interest is a lobbyist.

5. The romance character must interfere not only with the hero's desire for them but also with the hero attaining his/her secondary goal.

For example--again using The American President--the president has two goals: to win the heart of his love interest (Sydney) and to get re-elected. Sydney, though, is a lobbyist. This creates a conflict of interest--or the appearance of one--and, in any case, their relationship is hurting him politically. By the 3/4 mark it looks as though the president has a choice: re-election or Sydney; he can't have both.

Michael Hauge also writes about character archetypes and the structure of a romantic comedy. His article is well worth a read: Writing Romantic Comedies.

I'll leave you with this 2:16 minute video of Michael Hauge talking abut romantic comedies. You can read more about Michael Hauge here: Michael Hauge's Story Mastery.

Other articles you might like:

- 5 Tips For Creating Memorable Character Names
- Different Kinds Of Story Openings: Shock And Seduction
- Story Structure

Photo credit: "adam green:castles and tassels" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

5 Tips For Creating Memorable Character Names

One thing I've always envied about J.K. Rowling is her ability to create awesome character names.

Well, that, and her wildly successful stories, but that's a post for another time.

Naming Characters

I have trouble naming characters.

I'll either fall in love with a name that everyone else on the planet hates with a burning passion or I won't be able to think of anything.

And so it was with great interest I read How to Name Your Characters by The Magic Violinist (and with a name like that how could I not be intrigued).

Before we get into naming, though, we need to ask: What are we looking for in a name? What characteristics must it have? TMV writes:

a. The name "needs to be unique".
b. The name needs to be memorable.
c. Your readers--and you, if you narrate the audiobook--need to be able to pronounce it.

One of my all-time favorite names is "Albus Dumbledore" from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. "Rubeus Hagrid" is pretty great too.

Oh, and Dudley Dursley and, my number one favorite, "Severus Snape". That name communicates a lot about the character. "Snape" sounds like "snake" and when I say the whole thing I almost hisss.

But I'm getting carried away! I won't give you all 5 of TMV's suggestions, just two and some links. I heartily recommend you read her article over at The Write Practice.

Remember Your Friends

TMV writes,

I often base my characters off of my friends because my friends are so interesting! When I do that, sometimes my characters end up with my friends’ names. Maybe not their exact names, but pretty close. Kirsten will become Kristen, Sophia will become Selena, and Sarah will become Sara.

Another tip someone gave me was to look at the names in movie credits; while I've never borrowed one whole, it is fun to mix and match first and last names. Often while I'm doing this a great name will come to me; almost as though it chose me rather than vice versa.

Also, TV credits work well, as do names from personal ads. Also I've often looked at statistical data, especially when I'm curious about what names were common in a certain year, or when I wanted a regional name.

Baby Naming Books And Sites

Where would writers be without baby naming sites? I shudder to think.

Fortunately, there are many sites on the web offering oodles of names, and even their meanings and the frequency of the name in different populations.

And all for free!

Here is a site I've used in the past: Behind The Name.
Also, there are some great random name generators out there, in fact Behind The Name has one (and, no, I'm not an affiliate!).

Just Google "random name generator" and you'll find a lot of fun, time-sucking, links.

How do you choose a name? What is your favorite character name?

Other articles you might like:

- Joe Konrath says KDP Select Made Him $100,000 In 6 Weeks
- Book Cover Design: Free Programs For Choosing A Color Palette (Adobe Kuler & Color Scheme Designer)
- Different Kinds Of Story Openings: Shock And Seduction

Photo credit: "the smiths:these things take time" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Joe Konrath says KDP Select Made Him $100,000 In 6 Weeks

Joe Konrath Made $100,000 On Amazon Over 6 Weeks Through Using Amazon KDP Select

That's right, Joe Konrath made $100,000 over at Amazon in the last 6 weeks and he says that's because he enrolled his books in Amazon's KDP Select program. Joe writes:

I just checked my 6 week KDP total, which updated yesterday, and I've made over $100,000.

More than ten grand of that is from Prime borrows (assuming $2 a borrow for March). That more than makes up for my loss of sales on other platforms.

But while the borrows are nice, it's my free ebooks that are helping me sell my backlist. My first Jack Daniels novel, Whiskey Sour, has been free for the last four days, and I've given away over 100,000 copies.

That's the most I've ever given away during a free promotion, and I'm really curious to see how high I bounce back onto the paid bestseller lists tonight. The second in the series, Bloody Mary, has earned me over $8k this month, many of those sales in the last four days because of Whiskey Sour being free.

So I gotta say I've been extremely happy about going all-in with KDPS, even though I did it with some reservations.

Why The Change Of Heart?

That's quite the about-face. Last year Joe Konrath warned indie authors not to enroll their books in programs that demanded exclusivity. In Joe's July 2, 2012 post he writes:

A lot of people ask me my opinion about KDP Select, and I made it known that I have opted all of my titles out of it. I dislike Amazon's desire for exclusivity, because it limits my readership. (Exclusivity and Free)

Why was Joe against enrolling his books in KDP Select? Joe explains his reasoning:

So how effective is exclusivity as a sales tool for Amazon? I've had people email me who bought a Kindle just to read Shaken. But how many more of my fans are annoyed because they own a different ereader that doesn't allow for a one-click purchase of Shaken? How many sales are lost?

My guess is: a lot. Shaken and Stirred have done well, but Blake and I have done better on self-pubbed projects.

For me to be exclusive with a retailer, I have to know the sales I'm going to lose will be made up for with increased sales on the exclusive platform. Long term, that's risky. After the big initial sales push, sales will even out, and years from now the lost sales will really rack up. (Exclusivity and Free)

So, what's changed?

Joe is making a heap-load of money by keeping his books enrolled in Amazon Select. He writes:

As new data comes in, I adjust my opinions. I'm currently making $2400 a day on Amazon. About 10% of that money is coming from borrows. I have years of data from the other platforms, but I've never earned $240 a day from them, even on all of them combined.

Right now, KDP Select is giving me the opportunity to make more money, and I'm taking that opportunity.

Wow! $2,400 a day. I did the math and that means he's making $876,000 a year--just shy of a million dollars!--from his Amazon sales. Any way you look at it that's a lot of money. It's hard to believe that he'd be doing better, even in the long term, if he kept his books with other retailers. What do you think?

Has Joe Konrath's experience with Amazon KDP Select changed your opinion of the program? Would you use it? Have you ever used it?

(Except where noted, all quotations are from Joe Konrath's article Exclusivity.)

Other articles you might like:

- Book Cover Design: Free Programs For Choosing A Color Palette (Adobe Kuler & Color Scheme Designer)
- Story Structure
- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing

Photo credit: "the thrills:one horse town" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Book Cover Design: Free Programs For Choosing A Color Palette (Adobe Kuler & Color Scheme Designer)

Hallelujah!

That was my response on learning about Kuler from Adobe Systems (thanks Passive Guy!).

Kuler: Choose Your Colors

What is Kuler you ask?

Kuler is a site sponsored by the wonderful folks at Adobe Systems that gives designers and non-designers alike the ability to create and save color swatches that those infinitely more knowledgeable than myself have figured out go well together.

You can even load these swatches into Photoshop and use them when designing your covers! (Adobe Kuler, Wikipedia)

Passive Guy writes: If you like a particular color swatch "just click a download button, then import it into Photoshop and you're ready to go"!

Here's a screenshot of what Kuler looks like:

Adobe Kuler (click to enlarge)

Color Scheme Designer

Not satisfied with simply giving us one terrific program to play around with, Passive Guy also mentioned Color Scheme Designer (CSD).

Passive Guy writes that CSD, while it doesn't give you pre-defined color swatches the way Kuler does, allows you to design your own and--this is the important bit--"makes it hard to do them badly".

Yes!

I have been waiting for something like this for a very long time.

In his excellent article, Choosing Colors for Your Covers, Passive Guy steps the reader through creating their own, custom, color palate complete with screenshots of the process.

If, like me, you've struggled with choosing the best colors for your covers PG's post is a must-read. (For help choosing fonts see: How To Design A Great Looking Book Cover.)

Here's a screenshot:

Color Scheme Designer (click to enlarge)

Do you do create your own covers? What programs do you use? Can you give us any advice on how to create a decent looking book cover?

Other articles you might like:

- Different Kinds Of Story Openings: Shock And Seduction
- Trying To Replace Duotrope? The (Submission) Grinder Is A FREE Database Of Fiction Markets
- Chuck Wendig On Story Structure, Part 2

Photo credit (top photo): "sunset at peggy's cove" by paul bica under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Different Kinds Of Story Openings: Shock And Seduction

The Most Important Sentence Is The First

The first sentence is what will entice a reader to continue.

When I browse the shelves at my local bookstore or prowl Amazon's digital shelves, I go to the first sentence of the first page.

The first sentence needs to hook the reader. How does it do this? By getting the reader to ask a question they care about getting an answer to. If your prose can do that, they'll read the next sentence. And hopefully the next, and the one after that, and so on, until the last.

Two Kinds Of Story Openings: Shock vs Seduction

Recently Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's book, Fine-Tuning Fiction, was featured on Jane Friedman's blog (Your Story Opening: Shock vs. Seduction).

Before I read Chelsea's book I hadn't thought in terms of kinds of openings. I knew the first sentence had to contain a hook--that is, raise a question the reader wanted to have answered--but that was all. I hadn't considered that there were different kinds of hooks.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro writes:

A reader is drawn into a story in one of two ways: shocked or seduced. This is called the hook, and it must be in the first three paragraphs of the text, preferably in the first sentence.

First Kind Of Hook: Shock

Here is Chelsea's example of a shock hook:

Private Hammond staggered as the bullet ripped into his leg.

What makes this a shock hook? Here's how Chelsea breaks it down:

- The "character is caught up in action that demands his immediate attention."
- It is implied that the ramifications of the action will be of immediate significance to the character.

This has the effect of alarming the reader.

Also, in this example the author communicates a good deal of background information.

Hammond, the central character of this single sentence drama, is said to be a private, implying military rank. Given this, one tends to assume a combat setting. This lends a sense of urgency to the situation by giving the reader a sense of the stakes: his life.

The sentence alarms the reader; it affects them, it plays upon their emotions.

Also notice that the action involved (a bullet penetrating Hammond's leg) demands a prompt response by the character.

Second Kind Of Hook: Seduction

Here's Chelsea's example of a seduction hook:

Clouds were massing at the horizon, piling up into towers where lightening skidded amid coiling winds.

Seduction hooks:

- Ease a reader into the story
- The hook implies what is to come

Seduction hooks are riskier than shock hooks because they give the reader more time to (potentially) turn from the story and resume the many countless tasks that beg for their attention every second of the day.

Chelsea Yarbro writes:

Pulling off a really strong seduction hook is a major accomplishment, and one that can be overdone. But when used judiciously and appropriately, seduction hooks can be stronger than shocks. 

In the example given, you "may offer the storm as a primary problem—an inhuman antagonist—or you may offer it as punctuation to other action, a complication that will either underscore or intervene in on-going events."

Here are examples of possible second sentences:

• Granny Lawrence pointed her arthritic finger at the sky, muttering that there would be flooding before midnight—she could feel it in her bones.
• From his position in the traffic helicopter, Brad Mayfield warned his producer at WRDO that St. Charles County should be on twister alert.
• The men trudging back from the fire-line watched the sky uneasily, wanting rain to put out the last of the forty-three acre blaze, but wary of more strikes that would ignite new fires.

Examples Of Opening Sentences: Shock or Seduction?

Here are a collection of opening sentences. I won't tell you which books they're from right away, but I'm sure you'll be able to guess many, if not most, of them.

These first lines are all drawn from commercially successful books, some spectacularly so. For each of them, would you say it was a shock opening or a seduction?

1) At daybreak, Billy Buck emerged from the bunkhouse and stood for a moment on the porch looking up at the sky.

2) It happened every year, was almost a ritual.

3) Miriam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.

4) Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.

5) The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years--if it ever did end--began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.

6) "I should feel sorrier," Raymond Horgan says.

7) Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

8) Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery.

9) I've never given much thought to how I would die--though I'd had reason enough in the last few months--but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

(I've included the titles as well as the names of the authors at the very end of this blog post so no one accidentally sees the answers.)

It seems that most of the first lines--especially those which come from genre/category books--have shock openings. I would say that 5, 8 and 9 are shock openings while 1 and 4 seduced the reader into continuing. What do you think?

Are your openings mostly shock or seduction? Do they fall somewhere in-between?

Other articles you might like:

- Trying To Replace Duotrope? The (Submission) Grinder Is A FREE Database Of Fiction Markets
- Chuck Wendig On Story Structure
- To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman's Question

Reference information for the above nine sentences:

1. The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
2. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
4. Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell
5. It, Stephen King
6. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
8. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
9. Twilight, Stephanie Mayer

Photo credit: "julie peel:living in a movie" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Trying To Replace Duotrope? The (Submission) Grinder Is A FREE Database Of Fiction Markets

When Duotrope transitioned from a free to a subscription based service many writers began searching for an alternative.

The (Submission) Grinder

Here's one: The (Submission) Grinder.

The grinder is a submission tracker and market database for writers of fiction (non-fiction and poetry coming soon!). Use our extensive and powerful search engine to find a home for your work. With new features being added weekly we hope to provide a permanent and stable home for your submission tracking.

We believe the value of our product lies in its availability and as such The Grinder is and always will be free to all users for all features.

At the moment The (Submission) Grinder has information about 1539 (817 open) markets and has 601 users.

If you write fiction and can't bring yourself to subscribe to Duotrope, The (Submission) Grinder seems worth a look.

Thanks to +John Ward and +Doug Lance for spreading word about The Grinder.

Have you used The (Submission) Grinder? What did you think? Would you recommend the service?

Other stories you might like:

- Chuck Wendig On Story Structure, Part 2
- A Chance To Meet Stephen King And Help Mark Twain House
- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is FREE for the next week! (offer ends March 25th)

Photo credit: "fleet foxes:he doesn't know why" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Chuck Wendig On Story Structure, Part 2

What follows is based on Chuck Wendig's fabulous post (adult language warning): 25 Things You Should Know About Story Structure.

This is part two of a mini-series, here's a link to Part 1: Chuck Wendig On Story Structure.

The Microcosm Mirrors The Macrocosm

Chuck Wendig writes:

Whatever structure you give to a story is also a structure you can give to an individual act. In this way, each act is like a story within a story with its own ups and downs and conflicts and resolutions.

An example of this is how--in stories at least--things tend to come in threes.

The Magic Of Three

Chuck Wendig writes:

[Omne Trium Perfectum is] Latin for ... “Every set of three is complete.” Even if you ignore all other structural components, this is a good one to keep an eye on — the Rule of Threes suggests that all aspects of your story should have at least three beats. Anything that has any value or importance should be touched on three times and, further, evolve a little bit each time. Every character arc, every act, every scene, every setting, every motif or theme, needs you the storyteller to call it back at least three times.

Further:

You could argue that all stories fall into three acts — and, in filmmaking, if they don’t fall that way they’re damn well pushed. Act One is the Set-Up (first 25%), Act Two is the Confrontation (next 50%), Act Three is the Resolution (final 25%). It’s an imperfect description and damn sure not the only description, and in the grand scheme of things you could, if you chose, distill it down to beginning, middle, and end.

Arcs

Like stories, arcs have three parts, a beginning, middle and end. Chuck writes that "a story comprises a number of smaller and larger arcs". Anything can have an arc, not just stories and characters. For example, "[c]haracters, themes, events, settings ..." can all have arcs.

Your main character's arc--from desire/motivation, getting a goal, encountering obstacles, encountering more obstacles, attaining her goal (or failing to)--lasts for the entire story. Heck, it is the story. But all the main characters can, and should, have their own arc. Many antagonists even have arcs (for more on this read How To Build A Villain, By Jim Butcher).

Chuck writes:

Some [arcs] fill a whole story, some are just little belt loops popping up here and there. Some arcs begin where others end. Many overlap, rubbing elbows or shoulders .... Television is a great place to study arcs (and if I may suggest a show: Justified, on FX). Comic books, too.

Well, that's it! I thought it would take me three posts to get through the material in 25 Things You Should Know About Story Structure, but it only took two. Yesterday I wrote about the monomyth and story structure and, of course, I'll be revisiting points Chuck Wendig touched on such as Freytag's Pyramid, the 7 act structure, and Vladimir Propp's 31 structural steps explicating "the narrative nature of folk-tales (Russian folk-tales in particular)".

Hope you have a great writing day!

By the way, the first chapter of Chuck Wendig's new book, Gods & Monsters: Unclean Spirits, is up over at io9.

What are you working on right now? Are you writing a first draft or editing one?

Other articles you might like:

- A Chance To Meet Stephen King And Help Mark Twain House
- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing
- Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction

Photo credit: "els pets:al seient del costat" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

A Chance To Meet Stephen King And Help Mark Twain House

If you want to be part of a reception for Stephen King and get your own personally autographed book then it'll cost you $250, otherwise tickets are a more modest $25 to $75.

Also, if you use the promotional code, given below, you'll be able to order your tickets on the 19th rather than waiting for the 21st, when sales are open to the general public.

Stephen King In Conversation with Colin McEnroe

This is from Stephen King's newsletter:

On Thursday, July 18, at 8:00 p.m., Stephen will appear on stage at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, in conversation with WNPR radio personality Colin McEnroe. Proceeds from the event benefit the continuing educational and preservation activities of The Mark Twain House & Museum.

How To Get A Ticket

Members of the museum

Tickets will be open for purchase by members of the museum on Monday, March 18.

Membership is available by calling 860-280-3112, or by going to www.marktwainhouse.org. Members will be given a special on-sale code for ticket purchasing.

General public 

Tickets will be open for purchase by members of the general public on Thursday, March 21.

Stephen King fans

Stephen King fans are being given a special opportunity to purchase tickets before the general on-sale date, beginning Tuesday, March 19th, by using the promotional code CLEMENS.

How to make a reservation

Reservations may be made at www.bushnell.org or 860-987-5900.

Ticket prices range from $25 to $75 (additional service fees apply) with a special VIP ticket for $250, which includes a reception with Stephen King and an autographed book.

Read more about this event here: Stephen King In Conversation with Colin McEnroe.

Other articles you might like:

- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is FREE for the next week! (offer ends March 25th)
- Story Structure
- Chuck Wendig On Story Structure

Photo credit: "Samuel L Clemens4 1940 Issue-10c" by U.S. Post Office. Uploaded by Gwillhickers. This file is part of the Wikimedia Commons.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is FREE for the next week! (offer ends March 25th)

The Da Vinci Code Is Free! Dan Brown is coming out with a new book, Inferno.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is free, starting today until Monday, March 25th, 2013. It can be downloaded from any major ebook retailer.

The following is from the LA Times:

Doubleday has announced that it will be giving away free e-books of Dan Brown's international bestseller "The Da Vinci Code" this week. The free digital download is offered in celebration of the novel's 10th anniversary (to readers only in the U.S. and Canada). "The Da Vinci Code" was originally published March 18, 2003 and quickly sold more than 81 million copies.

The free download isn't exactly a conspiracy, but it is, clearly, part marketing: Besides the best-selling art-historical whodunit, the ebook will include the prologue and first chapter of Brown's forthcoming thriller "Inferno," also featuring renowned symbologist Robert Langdon, which will be published in May. The free e-book deal is a natural digital outgrowth of teasing a sequel by including a first chapter in the back pages of a paperback.

. . . .

In "Inferno," Langdon, the hero of "The Da Vinci Code," "Angels and Demons" and "The Lost Symbol," returns to Europe to tackle a mystery involving the poet Dante Alighieri. "The Da Vinci Code" e-books can be downloaded free from all major e-book retailers.

I know a lot of folks aren't fans of The Da Vinci Code but you can't deny it has narrative drive, that can't-put-it-down quality that keeps reasonable people up far past their bedtimes.

Thanks to The Passive Voice Blog for the heads up.

Are you going to download a copy of the Da Vinci Code? Have you read the Da Vinci Code?

Other articles you might like:

- Story Structure
- How To Become A Full Time Indie Author
- How To Be A More Productive Writer: Use A Voice Recorder

Story Structure

This was going to be the second post in a series on Chuck Wendig's ideas about story structure but my muse had other plans.

What follows is a description of a story structure that I think is common to the overwhelming majority of stories I've read, watched or listened to.

Narrative

Before I read Chuck Wendig's post on story structure I hadn't thought of structure in terms of measurement. Meter. The ups and downs, the rises and falls. It's almost like breathing, it's what brings a story to life.

Scenes strung together, like beads, to make sequences. Sequences comprise Acts. Acts, taken together, tell a story.

There is a beat, a rhythm, to story. Pause a moment, listen to it, write with it in mind.

The Magic Of Three

Three acts comprise most stories.

Act One (Approximately first 25% of story)

The First Act is the setup, The Ordinary World. This is where readers meet the characters, start rooting for the hero, learn what his strength is, what he is comfortable with, as well as what his weaknesses are, the things that are holding him back from getting what he really wants, perhaps even what he needs.

Although not all heroes have an inner weakness, many do, and it's here in the setup that it will be introduced.

In the First Act the hero is issued a Call To Adventure, perhaps he even Refuses The Call and needs the guidance of a mentor (Meeting With The Mentor).

For instance, Shrek is an ogre who just wants to be left alone in his swamp. When his swamp is invaded by legions of fairy-tale creatures this acts as a call to adventure because it provides the impetus for Shrek to leave his beloved swamp and search out the king so he can get things back to normal.

This gives us an early look at not only one of the defining personality characteristics of Shrek--he wants to be left alone--but his inner weakness. He wants companionship but he thinks he can't be loved because of what he is: an ogre. So he pushes everyone away.

Act Two, Part One (Starts at about the 25% mark and continues to about the 50% mark)

At the end of Act One the hero answers the call to adventure and crosses the threshold into the Special World. Here everything is different, strange. The hero's strength probably isn't going to serve him as well here, perhaps it even puts him at a disadvantage. The hero goes through a series of tests, most of which he fails, and he meets new people. (The beginning of Act Two is often where the B Story begins.) Some of these will become his stanch allies and travelling companions, some of them will become his sworn enemies.

This time of testing is also a time of Fun And Games. In a movie this is where you have a feel-good montage. Many of the scenes used for movie trailers come from this part of the story. Blake Snyder, author of Save The Cat!, writes that this is his one of his favorite parts to write.

Soon, though, the hero must confront the villain/antagonist, and the hero prepares for his Approach To The Inmost Cave. (One thing to note is that the villain's/antagonist's goal will be such that if he achieves it, the hero cannot and vice versa.)

This part of the story will often contain a moment of bonding. If there is a romance in the story, often the hero and his love interest will deepen their relationship before he heads off to confront the villain and, possibly, pay with his life. If there is no romance, the story will likely still contain a moment of bonding, a pause, a girding of the loins, and a review of the states. What will happen if the hero loses? Who will it effect? What will result if the hero wins?

Act Two, Part Two (Starts about about the 50% mark and continues to about the 75% mark)

Finally the moment of confrontation has arrived--this is the Midpoint of the story--and the hero faces the villain. The Ordeal has begun. Since we know the stakes of the battle, we watch anxiously as the hero risks everything to achieve his goal.
 
After the confrontation, if the hero is successful, he will get a Reward. This will be, in a sense, a false victory. Something else will soon happen that raises the danger, and the stakes. The hero hasn't resolved the conflict, instead he has just made it greater.

In some stories, perhaps many stories, there is no 'win' for the hero at the midpoint, instead the stakes just get bigger; the danger becomes more immediate. Where before it was only the hero's life at stake now it is the hero's entire party, perhaps even his loved ones back home, who are in danger if he fails.

Act Three (Starts at about the 75% mark)

The Road Back is much more difficult than the one which brought him to the special world. Things have radically changed, and for the worse.

Why is this? It could be many things. Perhaps the worst happened and the hero failed in his contest with the villain. Perhaps he won but his mentor, the person he most trusted, whose advice he had listened to and followed since he was a child, who he risked his life for and the lives of his friends, betrays him. Something happens that transforms the hero's world, or his view of it, and not for the better.

I sometimes think of this, the fundamental transition that occurs at, or just after, the midpoint, as having the veil torn from the hero's eyes. He thought he knew how things were, but he didn't. He was a child and now he's an adult and the burden he is being asked to bear will most likely crush him. If only he could resolve his inner conflict, that something that is holding him back from coming into his power, his true self.

But the hero doesn't give up. Even though it seems the entire force of creation has been set against him, he rallies and devises a plan. The plan is clever but it's a long-shot and he must ask more of his friends than he ever has before and right at the moment when the little band seems to be falling apart.

Against all odds, though, it seems to be working, the plan may be successful. The allies find the strength to pull together. Perhaps the hero finds a way to work with one of his sworn enemies.

And then it all falls apart. Something happens to (it seems) finally, conclusively, crush any hope the hero had of achieving his goal. We (the audience) know the stakes, so we know this means that the worst is going to happen. But no. That was only what we thought was the worst. The villain/antagonist gleefully tells the hero that the real stakes are very much worse than he thought.

This is the All Is Lost moment that happens just before the Climax.

At this point a very important change occurs in the hero. He resolves his inner conflict, that character trait, that thorn in his side, that was holding him back from coming into his power, whatever that is. I don't mean a superhuman ability--though it could be--but whatever it is the ground must have been laid for it, otherwise it would be a cheat. Perhaps the hero is finally able to think clearly, perhaps he finally understands how someone else feels (he needed empathy), perhaps he had to release a certain way of thinking that was holding him back.

Something fundamental within the hero changes and, as a result, he is able to defeat the villain and achieve his goal. (In stories where there is no internal conflict--Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark for example--there may be no change. Instead the hero draws upon his knowledge, some characteristic that defines him, that sets him apart. His strength.)

Or not. Sometimes the hero doesn't win. Sometimes the revelation comes, but too late. Sometimes the revelation doesn't come at all.

Whatever happens, there will be an Aftermath where the audience sees the effects of the hero's efforts. How did the hero's Ordinary World change as a result of his adventure? What was his reward? Or, if he failed, what was the cost of his failure? Tie up loose ends, etc. This is the wrap up.

Caveat

I don't want to leave anyone with the impression that there's only one story structure. As Chuck Wendig says, every story has a structure and there are as many story structures as there are stories. No one can look at the structure of a story and say, "That's wrong!" just because it's different.

The structure I wrote about, above, is one I've been thinking about and working on for the last few months. I think (this is my own personal view) that it describes over 90% of the stories I've read/listened to/viewed, or at least parts of it do.

I like using story structures--structures like the above--as springboards to create my own adventures. And, sometimes, if I feel that something is wrong with a story but I just can't put my finger on it, I like going back to basics and studying various story structures as I try and puzzle out what went wrong with mine.

It usually helps!

I think that's the bottom line. If something helps you, use it, if it doesn't, then ignore it. Let your own sense of what is right for you be the bottom line.

Tomorrow we'll get back to Chuck Wendig and, as promised, I'll talk about Aristotle and his theory of tragedy, the magic of three, and how the microcosm mirrors the macrocosm.

“Story Structure” copyright © 2013 by Karen Woodward.

Other articles you might like:

- Chuck Wendig On Story Structure
- To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman's Question
- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing
- Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction

Photo credit: "belle&sebastian:dirty dream number two" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Chuck Wendig On Story Structure

I don't know what I was doing last January, but I let this gem of a blog post fall by the wayside (adult content warning): 25 Things You Should Know About Story Structure. (As you probably know, all things Chuck Wendig come with an adult content warning, so keep that in mind before you click the link. That said, my article is 100% kid friendly; though I doubt many kids are interesting in reading about story structure!)

It's time to correct my oversight. This is the first in a series of posts--likely three posts--that will take a look at what Chuck Wendig has to say about narrative structure. Let's get started!

Every Story Has A Structure

Chuck Wendig writes:

Structure is either something you design as a storyteller or something that just happens.

Structure, on its own, could be either felicitous or infelicitous. Put another way, if a story's structure is like a skeleton, then some stories have entire limbs missing, or growing where they shouldn't.

When this happens, many authors have the gut instinct that something is wrong even if they can't sense the arm growing out of their poor story's forehead. Or something like that. Chuck Wendig's metaphor is much more colorful and infinitely more memorable.

I've often wondered if writer's block is caused by one's muse shouting that the story structure is off. Like spoiled milk just turned, there's a niggling sense of unease; something isn't right.

Structure As Story Architecture

My dad used to love eating sandwiches on the couch while he watched TV, but it drove my mother--who had to clean up the crumbs--nuts! "Father, you'll ruin the couch!" she'd say. One day, dad replied, "Dear, I was not made for the couch, the couch was made for me."

A similar point could be made about story structure. As Chuck Wendig writes,

Structure serves story; story does not serve structure.

Just as you want certain things in a couch--my dad preferred his large, sturdy and eminently comfortable--you'll want a certain kind of structure for a certain kind of story. Chuck writes:

A cathedral is built toward certain considerations: the beauty of God, the presence of God’s story, the need for acoustics, the accommodation of seating, the sacrificial altar, the DJ booth, and so on. You design a structure to highlight the type of story you’re telling. Using a non-linear structure in a mystery story is so that you maximize on the uncertainty and use the rejiggered narrative to create suspense. Structure has purpose. Structure is where art and craft collide.

Two Things Any Story Needs To Have

In practically all stories--heck, in order to have a story--something needs to happen, usually something goes disastrously wrong--and then someone, the hero/protagonist has to fix things and re-establish order.

Certainly something has to change--there has to be a change of state--and the hero must respond in a meaningful way to the change.

Try telling a story in which absolutely nothing changes to a bunch of girl scouts sitting around a campfire. You'd get pelted with half-roasted marshmallows!

Well, no, they'd probably start talking amongst themselves or walk away, and that's worse. I'd rather pick the candy equivalent of napalm out of my hair for the next two weeks than bore people.

Not that I've ever participated in a melted marshmallow fight.

Nope. Never.

Moving on ...

Chuck sums up this point by saying that two things are essential to storytelling:

a) conflict
b) a hero/protagonist who responds to the conflict.

It's important that the hero intends to respond. If someone accidentally puts out a fire that would have claimed several lives--well, that's great--but it doesn't count the same as doing it on purpose. (Some comedies are built on this premise. For example, Mr. Magoo got himself into, and out of, potentially disastrous situations all the while completely oblivious to the danger he was in.)

The hero needs to realize what the stakes are, perhaps be terrified, but he, or she, needs to act regardless.

I'll leave it there for today. Next time we'll talk about Aristotle and his theory of tragedy, the magic of three, and how the microcosm mirrors the macrocosm. Stay tuned!

Update: Here is the next and final post in this series: Chuck Wendig On Story Structure, Part 2.

Do you think about your story's structure before you sit down to write, or are you more of a pantser, making it up as you go along?

Other articles you might like:

- To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman's Question
- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing
- 7 Secrets To Writing A Story Your Readers Won't Be Able To Put Down

Photo credit: "dem bones" by Robert Couse-Baker under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman's Question

Well, not really. It's L.L. Barkat's question.

Jane Friedman--web editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review and blogger extraordinaire--invited L.L. Barkat to contribute a post to her blog.

Nice, right? Jane Friedman has one of the most popular blogs in North America; its reach is enormous. So, what did L.L. Barkat blog about?

It is time, Barkat announced, for experienced writers to stop blogging.

This call did seem to possess a certain amount of Chutzpah, being issued, as it was, on the blog of an experienced writer. L.L. Barkat writes:

[I]n 2006, I started blogging. Over six years, I wrote more than 1,300 blog posts, garnered over 250,000 page views ....

But on Saturday, November 10, 2012, I suddenly did the unthinkable. I myself stopped blogging.

.  .  .  .

Is blogging a waste of time? ... For the experienced writer, my answer is yes … in 2013.

L.L. Barkat's post has, it must be said, the advantage of being unambiguous.

Jane Friedman's Response

Contrary to how it may seem, I'm not here to write about L.L. Barkat's post. No. I'm here to write about Jane Friedman's short but eloquent response.

I don't usually share another person's comment without asking, but in this case I think Ms. Friedman won't mind; it was publicly posted on her own blog.

1. Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's not worth doing

Many writers blog, a lot more than used to even five years ago, and it has become more challenging to attract readers. But, even in this rich reading environment, it's far from impossible.

Besides, just because a thing is difficult (like, say, breaking in as a writer) doesn't mean it's not worth doing. Jane writes:

If it were, then why bother writing fiction or poetry or memoir or essay? Thousands upon thousands of writers are already out there doing it—more so than ever—but yet we all know and agree that a new voice still has the chance of finding an audience.

2. Blogging is less difficult for experienced writers

Jane Friedman writes that  if anyone should  be discouraged from blogging--and she's not saying they should--it would be new writers not experienced ones.

New writers may find it more difficult to split their writing focus between their manuscript and their blog--something I can attest to!

Jane gives us three things to think about when considering whether to try blogging:

(a) what is giving you energy rather than taking it?
(b) what will lead to career progress in your *current* situation, and
(c) do you have something to say—or a voice/personality—that's a great fit for a blog?

Jane concludes:

Blogging can help both new and experienced writers with discipline, focus, and voice development. But it is indeed a waste of time if you're doing it because someone admonished you to (e.g., to build your platform), and it's a forced chore. If you're not enjoying it, neither are your readers.

Also, it's easier for an established writer to maintain a popular blog because one's audience will also be made up of those who read, and liked, your books. Jane writes:

Established authors likely have more reason to blog than beginners for the simple reason that they have an existing audience who seek engagement and interaction in between "formal" book releases (or other writings). It may take less effort to interest and gather readers if you're known, and it's valuable to attract readers to your website (via a blog) rather than a social media outlet since you don't really own your social media profiles, nor do you control the changing tides that surround them. You DO, however, own your website and blog (or should).

3. Growing your blog

Although blogging can be discouraging, especially in the beginning before you've developed any sort of an audience, there are things you can do to attract readers.

New and experienced writers alike can grow their blogs by contributing to writing venues--other blogs for instance--that are more popular than their own. Jane Friedman writes:

Such efforts not only bring you into contact with new audiences/readers, but also drive traffic back to your existing site or blog.

I have also found that blogging regularly--whether it's once a day or once a month--helps build an audience.

#  #  #

What do you think? Is blogging beneficial for writers, experienced or not, or is it just one more thing to distract them from their works-in-progress?

Other articles you might like:

- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing
- 7 Secrets To Writing A Story Your Readers Won't Be Able To Put Down
- Review Of Grammarly, Its Strength And Weaknesses

Photo credit: "songs about buildings and trees" by Robert Couse-Baker under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.