The Process of Writing: Part 11

If you have ever had a serious class or have been a serious student of screen writing, then you have undoubtedly heard of John Truby. So far we have discussed character development and introduced the concept of plot. Let’s today, look at story structure done the Truby way.

Truby introduced 22 steps to creating a great story. we will look at these over the next few post. Today let’s look at step one: Self-Revelation – Need and Desire. As the author you have to establish the protagonist’s need. What is missing within your main character?

The need becomes the real source or the core of the story. In the best storylines the need is of a moral nature. This translates into your character, of necessity, needing to act improperly at the beginning of the story to establish the need.

The Need is what the protagonist must have in order to gain a better life. In contrast the desire is what the protagonist wants. The protagonist must be aware of the problem, but not of his need. Because the need is the source of the story, the writer must be aware of and never lose sight of this.   

In my novel N.H.I.: No Humans Involved, Nate Richards’ problem is to solve the new series of murders, but his need, which he is blind to, is to rediscover his faith.

The Process of Writing: Part 10

I hope you’ve enjoyed our guest bloggers, Donna Fletcher Crow and Val Gray. I’m sure you were helped and much enjoyed the information they shared.

But now it’s back to how to get ‘er done…that is ideas from me on the Ray way of writing.  Let’s talk plot.

When you hear the word plot what thought comes to mind? How the story moves? That thing that makes you want to turn the next page? Or just how everything will work together? All of this is true of course. For purposes of this discussion lets define plot as a plan or a strategy to move your story and the reader from page one to page the end.

It’s also a good idea to keep the reader interested, not so much to keep them happy. What you want from your reader is emotion and in most cases anger works just as well as happiness; sometimes better, but I digress.

Attached is worksheet I received from one of the many mentors that have helped me along this journey. I hope you’ll find it both interesting and useful.

The way to do this is to compare your proposed novel to one you know and love, but that is similar to the one you are creating. Then just fill in the blanks.

Bringing the Plot Alive!

Notes based on a study of novel ______________ 

By: ______________

Number of pages ____ for ______chapters.

1.    In the opening lines, how did the author arouse my interest and curiosity? 

2.    On which page-how far into the action- is each character introduced?  

3.    How is each character introduced? 

4.    Is something said about one character by another-something derogatory, perhaps?

5.    Where do flashbacks occur and what purpose do they serve? 

6.    How are flashbacks introduced? 

7.    What subplots are there and how are they resolved?  

8.    Where does the middle crisis of the story occur and how is the major problem solved? 

9.    How many pages does it take after the main climax for all things to be solved and all things are revealed? 

10. In the final chapter, how does the author leave me?

Guest Blog Featuring Val Gray

Writing a Book

PERSEVERANCE is a MUST quality when it comes to writing a book. Often you want to give up and FEAR is usually the culprit. Fear says to your heart and soul that no one will like your story and you will never get published so just stop writing already.

Everyday I remind myself that God gave me the desire to write and the creativity to put the words down on paper so go forth and conquer. J

My inspiration for this book occurred while I read Knowledge of the Holy, by Tozer. He said that God saw the present, past and future all at one time because He is eternal. He doesn’t have to look back or look ahead, He sees all, all the time, and sovereignly rules over all, always. He is the all in all.

That spurred this thought of time travel in my imagination. God created time for us~ HE does not exist in time~ He transcends time~ We can too if He wants us too. Of course, this is my imagination portion and not so true, although, if we read in Acts about Stephen being transported by the Holy Spirit from one place to another, maybe, we are not so far away from what God would do. Ha! One can imagine all she wants.

Below is the synopsis of the book I am writing. I am at 44,000 words-with at least 16,000 more to go. My readers are young adults plus. The relationships and circumstances are complicated enough to attract readers of all ages.

Lizzy Grey hasn’t seen her mom for three years. She has never seen her father, nor does she know who he is. These are hard facts for a girl of any age, yet Lizzy is strong, has a great imagination and survives even at the hand of her seemingly hard-hearted grandmother, whom she lives with. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her mom arrives unannounced to Lizzy’s birthday dinner. Lizzy is thrilled to see her but soon realizes that her mother really came to deliver a mysterious timepiece which, unbeknownst to mostly everyone, has time traveling powers. According to her grandmother, there has always been a Grey girl to receive the timepiece throughout the ages. How long, no one seems to know. Travel with Lizzy as she experiences the past, discovers enduring faith, and what she learns changes her life forever.

I would love for you to travel along with Lizzy and me.

Thanks for reading.

Valerie Gray-Guest Blogger for Ray Ellis

http://www.valeriegray.com 

The Process of Writing: Part Nine

Now it’s gut check time.  Once you have your setting all in place and your main character is dressed to kill…the one step, or rather the two steps, you must keep in mind is secondary character development and the subplots. Notice I said subplots, plural.  

In N.H.I., the secondary characters of Sabrina, Amber and Mac stand on their own. Each of these personalities needs to be able to hold the reader’s attention and cause the reader to care about what happens to them.

As the main plot line is the vein that pulls the reader from page one to page “the-end”, you must have interesting and intriguing subplots, whether it is the story of the protagonist’s love interest or the growth of a secondary character. These storylines must have substance and must also help the overall development of your main story.

In the Nate Richards series, I introduce Mac as a minor character in the beginning of the story but as the storyline develops we see his character grow as well; this is also true of the relationship between Nate and Amber, his love interest.

The Process of Writing: Part Eight

When it comes to creating a proper setting there are three questions you will have to answer: what, when, and where. This is where your timeline and the culture of your story are defined. A single mistake in setting can be enough alone to destroy your mythos and knock your reader right out of the story.

Imagine your protagonist, the good guy, tramping through the bush of a Jurassic era jungle. Huge dinosaurs scream in the near distance and the horizon is hazy with the smoke of an erupting volcano. Suddenly he hears a chirping and a shrill beeping. Turning a corner he comes face to face with…an Apple Iphone stuck in the crook of a branch.

What’s the problem here? Well nothing if this is Jurassic Park Part Six, but if it’s a story about a family of man living in a prehistoric valley then everything’s wrong. So, when it comes to creating your setting, take the time to think about the times, places, and people your character will encounter. Just taking the one extra step of knowing which types of plants can grow in your area and at what times of year, can make all the difference between having an engaging narration and one that begs your reader to explain and overlook your mistakes as they read.

In N.H.I., I have both real and imagined elements that make up my setting, but the key is to cause the created portions to fit seamlessly in with the real.