McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
My writing needs help
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Shecky on December 18, 2009, 11:52:13 AM ---One rule of thumb that works in a lot of problematic situations is this: when you're having a problem, turn the problem around. In this case, what that means is that if you're having problems with the ending, START with the ending and work BACK from there. Take the character(s) you've already created and visualize some great victory, loss or combination thereof. Then build a couple of intermediate endpoints: how did the character(s) GET there?
--- End quote ---
I tend to start with climax, rather than end. (I have a tendency for what you could charitably call long denouements) but otherwise, much the same thought process.
Also, if you have the key scene, and you know what the characters in it need to do to make it work, that can be a way to get to what kind of people would do what that scene needs from them.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: RobJN on December 21, 2009, 07:05:59 PM ---My lit teacher hated my papers because they were so short. Yet I'd made my points, supported them, and wrapped it all up in a nice, cuddly conclusion.
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Heh.
My PhD is 25,000 words long, which is about half the length of most of those from my department, and a good 20% of that is in the padding direction.
I was a bit worried about this, but when I wrote to the appropriate Graduate Studies office, I got the form letter which is mostly for muzzling the Joyce mafia in the English department, and as length guidelines go all it has is "let us know in advance if you're going over 250,000 words or binding it in two volumes."
Shecky:
--- Quote from: neurovore on December 21, 2009, 07:50:29 PM ---I tend to start with climax, rather than end. (I have a tendency for what you could charitably call long denouements) but otherwise, much the same thought process.
Also, if you have the key scene, and you know what the characters in it need to do to make it work, that can be a way to get to what kind of people would do what that scene needs from them.
--- End quote ---
Sure. Work from what you want to happen (whether it's the ending, climax, crisis, etc.), then build TO that - figure out how to make that thing happen.
RobJN:
Prince finds the princess, kisses her, she wakes up, they live happily ever after.
Doesn't make for much of a story, does it? So add some obstacles. Some side characters. Some back story.
The princess sleeps in a tall tower, guarded by a dragon, on an island in the middle of a lake of fire.
The prince is accompanied by his faithful squire, who has a weakness for ale and women. And there are a lot of taverns between the prince's castle and the lake of fire.
Why is the princess asleep? Who put her in the tower? How did they get the dragon to agree to guard that tower for all eternity?
It's great that you can lay out the whole plot in one go. Now just start adding layers between points A and B.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: RobJN on December 21, 2009, 08:20:25 PM ---Prince finds the princess, kisses her, she wakes up, they live happily ever after.
Doesn't make for much of a story, does it? So add some obstacles. Some side characters. Some back story.
--- End quote ---
Whereas what I find myself thinking is; why does a kiss do that ? Why does the prince want that value of "happily ever after" in the first place ? What kind of idiot person reckons that someone you magically wake up with your kiss and otherwise don't know from a total stranger is going to be an ideal lifemate ?
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