Monday, 18 November 2013

Well Hello There!

I bet you have been wondering where I have been, or celebrating that you haven't heard from me for a while.

I seem to have met myself going backwards recently, life who needs it getting in the way, and it's not just my writing that is suffering but the dust bunnies are beginning to fight back. Autumn disappeared in a blink of the eye and now Christmas is around the corner, yes I said it peeps, CHRISTMAS is weeks away. My life needs a plan.

Writing needs a plan if you want your readers to become hooked and wanting answers. A plot structure is a good place to start. Did you see what I did there, moving things along nicely ... no? Oh well I am going with it so humour me. Here starts the lesson, which is short and hopefully sweet, enjoy.
 

1.     The protagonist must have a clear central motivation – it has to be consistent and important to the protagonist.

2.       The goal – what the protagonist wants to achieve or a problem they want to solve. (also the consequences of not achieving that goal, which should increase tension.)

3.       The jeopardy must increase. James bond’s little problem turns into saving the world.

4.       The sacrifice, whether that is big or small, respect, pride, money, life. (the bigger the sacrifice for them will mean that you draw the reader in.)

5.       Every scene and chapter needs to keep the protagonist off balance, whether that’s in a negative or positive thing. The story has to move or it dies

6.       There are classical structures out there to look at, that you can learn from.

No comments:

Post a Comment