Chris Rogers's Blog, page 17

NAKED WRITING: Your 5 Big Scenes

A 300-page novel might have 80 to 90 scenes but only 5 big ones. Knowing what happens in the big scenes will make your story easier to outline and the smaller scenes much easier to write.

Let’s suppose your story involves a wedding… If this big scene is positioned near the beginning, perhaps a disaster at the wedding gets the story rolling. But if the wedding comes near the end, maybe the loving couple must first suffer a couple of breakups.

Now let’s define a scene: Goal+Conflict+Reversal

It’s a dramatic unit of time that includes action and/or dialogue. Every scene has a character who wants something, tries to get it, and either fails outright or succeeds while acquiring other problems. Big Scenes are where the big action and big conflict occur.

In Cinderella, which has been told many times in many ways, the 5 big scenes might be:

1. Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters mistreat her.

2. The King commands his son to find a bride at an upcoming ball.

3. Cinderella’s fairy godmother uses magic to send her to the ball.

4. She and the prince dance and fall in love, but she must run away at midnight.

5. The prince reunites with Cinderella when the lost glass slipper fits her foot.

Knowing the story, you can easily imagine the smaller scenes that might connect these big ones. And… it can be just that simple in your story.

What are your 5 big scenes? Write them down, arrange them in a dramatic order, then imagine and organize the smaller scenes in between.

NAKED WRITING: Memorable Characters

For a memorable story, we must create memorable characters. A hero in particular, must have skills, ambitions and strong moral fiber.

Easy to say, but how and where in our story do we reveal these qualities? Well, here’s how Katherine Paterson did it in her Newberry Award-winning novel, Bridge to Terrabithia.

Early on, we see Jess Aarons being bullied at school as he demonstrates his love of art and music. Then character traits of grit and determination emerge as Jess trains all summer to become his school’s fastest runner. New girl Leslie, however, is faster. She beats everyone.

Disappointed, Jess immediately dislikes her. But later, in music class, he finds her eccentric and interesting, and learns that she also feels ostracized. Leslie compliments his art, and Jess smiles with pride. They develop a friendship.

Venturing into the woods, they swing across the river on a rope, and find an abandoned tree house. They invent a fantasy world, Terabithia, where they reign as monarchs and enjoy imaginary escapades.

One day Jess is invited to an art museum. Ecstatic, he accepts without notifying anyone. Leslie goes to Terabithia alone. When the rope swing breaks, she falls in the river and drowns. Jess is bereft to lose his friend.

Jess’s little sister, May Belle, was never allowed to enter Terabithia. He’s horrified to find she has tried to use a fallen tree as a bridge to this forbidden place. At first, he’s angry, but then… Jess decides to imagine an even greater Terrabithia and to welcome a new ruler: Princess May Belle.

Bridge to Terrabithia was twice adapted for film … showing Paterson to be a gifted storyteller. Notice how and where she demonstrates Jess’s love of art, his fear of being ostracized and his strong moral fiber, then outline in your own story how and where you’ll demonstrate the qualities you’ve given your hero.

NAKED WRITING: Single Line of Action

NAKED WRITING

Daily Down & Dirty Tips

3. Single Line of Action

How would you like to write a novel that spawns two major films, a sequel, a radio adaptation and literary references for the next half century? In 1957 The Midwich Cuckoos by English writer John Wyndam was that novel. It was filmed twice as Village of the Damned.

Is your story this compelling? It CAN be if your outline includes a single line of action.

The story opens with Professor Zellaby suddenly struck unconscious. At that instant, every human, animal and machine in the village of Midwich stops.

Two months later, the professor’s going to be a father. In fact 12 women in this tiny village are suddenly pregnant. The babies arrive on the same night. They grow quickly. At age 9, they exhibit telepathic ability and brutal power. The villagers are afraid of them.

But… our hero’s son David, is one of these children. He tries desperately to save them, yet in the end he explodes a bomb, killing the Children and himself.

The spine that holds this story together is everything the children do to make the villagers afraid and everything Zellaby does to counter that fear. That spine is the single line of action.

 

Look at what drives your protagonist. In Gone with the Wind Scarlett’s line of action is her “need for control,” countered by war, by her infatuation with Ashley Wilkes, by Rhett Butler’s love for her… by everything that threatens Scarlett’s control.

 

Look at what challenges your protagonist. In Jaws, the line of action is Sheriff Brody’s desire to “keep Amity safe.” The counter action is everything the mayor and the shark do to threaten the town’s safety.

A single line of action holds your story together and compels readers to keep reading.

NAKED WRITING: Your Opening 20

NAKED WRITING

Daily Down & Dirty Tips

2 Your Opening 20

What’s the best way to quickly engage readers in your story?

Simple answer: write an gangbuster opening.

 

Yeah, right … but how? Well, here’s a great way to start:

Outline your First 50 Pages in 5 Strong Paragraphs

 

See, a story comes in three parts: setup, complications, and payoff. Even the most complicated novels follow this basic structure, which Aristotle defined sometime around … 300 BC.

In film… the first 20 minutes is setup. In your novel, that same setup takes around 30 to 50 pages, which is why agents often ask for the first 50 pages with your query.

SO… a strong setup includes 5 parts:

An idea that excites you. Ideas are everywhere, and … you probably have one in mind.
A prize for which opposing characters… are willing and ready to fight—it might be a treasure, a missing child, a murder case … public recognition … or honor …
A focal character – Hero or Heroine -who will take immediate aggressive action to win the prize. And … feelings, not just greed or duty, should be the motivating force.

It’s good if your readers can like and approve of the hero… but don’t discount the lovable rascal… part good, part scoundrel. Decide what your hero will need to do, then provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities … to make success plausible.

 

Hint at a major problem the hero might encounter: someone in authority who might object, a physical complication, maybe, or a particularly vicious or crafty opponent who wants the prize every bit as much as your hero wants it.

Then…

Devise a situation, that compels your hero… to take action.

 

 

3          How would you like to write a novel that spawns two major films, a sequel, a radio adaptation and literary references for the next half century? In 1957 The Midwich Cuckoos by English writer John Wyndam was that novel. It was filmed twice as Village of the Damned.

Is your story this compelling? It CAN be if your outline includes a single line of action.

The story opens with Professor Zellaby suddenly struck unconscious. At that instant, every human, animal and machine in the village of Midwich stops.

Two months later, the professor’s going to be a father. In fact 12 women in this tiny village are suddenly pregnant. The babies arrive on the same night. They grow quickly. At age 9, they exhibit telepathic ability and brutal power. The villagers are afraid of them.

But… our hero’s son David, is one of these children. He tries desperately to save them, yet in the end he explodes a bomb, killing the Children and himself.

The spine that holds this story together is everything the children do to make the villagers afraid and everything Zellaby does to counter that fear. That spine is the single line of action.

 

Look at what drives your protagonist. In Gone with the Wind Scarlett’s line of action is her “need for control,” countered by war, by her infatuation with Ashley Wilkes, by Rhett Butler’s love for her… by everything that threatens Scarlett’s control.

 

Look at what challenges your protagonist. In Jaws, the line of action is Sheriff Brody’s desire to “keep Amity safe.” The counter action is everything the mayor and the shark do to threaten the town’s safety.

A single line of action holds your story together and compels readers to keep reading.

NAKED WRITING: Concept Line

NAKED WRITING

Daily Down & Dirty Tips

1 CONCEPT LINE

What’s the best thing you can do right now to ensure your novel gets off to a great start and keeps going? Simple: Define your Story in One Sentence.

It’s easier than it sounds. Just break it into 3 Parts:

Who is Your Focal Character + What Does He/She Want + What the heck Stops Him from Getting It?

Here’s an example: An archeologist wants to find the Ark of the Covenant, but he must beat the Nazis to it.

That’s Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Right? screenplay Lawrence Kasdan.

Here’s another one: A Southern woman, obsessed with love for a man she can never have, waits for him anyway as she fights to save her family and rebuild her war-ravaged home.

What else could that be but Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind?

Honestly: Reducing your story concept to one sentence can crystallize it for you, and as you write it will help you stay on track with your primary story line.

 

Yes, you may have subplots, but they’re secondary and are not reflected in the concept line.

For practice, try it first on stories you know. Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs.

Try it on your favorite books or movies.

Then reduce your own story to a single sentence and tape it near your keyboard so it’s always visible as you write. In fact, try it right now. What can it take, five minutes? Just Do it.

Never Woulda Thunk It

Growing up reading Tales of the Crypt, Weird Aliens or the Vault of Horror by E C Comics, I never thought I’d grow up to write creepy stories. But then I never imagined I’d grow up to be a writer at all. And truthfully, most of my stories are nearly as bloody as the ones I enjoyed as a child. Why they didn’t scare me I’ve no clue, but at age 10 I’d walk to the neighborhood theater to see such films as Tarantula or It Conquered the World and walk home again after dark. Okay, maybe I got creeped out occasionally, but it didn’t keep me from going to the next scary movie.

Though I was born on Halloween, I don’t recall trick-or-treating as a kid or any special birthdays. What I do recall is, after I grew up and became a Girl Scout leader, creating a haunted house for the neighborhood kids. My daughter Krystal was a Girl Scout, Connie was still a Brownie. As one stunt, we borrowed a coffin from a friendly provider, put it in a dark room with the top part of the lid open and a candle sitting on the closed part. Krystal had long dark hair, red lips and pale skin, powdered to make it even paler. She lay still in the coffin, then when a couple of kids came to peek at her, she would slowly sit up.

Scary? Yep! Later, after the initial fright, the kids would giggle, except for two little girls who were so scared we had to calm them down and show them it wasn’t a real corpse.

So, did creepy comics and films warp my judgement as a child? Well, I do still enjoy a good scare, but I think reading anything and everything made me a better writer. So I pass it along by writing the best scary stories I can dream up.

They’re all just creepy good fun–and some not so creepy. If you enjoy Halloween, look for the entire collection on Amazon and Kindle. 

Amazon.com

A Star in My Midst

While rehearsing for “42 Minutes from Broadway,” my first time every in a stage play, I learned that a member of our cast wrote the lyrics for the Roy Orbison song, “Pretty Woman.” What a treat!

“Pretty Woman” is one of my all-time favorite pieces, and not a bad movie. In case you’re in the mood to sing, here are the lyrics Bill Fathke wrote  under his pen name, Bill Dees:

Pretty woman, walkin’ down the street

Pretty woman the kind I like to meet

Pretty woman I don’t believe you, you’re not the truth

No one could look as good as you, mercy

Pretty woman won’t you pardon me

Pretty woman I couldn’t help but see

Pretty woman that you look lovely as can be

Are you lonely just like me

Pretty woman stop awhile

Pretty woman talk awhile

Pretty woman give your smile to me

Pretty woman yeah, yeah, yeah

Pretty woman look my way

Pretty woman say you’ll stay with me

‘Cause I need you, I’ll treat you right

Come with me baby, be mine tonight

Pretty woman don’t walk on by

Pretty woman don’t make me cry

Pretty woman don’t walk away, hey, OK

If that’s the way it must be, OK

I guess I’ll go on home, it’s late

There’ll be tomorrow night, but wait

What do I see?

Is she walkin’ back to me?

Yeah, she’s walkin’ back to me

Oh, oh, pretty woman.

Orbison, a rock & roll legend, hailed from Wink, Texas and with his signature prescription sunglasses just might make a great subject for a painting. Meanwhile, Bill Fathke/Dees, a lead in our play, is a great guy to work with.

Is It Talent or Just Hard Work?

Most artists and authors have heard someone say, “I wish I had your talent.” While there certainly has to be a degree of aptitude involved, I’ve met very few people with “talent” who didn’t put a huge effort into developing their skills and pursuing their dreams, whether art, music, writing–or science, math, medicine.

The desire to pursue a particular course, I believe, is more about how we are coached and inspired in early life. Whatever we’re praised for at age two sticks. When a grade school teacher praises our ability in any subject, we’re inspired. It’s human nature to enjoy being appreciated, but it’s never more important than in those early years when we’re forming our code of life.

Today I’m involved in “creative hard work” as I write the final story that will appear in a short-story anthology, Death Edge 4: 7 Soul-Shrieking Tales of Suspense, which is scheduled for release this month. At the same time, I’m being drawn toward the easel, where I’ve decided to meld two paintings into one. Remember this one?

I painted this unfinished watercolor from a brief glimpse of a woman I saw on a TV program. Something about the expression captured my interest. Without completing it, I set it aside and moved on.

While working on a new abstract acrylic painting, I recalled the woman and the color ways I’d used, located the watercolor, and decided I wanted to merge it with my much larger acrylic piece. I’m eager to paint.

But there’s that story to be written. So now I have to put aside one inspiration and actually conjure the inspiration to write a story which at this point is only a small image in my head. If I had not put in years of hard work learning how to create when the muse is nowhere in sight, this probably wouldn’t happen.

This is why I believe desire and hard work beat talent any day.

The Operation Succeeded – No, Not surgery…

After my previous near-disaster, the unveiling of my BB King lamination felt a little like taking the first step after a tooth implant. To do the process right, I ditched the plexiglass for common kitchen plastic wrap, and it worked great.

I’ll finish the touch-ups today – this photo is only a corner of the 30″x40″ watermedia painting. On Friday, I’ll submit all three, King, Cash & Joplin, into the Watermedia Showcase. Who knows whether the judges will decide to honor one of them, but at least one or two of the paintings will appear in the Brazos Valley Art League show in September.

Thus, I’m having a good day, so far. It’s 8:45 am here in Texas, and I’m thinking positive.

 

Getting Too Cocky Can Sabotage Our Work

In writing or painting, there comes a time when confidence can get out of hand. This happened to me last week.

The paintings currently on my easel require laminating a watercolor portrait on paper to an acrylic background on canvas. Tricky, but this is what I want.

A watercolor, however, needs careful handling to avoid unhappy accidents. So I managed the Janis Joplin painting okay – spread acrylic gel on each surface then press them together and compress with weights until everything dries. Overnight. The next morning it’s like opening a present.

Yay! It worked. Portrait and background combined and intact. I could do this!

The second time, I felt it much more confident – yet I was careful. I just forgot to be as careful with the background acrylic as I was with the portrait. Once again I used plexiglass to protect the watercolor from contamination during the process, but I allowed too much gel to seep out, and the acrylic background adhered to the plexi.

Ouch! I tried so carefully to pry it loose, but a big chunk of the background painting pulled off, leaving a hole of bare canvas.

This often happens in writing when I shoot from the hip, so to speak. Not certain how to address the main story line, I decide I’m skilled enough to just write what I feel like writing, organically.  That’s a great thing to do at times – just sit down and let it flow. In fact, the result can be so much fun and such a compelling piece on its own that I don’t realize I’ve veered off on a tangent that has no place in the current storyline.

Fortunately, my critique partners let me know when I’ve struck out. Then comes the terrible chore of “fixing it,” “cutting it” or “ditching the whole story and starting over.”

With this painting, I’d worked hard on both the portrait and the background, and I was happy with the overall result. No way was I ready to ditch it – but that hole was going to require some tedious patchwork.

Fortunately, the definition of creativity is “making things up.” Yes, I needed to reconstruct the image, but it’s my painting. If the patch doesn’t exactly match what I painted there the first time, I’m the only one who’ll know. Except you, of course.

In writing–sometimes veering off from the main story line can bring some right-brain creative energy that gives the story more punch. While I’m a big believer in having a plan, rigid adherence to a plan can stifle creativity. Besides, don’t we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes?

For certain, I now know that an accident needn’t destroy a painting anymore than a tangent need destroy a story – but we have to be willing to step back from our cocky attitude, recognize what’s working and what’s not, then just quit bellyaching and fix it.

As I continue working on this 30″x40″ watermedia, which is tentatively titled “Walking the Line,” I’m extremely happy I didn’t give up and trash it.