The Strength of a Symmetrical Plot

One of my favorite studies of Harry Potter is that of the ring composition found both in the individual novels and overall composition. To me, that very composition is what makes Harry Potter such a satisfying story. In my view, it’s a large part of the reason Harry Potter is destined to become a classic. 

And it’s an integral part of the series many people are completely unaware of. 

So what is ring composition? 

It’s a well-worn, beautiful, and (frankly) very satisfying way of structuring a story. John Granger, known online as The Hogwarts Professor, has written extensively on it.

Ring Composition is also known as “chiastic structure.” Basically, it’s when writing is structured symmetrically, mirroring itself: ABBA or ABCBA. 

Poems can be structured this way. Sentences can be structured this way. (Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.) Stories of any length and of any form can be structured this way.

In a novel, the basic structure depends on three key scenes: the catalyst, the crux, and the closing. 

In Harry Potter, you might recognise this structure: 

But all stories should have this structure. A book’s ending should always reference its beginning. It should always be the result of some major turning point along the way. Otherwise, it simply wouldn’t be a very good story.

What’s most satisfying about chiastic structure is not the basic ABA structure, but the mirroring that happens in between these three major story points. 

To illustrate what a more complicated ABCDEFGFEDCBA structure looks like, (but not as complicated as Harry Potter’s, which you can see here and here) Susan Raab has put together a fantastic visual of ring composition in Beauty and the Beast (1991), a movie which most agree is almost perfectly structured. 

source: x

What’s so wonderful about ring composition in this story is that it so clearly illustrates how that one crucial decision of Beast changes everything in the world of the story. Everything from the first half of the story comes back in the second half, effected by Beast’s decision. This gives every plot point more weight because it ties them all to the larger story arc. What’s more, because it’s so self-referential, everything feels tidy and complete. Because everything has some level of importance, the world feels more fully realized and fleshed out. No small detail is left unexplored.    

How great would Beauty and the Beast be if Gaston hadn’t proposed to Belle in the opening, but was introduced later on as a hunter who simply wanted to kill a big monster? Or if, after the magnificent opening song, the townspeople had nothing to do with the rest of the movie? Or if Maurice’s invention had never been mentioned again after he left the castle? 

Humans are nostalgic beings. We love returning to old things. We don’t want the things we love to be forgotten. 

This is true of readers, too. 

We love seeing story elements return to us. We love to know that no matter how the story is progressing, those events that occurred as we were falling in love with it are still as important to the story itself as they are to us. There is something inside us all that delights in seeing Harry leave Privet Dr. the same way he got there–in the sidecar of Hagrid’s motorbike. There’s a power to it that would make any other exit from Privet Dr. lesser. 

On a less poetic note, readers don’t like to feel as though they’ve wasted their time reading about something, investing in something, that doesn’t feel very important to the story. If Gaston proposed to Belle in Act 1 and did nothing in Act 3, readers might ask “Why was he even in the movie then? Why couldn’t we have spent more time talking about x instead?” Many people do ask similar questions of plot points and characters that are important in one half of a movie or book, but don’t feature in the rest of it. 

Now, ring composition is odiously difficult to write, but even if you can’t make your story a perfect mirror of itself, don’t let story elements leave quietly. Let things echo where you can–small moments, big moments, decisions, characters, places, jokes. 

It’s the simplest way of building a story structure that will satisfy its readers.

If there’s no place for something to echo, if an element drops out of the story half-way through, or appears in the last act, and you simply can’t see any other way around it, you may want to ask yourself if it’s truly important enough to earn its place in your story. 

Further reading:

Uncommon Questions for OCs and their creators:

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR OCs

QUESTIONS FOR CREATORS

A) Why are you excited about this character? B) What inspired you to create them? C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story? D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look? E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you? F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)? G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most? H) What trait do you admire most? I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe? J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?

MBTI most accurate descriptions

ESTP: super attractive physically but it’s all downhill from there. never quite know what they’re going to do next but you can probably bet it will be irresponsible. somehow still lovable. 

ESTJ: loud, logical, and get shit done — they are the warrior class of the life rpg. power stats make them unbeatable and if you encounter one, maybe just curl up and forfeit, to save time. 

ESFP: giggly little shits. fun fun fun till her daddy takes the t-bird away. great for lifting your mood, not that great at lifting your credit score. 

ESFJ: too appropriate, totally lacking in awkwardness. they’ll never forget your birthday, which will make you feel like shit when you constantly forget theirs. 

ENTP: excellent companions if you enjoy people who instantly see through all your shit. very clever and very intuitive, you can’t fool them. i suggest you invest in other friends — ones you *can* fool. 

ENTJ: impatient with people who make mistakes, namely, everyone. they’ll respect you if you stand up to them but why do that when you can run away instead. cuddle them and see what happens. i’m curious.

ENFP: too puppy to live. best suited for the profession of musical nanny. not advised for use around an open flame. 

ENFJ: way too charming and capable, maybe they should stop making everyone else look bad. prone to making other people care about stuff they didn’t want to care about. so annoying. 

ISTP: such butts. best suited for an apocalypse scenario, if no such scenario exists, they will create danger because they get bored. don’t encourage them, but don’t discourage them, as reverse psychology works too well.

ISTJ: low drama and low maintenance, best value at this price tier. best suited to actual human existence. least weird, which makes them kinda weird.

ISFP: squishy little darlings you might want to keep in your pocket, but please don’t or they will become forlorn. they notice everything, and it’s unnerving. 

ISFJ: quietly and proudly do things for others. if you have a ring you need to deliver to mordor, take an ISFJ along with you for best results. 

INTP: cute intergalactic spiders you want to hug and mistrust. prone to making you laugh but then days later you will wonder whether you were the butt of the joke. 

INTJ: major dicks and kinda proud of it. prone to being right. prone to liking trance music way too much. all the ones i’ve ever met have been unexpectedly kinky. so i guess, expectedly. 

INFP: they fall out of the sky and are raised by unicorns. if you feed one it will follow you home. they dissipate in water. 

INFJ: chameleons appropriating your emotions and going quietly mad. prone to meltdowns and needing lots of naps.

Writing Tips #82: Basic Tips To Write Better Chosen Ones

In every other fantasy story, there is a Chosen One. Xe can alone defeat the Big Bad and save the universe. Unfortunately, Chosen Ones are incredibly easy to completely bork up.

Ask yourself whether you really need a Chosen One

If you can restructure your story so that it does not involve a Chosen One, you probably should. The general concept of a Chosen One is considered by many to be a discredited trope, so if you don’t really need it, try to avoid it.

Make the future uncertain

If you’ve decided you need a Chosen One, make sure that the outcome is uncertain - ie, that there is a chance that the hero could completely fail in xir quest. Alternatively, your character’s Chosen status needn’t imply victory at all - see Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Do not use your character’s Chosen status as a substitute for actual motivation

Some chosen ones - particularly evil chosen ones and dark messiahs - have no real reason for doing anything other than they’ve been chosen to do it. Whether your character is good or bad, try to make sure xe has (or gets) some personal motivation for doing whatever it is xe is doing.

Do not use your character’s Chosen status as a substitute for actual skill or practice

Read More

Writing Better

(Warning: I like making lists)

I’ve learned this over time. Here’s the five things you should do and apply to become a better writer. It doesn’t happen in a day, however. No magic tricks here.

You should be:

Under the cut for more information.

Keep reading

The storytelling elements:

1. The Contract

2. The Pull

3. The Incident

4. The Reveal

5. Point Of No Return

6. Mini-Climax

7. All-Is-Lost Moment

8. News Of Hope

9. Climax

10. The End

Article from Doktor Spinn written by Jerry Silfwer aka Doktor Spinn

How to Create Characters That Are Believable and Memorable by Glen C. Strathy

If you create characters from the outset who will fulfill the dramatic functions of your plot (see Archetypal Characters ), you will have saved yourself a considerable amount of rewriting later on. Assuming you read the previous article and have now created characters (or at least ideas for characters) who will take on these functions, your next step is to turn them into people your readers will fall in love with.

Generally speaking, when you create characters, you have four main criteria to meet. You want to:

1. Create characters who fulfill the required dramatic functions.

2. Create characters who are memorable.

3. Create characters who are believable.

4. Create characters who are three-dimensional.

Of course, not every character has to meet all these criteria. You will develop your major characters more fully than minor ones. However, it is useful to consider all four aspects when you create characters. Having briefly discussed the first criterion already, let’s look at the second one now…

How to Create Memorable Characters

Keep reading

How to Write an Engaging First Chapter

I probably get this question every day, so I think it’s about time I did a post on it. Many writers are concerned with writing their first chapters and they have trouble figuring out what they should include and what they should leave out until later.

When you’re submitting a manuscript in order to get an agent or find a publisher, it’s important that you hook them from the opening paragraph. A lot of agents have admitted that sometimes they ONLY read the first few sentences and if they’re not intrigued, they won’t read the rest of it. That might sound cruel, but why should they continue to read something that they think is boring when there are so many other stories in their “slush pile” to read? You need to engage the reader right from the beginning if you want them to care about your novel.

I learned this the hard way. The first few stories I wrote lacked an engaging opening. I think the best way to learn is to revisit some of your favorite books. Most of the time, they had something that caught your attention right away. There was something to it that made you keep reading. You need to make sure you have “that thing” in your own novel.

Here are the dos and don’ts of writing an engaging opening hook:

Do:

Construct a scene that best represents your character

I’m not going to tell you there’s a wrong and right way to open your novel, because it really all depends on your novel. You need to know your character before you can begin writing your story, so only you will know how you should start it off. The best advice I can give is to construct a scene that helps us best understand your character. If they’re on the run, show us that they’re being chased. If they’re sad and lonely, construct a scene that lets us feel their isolation. You don’t necessarily need to open your book with action, but you do need to introduce the conflict. Think about what your character wants and go from there.

Help set the scene

The first chapter is a good time to explore the setting of your novel. You’re not going to use this chapter to completely describe your world, but you need to give your readers a taste of it. Use all your senses to present the setting to us. What does your character feel? Are they afraid? Are they happy? Are they cautious? Putting emotion into your scenes from the beginning will not only help set the tone, but we’ll get an immediate understanding of your world.

Introduce only important information

The first chapter is not the time to give us a long, drawn-out explanation of your world and characters. You need to find the simplest and most exciting way to get information across to your readers, so that they’ll be hooked from the beginning. Get your audience to care about your story. Don’t drag it down with details that don’t matter yet. Think of your first chapter as an introduction to an essay. You don’t go right into the points immediately, but you set us up for something good.

Don’t:

Describe your main character in detail

We don’t need to know everything about your main character in the first chapter. We don’t need to know everything about what they look like, their best friends, how they would describe themselves in the mirror, etc. If you want to do these things, they’re best left for later chapters. Your readers do not need to know everything from the beginning to get into your story. Give them a taste and draw them in.

Give long explanations

When writing a scene, it’s easy to get caught up in everything that you want to talk about all at once. You have to remember that you’ll have time to explain things later and it will probably be much more interesting if your readers have to wait. You don’t need to mention everything that’s happening and why it’s important. Present the information in the most engaging way possible and avoid these long explanations. We don’t need you main character to make a page long speech in the first chapter of your novel.

Fill your readers with unnecessary back story

Again, too much back story in your first chapter will kill your momentum. Anything that’s unnecessary to know from the beginning can be put off until later. I know it’s exciting to get into the meat of your novel, but your readers have to care about your world and characters before you keep talking about it. Don’t be afraid to cut something or push something back to later chapters. You’ll also improve the pacing of your novel if you keep these things in mind.

It’s super important to remember that all of these things won’t apply to every novel. There are times when the opening of your novel will break all these rules and there will be exceptions to every single one of them. However, if you keep getting feedback that people “can’t get into your novel”; it might be because your first chapter is weak. Also, if you’re having trouble with your first chapter and can’t seem to get it right, leave it for later. You can always go back and change something if you don’t love it.

by Now Novel

One of the most common pieces of writing advice is that you should show instead of telling, but what does that really mean? By judiciously applying this piece of advice, your writing will be more vivid and engaging.

Read More →

Nearly every book I’ve read has a protagonist. And all of those protagonists were surrounded by several, if not a great many, friends. Within my own stories, my protagonists have quite a few friends. Among those friends, there are usually one or two, maybe three, friends that…

Plotting Methods for Meticulous Plotters

A Guide for the Seasoned and the Not-So-Plot Savvy

This is a subject that a lot of writers tend to struggle with. They have ideas, great ideas, but are uncertain how to string them together into a solid plot. There are many methods that have been devised to do so, and most seem to be based on something you might remember:

The 5 Point Method

This is your basic plot diagram:

This is probably the easiest way to remember how to string together a single (or multiple) plots. It may be easier for some to define the main plot as the central conflict, or the thing that’s causing your main character a huge problem/is his goal.

The 8 Point Method

This method is used to write both novels and film scripts, and further breaks down the 5 Point Method. From the book Write a Novel and Get It Published: A Teach Yourself Guide by Nigel Watts:

Three Act Structure

While this method is usually for screenplays, it is also used in writing novels (for instance The Hunger Games novels are split up into three acts). From the The Screen Writer’s Workbook by Syd Field: Acts 1 and 3 should be about the same length while Act 2 should be double. For instance if you were writing a screenplay for a two hour film Acts 1 and 3 would be 30 minutes each while Act 2 would be 60 minutes.

Another way to look at this method is that there are actually three major plot points, or disasters, that move the plot forward. The first is at the end of Act 1, the second is in the middle of Act 2, and the third is at the end of Act 2.

The Snowflake Method

A “top-down” method by Randy Ingermanson that breaks novel writing down into basic parts, building upon each one. You can find his page on the method here. His ten steps:

Wing It

This is what I do. I tend to keep in mind the basic structure of the 5 Point Method and just roll with whatever ideas come my way. I’ve never been a fan of outlines, or any other type of organization. According to George R.R. Martin, I’ve always been a gardener, not an architect when it comes to writing. I don’t plan, I just come up with ideas and let them grow. Of course, this may not work for some of you, so here are some methods of organization:

And if all else fails, you can fall on the advice of the great Chuck Wendig: 25 Ways to Plot and Prep Your Story.

Remember, none of the methods above are set in stone. They are only guidelines to help you finally write that novel.

-Morgan

Three Goals for Every Character

You can break down each character’s goals into three types: professional, private and personal.

‘Professional’ refers to the job that needs to be done. A monster has to be killed, a treasure has to be found, a wedding has to take place etc. This physical goal drives the main story and gives the hero something to do.

‘Private’ is something that characters want for themselves. It may not be the main focus of the story as it doesn’t necessarily affect other characters, but a character that only acts out of pure altruism and self-sacrifice is both unrealistic and a little annoying.

‘Personal’ is more about the psychological needs of the character. Whatever flaws or hang-ups the character might have (and he should definitely have some), there will have to be a resolution or understanding reached at some point in the story. This aspect is often the most rewarding and satisfying in a novel, but also risks being the most clichéd and obvious.

These three elements are often very closely linked and intertwined, but they can also be very separate.  Both approaches have their advantages and their disadvantages.

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Formatting your Manuscript

If you’re planning on one day turning your manuscript in to literary agents and publishing houses, you need to make sure it’s formatted correctly. In many cases, your manuscript will be skipped over if it isn’t done to industry standard, so here’s the basics that you’ll need if you don’t want to be ignored. Before I get started, please know that this is aimed specifically at fiction manuscripts. If you’re writing non-fiction or a memoir, the expectations will be different, so it would be wise to Google what you need.

The Basics

The Title Page

The Next Pages

The Chapters

Page Numbers

For the most part, this is the most important of what you’ll need to know for formatting your manuscript. I used this video as reference, so I’m trusting everything it says is true because it was made by an author who has several novels published, and because it was uploaded this year, it should be up to date.

But just remember, whenever you go to turn in a manuscript, make sure you check the website of the agent or publisher you’re trying to contact. They might have specifications that differ with the ones stated in this video, and you should always do whatever you can to abide by what they want.

Reblogging aggressively. Some publishers will throw your manuscript into the slush pile or, worse, the trash if you don’t follow their desired format. Spec fic publishers are especially strict about manuscript formatting.

Also reblogging aggressively.

Whoa. The MLA has officially devised a standard format to cite tweets in an academic paper. Sign of the times.

ebooks, Horse. (horse_ebooks). “Leg Butt” 18 Nov 2011, 12:38 PM. Tweet.

Protagonists: Writing About Heroes

Every story has a hero, and the hero of the story can often change depending on the narrator’s point of view. The trick is to create an interesting hero that your reader can root for without boring your reader to death. So here are some tips for doing that

1. Create an interesting backstory. We’ve all seen stories about heroes who come from nothing and through virtue of destiny/a hidden power/sheer hard work and dedication, the hero finds himself/herself in a position to defeat the bad guy. But there are some twists you can add to this old archetype. Your hero could be the son of the antagonist (just look at Star Wars!) or at the very last minute, one of your supporting characters can show up to save the day (do I hear Samwise Gamgee?) There is no “ideal” background for your hero, so be creative! 

2. Heroes are not good all the time. Even Hercules had a weakness. Perfect characters are boring and they will kill your plot. It will literally flatline. So the thing to do here is add a flaw. Let’s take for example, Michael Corleone in The Godfather. He’s a murderous member of the mafia, for Pete’s sake! And if the story were told from the perspective of his enemies, Michael would be the bad guy. But the fact of the matter is, we’re enthralled by his flaws as well as his virtues. These traits can be physical or psychological as long as they come into play during the course of your hero’s journey.

3. Speaking of which, the journey: typically, a hero goes on some sort of physical journey that ends up being a psychological one as well. Lessons are learned, friends are made, battles are won and lost, and all of it shapes the outcome of the story. Now you can choose to have one or the other or both, but there MUST be some sort of journey involved in order for your characters to be dynamic.

4. Sometimes, the hero loses. As much as you will love your hero and her/his friends, they have to fail every once in a while. (HUNGER GAMES SPOILERS: Katniss is a prime example! She did her best, but in the end, nothing she could do could save Prim.) Be brutally honest. Channel your inner George R. R. Martin and slaughter some characters.

5. Give everybody something to fight for. This part is tricky, because you really have to know your character. What would he/she fight for? Die for? Why is it so important? Who would try and take it away? Would the hero ever give up and if so, under what circumstances? (Do this for your villain as well.)

Some other quick tips:

There are several nuances to creating a character and it takes practice to perfect your own process, but these are some good starting guidelines to make sure you at least have a moving plot. The rest will begin coming together once the rest of your story starts to develop.

How to Write About Emotion by Bob Parnell

An esteemed subscriber asked me a question in an email this week. 

She asked, “How do I write about emotion?“

To be honest, I hadn’t given the subject much individual thought until she asked. But I did think it would make a great topic for an article. So here goes.

Emotions fall under the category of ‘show, don’t tell.’ Therefore it’s unwise to merely state ‘he was sad’ or ‘she was happy’ etc because these are fairly nebulous concepts that don’t tell the reader much about your characters. Indeed, they sound like more of authorial opinion than a credible description of character.

Far better, in the context of a story, would it be to analyze the reasons for your character’s emotions, what triggered them and what they mean to the character, and then try to visualize the physical and mental effects of those emotions on the character - and describe that instead.

For example, take ‘he is sad’.

What are you actually saying? What exactly is he sad about? It could be a lost love or lost opportunity. If so, how would that make him feel? What physical reactions would he experience?

You might say that tears filled his eyes or that he felt a numb sensation in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps he tries to concentrate on some trivial task, like making tea, and he can’t stop thinking about his problem.

Then you might use internal dialogue to examine his sadness:

He couldn’t get the picture of her smile out of his mind. She was somewhere out there, laughing, enjoying her freedom, while he fed his resentment with bitter tears. Why had she fallen out of love with him? What had he done wrong? He didn’t know, couldn’t place a time when he might have noticed she was thinking about leaving him.

Okay, it’s wordy - but that’s almost the point. Instead of merely stating an emotion, you should try to pull the reader into a more personal experience of that emotion. They will hopefully recognize your description as being true to ‘how it really feels’ to lose a love, or hate themselves for missing an opportunity.

Get inside your characters as much as possible. Feel what they feel. ‘She was happy’ is not as strong as, 

She felt light-headed and her heart seemed to have grown in her chest. Occaisonally she began to giggle for no reason. The sight of a flower made her marvel at Nature - and the sun’s rays filled her mind with hope for a brighter future.

Showing emotion and its effects on the body and mind of a character is much more powerful and results in pulling in a reader to your story. Merely telling your reader about your character’s emotions is not particularly engaging - and is more likely to inspire an ambivalent response.

The point of a story is to transfer some insight about humanity from an author’s mind into the mind of a reader. And the best way to do this is to engage a reader with your plot and its characters. Engagement is achieved by the writer presenting a series of emotional ‘triggers’ that the reader accepts as real and powerful. When the reader responds to an emotional ‘trigger’, they are then identifying with the characters and are compelled to read on.

How you do this yourself is up to you. Your take on what an emotional trigger might be is what makes you unique. But bear in mind that there are pre-agreed emotions out there that appeal to a wide variety of people.

Emotions like love, fear, anger, frustration and joy are common to all of us. They’re part of the human condition. A good writer should then aim to use these fundamental emotional states to enhance his or her writing - to appeal to as many readers as possible.

Writers who understand how to manipulate story scenes to trigger emotional responses are those, I would argue, that are the most likely to succeed.

Emotions are what make us uniquely human. Without them our lives would be bland and meaningless. Because it’s not always what happens to us that makes the difference. It is the way we react to events and people and the things they say that defines our experience of the world.

There’s some evidence to suggest that the brain is much better at remembering emotions than mere facts. This is why an emotionally charged experience is so much more powerful. An emotionally charged experience can change our lives, our entire outlook and the decisions we make.

This is why you, the writer, should use believable emotional states to enhance your writing. The key word here is believable. There’s no point in presenting a character that overreacts to a situation or indeed, under-reacts. In order for a character to be sympathetic, the reader must believe that their reactions are appropriate - given the situation.

Our emotional reactions define who we are as people. It should be that way for your characters too.

Listen to your characters and care about them.

Let them tell your stories - and guide you through them.

If you don’t, and let your plots dictate how you think your characters should react, then you’ll end up losing your reader’s sympathy.

Use your character’s emotions to lead you from one story event to the next - and you’ll end up with a story that, as the cliche goes, your readers can’t put down!

If you want to know more about how to use emotion effectively when constructing story lines, you should check out my much acclaimed new course, The Art of Story.  

Till next time,

Keep Writing!