Review: Interesting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 21, 2014
"QUOTES" AND COMMENTS:“If you’re an experienced writer looking for a plotting book that has something new to offer, this may not be a worthwhile exercise for you.”Hence this book is for beginners.“If you’re interested in writing avant garde literary fiction, non-commercial fiction, and/or feel that three-act structure is formulaic, this book is not for you.”“... because if you get too original, you no longer satisfy the readers of the genre who want to be surprised and absorbed while still maintainining the expected experience of the genre.”“Take romance, again. If you end the story with one or both of the protagonists dying, you could have a great book, but you will also have a mob of angry readers who were expecting the HEA (Happily Ever After) that this genre guarantees.”Hence this book is for common writers who just want to make more money, not to write THE book of the century.“Once you’ve set that hook, you’re going to do everything in your power to prevent your character to get there. And I mean everything.”“You’ve got to make sure that, with every scene, the protagonists’ situation is getting gradually worse.”This is the suggested recipe to improve your plot: set a different goal for each protagonist and then do everything to prevent them from achieving it.“If I'm still are having trouble getting a grip on the character, or I want to hear his or her voice, then I interview my character.”Make yours characters speak of their past, their fears, desires, loves, hates, etc. accordingly to the goal of your story.“Be sure to include real flaws and weaknesses when you’re composing your characters rough sketch.”“In fact, when dealing with the villain, for a brief period of time, pretend he is your hero. Why? Because villains always think they’re the protagonist.”So, make sure that your good guy is not too good and your villain is not so bad.“The inciting incident is many things. It’s a hook. It’s an introduction.”“You want to hook your reader, or agent or editor, in those first five pages.”“You’re going to give enough background to intrigue, but not overwhelm.”“Look for something that prompts curiosity in your reader...”You’re better to hook your readers from the first few pages or you'll lose them.“Plot Point 1 is where your character knows what he or she needs to do, and has absolutely no frickin’ clue how to go about that.”“What were missing, and what will create the actual plot point, is the conflict.”“She needs to have something tangible and big standing in the way of what she wants.”Plot Point 1 is the first obstacle for the MC to reach his/her goal.“Plot Point 2, also known as the Midpoint, is when your protagonist figures out what she needs to do... after casting around and getting blocked left, right and sideways.”“When that the goal appears to be achievable, turn up the motivation, and turn up the conflict.”“In order to shift the protagonist from reactive to proactive, he/she needs to learn something new that clears up the solution... Now, he’s got a path—usually with a ton of obstacles...”Plot Point 2 is when the MC becomes proactive.“...you want the reader to feel that, given the character he is and the choices he’s made, he has no other reasonable option.The Black Moment [or climax] needs to have a ring of inevitability—like a train wreck you can’t look away from. To do that, he’s got to burn some bridges.”“The midpoint is an escalation, and it has to force your protagonist to take action... The second half is about taking steps to solve the problem.”“What the reader and protagonist learn at this plot point [the third] should set the protagonist up for the big dramatic conclusion.”“By the third plot point, everything that needs to be set up to get to the resolution should be in place.”Rollercoaster“If you know the first plot point, then your question to arrive at the Black Moment [or climax] is:What is the absolute worst thing that can happen in terms of his goal?”“Now, note that this can be your internal or external story goal.”“This [the climax] can’t be a surprise, and the reader shouldn’t be able to see an obvious solution that your protagonist is simply ignoring.”“Most new writers pull their punches: they don’t want to torture their characters and don’t think that readers want to see their protagonist in pain. Trust me: they do.”Climax (end of a progression, culminating point).“The tricky part about really disastrous Black Moments? Figuring a way out of them.” And “...making sure that the resolution is believable based on what we know of the characters, and that it’s satisfying…not too obvious, but still very resonant.”Resolution: HEA (if you want an HEA).-----------------“Right smack in between Plot Point 1 and the midpoint, and then right between the midpoint and Plot Point 3” are pinch points. A pinch point is: “An example, or a reminder, of the nature and implications of the antagonist force.”Pinch points are landmark reminding the readers where the MCs are going through and what are their goals.“If I have a novel with more than one major POV character, and more than one protagonist, then I like to create plot points for all of them, weaving them together.”“Also, usually one protagonist owns the novel more than the others, even if you have several major characters. In a series, different novels might be owned by different characters.”The author suggests drafting each POV separately and then seeing how they could weave together.“It does mean that unless the scene is contributing to the resolution in the third act, it must not end with the protagonist getting exactly what he wants.”This is the description on how to write your rollercoaster’s scenes. The author explains that until the resolution, the MC should never get exactly what he wants. This is a way to get your readers flipping pages and desperately seeking an answer.“Ideally, as I've already mentioned, your story should open with your hero or heroine facing a number of choices. As they make choices, their avenues of opportunity start to close off... escalating the conflict as you go.”More and more difficulties with less and less possibilities and choices until the MCs reach the Black Moment.“Your resolution scenes should happen in the last quarter of the book, shortly after the Black Moment. Once that happens, the climax is right around the corner... That’s the moment to tie off any plot “knots” that need it, as well as showcasing the changes in your protagonist(s)...”The tension of the story goes downhill after that until the climax.“The good part about a scene outline or just putting down the plot points is that it’s like the very roughest “rough draft” possible in about a third of the time. It’s an energy-saving device.”It’s a way to get in the neighborhood of what you want to write. But what if you prefer to wander, to let your keyboard nearly work by itself?“The system: 1. First, pick a word count/page count that fits your target genre. 2. Then, pick an arbitrary number of scenes. 3. Then, create the empty outline (using sticky notes or spreadsheet). 4. Pop in the plot points. 5. Fill in the set-up scenes.That’s the first step of the usual planning of any writing.“In my scene outlines, I include the following information: 1. POV (MC); 2. Goal (what the MC wants); 3. Motivation (why does he/she want this?); 4. Conflict (obstacle); 5. Disaster (consequence).”Second step of the usual planning. It’s a guideline but it can be changed.“There is no hard and fast rule on chapter organization... I like to do the scene outline first, then look at where the most natural “breaks” occur for chapters... I like ending chapters on a “hard” disaster, because it’s more like a cliff hanger.”It’s possible to plan X chapters and end up with Z chapters after reorganisation.“After the Black Moment, ask yourself what would get you from the worst-of-the-worst to the ending... you’re ready to rock a quick-and-dirty lightning draft.”If “...you really, really want to add a scene/change a scene/ lose a scene. Look at the outline overall: one change will affect the entire novel.”You have to write what you plan now. But you should also...“... create your own system, your own processes, and your own best practices for creating the stories we all love.”I gave you above the main subjects discussed in this book. I only left out the rather interesting examples that the author added to illuminate those subjects. The structure of the book deserves to be revised as some points are repeated to be explained in more detail; the author might as well have it done right the first time the subject has been addressed. There are a few typos, especially missing spaces between words.This book can be useful for a novice writer or a seasoned author, but lacking in methodology, especially if what you want is a greater number of sales rather than the improvement of your creativity and writing quality. It’s true that to finish each chapter on a cliffhanger prompts the readers to continue reading and if they have read avidly one of your books, it’s likely that they want to read some more. But as this is what the author wanted to deal with, I think the book is quite successful. I give 4 stars to this ebook.