Interested in Writing Fiction? A Crash Course in Creating

Interested in Writing Fiction? A Crash Course in Creating Characters, Plot and Setting

Plot What is it? How do you make one? How do you make a GOOD one?

What is the difference between an essay or a work of expository prose and a story? Essays generally have a thesis, are primarily factual and reflective (not dramatic), are “narrated” by the actual author, and are usually structured as traditional, a-temporal arguments. Stories don’t have a thesis, are primarily dramatic and fictional, are narrated by an invented character, and have temporal structures.

Don’t confuse a first-person narrator of a story with the author of the story! They are not (necessarily) the same person!

Plotting a Story What's a plot? o This question linked to CHARACTER a stronger story. A sequence or pattern of events. What sets a story in motion? A QUESTION is posed, explicitly or implicitly, and you want to know the answer! Or: a balanced situation becomes unbalanced! Some sort of equilibrium is disturbed. Keep in mind overall estimated or intuited length (remember in media res).

Students almost NEVER use imagery with feeling. Plot—Don’t Plod! Building Suspense o o o o o Introduce additional narrative questions. Create multiple obstacles, physical or emotional. Control the rate of revelation. Slow pace interior monologue, description, dialogue, exposition. Fast pace action, answers to narrative question. Provide false clues, misdirection. Develop sub- or parallel-plots which delay revelation in the main plot. Consider creating your backstory gradually. Don't give main character’s full story immediately. Let it evolve. Provide powerful IMAGERY which heightens tensions. SETTING can also reveal character.

Note: many students are not aware of where their scenes stop and start, and their transitional passages are consequently “muddy”: overelaborated, bogging the whole story down. What else is important to plot? Scene Development o A unit of time and place in which (usually) important action takes place. o Can be like mini-stories within the larger story. Scene transitions o o o Provide a simple extra space on the page. This is common these days. Transitional phrases. “Jump cuts.” Allowing for ellipses, intuitive connections, leeeaaaps (cut out needless exposition and crud).

Helpful Plot Devices (for further info, see Part 1 of Story Matters) Framing Flashbacks Foreshadowing Parallel or intersecting plots or sub-plots False clues “Hooks” (these are not so much “devices” but integral elements; sometimes they’re referred to as complicating actions, triggers, or twists) Delay

Hook “triggering action” or “complicating action” or “narrative question” or “twist.” Different sources will call these by different names. False clue o Ho X k X X X X X X X X k ok Ho Flashback ok Ho Introduction of minor parallel plot o Ho Partial answer Increasing tension s i s i r C X Standard rising and falling action What SLOWS Pace? X What SPEEDS pace? ACTION! Scene-setting (exposition) Dialogue. Internal monologue. Description. Resolution

What we’ve been examining so far is the traditional, linear, “rising action” plot

And did you know: each carries with it its own ideological assumptions about the nature of time, desire, purpose, even human existence itself?

See the O’Brien story you read. Alternate Plot Structures Different plots can express Montage or collage. alternative ways of Multiple and intersecting plots. experiencing Chronologically TIME andbackwards plot. (Yes—backwards. See Lorrie Moore’s “How to Talk to Your Mother.”) REALITY! Framed narrative. (Or this is actually a plot device.) Static plots. (See experimental stories by Robbe Grille.) All flashbacks, or footnotes, or exposition.

Tim O’Brien’s, “How to Tell a True War Story” What do you make of PLOT in this story?

Plot Thingys to Avoid The “it was all a dream” ending. (Besides the fact that it already happened to Dorothy, it’s just a cheap solution to the difficulties raised in the story.) Suicide endings. (Sorry—your characters will have to find some other way out of their problems. Avoid this kind of ending at least for now.) O’Henry twist endings. (Clever, but get old fast. The twist becomes the whole point of the story, and ultimately has limited interest.) Tidy, comprehensive endings in which everything comes out well, all loose ends are neatly tied up, and the universe is pretty much explained to one and all. Let your stories end inconclusively now and then. Let them end with questions rather than answers.

Keep in mind that Does a story have to be plot-centered? A piece can be character-driven, imagedriven, idea-driven, even settingdriven. (Look at selected scenes from The Player.)

Characters How do you make them? How do you make them INTERESTING?

! P I T Types Flat Try starting with a CHARACTER idea, not a plot idea! (or Simple, Secondary, Static) Round (or Complex, Primary, Dynamic) Need to Be Believable, Consistent Distinctive Real Worst beginner faults: characters who are all alike (can’t tell one from the other), or are generic.

Look at character development in “The Cures for Love”

applied to CHACTERIZATION

1. Let only the tip of the iceberg show— the right details will evoke the great complex mass of what lies beneath. 2. Show, don’t tell. 3. Provide fewer, but better, details. (Less is more.) 4. Avoid platitudes, like the ones I just used.

Sometimes it helps to LITERALLY sketch or draw the character! Try a OPTIONAL, verbal “character sketch” I.e., invent someone My character’s name is X and she is an X. She’s from X and first Xed when she Xed a person who will be with you the rest of the semester. You can explain many things, but try to describe more than explain. At least 3 paragraphs. Can be notational.

Look again at your character sketch. What were you doing? Your character is FLAT! BORING! GENERIC! 2-dimensional! Look at questions in Harmonious Confusion and TRY AGAIN! www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/cinichol/CreativeWriting/323/HarmoniousWhole.htm

SETTING and IMAGERY What do SPECIFIC ITEMS in the setting say about the main character? – – – What is in your invented character’s bedroom? What is in YOUR bedroom? What is in the jungle in “How to Tell a True War Story”? What is in the home of the protagonist of “The Cures for Love”? What mood is created by the setting and by the story’s imagery? How do the setting and the imagery contribute to theme? In what ways might a story actually be ABOUT setting? (setting that is almost a character)

Settings which tell us very GENERAL kinds of things about the characters (socio-economic class, general historical time and location), though some are at least evocative)

These tell us more about the specific individuals living in them

Dave Eggers

Copyright A VERY Brief Look at a TINY Number of Issues Idea-Expression Dichotomy You can’t own an idea but you can own the original expression of an idea. “[T]he ‘ideas’ that are the fruit of an author's labors go into the public domain, while only the author's particular expression remains the author's to control” (http://www.edwardsamuels.com/copyright/beyond/articles/ideapt1-20.htm).

“Given the difficulty of defining the terms of the doctrine, some courts and commentators have developed an ‘abstractions’ test[FN6] or a ‘patterns’ analysis,[FN7] which purports to place a given work along a continuum between idea and expression. Although it is impossible to state precisely when a particular work has crossed the threshold from one end to the other, the courts are nonetheless supposed to struggle to apply the terms.” Ibid.

Other Considerations “Substantial Use” “Fair Use” “Sufficient originality”

Commercial Screenwriting

Movies vs. Plays vs. Novels Novel: author has control of nearly all of the main product Plays: playwright has total control of script Movies: screenwriter usually has little control of anything Novel: can get directly into characters’ thoughts and also provide exposition easily Movies: primarily visual Plays: primarily verbal (dialogue) Novels: a solitary art Plays and especially movies: highly collaborative arts

Basics BASICS BASICS Shooting or Production Script: Formatted for actual use on set. And there’s the: Pitch Outline Spec or Writer’s Script: Treatment Synopsis For shopping your script around. 100-120 pages. Period.

In MANY commercial films, CONCEPT is key. A successful concept: Can be understood by an 8th grader Can be summed up in one or two sentences Is provocative Provides a compelling mental picture Has a main character who experiences a conflict which leads to an initial HOOK Has sequel potential Has “legs” (could work even without big stars) Will nonetheless attract a big star Stands out Is original but also has familiar elements (Being John Malkovich) You can see the whole movie in it Has broad appeal Is marketable; the exec knows immediately that the idea has potential

Formulating the concept (the “one-line” or “logline”): Pose as question: What if Dorothy had a sister? What if Titanic were a spaceship instead of a boat? What if one of the ghostbusters were himself a ghost? Pose as a logline: TV Guide or newspaper movie section one-sentence summary Pose as a hook: The Graduate: Part II Out of Africa meets Pretty Lady Braveheart comes to America (The Patriot) Night of the Living Dead meets Star Wars (The Imposter) Night of the Living Dead meets Outbreak (The Invasion) Animal House meets The Good Girl (The Tao of Steve)

Logline should have an implied structure— on hearing the concept, an exec would sense a beginning, middle, and end, or the “beats”: Opening Image Every handbook you consult will Theme Statement break these parts down a little 3. Set-up differently or with different headers 4. Catalyst 5. Debate 6. B Story (usually the love story, page 30) 7. Fun and Games 8. Midpoint 9. Bad Guys Close In 10.All is Lost 11.Dark Night of the Soul 12.Finale 13.Final Image 1. 2.

The killer TITLE the CONCEPT a one-two

Know Your Genres Thriller Love Story Action/Adventure Sci-Fi Horror Detective mystery Comedy

including ones not mentioned in your local video store: The Fish Out of Water Dances with Wolves, Dangerous Minds, Miss Congeniality, Legally Blonde, Benjamin Button, The Reader The Pet Who Heals Winn-Dixie, Seabiscuit, As Good as It Gets (sub-theme), Marley and Me The Buddy Story (Sensitive Male Bonding Flick) Ill-Fated Lovers (Casablanca, Romeo and Juliet, Plain Jane Transformed The Devil Wears Prada, Pretty Lady, My Fair Lady, Cinderella (of course) Beloved Mentor Dead Poets Society, Dangerous Minds, Good Will Hunting Rites of Passage (A Few Good Men, Rocky, Titanic, The Reader) The Quest (Titanic, Troy, Indiana Jones, My Best Friend’s Wedding Monster in the House (The Exorcist, Tremors, Panic Room, Alien) The Brilliant Dope (Forrest Gump, Dave, I Am Sam)

There is much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much more to this discipline. I’ve given you a wee taste, a feel for the commercial foundations.

Finding resources is EASY To read actual film scripts, try out: www.isriptdb.com (Internet Movie Script Database) www.dailyscript.com www.newmarketpress.com/category.asp?id 10www.scriptcrawler.com (New Market Press’s film and television scripts for sale) www.script-o-rama.com www.simplyscripts.com TV and movie script writing site: www.cybercollege.com/index.htm Quicky on film script format: www.cybercollege.com/dram flm.htm Longer thingy on script writing format: http://www.screenwriting.info/ These sites haven’t been thoroughly examined; they are suggested starting places only.

BTW, how do you know when a website is junk? No contact info or verifiable background No affiliations, stated or linked Claims made without supporting evidence The site is problematically “.com” or other “.orgs” are getting easier to fudge, apparently No documentation of sources No documentation of little-known or debatable info Conspicuous ill-will, bias, disregard for opposing views Unedited and unproofread Links take you to advertisements or porn Comes from Wikipedia :) Wickedpedia

There’s a whole world of non-formula filmmaking and screenwriting out there; you just might have to look a little further than franchise theaters or screaming TV trailers. E.g., visit the Fargo Theater! But, man, do you really want to write formula stuff?

The 3 Exercise: What’s the Story? Where to?

Possible pts. of view: – You – Receiver – Teacher – Onlooker Point of entry – Instructor giving assignment – You on your way – Teacher waiting – Handing the money over – Someone reflecting back (frame) Narrative question: – What will receiver do? (action story about people in conflict, danger) – What will happen to me when I encounter the receiver? Can I make myself do it? (characterbased story about personal growth; tiny coming-of-age piece) – Why is instructor doing this? (story about education; maybe mentor-piece; battle-of-wills piece) – What will students think of this assignment? (the burned-out teacher; the evil teacher; the heroic teacher) Triggers, hooks, complicating actions, mounting tension – Dialogue with other students on the way – New thoughts on the way – Diversions; delays; false leads – Setting: how do things LOOK when one is stepping directly into the unknown? Climax Dangers of this story – Pat theme

Editing prose for maximum INTEREST Remember what Eggers says about “reading for the sentences”? Juicy Crisp Thick Fluid Flat Smooth Spare Elliptical Brittle Power Punch Texture Nuance Elegance

See Blackboard “Course Documents” for sheet. Also at: http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/ cinichol/CreativeWriting/323/Style.htm

Worst High School Metaphors 1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master. 2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. 3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. 4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was roomtemperature Canadian beef. 5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up. 6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree. 8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine. 9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t. 10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup. 11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. Instead of 7:30. 12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease. 14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. Traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. At a speed of 35 mph. 15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth. 16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met. 17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River. 18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut. 19. Shots rang out, as shots are want to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work. 21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while. 22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something. 23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant. 24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools. 25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

less is more (style)

It roars down the road. The engine howls, a caged animal begging to be set free; plumes of bronze smoke blast skyward with every scream. Dust billows in airborne whirlpools behind gargantuan tires. Its ominous shadow bears down upon everything trapped in its destructive path. Ever closer it approaches, once a mere speck on the horizon this beast becomes a veritable leviathan.

It roars down the road. The engine howls, a caged animal begging to be set free; plumes of bronze smoke blast skyward with every scream. Dust billows in airborne whirlpools behind gargantuan tires. Its ominous shadow bears down upon everything trapped in its destructive path. Ever closer it approaches, once a mere speck on the horizon this beast becomes a veritable leviathan. Once a mere speck on the horizon, ever closer it approaches.

It roars down the road, a caged animal. Bronze smoke blasts skyward, dust in airborne whirlpools behind gargantuan tires. Once a mere speck, its shadow bears down upon everything.

Silences aren’t silent. Silences aren’t nothing. Being good with words means knowing when to shut up.

Fiction: Some #1 Things to Look Out For Before handing in workshop material, ask yourself at least a few of these questions:

1. Does the story rely entirely on plot? Are other story elements—character, setting, perspective, language, image—ignored? 2. Does the plot in turn rely entirely on an "O'Henry twist" or trick ending? This is fun maybe once or twice, but it gets old really fast. You should only be doing this sparingly. The outcome is a foregone conclusion for the writer and so no discoveries have been made. One of the central pleasures in writing—for the writer—has been missed. 3. A related problem is the plot based heavily on a clever, "ooh-aah" or "oh wow" premise. Such a premise or basic concept is fine if the story is otherwise fully developed, but too often the premise becomes the only point, a gimmick of interest for about 3 seconds. Try founding your story on some interesting and unresolved, possibly unresolvable problem of character rather than plot. The premise may seem less snappy or clever at first, but ultimately the story will be richer and take the reader (and you, the writer) into more interesting territory. 4. Is the plot "front-heavy"? That is, does it have page after page of initial scene-setting and exposition, followed by screaming slide to a conclusion? 5. Is there a suicide ending? Come on. 6. Are there plenty of specific, concrete, sensory DETAILS so that the reader can really see and feel the setting and characters? Or is most of the language general and abstract?

7. Are the characters in the story distinctive? Can you tell one apart from the other, or are they all basically the same person? 8. Are the characters developed? Do you really know the central people in the story—their desires, physical quirks, beliefs, contradictions? Does the main character leave an impression? Do you know everything there is to know about the main character? (you shouldn't!). 9. Are scenes* in the story distinctive and delineated? If they all kind of run together, chances are there's a lot of inconsequential action which is diluting the best stuff so we can't see it or experience it vividly. Go through and mark where scenes in the story begin and end, and consider cleaner transitions from one scene to another. 10. Look at the scenes you've marked. Is each one sufficiently developed? Notice where some good scene opportunities are being brushed over. These are places where you probably SUMMARIZED or used EXPOSITION rather than developed the moment with sensory detail. 11. Are the scenes well-modulated? You want to alternate action, reflection, dialogue, and exposition—not action scene followed by action scene followed by action scene. If there's no modulation, the high points just run together with the low points and the story will feel monotonous. 12. Is the point of view modulated? You want "distant shots" as well as detailed "close-ups." 13. Is there real engagement with language? Or, oops, is the prose style pretty much a soggy paper towel?

14. Look out for dull, hackneyed language; cliché words and expressions: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. "sly smile" "evil smirk" "deep into his eyes" "heart leaped to his throat" "face etched with concern" "blacker than night" "bitter tears" majestic sunset," etc. 15. Try some interesting figurative language! Look at Lorrie Moore and Annie Proulx for evocative, surprising, moving, vivid, juicy metaphors and similes. 16. Watch out for monotonous sentence length and style; no rhythmic, modulated, or otherwise engaging sentences. 17. Listen for voice—does your narrator, whether she's wholly omniscient, limited omniscient, or first-person—have a distinctive way of talking? * Scene an unbroken stretch of time and action, usually in one place. Unlike a summary or exposition, which may overview a broad period of time, a scene generally covers a brief, detailed, circumscribed period. Scenes are almost like small stories in themselves.

All assignments in Story Matters Be sure to read the interviews!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Analyze them from the point of view of a writer, not a literary scholar or critic.

Screenwriting info freely cribbed from Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat, Linda Seger’s From Script to Screen, David Trottier’s Screenwriter’s Bible, and Skip Press’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Screenwriting and Rob Tobin’s The Screenwriting Formula.