Constructing Plot (Act 1 - Beginnings)

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift.”  - Steve Prefontaine

The basics of constructing an intriguing and entertaining plot is at the core of good storytelling.  Any discussion of plot must at some point refer back to the master, Aristotle.  For over 2,300 years the format he laid down still serves us.  Every story has a beginning, middle and end.  Duh...  and every section has a specific function.  Setup the situation in act one, escalate the confrontation with the antagonist in act two and provide the reader/viewer with a satisfying resolution in act three.  Okay, but how does one go about constructing a plot?

In this entry I'll discuss stage one: the beginning or setup.

Let's take a look at plot construction's first component (the beginning).  The basic premise of any story is simply: something happens to someone.  In the first thirty pages of your screenplay (give or take) your story must accomplish several things.  Okay, define who your hero is.  This should be easy.  It's usually the character that under goes the most change.  The audience will experience your story through this person's perspective.

Empathy toward your main character will keep your audience engaged.  It's crucial.  No one will sit through a movie for an hour and a half if they don't feel a connection to your main character.  I've found three helpful techniques that help with this process.

• Make your main character either very good at what he or she does (a decorated army officer who leads new recruits through the difficulties of becoming an officer, a compassionate teacher that sacrifices advancements in her own career to help her students, etc.) or
• Make your main character hilariously funny (a hateful, biggot like Archie Bunker in All in the Family or a bumbling, drunken playboy like Arthur the multi-millionaire lush in the film of the same name played by Dudley Moore) we can forgive all types of bad behavior in a main character when he or she is funny.  In fact, we'll cheer them on!   or lastly,
• Make your character the victim of some unfortunate event beyond their control (a victim of a car accident, a person left devastated by a hurricane, an abused child, etc.).  Our hearts go out to people like this.  It's natural.  Exploit it!  

These are three easy ways to build audience empathy with your main character.  Empathy is what will keep them rooting for your hero and caring about your story's final resolution.

The challenge of Act one is that it needs to accomplish a few important things as it thrusts us into the action.  Many beginning writers linger on lengthy explanations and setups that slow a story down.  In contrast, look at the mega successful James Bond franchise.  Those films are famous for beginning with an elaborate action sequence.  It throws the audience into the adventure at the very first moment.

Be sure to start your story at the height of something important that's happening in the lives of the characters you've created - not their Thursday afternoon trip to the market (unless of course that's where something happens - like a robbery, an alien attack, an act of terrorism, etc.)  A good rule of thumb I've heard is to start every scene at the last possible moment.  For instance, you want to write a scene about a husband and wife getting into an argument.  Well -- start in the heat of an argument!  Insults are slung about over a badly cooked dinner, tears are shed - slaps across the face are exchanged - you get the idea.  Don't start at the moment when a tired husband is just arriving home from work.  You've got to get a lot of things done in the first thirty pages.  You just don't have time for this.

Once you've accomplished setting up the environment, tone and main character give your hero a burning desire.  This will be the gasoline that keeps the story moving forward.

Consider these personal character motives:  A woman intent on getting her less than average child into an exclusive school, a boxer trying to make a comeback when he's well past his prime, a detective with twenty hours to find a kidnapped heiress -- these are all examples of a burning desire - a overwhelming need that you can then exploit for dramatic or comedic purpose in stage two - the middle.  One clever writing book I read recently said that beginning is all about rushing to get to the middle!

Setup the "who what and where" of your story in Act one and you're well on your way to having a great first act.  Give your audience the chance to discover who the people of your story are - make them care - and then be sure to get across what the stakes are in your story.

Like many writers, I have a fondness for stories of far off, exotic locales and wondrous new cultures.  Asne Seierstad's The Bookseller of Kabul is penetrating and moving account of one journalist's extended stay in Afghanistan.  It's  rich with detail and emotionally engaging.  I highly recommend it.

This week's suggested website: The Library of Congress - (http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html) This U.S. government site offers access to an online library of books, letters, manuscripts, photos and other printed materials.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Review your main's character biography.  Make sure you've included a burning desire in his/her makeup that will drive him/her through the rest of your story.  Have a great writing week.  

My Own Private Eden

"If you're going to have two faces at least make one of them pretty" - Marilyn Monroe

Driving 1,700 miles from Houston to a small upstate New York hamlet (I’d rather not disclose where for fear I may get visitors) with my two dogs gave me an opportunity to see some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes as I passed through states like Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Maryland and Pennsylvania.  Each had its own character, its own shape, its own voice.  The blue mountains of Tennessee are appropriately named but nothing can prepare you for how breathtaking they are.  I'm astounded at how much beauty there is in the world.

I arrived in my dilapidated hunter’s cabin to find the place in pretty decent shape.  The grass had only grown chest high and required a mere three days of weed whacking to tame.  The washer/dryer combo that promised to use next to no energy very little water and certified hunky dory for the environment, stubbornly refused to drain.  It held my clothes hostage in lukewarm water for three days.  As it happened not having the modern convenience of a washer/dryer was a wonderful introduction to the world of "laundry meditation."  A tub, some water, and good old elbow grease and I’m really feeling like Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Lastly, a sturdy line that will hold it all in place until the sun bleaches my clothes with warmth.

A noisy 4^th of July holiday weekend came and went and the mountainside settled down to its own rhythms.  Wild turkey, raccoons, bear, deer, hawks, chipmunks, robins, beavers, and woodpeckers were just a few of the animals I could a identify – there were many more I’d never seen before including a few snakes that angrily slithered around exposed to the sun and predators thanks to the weed whacker.  Now what does this all have to do with writing?  Everything!

Hudson Valley - Copyright David Oliveras 2011

 This was the vista that awaited me when I arrived.  My own private eden.  It's a piece of property that I own in the Hudson Valley.  It's where I'll have my ashes spread.  I'm fortunate that I can spend some time of the year here, writing.  It's where it all comes from.

Traveling exposes you wonderful new environments rich in detail and color.  It hones your powers of observation.  It forces you into the unknown (where adventure breeds).  

What better entertainment than a classic from one of my favorite authors.  John Steinbeck’s, Travels with Charly: In Search of America” was one of those books I always meant to read but never got around to.  I had an old audiobook on cassette (unabridged, of course) and I spent many hours on the road reading about Steinbeck’s perspective on what he saw.  He made his trip in the early 1960s.  Times were certainly different.  What a wonderful piece of social commentary. It was especially wonderful to read Steinbeck's comments on civil rights as an African American sits in the Oval Office.   Highly recommended!

 This week's suggested website: The Purdue Online Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/) (OWL) has over 200 high quality grammar and writing resources.

 

This week's writing prompt:  Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Draw an imaginary map.  It can be a vast landscape of mountains or a ultra modern urban layout. Populate this place with landmarks and vivid detail.  When you're ready allow a character you've been working on to wander through this place.  What happens?

Roadmaps and Sign Posts

"If you follow all the rules, you'll miss out on all the fun."  -- Katherine Hepburn

Life throws you curves!  It's great when you can enjoy them, like a child riding a roller coaster.  The faster, and more unexpected they are the better.  Dips and curves are the whole idea of the ride.  So it is with your characters, who by now you know very well.  Your job now as a storyteller is to throw them into the "curves" of life.

I'm reminded, as I prepare to travel cross country, that planning a long piece of writing is a lot like planning a road trip.  When you prepare for a road trip you obviously know your starting point (beginning) and you know your destination (ending).  A lot of writers, myself included, get lost in the middle - and that's where the meat of the story is.

A friend of mine recently asked me what she should do with her characters (who, by now she knows inside and out).  Well, it's really basic and difficult at the same time.  Give your characters a strong desire (like getting across country) and then put as many obstacles in their way as possible (i.e., your hero must take his two large dogs - that don't always get along - with him in a sportscar.)

Your characters must start in one place (whether its a phyical place or emotional state) and end up in another.  The audience needs to see a progression (or degression).  How they get there is what makes your story interesting.

A treatment or outline will serve to indicate the major points along the way.  However, the trip won't be without its fair share of surprises.  You'll stumble along and find treasures that you didn't expect much like you would on a road trip. (i.e., your hero's GPS has lost all sense of direction).

There's no better way to learn writing than to read the writers that resonate with your sensibilities and excite you the most.  I was thrilled once again with Paulo Coehlo's writing.  I've read the majority of his work and recently finished "The Witch of Portobello" was no disappointment.  It's only the second novel I've read this year.  I'm quite a bit behind my goal of one a month.  See.... shit happens!


This week's suggested website: Absolute Write - (www.absolutewrite.com) Absolute Write covers a wide range of topics and is a good resource for any writer. This site's thousands of pages feature articles, classifieds, interviews, message boards and writing contests.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Write a postcard to yourself from your dream vacation destination.  Describe the wonderful (or horrific) time you're having.http://absolutewrite.com/

Is It Worth It?

"By helping you win, I win too.  We all do.  And that is the only way to become not only a better writer, but to make the world a better place." - Blake Snyder

Rome wasn't built in a day.  As frustrating as it may be, things take time to come to fruition.  When you embark on a project as daunting as a novel or screenplay, be prepared to be in it for the long haul.  You'll need to put off your desire for instant results or even noticeable progress.  It may happen that way, but more often than not it's a slow methodical approach to a clearly realized goal that gets you to the finish line.

Along the way, if you're fortunate, you'll encounter other writers on the path, struggling with the same issues.  Remember that not every day will be a great writing day.  Sometimes you'll struggle and wind up with a measly paragraph that only brushes up against mediocrity.  There will be days when you read what you've written so far and wonder why you didn't listen to your mother and become an accountant.

The important thing to remember here is that this is all part of the process.  You have to be willing to enjoy the process of writing not just the act of being finished.  The process of agonizing over a sentence, pouring over a thesaurus for the right word, getting turned on by spell check is all part and parcel of being a writer.  These are the mundane things that will fill your days and build into a great work.  The richness of writing lies in the struggle to write not in the accolades that come from critics or readers.  Some days your blog will suck ass and you'll feel like you have nothing to say, or that you've said it all before.  This is where most wannabees quit.  A writer, will write anyway.  A writer will write through the depression and self doubt.  Don't be surprised if you arrive at more depression and self-doubt for your trouble.  That's part of the process too.  Take the time to understand your process.  Learn when to shut up, turn off your mind and keep writing.  All great writers have one thing in common.  They finished.  They got across the finish line and completed their vision.  It's that simple.  Arrive at the page.  Give it what you can.

Is it worth it?  Is writing ever going to pay off?  Will I ever be published/produced?  You may never know the answer to these questions.  The truth is, it doesn't matter one way or the other.  Riches?  Fame?  So what?  Write.




This week's suggested website: Guide to Literary Agents (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com)  If you're looking for representation, this comprehensive guide may be your best method of identifying which agents are best suited to represent your type of work.


This week's writing prompt:  Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Compile a list of five of your favorite writers.  Spend a little time researching their personal lives.  Notice what their struggles and triumphs were.  What were their greatest literary achievements?  What was going on in their personal lives when their writing was at its best?  Are there any similarities between the authors on your list?  What are they?

Set the Stage on the Page

There exists within our screenplays, fiction, poetry, etc. an invisible character that subliminally reaches our intended audience with surprising force.  And, that invisible character is: setting.  


It's important not to underestimate the relevance of setting in our writing.  Dismissing setting as mere description can undermine your story's emotional impact.  Setting the stage is an essential part of creating a sense of suspended disbelief.

If for example your story is a hard hitting crime drama, your ability to create the appropriate setting, complete with interesting details that reveal human nuances, will make your story sparkle with life and authenticity. A properly imagined setting will not only create the mood for your piece but will also establish your credibility an an authoritative voice.

If the reader/audience is satisfied that you're knowledgeable of your surroundings they'll be more easily lulled into your imaginary story.

There are wonderful examples of stories where the environment is certainly a "voice" or presence in the story.  127 Hours is a perfect example of how the environment plays a major role in the lives of the characters, the decisions they make and the course of action they follow.  Imagine for a moment some other examples of setting playing an important role in a story.   Taxi Driver, Annie Hall, Wall Street, Sex and the City and countless others all paint a different picture of New York City.  Can you imagine how different the stories would be if they took place somewhere else.  The spirit of New York breathes through these stories.

Perhaps no other genre demands a well realized setting as much as science fiction.  Consider how much time and effort went into the planning of the world of Star Wars.  Entire planets, races of sentient beings, all manner of vegetation, modes of transportation, weaponry, etc. all help to create the setting for this magnificent adventure.  Similarly, consider how the pastural settings of "The Natural" helped to elevate this story from just a baseball movie to a mystical allegory of forgiveness, regret and redemption.

Treat setting like an invisible character and add impact to every scene in your story.


This week's suggested website:  The Literary Law Guide (http://www.literarylawguide.com) provides the legal resources and copyright information that every writer ought to be familiar with.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Write a love letter to yourself.   Sounds easy, maybe even silly but you'd be surprised how many people resist this exercise.  A little self-love can be very powerful.  Pour it on!  Have a great writing week.

Guest Blogger: Herb Goss

Guest Blogger:  TV Writer/Producer, Herb Goss

Writing is about starting.  Every day you must start to get anything done.  Many people tell you to pick a time to start and always begin at that exact time.  Now that's discipline, but you're a writer not an Olympic athlete so that might not be realistic.  Other writers have a page count that they like to hit.  I believe in both.  I try to write at least six pages a day and I like to start at 10am.  However, if I can't start at 10 am than I start at another time and if I can't write six pages than I write as many as I can.  You see the object is to have discipline which is the only way to write anything of substance and value.  The other rule is to be flexible because if you are not flexible then you'll find that you are constantly beating yourself up which is not conducive to having a good writer's life. But how to start?
It all begins with a blank page.  More vast than the infinite universe we live in this can be the most challenging part of writing.  If you don't have an idea to slam down then the first thing to do is brainstorm. Just start writing down the first thing that comes to your mind.  "A rabbit eating popcorn and getting thrown out of a theater on it's ears."  "Why are there two different spellings of theatre, theater?" Don't filter, don't censor. Be prepared to throw that all out because it's not important that the ideas be good but that you write the ideas down.  This gets you flowing and keeps you in the habit of writing.  Once the habit forms you wont' be able to stop yourself, unless you hear an ice cream truck because all motion stops when anyone or anything hears the song of an ice cream truck.

If you have an idea.  Start writing it down.  Get as many pages as you can.  You've started.  Sweet.  Now you have something to rewrite.  From that day forward, you'll never have to start from scratch.  You can start by rewriting what you already wrote, making it better.  After that, continue to write from where you left off or perhaps you can write an entirely different piece of your puzzle. Start, write, rewrite, six pages a day.  That's a six hundred page novel in 100 days.  Three months.  It's a 30 page spec script in 5 days.  Okay it's not that easy and fast but it's close.  Six a day.  Start, write, rewrite and then one day... finish.

This week's suggested website:  Zoetrope.com (www.zoetrope.com) In March of 1998 Francis Coppola launched a website where writers could submit their short stories to his magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story. A community of writers quickly formed around the website. It became so popular so quickly that a few months later he created sites for novellas and screenplays.  The Virtual Studio is a submission destination and collaboration tool for filmmakers—a community where artists can submit and workshop original work. It's also the best e-resource for information about the Coppola family and American Zoetrope.


This week's writing prompt:  Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Write a one page short story in the first person point of view.  Doesn't need to be fancy or award winning literature.  Now here's the real challenge.  Switch genders.  If you're a male write in the voice of a female (many great writers still complain this is difficult and yet crucial).  Try to be convincing and not cliched.  Be sure to depict the character's inner life.  You won't have much time in five minutes and one page but try to give the reader a glimpse of your character's inner landscape.  It doesn't need to be perfect.  Practice switching into the "voices" of your characters from the inside out.  Have a great writing week. 

The Value of Keeping a Journal

"The unexamined life is not worth living." -- Socrates

Some things are never written down but instead are forgotten and buried.  It's a tragedy.  Everything, no matter how foul or obnoxious, deserves to be written down if the thinker/writer wishes to do so.  For those awful, cancerous secrets that are eating us alive there is a remedy -- the journal.

My father beat me.  My mother was a crack addict.  My uncle molested me.  I'm an anorexic teenage prostitute.  Nothing should escape the penetrating scrutiny of your journal.  These horrific experiences were the basis of famous and highly profound works of memoir by brave, self-examining writers.  And, these works have transformed the lives of others.  Consider Anne Frank's diary and the impact it has had on the subsequent generations following her death.

The journal is the literary equivalent of the paparazzi.   The images depicted in your diary will not always be flattering, in most cases you'll sound like a selfish, whining child.  However shallow, ignorant or resentful a mood you may find yourself in, the journal can safely contain it, so you don't have to.  Let the bitterness and anger flow onto the page.  It all needs to go somewhere or else it'll bubble up to the surface and boil over into the other areas of your life like a backed up septic tank of emotional baggage.

Be aggressive in your effort to examine and expose yourself.  This personal document will track an emotional trajectory that you can trace over the course of your life.  You will find there are themes that reoccur in your life with different characters in place and under different circumstances.  If you're like me you'll find the same mini dramas being played out over and over again, perhaps on a larger scale with more at stake.  In other words, the same bully who pushed us off the monkey bars when we were eight confronts us at middle age when we argue with a boss or spouse.  Hopefully we have matured a bit and act differently today than we did when we were eight.  But imagine how an eight year old might capture this experience in a journal entry.

"Tommy knocked me off the monkey bars today.  I hate him.  I'm going to kill him tomorrow after school.  I don't know how yet.  Maybe poison.  But I want to punch him in the jaw in front of everybody first."


Perhaps best remembered for her erotic fiction, Anaïs Nin was  also a passionate diarist whose grand oeuvre, in my opinion, was her journal.  The testament spanned decades and fueled much of her other work.  In it were revelations about her sexual adventures, including a well known affair with the author, Henry Miller, that were shocking for the time.  Loaded with fecund language and uninhibited erotic force, her diary left a lasting impression on my writing life.  I highly recommend this great and often overlooked writer.


Next week -- We're kicking off our new monthly guest blogger feature.  The first of our special guest bloggers,  Herb Goss, a veteran TV writer/producer with over 600 aired episodes to his credit, shares his insights on the writing process.


This week's suggested website:  Creative Writing Prompts - (www.creativewritingprompts.com).  Over three hundred writing prompts to spark the imagination of the fiction writer as well as the journal writer.  Check it out and see which ones work for you.

This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  On a single sheet of paper list your strong points as a writer, e.g., dialog, description, plotting, etc.  Spend a few moments defining what you do well.  Next, picture where you would like to be in your career five years from now, then ten years from now.  Now you have a clear goal in front of you and the strong points you listed earlier are the road map that will get you there.  Fold this sheet of paper and stuff it in your journal.  Have a great writing week.