Plot Study: Introduction

The introduction ‘act’ of your story is where you give the reader all the information about the world they will be entering, along with background to explain the upcoming conflict. It’s your opportunity to lay the foundations for the rest of the tale.

Characters

It is during this section that you introduce your characters, giving an insight into their personae, allowing the reader to familiarise themselves with your cast before you throw them into the ‘meat’ of your story. Often, characters will come and go within a story, and this is your opportunity to introduce the core group of characters who will be playing the lead parts.

Obviously, the protaganist is introduced here directly, but what about the antagonist? Should he/she be explicitly introduced? I suppose this is entirely dependant on personal taste. For me, I like to only hint at the main protaganist during the introduction: That way, you can build some tension as the reader tries to figure out who is the main bad-guy.

The World

The introduction gives you a chance to introduce your world: Its people, the governmental structure, and the current situation it is in. It also is a chance to put into context where your characters stand within the world - which can be of utmost importance to the story.

History

As in the real world, the history of your created realm often will have shaped how it now stands. Your introduction gives you a chance to tell part of that history, and your readers will have a greater understanding of the world.

The origins of the protagonist, antagonist or any other character could well be inter-mingled with the history of the world, so you can also explain their background - And legends are always a nice way to give hints to what will happen later on in the story.

Atmosphere and Tone

The atmosphere and tone of your story could well stay the same throughout, and the introduction is a nicely convenient place to put them in place, giving your reader a taster of what to expect throughout the story.

However, the tone and atmosphere could also change by the end of the story, but you need to set the initial tone so the reader can see the changes. What better place to do it than here?

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I mentioned I would be using the ‘Lord of the Rings’ as an example throughout this theme, so let’s take a quick look at what Tolkien did in his ‘introduction’ to do that which has been discussed above.

Starting off in Hobbiton, we are introduced to the race of Hobbits, who are a friendly, happy-go-lucky race of people who have no care of the outside world. It is also here that we meet our main protagonists: Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. We see their attitudes, ideals and personalities quite well - Frodo, the adventure seeking young man who feels bogged down by responsibility; Sam, the duty-driven gardener who loyally serves his master (Frodo) well; Finally, Merry and Pippin who are both very similar: cheeky, mischievous friends who haven’t a real care in the world.

We’re also introduced to Gandalf, who plays a big part in the story, and get an insight into his position and power. But, his main ‘purpose’ during this part of the plot, from a storyteller’s viewpoint, is to give us, the reader, an insight into the history and world. He tells the story of the One Ring, and its creator, Sauron, while also giving us an idea of the world outside Hobbiton.

Overall, the tone and atmosphere are happy, cheerful and bright (Just about all Hobbits’ speech is ended in exclamation points!), yet during Gandalf’s telling of the story and legend surroudning the Ring, we get a hint of the darkness that will later prevail the story.

The introduction ends quite nicely as Frodo is charged with leaving Hobbiton to take the Ring to Rivendell so the elves can choose what to do with it.

Tolkien gives us a nice example of how Freytag’s analysis actually works in literature, and we’ll take a look later at how the other sections are utilised.

Your Introductions

What do you like to see/put into the introductory phases of stories? Do you like the way Tolkien makes his introduction? What other introductions have you enjoyed? Share with us!

Elements of Plot

We all know what a plot is, it’s the development of a story. Its progression from start to finish. But, what parts make up a plot? What themes are present in all stories if you look closely enough? That’s what the next few posts will be looking at; but for this introductory post to the theme of plot, I’m going to be giving an overview.

Dramatic Structure

While originally designed as an analysis of dramatic works like plays and screenplays, Gustav Freytag’s study of ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama is probably the most readily noticeable structure for plots - both for plays and ’standard’ literature.

It incorporates five acts: Exposition (introduction), Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Conclusion (listed as ‘denouement’). Each of these ’sections’ will be looked at in more detail over the next couple of weeks, but I’ll be giving a brief overview now.

Introduction

This is the beginning of the story, where characters and the world are introduced, background information is offered, and your readers are made ready for the next sections. Your introduction gives the setting and reasons for the upcoming conflict.

Rising Action

The build-up to the climax, the Rising Action ‘phase’ takes all the information from the Introduction and moves it forward towards the Climax. Other side-plots are generally introduced here and add to the final conflict.

Climax

This is the point at which the story has thus far been reaching towards - the key point in the story where there is a turning point in the situation.

Falling Action

This shows the immediate effects of the Climax, and generally finalises the victory - or loss - of the protagonist against the antagonist.

Conclusion

The final, closing section of a plot, the Conclusion ends all ‘loose ends’ and shows the changes from the start of the story. “And they lived happily ever after…”

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Obviously, these are only scant offerings of explanations, but all will be explained in more detail as we continue on. I’ll be making reference to Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ when writing my more detailed articles on plot. Hopefully a lot of you would have either read the books or seen the movies, so will have at least a rough knowledge of the general plot involved.

Feedback?

Do you know of this structure already? If so, what are your thoughts? If not, what structures do you use, or notice, when looking at plots? Your thoughts, methodologies and ideas are all welcome, and part of my own writer’s journey. So, give your input!

A Return and A New Theme

Firstly, let me apologise for my distinct lack of activity on the blog. Having started a new job after several months of being unemployed, it has taken some getting used to; especially with such strange hours. For anyone who is interested, I’m working for a telesales company - where most of my work-life experience lies - and am selling insurance. Working from 10:30am until 8:00pm, I’ve found myself with not a whole lot of time to do a great deal besides working and sleeping.

But, having started to finally adjust once more to the world of work, I am happy to announce that I will once again be posting on a regular basis here at A Writer’s Journey! So, you can all look forward to seeing regular writing related articles from me once more.

On that note, let me firstly make comment about the loss of a great fantasy author, someone who propelled me into the realms of reading fantasy, and inspired me to write more prolifically - David Eddings. I first read his Elenium trilogy back in Year 5 of middle school (which would have made me, what, 9 or 10 years old - I think) and was gripped by the world of Sparkhawk and his companion knights. Ever since, I have been a massive fan of Eddings’ work, and must express a sadness at his passing.

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On a more positive note, however, we will have a new theme for the next couple of weeks here at A Writer’s Journey. Following on from the theme of characters, I think the next logical step would be to look at plot. As such, we’ll be discussing the elements of a plot, how to plan your plot, along with ways to make otherwise ‘generic’ or ‘cliched’ plots original and different.

I’m hoping for lots of discussion here, as I know everyone has different views, preferences, and methodologies.

In terms of post schedule, I’ll be looking at posting three times a week from now on: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That should be much more manageable for me in terms of time, and means I’ll be able to focus properly on the content. Any feedbacks on the new schedule is welcome, by the way.

My Favourite Characters

As a pleasant end to the theme of characters, I thought it would be pertinent to name just a few of my favourites. From movies, books and TV, the follwing are all characters I’d recommend watching or reading about. For me, they help make the film/book/TV series a joy to read/write.

Perrin Aybara

This character had to be first. My favourite character fom my favourite series of books. One of three leads from the late Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series, Perrin is my personal highlight to the epic tale. The son of a blacksmith, he finds himself drawn into events that are beyond his control. A modest fellow, he is forced to become a leader of men, and must battle his own inner demons whilst protecting those he loves.

Caught between doing what is right and escaping a situation he detests, Perrin’s internal conflict nicely displays a human side that is almost stereotypical of the anti-hero. Yet, he struggles on without so much as a complaint. In the middle of a battle for his affection, torn between two lives, he hopes only to one day return to his father’s forge. It will be interesting to see how his story ends in the final book.

Noah Bennett

From the Heroes TV series, Noah exemplifies in my mind the man caught in a ‘catch 22′ situation. Everything he does, he believes is for the protection of his family; specifically his daughter, Claire. He turns his back, seemingly, on what is the right thing to do, so he can manipulate and threaten in order to achieve his goals. Ruthless and cold, he’ll even endanger Claire’s love of him to protect her.

Part of my love for this character, I’ll admit, comes from the way he is portrayed. There is always an element of doubt surrounding Noah (also known as HRG - Horn Rimmed Glasses - a name he was given before his real role was revealed), and it is never quite clear if his selflessness is genuine. It would be interesting to see what he’d do if it was his death or Claire’s.

Althalus

The perfect example of an anti-hero, Althalus, from David and Leigh Eddings’ ‘Redemption of Althalus,’ this character is a real joy. A theif and general no-gooder, Althalus is given the job of stealing a book from a house - for lots of gold. Events don’t work quite as planned, and he is forced to engage in a mission to save the world in the midst of a ‘War of the Gods.’ It’s his acidic wit and playful antics that make Althalus enjoyable early on in the book.

As responsibility weighs down on him, and we begin to see a change, his transformation into a genuinely good guy is a difficult one, and he must battle with his inner, irresponsible criminal prevent the death of new-found friends along with the rest of the world. It is amusing to see him use techniques applied to robbery in battle, and when they work, even more so.

Silas

From the much talked-about novel by Dan Brown, ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ This monk turned killer offers us an insight into just how far brainwashing and manipulation can go. He kills in the name of God, at the order of his Opus Dei master, yet knows it is wrong so punishes himself constantly to repent of the sins.

An innocent brought into a war in the most hideous of ways, there is a certain child-like quality to Silas. Had he not been manipulated into a killer, perhaps he would have done some good in the world.

Other Favourites

Who are your favourite characters from various media? Why do you like them? Share your favourites with us all!

Naming Your Cast

When it comes to characters, one of the most difficult things to do is actually give them names. I know it can, on occasion, be a stumbling block for me. So, let’s take a look at some of the ways we can effectively name our characters. (A lot of this will relate to character names when you are writing inside a world different to our own.)

Form and Origin

This is important when you are creating your world. How are names formed? Is the family name first, as in Japan, or last like the Western world? Also consider such things as the use of apostrophes: Are they used to denote certain ‘portions’ of the name?

Are names based upon the occupation or social standing of your characters? Are they derivative of whatever your character does? For example, John Miller. This character may well be a miller’s son or a miller himself. A lot of real world names, especially family names, have evolved from family names: Carpenter, Taylor, Smith and Fisher are good examples of this. Also consider if titles, whether current or ancestoral, become part of names. For example, Rand al’Thor from Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series; the ‘al’ prefix denotes the title of Lord and is a remnant from when his home village was part of a long-dead nation.

Be Consistent

Find a formula from your decisions on form and origin. Keep to it. Of course, if your story features more than one nation/culture, you may well need to develop multiple forms: One for each. Maintaining the same fomula will do a couple of things primarily. Firstly, it will make name creation easier, and secondly it will add authenticity to your writing and story.

Of course, exceptions can be made to consistency. But, exceptions are exceptions for a reason: they are rare and unusual. If every other character is an ‘exception,’ you might as well not bother with a formula at all.

Still Can’t Name That One Character?

It can be hard, even after building your framework, to name all the characters in a story. What can you do when a name just won’t come to you? Make it up! The first collection of letters that spring to mind can then be used to make a name. Or, try this:

yrgpfuiqwehpfiqewuhpfwieuqfh

I’ll admit, I just bashed my keyboard (gently, as I use a laptop) a few times. But, from it, I can pick up a few letters, like Fiq and Fwie, that run together in such a way that look like names. Fiq Fwie is a nice alliteration, but I don’t like it. Yiq Fwie seems better, so I’ll go with that. (Keep an eye out in my upcoming novella for a cameo from Yiq!)

Inspiration

It can come from anywhere. Wookies from Star Wars were so named because of a random comment by one of George Lucas’ friends when driving. “You just ran over a wookie,” I think is the quote, but I’m unsure. Maybe real life names, especially if writing inside the real world. Even if you aren’t, they could be used. Matthew could easily become Matew, for example. A nice-sounding name that would feel quite at home in a fantasy novel.

Other sources of inspiration could be history: My main RolePlaying character is called Saladin, as in the Muslim leader during the Crusades. Another character’s name then comes from Saladin’s birth name: Yousuf. Historical names are a nice inspiration and can also give an interesting viewpoint when making your characters to start with.

Mythology and legend. There are some awesome names in ancient legends and myths: Thor, the thunder god; Achilles, the legendary warrior; Set, the Egyptian God… The list goes on. And, of course, you can make your own derivatives on these names to fit in with your formula, or the feel of the story: An obviously Oriental sounding name may not fit into your sci-fi novel, but make an adjustment, and it could fit fine. Take Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars: The name derives from chi-gung (or qi-gung dependant on translation), which is a form of Chinese internal exercise focusing on energy.

And you?

What do you do when naming your characters? Do you have any tricks for coming up with names? What do you use for inspiration? Share your thoughts and ideas with us.

Character Development

This post will focus a little more on RolePlay than solely literary projects. As always, though, it can certainly be applied to writing normal fiction.

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When playing your character, the desire is always there to have them grow. This is entirely understandable and something that should happen. How can let your characters develop in a way that is both realistic and pertinent to the story? Let’s find out!

Events Are Key

All events that take place in the story will, in some way, affect your character. Whether it’s finding their love/parent/sibling/best friend dead or injured, or hearing a conversation between two others. You need to decide how these events will change your character and in what way.

Will the death of a loved one send your character into an endless rage? Make them depressed? Let them see life from a new perspective? Only you can decide that, as the character is your own. What’s important is that you remember to ask yourself the question, “How will this event change my character?”

Consistency

No matter what developmental changes you go for, you must be consistent. If ‘Event A’ (let’s say the death of your character’s father) leads itself to seeing your character a more thoughtful, life-respecting person, you wouldn’t see him/her then go on a killing spree. However, suppose ‘Event B’ is your character’s spouse being murdered. Would your character then want to exact revenge on the world? Probably not. Progression and development is often a linear path that builds from past experiences. So, being a life-respecting person for however long between the two events, your character’s reaction to their spouse’s murder will be reflective of that. Possibly.

You need also to be consistent with the profile you wrote when creating the character. If your character is a kind hearted, loving and jovial ladies’ man who enjoys rap music, chances are that the first few events to happen to him won’t change a lot of that. Unless they’re massive events, of course. He’ll still like rap music, still enjoy flirting with the ladies and probably (even if hidden) still be kind hearted even if your story starts out with his family being taken hostage.

Development Doesn’t Always Mean Improvement

In RolePlay, it’s far too tempting to have a character that is omnipotent, all-knowing and admired by any that meet him/her. Regardless of the position your character starts with, remember that everything that happens will have an effect. These effects could very well result in your character improving, say, a skill, or growing in influence.

Sometimes, though, to keep realism, your character might seem to regress. Go backwards. Perhaps forgetting how to do something, or being rendered incapable. Maybe a political twist means that your character loses the influence they had over the king/queen. This is actually perfectly fine and doesn’t reflect badly on you as a roleplayer.

In Conclusion

With every event, simply consider how it would realistically affect your character. Then apply that to your character’s development. If you do this, you will find yourself watching and writing out a person who is believable and you will be trusted as a roleplayer and writer.

Penny For Your Thoughts

What do you like to do when looking at character development? What do you like to see? Whether in terms of roleplay or general fiction, your thoughts are valued.

What I Learned From… Community

Time once again (Yay!) for Robert Hruzek’s monthly WILF on Middle Zone Musings. This month’s subject is all about community. So, in keeping with the current theme here on A Writer’s Journey, I’ll be discussing what I learned from community in relation to characters.

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Within each community, be it a ‘real life’ community, an online one, or one written into fiction, each person seems to have a place. A position, a status, a ‘rank.’ When creating our characters, it is vitally important that we take these positions into consideration.

From the newbie, to the seasoned veteran within a roleplay community; the king of a country in comparison to a chimney sweeper. All will have certain attitudes on towards the other. When our characters interact, we need to always ask ourselves, “What attitudes would this person have towards that person?”

These will of course then affect how your characters interact, their dialogue, and also their behaviour around each other. All of these things add to how easily your readers can suspend disbelief and ultimately how successful your story/roleplay/novel is.

In regards to how your characters develop (a subject that will be covered later this week), it is important to also consider other communities that already exist. Positions within communities are always shifting. The newbie roleplayer may well become as renowned and respected as those who were the veterans when he/she first joined. The chimney sweep may well find himself married to the king’s only daughter. These will change your characters viewpoint, attitudes and demeanour.

However, you must take into consideration how these changes occur. One does not simply change positions overnight. It is a gradual process that not only requires time, but also work. So too must your characters’ different changes (personality, attitude, even attire) be gradual.

Any community you are in can work as a great study piece for you to ensure you keep your characters within the realms of their ‘rank.’ All you need to do is spend a little time watching. Be it in your school, your work, an online community, or even within your own friendship circle. All communities are similar in this sense; or so I have observed for myself.

What do you think?

Am I talking rubbish? Or does my idle musing here make sense? How do you ensure characters act according to their position? Give me some feedback, I value all your thoughts on this area!

Flash Us Your Fiction!

I have some awesome news for you today: TumbleMoose Writing Services and A Writer’s Journey are joining forces for a special project!

Following George Angus’ post on Flash Fiction, we have decided to create a group writing project for both our communities. Details follow, but it is your opportunity to have some of your work published to an ebook that will be available on the excellent Smashwords website.

What you need to do

Just write a piece of Flash Fiction: A story of no more than 1000 words, email it to either myself or George by 10th May as a Microsoft Word document, and we will then format your work and publish it for you. You can send us as many pieces of writing as you like; we aren’t limiting to  just one entry per person. Any genre but erotic/adult will be accepted. So get writing!

That isn’t all!

Each person that enters will be added to a prize draw (only one prize draw entry per person, not per piece of writing) to win a prize based on sales of the ebook. The winner will be announced on June 12th, and the prize given will be based on proceeds up to June 10th.

From an Amazon gift card, to a Moleskin notebook, to maybe even a Kindle 2 from Amazon should the book really be knocked out the park.

Get started!

We are looking forward to your entries, so do get started.

We would ask that all entries, due to the restrictions inherent to ebooks, are of minimal formatting. We will attempt to keep your desired formatting as much as possible, but please be aware that some changes may need to be made. The ebook will be on a ‘Reader chooses price’ release, published by myself with all proceeds for the first month going towards a prize. Further proceeds will be used to help fund both sites. All entrants will receive a ‘promotion code’ to receive the ebook free of charge. All entrants will be credited accordingly.

Bringing Your Characters to Life

We looked at character creation a while back, and what is needed when making your wonderful protagonist, or the dastardly villain. But, how can we bring those characters to life? Regardless of the genre or setting, characters need to be believable so our readers can make a connection: Whether it be a working girl in a romance, a rampaging orc in a fantasy, or a Martian overlord that wants to take over the universe in a sci-fi novel, your characters need to be more than simple mannequins acting out your play.

Let’s take a look at a few ways of bringing your characters from the page into the minds of your readers.

People Are Not Static

They are near constantly moving. Even when sat in a bar, talking with an old friend, there is so much movement: A finger tapping on the table, the act of taking a drink, lighting a cigarette (at least, back in the good days when one could smoke in a bar), shifting positions to keep comfortable.

A lot of the time we don’t notice these things, but next time you’re down the pub, just watch a few people: It’s actually quite amazing, and at times amusing. There are countless tiny, seemingly insignificant things we can put into our character.

I’m not in any way saying that we write every little thing our characters do. But the occasional drop of information makes them seem truly alive. Let me ask a question to illustrate: Would two people sit at a bar and chat for an hour without drinking any of their ale?

Microsoft Sam? No thank you!

For those of you who don’t know, Microsoft Sam is the electronic-voiced text-reader built into Windows: Monotonous, boring, and mildly irritating.

Realistic dialogue is an often repeated message when discussing quality writing. And rightfully so! Here are a few pointers for making your dialogue realistic:

• A greatly stressed point: Listen! Listen to how people speak in real life, then apply that to your writing.
• Contractions. Real people are more likely to say “don’t” than “do not.” It makes the speech seem more natural, and for your readers contractions will allow them to more easily ‘hear’ what characters are saying.
• Accents or dialect. Not all people speak in the same way, so demonstrate this when writing dialogue. A dwarf, for example, is more likely to say, “Do ye really wannae fight me?” than “Do you really want to fight me.”
• Tone of voice. A construction worker will have a much less formal tone than, say, a king or queen.

People Change

While I’ll be covering character development and growth later in this series, it’s certainly worth a mention here. The events in your story, whether large or small, will have some impact on your characters if they’re involved in them.

Your character’s won’t be the same on the last page as they were on the first.

Tell Me More (Like, did he have a car?)

That covers just a few basic things which can help make your characters alive and believable. What other techniques or tricks do you use when bringing your character’s to life? Share them with us!

Characters: A Focus

The weekend saw me finally begin my novella, and as such I spent a lot of time thinking about characters. I think it would be nice, for the next couple of weeks, to give a focus on this all-important aspect of fiction writing and roleplaying.

My approach is going to be one primarily aimed at the literary viewpoint, though it will also certainly be pertinent to roleplaying. A variety of aspects will be covered, and hopefully this series of posts will do two things: 1. Give an insight about how I view characters and their importance, and 2. serve as a reference guide for all of you.

Your Input, If You Will

While I have the main series planned, I’d also like to offer you the chance of dicating once again what is put on the blog: After all, you guys are the ones who have to read the posts! So, what would you like to see discussed during this series? Anything you want to learn? A particular opinion of mine you’d like to see voiced? Or maybe you’d like to make a guest post? Let me know!

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