Irony

What's irony all about? Most simply put, irony happens when there's a gap between what's stated on the surface and what's meant deep down at the heart of things. It's a powerful force in storytelling, so know it and use it well.

In our lesson we talked about four major kinds of irony, with examples. There are other types of irony, but these are the ones we see most often:

• Verbal Irony - this is where you say the opposite of what you mean. Suppose your friend drops a hammer on your foot and through your tears and clenched teeth you say, "Oh, no, that didn't hurt at all." That's verbal irony.
• Dramatic Irony - this kind of irony happens when there's an audience who knows more than the characters do. For instance, if a character is making what he thinks is a good decision, but the audience can see it's a really stupid move, that's dramatic irony.
• Situational Irony - in this kind of irony, someone does something in order to get a certain result, but it turns out to be totally counter-productive. Sort of like pumping up a slightly under-inflated car tire, only to make the stem valve blow out, and thus the tire becomes completely flat. Yeah, it's happened to me.
• Cosmic Irony - in this kind of irony, the universe itself seems to be out to thwart your intentions. For example, we could try to save the world by putting a stop to global warming, only to unwittingly plunge the planet into an ice age.

Next week's lesson: Betrayal 

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a great summer and that you're ready for a fantastic writing year! First off, here are the rules for the La'ie Young Writers Club:

1. You may have 10 minutes to read your writing, or 5 minutes to share either a book you've read or something you are working on. Readers who did not read the week before get priority, then readers who had a turn the week before, then people with something to share.
2. Do not interrupt someone who is reading or sharing.
3. After someone reads or shares, make positive comments only, unless the reader asks for feedback. Asking the reader a question is okay.
4. Take turns to make comments or ask questions.
5. For author skypes we are on best behavior. These wonderful, busy people have taken time out of their schedule to visit with us, and we need to treat them with the greatest respect. Author skype visits will begin at 3:30 to allow us to gather and think of good questions.

Here are the results of our lesson brainstorm session:

Building interesting characters
Irony
Poetry
Humor
Editing
Drama
Creative storylines
Middles
Food
Betrayal
Natural Disasters
Killing the POV character
Tragedy
Playwriting
Mystery
Adventure
Fantasy
Foreshadowing
Outlining
Weapons
Science Fiction
Romance
Magic
Illusion
When bad guys turn good
Death & Resurrection
Competition between characters
Dialog
Naming
Settings

NEXT WEEK: Building interesting characters. Come prepared to talk about what you think makes a character interesting.

How to Describe Characters

In the old days, it wasn't unusual for an author to spend a whole page describing a character. People like Victor Hugo or Charles Dickens would create pictures of characters so sharp you could count the hairs on their toes. In fact, I'm sure if Charles Dickens knew about blood types, he would have told us what type of blood David Copperfield had.

Nowadays, people like to get to know a character without the author stopping the flow of the entire story for a lengthy description. To capture a character in a few sentences, put a clear and vibrant image in the reader's mind, a writer has to relate what distinguishes that character from everyone else, what their core personality trait is, and where that character fits in the cosmos.

J. K. Rowling excels at characterization. Here's all the descriptive prose we get when Harry meets Draco Malfoy:

...a boy with a pale, pointed face... (distinguishing physical traits)
He had a bored, drawling voice. (personality)
Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley. (place in Harry's world)

Put that together with Draco's dialog, which clearly shows his snobby personality, and he's perfectly captured in only a few words.

Later on, we meet Hermione:

She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.
She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.
She said all this very fast.
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.

And here's the Sorting Hat:

On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. 
This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.
Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.

What I like best about these descriptions is that besides listing a few physical traits and giving clues about the character's personality, each character is assigned a place in the universe. For Harry, Draco is another Dudley. Hermione is that girl you hope you don't get stuck with as a lab partner. The Sorting Hat is something Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let in the house (which since we're not on Aunt Petunia's side makes us love it at once).

NOW YOU TRY:

Here's your writing exercise. You, too, can create a whole fictional character in only a few sentences.

1. Make a list of physical features. Pick two or three that are the most significant for that character.

2. What is this character's core personality? Can you show them doing something that demonstrates this trait?

3. How does this person fit into the cosmos? What is this character's place in the world? What category does this character belong to? Who or what would the reader be reminded of if they met this character?

Now put it all together. Write a short paragraph, with dialog if you like, introducing this character that includes the key physical features, some action that demonstrates the character's core personality, and a sentence that ties this new character to something in either the reader's or the point-of-view character's past experience, giving the character a place in the cosmos.

Post your writing exercise in the comments, if you dare.

How to Create Tension... or Destroy It

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary says that tension is "a balance maintained in an artistic work between opposing forces or elements." Greater opposing forces means greater tension. So if you want tension to be high, then whatever it is your character has to oppose, make it the biggest, baddest thing possible.

Where do you need tension in the story? It should be present in your first line to create a strong hook for the reader. Tension is what will keep your reader turning pages through that muddle in the middle. When you reach the end of the story, build tension to its highest peak and then let it off at the climax for a totally satisfying ending. Basically, you need tension throughout a story, but rather than making a steady climb from the opening line to the climax, tension should rise and fall to create a thrilling emotional ride. 

At our meeting we brainstormed some ways to make tension rise in a story:

• Make something bad happen. This makes the reader feel like something else bad is going to happen.
• Put a time-bomb in the story. Give the characters a deadline. Be home by midnight or you're a pumpkin.
• Place obstacles between your characters and their desires. The bigger the obstacle and the greater the desire, the more tension this will create. This obstacle can come from the outside, but sometimes it is even better for the obstacle to come from the inside. Does your character have conflicting desires that combine to undermine?
• A near miss can raise tension, such as a bullet flying past a character's ear, or a swerve-and-swipe rather than a head-on collision. But don't overdo this one or the reader will start to think you haven't got the guts to make something really bad happen.
• Lean, fast-paced prose won't raise tension by itself, but it will allow it to steam ahead unhindered.
• Change the game. This falls under the category of "obstacles," but it involves such a big obstacle that the characters' plans to resolve the conflict are completely overturned.

On the other hand, here are some things we thought of that will deflate tension:

• Losing your audience's willing suspension of disbelief.
• Unsympathetic characters. If the reader doesn't care, the reader feels no tension.
• Resolutions of problems that come too easy.
• Pointless rambling on the part of the author.
• Any emotional release by the characters, such as laughing or crying.
• Characters that are too indecisive. A character can wonder what to do, but flip-flopping is tedious and irritating to the reader.
• Lack of story progress.

Remember, tension is the engine that drives story. If you haven't got it, your story goes nowhere.

Keep writing!

Resolving Conflicts

There are two basic ways to resolve a conflict in your story:

1. Character gets what character wants. Hooray! Happy ending.

2. Character doesn't get what character wants. Aw, darn. Sad ending.

Most stories end with number one, but there are a few that end with number two. If you use number one, your readers will be happy, but not surprised. If you use number two, you raise the chances that English teachers will make students read your book.

There is a third alternative.

A complex resolution is usually more satisfying to the reader than a simple win-or-lose outcome. In a complex ending, a character may get what he wants, but then discovers that there are some serious drawbacks, or a very high cost. Or (and this is my favorite), a character may not get what he wants, but then realizes that he has gained something even better.

So, try and resolve your conflicts in a more complex way. Surprise us. Make us think.

Novel-length stories contain multiple conflicts. Your main character should have internal and external conflicts, there should be sub-plots, and minor characters should have their own internal and/or external conflicts. As you weave your story together, see if you can't make these various conflicts work to either intensify or to resolve each other. A scene gains more punch as multiple conflicts are either heightened or resolved in that single scene.

For instance, in the original Star Wars film, as Luke homes in on the fatal exhaust port, he resolves an inner conflict and decides to trust The Force. He switches off his targeting computer. At the same time, Han Solo resolves his internal conflict, am I a mercenary scum or a loyal friend, and decides to help the rebels, thus giving Luke a clear shot. Luke fires, the shot goes in, and the external conflict with the Death Star is resolved in a blinding display of special effects. Both Luke's and Han's internal conflicts come together to facilitate the resolution of the external conflict.

Now let's take Lord of the Rings. Frodo finally reaches the Crack o' Doom, but once he gets there he realizes he doesn't really want to chuck in the One Ring. His internal struggle against the Ring's power seems to have resolved, resulting in a TOTAL LOSS. Middle Earth is doomed. But then along comes the external conflict with Gollum. Gollum attacks Frodo, bites off the ring, and Gollum gets what Gollum wants, but then Gollum accidentally falls into the volcano with the Ring (oops), which resolves Frodo's internal conflict by releasing Frodo from the Ring's evil grip. External conflict resolves internal conflict.

So, in conclusion, resolve your conflicts in a complex way, and interweave the resolution of multiple conflicts to build a complex story.

Keep writing!

Serious About Humor

This week we discussed humor in our writing. That surprise that tickles the brain. That element that brings a twinkle of mischief and joy to any story. You gotta have it.

But how?

The trouble with humor is that laughter is a learned response. As babies, we all giggle as our mommies tickle our tummies, but as we grow older we learn what to laugh at by watching the people around us. Have you ever heard a joke translated from another language or another culture, and knew there was no way you were ever going to get it? That's because we all laugh at different things. SO- make sure your humor is going to tickle the ribs of YOUR target audience.

We made a list of all the kinds of humor we could think of, from gross-out gags to subtle situational irony. There was also parody, satire, slapstick, absurdity, puns, exaggeration, sarcasm, running gags, inside jokes, and a few others that I can't remember because I erased the white board before copying them down *facepalm*. The fun part was adding to the list as our club members did their readings and used kinds of humor in their stories that we hadn't even thought of.

How do you know whether a bit of humor will work on your audience? You don't. You have to test it. And one person may think it is hilarious while another person just won't get it. Don't be discouraged when your jokes fall flat. Keep working at it. Humor in writing, as in acting, or even in conversation, is an art.

A word on making your characters laugh. Laughter, like tears, is an emotional release. Usually if your characters are laughing, the reader is not amused, and the story loses some intensity. I'm not saying you should never let your characters laugh. It can be a good way to lighten things up if the moment gets too tense. Most readers appreciate some rise and fall of tension throughout a story, and you can achieve a relaxing drop in tension by giving your characters a good laugh. Only be aware that when your characters are guffawing at your brilliant joke, dear author, your readers will probably not feel like laughing with them. Readers tend to reward the storyteller with the biggest laughs when the characters are NOT laughing.

So that's it! Go now and be funny.

Upcoming Writing Lessons

Aloha young writers!

Today we discussed possible topics for upcoming lessons. Here's the list:

• How to begin a story
• Humor
• Resolving conflicts
• Naming characters
• Foreshadowing
• Suspension of Disbelief
• Tension
• Plotting
• Description
• Dialog
• Scenes
• Action scenes
• Monsters
• Plot holes & how to patch them
• Falling action
• Ending beats
• Character reactions
• Character motivations
• Time flow in stories
• Research
• Revise or re-write?

If you think of any other topics you'd like to have a lesson on, please mention it in a comment.