Falling Action

No, we're not having a lesson about action scenes where characters take falls. We're talking about a very important part of basic plot structure:

The falling action in a story is everything that happens between the climax and the return to a stable, resting state. A good falling action gives the reader a sense that the story is over, and also hints at what life will be like for the characters in the future.

Whether you're revising a story you've written or outlining something new, take stock of your falling action. Make a list of your plot lines, both major and minor. How do you want each one to resolve? Do you want things to have changed for the better, changed for the worse, or stayed the same? Remember, it's good to have a mix. Once you've decided how each plot line resolves, be sure you convey those changes to the reader in the falling action.

A good way to do this is by using ending beats, which we will talk more about next week. For now, an ending beat is a snapshot of the new life as usual. To really finish off a major plot line, use at least three ending beats. Minor plot lines probably only need one.

Last of all, make sure the falling action in your story is short but sufficient. Go on too long, and you're writing into the sequel. The new life as usual only needs to be hinted at, not experienced in scene for pages and pages. As with all writing, the goal is to guide the reader's imagination. Find a balance between dictating everything and leaving too much open.

Happy writing!

It's a PLOT!

Aloha young writers! Our lesson this week is on plot: what is it and how to create one.

First, I'd like to describe what I mean by plot by contrasting it with story. Although we sometimes use these words interchangeably, they aren't the same thing.

Story describes change. It focuses on character experience, on outcome. For example, in a "Cinderella story" some poor, downtrodden individual gets a lucky break and then all dreams come true. A typical love story consists of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl in the end. Or maybe girl meets boy, girl discovers boy is some kind of strange sparkly vampire, girl likes him anyways (go figure).

Plot, on the other hand, is in the details. How exactly does the narrative go from point A to point B? Stories can be recycled again and again by the infinite possibilities of plot. Who is our Cinderella? What is this person's dream? How does the lucky break come about? These questions are answered by the plot.

One of our club members said, "So story is like muscle and plot is like the bones." This is especially true in understanding how both need to be strong. You can have a perfectly plotted but weak story. It will just lie there and languish. On the other hand, without a sturdy plot, you've got a story blob.

If you have to sacrifice one for the other, then go with story. Bones are great, but you can do without them. Think about what an octopus does with muscle alone.

So, back to plot. You, the author, are a story travel agent. A story walks into your head and says, "I want to go from Seattle to New Orleans." Now it is your job to create an itinerary. Drive to the airport, hop on a plane? Go by bus? Go by train? Stop in Denver, Salt Lake, Dallas, or Oklahoma City? The how, when, and where of the journey is the plot.

There are two main ways to create a plot. You as the story travel agent may say to the story, "Get in, I'll take you there!" and you hop in the car in Seattle and drive in a general south-east direction. Eventually you'll hit the Gulf Coast... hopefully... and then you can drive around a bit until you get to New Orleans. You and your story can have a thrilling adventure.You never know what you may discover along the way. You may end up in Galveston instead and your story could decide that Galveston is where it really wanted to be all along.

On the other hand, you can get out the maps, schedules, and brochures, and carefully plan a route. See Yellowstone park on the way. Pick out every road, hotel, diner, and rest-stop. This way, you know exactly where your story will go and what it will take to get there.

Most writers find a balance between these two methods. I usually have a general destination in mind, with major plot points planned along the way, but I love to take my story on scenic routes. If I see a roadside state park, I'll turn off the highway, get out of the car, peel off my shoes and socks, and go wading in the nearest stream. I like to stop in the desert in the middle of the night, get out, and stare at the stars. These moments of exploration and wonder are what I write for, moments of unexpected revelation, when the story can tell me what it's really about.

Now, to finish up, a few words on basic plot structure:

A plot begins with an exposition. This establishes the starting point of the story. What state is the character in at the beginning of the journey? At some point there's an inciting action, which prompts the character to begin a process of change. After that comes the rising action, where the character meets mounting resistance to the needed change. Things get worse and worse until it appears that all is lost, and then something happens to turn it all around, and clear the way for the character to achieve change. This turn-around point is the climax. After that comes resolution, as the character actually steps into the new order of things, and the denouement, where the character's new resting state is established, or at least hinted at.

Happy plotting! Keep writing!

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!