So I've decided to in addition to being a stay at home mother to a two-year-old female tyrannosaurus...ooops! I meant darling daughter, LOL. I am working on two WIP's at the same time, taking a writing class with Candy Havens, and I'm reading a fabulous book called Scene and Structure by Jack M. Bickham. Each Wednesday I will find a way to share with you what I learned that week about creating a strong scene! Whoooo! I hope you will enjoy my adventure into scene and structure. I know I sound like a geek. But what else is an ex-english teacher to do for fun....? No! Don't ask! *Giggle* At least wait until I've had a glass or two of wine.
CHAPTER 1 - The Structure of Modern Fiction
Haha! Don't leave. I promise to have something interesting to say.
"Structure is nothing more than a way of looking at your story material so that it's organized in a way that's both logical and dramatic."
See. This could be helpful.
As a romance writer and a confessed plotsner (half pantser-half plotter) I need some organization! I stole that from my friend Elysa Hendricks! Fabulous author by the way. I use to despise plotting, but my critique partner rubbed off on me and now I find that it is quite helpful to plot scenes. I don't necessarily plot the whole book, but I do now really enjoy planning out a scene.
Writers want their writing to make sense and hold together and readers want to go on the same adventure. Readers want us to succeed! They want books! I'm a reader and have several authors on my auto buy list. I want their stories to be fabulous and I count on them being able to deliver. That's why I buy everything they write. I can't wait to be that kind of author for readers.
We are told our stories need a "beginning, middle, and end" or "a situation, a complication, a climax, and a denouement". Short stories and novels are built on the same principals. Bickham promises that as long as you understand the structure of building a story there will be no more staring "at your word processor with tiny droplets of blood oozing from your forehead". Isn't that fantastic! So looking forward to this book! I hope you will join me on my adventure to building a better scene.
Happy Writing
Krystal Shannan
I confess I've had to start plotting a basic chapter by chapter outline as I get further into my own story. I mainly do it to keep my focus on what I want to happen. Nice post, Krystal!
ReplyDeleteI figure this is something I need to do to hone my craft. Glad you enjoyed it. Each week I will post more tips from his book.
DeleteWhen I started writing I did nothing like that at all and it shows. I know have actually gone back and plotted out my characters and yes, titled my chapters so I know where I am in the story.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Krystal. Look forward to your wisdom next Wednesday.
Marika