185 | TTT009 | Here We Go!
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185 | TTT009 | Here We Go!
June 10, 2024
Welcome back!
Today's Topic: Here We Go!
No more books on story structure
Just start writing already!
Where I landed on my plotting/outlining
// CHAPTER 1: NO MORE BOOKS ON STORY STRUCTURE
I'm officially done with Story Genius by Lisa Cron.
Great book - made me think - but also threw me into a tailspin of sorts.
I talked about this last time - the conversation I had with my friend Mike where he called me out on my fascination (or possibly procrastination) with books and podcasts about story structure.
And like I said - he was right. I was in a rut - a circular pattern of research - studying the craft I want so badly to understand and be a part of.
Because I didn't enter the field the way many do:
I didn't go to school for English, Literature, Copywriting, Editing - none of that
I never had a class on story or story structure
And for a long time I wasn't a very big reader - I would default to watching movies
Still a great way to study story - but nothing beats reading great novels - and learning how to write from those who get it - and do it so well
But that's no excuse. What I was really doing is looking for the silver bullet. I wanted to find a book, theory, or methodology that told me exactly what to do and how to do it.
I wanted a step by step process I could follow - one that minimized the risk and maximized the potential for success.
Then again - isn' that something we all want?
But that's where I was getting stuck. Because I found what I was looking for - just found it over and over again with slightly different recommendations. And at times with incompatible recommendations.
That's when the confusion sets in and you can't reconcile the things you've read.
You have all this knowledge - and yet it's like a massive dust cloud swirling above your head - and you can't make sense of it - there are no patterns you can decipher - just random ideas that don't fit together nicely.
If you want to really exacerbate this problem - just spend some time on YouTube watching videos and shorts by random authors. Lots of great ideas - but each fragmented from the silver bullet thing I was trying to find.
So that's where I was living until a few weeks ago.
// CHAPTER 2: JUST START WRITING ALREADY!
So in the midst of my circular routine, I took Mike's advice, finished my last book and made the decision to be done with reading about writing.
I would start writing again...
I'll explain how it impacted my plotting and my current outline in the last chapter - but I wanted to start with this.
The simple fact that I started writing. Because there's something magical about that - being back in the weeds with words, sentences, ideas, beats and concepts - weaving them all together and seeing your story come to life.
For me - this wouldn't be opening a notebook to a blank page. I would need to start writing again in stages - because I already have 4 or 5 chapters written.
Of course they were written a LONG time ago - before I even read the book Story Grid by Shawn Coyne.
So I knew I could use the previous work - but it would require a serious rewrite in order to ensure I was being true to things like the 5 Commandments of Storytelling. And creating Sequences - something that made sense intuitively - but not something I had top of mind when writing those original chapters.
I also knew I wanted to employ the Prologue concept - for each of the three books in the Trilogy. But my original work started with Chapter 1. So I would need to change up the first few scenes to be the Prologue.
Once the Prologue was written - I would need to look over the rest of my work and try to clump pieces of chapters into Sequences that made sense. So I made a backup of the original work - and went to town on the new file. I copied. I pasted. And before long the content started to take shape.
I had a Prologue made up of two scenes. Then I had 2 scenes set aside for the Alpha Protagonist - one that documented the ordinary world - the world of common day. And one that held the Inciting Incident for the entire trilogy.
That Sequence will be extremely important - and may grow into more scenes over time.
Next up is a Sequence of 3 scenes documenting my second group of characters. A Protagonist and a set of supporting characters that will be on a separate but connected quest for the bulk of the Trilogy.
After that we go back to the Alpha Protagonist for a 4 scene Sequence. Then a standalone scene to document the government of this world and the coalescing of forces.
Back to Group 1 for a scene. Then to Group 2 for 4 scenes. And finally a Sequence of 2 scenes where Group 1 faces the climax to Act 1.
If I write on average, 2,000 word scenes, we're looking at 38,000 words. Project this out and the 1st Draft should be around 152,000 words. A little on the high side - but I've always heard that more is better. You can always cut weak scenes - but it's harder to write new scenes and fit them in after a draft is done.
So all of this took a few days - the restructuring - and getting my file set up the way I wanted it. And at the point I was ready to go.
I sat there for a few minutes staring at my original Chapter 1. And then dove in:
The first day I worked on it for 3h and got 4 paragraphs written
The next day I worked through another 6-8 paragraphs
And by the third day I had a complete scene finished
Scene 1 of the Prologue
I can't tell you how good I felt as I typed the last sentence - and then added the period to finish it off.
All those writer feelings came rushing back - along with the motivation and the desire to continue.
So this is where I'm at right now. I just finished my first scene. And here is my road map for completing Act 1 - The Beginning Hook:
Next - complete Scene 2 of the Prologue
Then - Use my previous content to flesh out the next 2-3 scenes for Group 1 and Group 2:
This will be a little difficult - as I already have content, direction and details in place for these 2 Groups - but it just isn't in the right format
All of it needs to be pulled into tight scenes that reflect the 5 Commandments of Storytelling
And each scene needs to have an ending that suggests two things:
Momentum - or what's called Narrative Drive - basically the energy that keeps the story moving and keeps the reader turning pages
From Story Genius: The "And so" element - In other words, this scene happened "And so" this must happen next - it's the impact the Protagonists choice from the previous scene will have on their next move. What will they do next because of the previous scene?
Once those scenes are written - I finally reach the blank page in my document:
This is where it will really feel like I'm writing again
Because I'll be creating from scratch - the way I did back when I started working on the book
And from there - it's just write, write, write until I have my 1st Draft completed...
// CHAPTER 3: WHERE I LANDED ON MY PLOTTING/OUTLINING
So this is something I brought up last episode. How I started the Story Genius book believing one thing and was confronted with content that suggested my original belief was wrong.
That was the premise behind the Internal vs. External Storylines episode.
But I think I've put my confusion to rest...
I still believe you can write a story that is completely built on an External Storyline - and I think the first 20 James Bond movies, the TV Show Reacher, among others will help prove my point.
Now - people may disagree with me - and say, "No - these movies and television shows aren't real stories. And they don't hold a candle to stories that were built with strong Internal Storylines."
And to this point I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
But. What I did take away from the book was that a story with a strong Internal Storyline will connect with readers in a way the External cannot. And that's why they pack such a punch.
When it comes to the 007 movies - I would rewatch the ones with Daniel Craig 10x more often than I would an older one. Why? Because Daniel Craig has an Internal Struggle throughout his movies - one that rips at your heart and keeps you wondering. Sure - it still has the chases, the close calls, the explosions, the back stabbing, the double agents, the gadgets, the women, and the great villains.
But at the end of the day it also has the Internal Storyline. Which means more bang for the buck.
I guess what I'l getting at is that I don't see Internal vs. External in terms of right vs. wrong. I see both as right - but when combined - maybe even "righter" - though that's not a word...
So having this new knowledge - I went back to my Global Spreadsheet to see what the damage would be if I incorporated some of my new findings...
As it turns out - I only made a few small changes:
In this doc - I have already developed the scenes for Act 1
And each scene has the following information:
An Alpha Point (basically the reason for the scene. I took this from Story Genius)
Each scene will have Subplots listed (in case the scene moves additional plot points forward - this also came from Story Genius)
Next, there is a full description for each scene
Then there is a row for each of the 5 Commandments of Storytelling (So I can summarize each with a phrase or short sentence - this is from Story Grid)
Next, I added a specific row just for the Turning Point - so I can keep track of them easily across the full novel (This came from Story Grid as well)
Next, a row for the Value Shift that takes place in the scene:
This is a phrase like "Innocence to Understanding" or "Safety to Peril"
Something I learned from the Story Grid
And finally, the Value Polarity for each scene:
In other words does the scene shift the Protagonists life from - to + or + to -
Also from Story Grid
So there you go!
Actually, not so fast. If you were paying attention you recognized that there is no row for Internal Storyline...so how am I going to track that throughout the story?
Great question
I'm still working that out
If you remember from the last episode - Lisa Cron uses Scene Cards in her world:
On the card there were 4 Quadrants
The top 2 were related to the plot - the cause and effect piece
The bottom 2 were for the Internal Storyline - or the 3rd Rail
She breaks this down into:
"Why it matters?" Basically, why what happens in the first half of the scene matters to your Protagonist given their agenda
And then "The realization." Basically the internal change to the Protagonist, or the character in the scene. The realization typically requires a change in plan - the Protagonist's next move is typically a reaction to the previous realization
So this is the piece I'm missing...
And I'm still trying to determine where it lives:
I can add it to my Global Spreadsheet as a couple rows
Or - I can create a completely separate document where I begin creating the Internal Storyline for each character - sort of like world building...
And once completed - I can keep referring back to this document as I'm writing scenes to ensure that each character is moving along the desired Internal arc
So we'll see where that goes...
Let's Land the Plane:
So there you go! This has been a fun one. Not only did I get to announce the fact that I've officially started writing again. But I also worked through my issues on a live Microphone.
I have found a way to use Story Grid, and the principles from Story Genius in a way I think is compatible. I love both methodologies so this is the best of both worlds.
Next up - finish Scene 2 from my Prologue. And possibly more.
Thanks for hanging out with me again today. I can't wait to get back with you in a few weeks to update you on the progress.
I hope whatever creative pursuit you're working on is falling in line for you. But more importantly - I hope it's bringing you joy. The simple act of creating - taking your next step on your Work In Progress (or what we call your WIP). Reminds me of a coffee place we frequent in Costa Mesa. Called WIP and until recently I never made the connection.
So there you go.
That's it from the Left Coast - also known as the Best Coast - though I will most certainly deny making that claim if confronted on it...
Have a great week everyone - and keep Transcending Human!