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188 | TTT012: Harry Potter Masterwork Analysis & My Writing Progress

Daryl McMullen

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188 | TTT012: Harry Potter Masterwork Analysis & My Writing Progress Daryl McMullen

September 9, 2024

Welcome back!

Today's Topic: Harry Potter Masterwork Analysis & My Writing Progress

  1. Story Grid Resources

  2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Masterwork Analysis Guide

  3. Keeping Things Moving

// CHAPTER 1: STORY GRID RESOURCES

By now you're probably sick of me talking about the Story Grid.

Unless, that is, you're part of the Story Grid Universe and use it the way I do.

But for those of you not using the Story Grid Methodology - simply insert yours here.

Because at the end of the day there are 1000 different strategies for writing your Big Idea. And it's up to you what philosophy you want to use to make it happen.

Even if one of the options is choosing NOT to use one. I'd call that pantsing - and if you're brilliant enough to do it that way - more power to you.

But for the rest of us mortals, there are Story Structure Frameworks. The Story Grid, the Snowflake Method, Save the Cat, 3 Act Story Structure, and the list goes on and on.

In my head it makes sense that a good writer should pick one and use it. Or maybe pick a few, and come up with a custom way of plotting their Big Idea based on those few.

But at the end of the day - you have to plot your novel based on something.

And for me - this was largely influenced by the Story Grid.

As I've said before - Story Grid is so much bigger than I can even wrap my brain around - so I would never say I understand it all and that I'm a hardcore “Storygridder.” But what I do understand I am using, and trying to incorporate into my Big Idea.

Basically these:

So there you go. Those are the resources I have been using from the Story Grid Methodology.

I've also created supporting documentation like the Story Grid Spreadsheet - though I have modified this a lot to fit my needs.

And this is where I was at three weeks ago. I was writing, following my outline based on the things above. Things were going great - but then - the Masterwork Guide I preordered arrived in the mail - and I absorbed it. Which led to me adding one more step in the Global Spreadsheet. 

// CHAPTER 2: HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE MASTERWORK ANALYSIS GUIDE

I talked about this in the last episode. But I'll go over it once more:

I preordered it months before it was available - and used that time to read the first Harry Potter book - something I had never done. I've watched the movies numerous times - but never read the books - until now.

So I read The Sorcerer's Stone. Then when the Masterwork Guide came in I read that.

And I enjoyed it - a lot.

  • I mean on some level - the book wasn't earth shattering - I've seen the movie so many times the book was almost like me watching the movie again in my head

  • But it was cool to experience it straight from the pen of J.K. Rowling - the way she envisioned it

  • And the Masterwork Analysis provided unique insights into the Action Story Genre:

    • How Rowling incorporated the conventions of the genre

    • The way she integrated the obligatory moments

    • And the 20 Skeletal Scenes from the book

  • Then - the guide walks through each scene using an analysis tool I hadn't heard of before

  • This was my takeaway from the book - and the thing I have since incorporated into my future scene plotting

I'll just call it "Scene Analysis" for short:

  • For each scene, the writers of the guide (Savannah Gilbo and Abbigail K. Perry) analyzed the scene in the following way:

    • First, they ran the scene through 4 Socratic Questions:

      • These questions are asked in order to determine if there is a "Story Event" within the scene

      • Because, according to the guide, in order for a scene to be a functioning scene - it has to include at least one Story Event

    • So back to the 4 Story Event Questions:

      • Question 1: What are the characters literally doing—that is, what are their micro on the surface actions? (OTS)

        • This question typically defines the Plot Point from the scene

      • Question 2: What is the essential tactic of the characters—that is, what above the surface macro behaviors are they employing that are linked to a universal human value? (ATS)

        • This question gets at the Internal Story Arc - the motivations and inner desires of the character

      • Question 3: What beyond-the-surface universal human values have changed for one or more of the characters in the scene? And which is most important? (BTS)

        • This question is from the Writer's POV - what the scene trying to do overall?

        • What is the most important Value Shift in the scene?

        • For example: did a character go from Ignorance to Knowledge? Or from Happiness to Dread?

      • Question 4: What Story Event sums up the three previous questions?

        • This answer is written as a succinct Scene Story Event Summary and should be used in the global spreadsheet for that scene

        • This summary should include elements from the previous three questions

        • OTS + ATS + BTS = Story Event Summary

Now I know - this starts to get confusing. To me as well. It's like learning Algebra for the first time. Or an entirely new language.

But after reading the Masterwork Analysis Guide - and walking through these four questions for every single scene - it started to make sense.

And I have since made this part of my pre-writing work for each scene. But more on that later...

The next thing the writers do is walk through the 5 Commandments of Storytelling for each scene:

  • This is super helpful - because the 5 Commandments are almost as difficult to understand as the Story Event questions at first

  • But after you see them pulled out of every scene in a book - you start to get into the rhythm = and before long you're thinking about your scenes using that language

And the final piece the writers included for each scene was a list of notes:

  • Further explanations

  • And reasons why they identified things the way they did

  • At times the reader may not agree that a scene includes everything the writers included - but that's ok

  • Some of it is subjective

  • So the writers included their notes to help the reader understand why they made the scene decisions they did, and how they analyzed the scenes

If you're a Story Structure geek like me - I think you would find these books fascinating.

// CHAPTER 3: KEEPING THINGS MOVING

So I don't have a lot for this chapter - but wanted to highlight two things I've made progress on:

  1. Adding Story Event Elements to my Global Spreadsheet

  2. Reworking scenes for continuity

First, Adding Story Event Elements to my Global Spreadsheet:

  • This came directly from the Masterwork Analysis Guide

  • The 4 Story Event Questions

  • My thought was this: If this is the way an editor breaks down a story that was already published - and they're looking to make sure these four things are in each scene

  • Then why can't a writer simply come up with the four things first - and write their scene around those four things?

  • So in my Global Spreadsheet I added four rows above the five I already have for the 5 Commandments of Storytelling

  • In total there are more - but let me run through them all so you can see my thought process:

    • Row 1: The OTS element of the scene - really the Plot Point - the action that is happening in that scene

    • Row 2: The ATS element in the scene - the Internal Story Arc - the tactics, motivations and internal changes happening in the character(s)

    • Row 3: The BTS element in the scene - as the writer what is this scene accomplishing? What are the goals for it, how does it drive the story forward, and what value shift takes place because of it?

    • Row 4: A full description of the scene

    • Row 5: Value Shift: This can just be documented in Row 3 above - but I broke it out just so it was easier to see

    • Row 6: Polarity: Simply documenting of the scene went from negative to positive or positive to negative. Important because this needs to alternate as much as possible

    • Row 7: Inciting Incident

    • Row 8: TPPC

    • Row 9: Crisis

    • Row 10: Climax

    • Row 11: Resolution

Now, obviously those aren't the only rows on my Global Spreadsheet. In fact, right now I'm up to 27 rows. Some are header rows, but most are rows with important information - stuff like:

  • Scene number

  • Scene focus

  • Word count

  • Obligatory moments

  • Observed elements from the Hero's Journey

  • Backstory elements

  • Red herrings

  • Foreshadowing

  • Callbacks

  • etc.

Some of these rows get filled in before I ever start writing the scene, and others get filled in after the scene is written.

But the new ones we talked about - related to the Story Event are ones I hope to fill in first, before I ever start writing the scene.

I'm looking at them as a plotting device even though that's not what they were designed for.

My thought is this:

  • If I can come up with an idea for a scene

  • Then plot out these three things in the spreadsheet:

    • OTS: the basic plot and action of the scene

    • ATS: What the character or characters are actively trying to do in the scene based on their internal change arcs and their goals and desires

    • BTS: What my reason is for the scene and how it moves the story forward if the characters know it or not

From there - I should have a pretty good idea where to go with the scene. I'll still write how I want to write - coming up with ideas, beats, action and dialogue as I go. But it will ensure I have the three elements above firmly planted it it somewhere. And that should keep me on track.

AND...I want to incorporate this into a more forward thinking approach to plotting.

The way I described it above sounds like I'm going scene by scene. Coming up with the idea, documenting the three things and then writing the scene.

But what if I did a whole chunk of scenes at a time?

At this time I'm currently finishing up the Beginning Hook of Book 1. The first 25%. The first 20 scenes. And I have descriptions written for each scene in this section. But after that I have nothing but the Big Idea.

So my hope is to sit down at some point in the near future and do a brainstorming sesh where I do the following:

  • Plot out the next 20 scenes - scenes for the first half of the Middle Build

  • Come up with the general idea for each scene

  • Flesh out the OTS, ATS and BTS for each scene and summarize them into the official description for that scene

  • Then, from there I should be able to enter a writing session knowing exactly what comes next

  • Either continue working from where I left off in a scene, to starting a new scene with all the initial information right there in front of me

That's my latest addition to my writing process. I'll let you know how it goes in the coming months. But before we leave this topic - here is an example from the Sorcerer's Stone Masterwork Analysis Guide:

Scene 9 | Chapter 7 | The Sorting Hat

  • OTS: Harry and the other first year students enter the castle and get sorted into their houses.

    • The physical change of locations: Students went from Outside to Inside and from First Years into Specific Houses

  • ATS: Harry wants to get settled in and wants to belong. He panics when the sorting hat might put him in Slytherin and tells the hat not to place him there. The hat listens and places him in Gryffindor.

    • The change in the internal arc: Harry goes from Nervous to Relieved

  • BTS: Although safe at Hogwarts, and placed in a good house, Harry is now one step closer to Professor Quirrel, the Sorcerer's Stone, and ultimately Voldemort. However, getting into Gryffindor will help Harry learn, practice and be ready for whatever comes.

    • The change seen: (Harry in this scene) Potential for Danger to Potential for Growth

  • The Scene Event Synthesis: Harry is sorted into Gryffindor after pleading with the Sorting Hat to not put him in Slytherin.

    • Simple and to the point - because it capture the three above and summarizes the most important element of the scene

    • It doesn't need to include the fact that the first years arrived at Hogwarts

    • It doesn't need to include the fact that after being sorted the students followed their Prefects to their houses

    • Because the most important Story Event was the interaction with the Sorting Hat

So there you go - hopefully that helped explain the way the Story Event questions work - and how they could be incorporated into the prep work for a scene. 

But second, I also did some cleanup on my WIP since our last episode.

I know I said I wasn't going to do this. My desire from this point on is to finish the first draft. Just crank through it and get it done - knowing there will be numerous revisions at that point which will fix the issues the story has.

But these were glaring - and I felt like they had to be fixed before I could move on.

So how did I find them? Great question...

I read a bunch of it out loud to my wife. That's it. I had never really showed her anything to this point. And for some reason it just seemed like a good thing to do. I know she's NOT the demographic for my book:

  • She doesn't like sci-fi or fantasy

  • She enjoys the action genre - but it isn't her go to

  • And stories that have to do with the End of the World aren't at the top of her list either

So at some point I thought, "This will be good. I should read her some of the book and see what she says about the beginning hook - did it actually hook her? Is the story clear? Does she understand what's going on? Is it interesting, or too technical? And would you keep reading based on what I just read to you?"

I don't know what I was expecting - though I assumed the worst - that she wouldn't like it, and would say it wasn't really her style. But I was pleasantly surprised:

  • She totally admitted it wasn't her typical story

  • Not something we would probably pick up in a bookstore

  • But she did find it interesting - and said she would keep reading because the story created intrigue and breadcrumbs she wanted answers to

To me - that was the motivation I needed. Now I know - she's my wife, so she has to be nice, right?

On some level yes. But at the same time I told her to be brutally honest - that it wasn't going to hurt my feelings. Why would I get angry over constructive criticism if it would make the book better and help it be more successful?

So I trust her - that she was honest - and that her constructive criticism came from a place of honest reflection. And that if I take feedback like this seriously it can't help but make the story better.

That said, while I was reading the scenes out loud - I noticed problems. Which is probably why so many of the videos I've watched on writing say that it is good to read your work out loud to yourself. Especially the dialogue - as it helps you catch things that don't sound right, or real, or things that are to cliche, or cheesy.

So as I was reading the scenes I realized there were continuity problems.

According to videomaker.com in an article titled Five Types of Continuity there are (you guessed it) five buckets of continuity we can keep our eye on when writing:

  1. Continuity of Information:

    1. Ensure scenes "showing" or describing similar things are the same - and that you aren't changing the way something looks or functions

  2. Continuity of Action:

    1. Making sure action happens in the right order

    2. Making sure an event only happens after the thing creating it has been placed on the page

  3. Continuity of Look:

    1. Ensuring the POV of your character feels right throughout a scene

    2. In other words, don't start the scene as if the character is looking through binoculars from distance, then magically is in the scene close enough to interact with other characters

  4. Continuity of Movement:

    1. Ensuring your character moves through the scene in a way that seems logical and plausible

  5. Conventional Continuity:

    1. Ensuring the way you describe things are the way people experience them in real life

    2. If you're describing a car traveling East - it needs to be described as moving East - or left to right across the page/screen

Now - this article was written for screen writers - so some of it is specific to the fact that you're seeing things on the screen you'd never see when reading a book.

But I thought it was a good introduction to the concept of continuity. For writing, I would add a couple more:

  • Continuity of Time:

    • Ensuring that your dates, times and time spans are logical, and easy to string together for the reader

  • Continuity of Place/Location:

    • Ensuring that your locations feel the same from scene to scene

    • For example, If J.K. Rowling described Diagon Ally one way when she first introduced it, and then a different way in later scenes - it would be confusing

    • If she explained that you had to go through the Leaky Cauldron in order to get from the Muggle world into the Wizarding World - but then suggested later in the book that there was a different way to get in - that would be confusing (unless of course it was on purpose and the new way was a secret way in - or something like that)

  • And the final one I would add (though there could be many more) is Character or Group Continuity:

    • For me this is particularly important

    • I have multiple protagonists, and each is surrounded by a group of characters specific to them

    • In order to maintain continuity - I need to think through what each protagonist is doing - and what the other is doing at the same time

    • I also need to think through the groups of characters - and what each character in the group is doing while the others are in focus

    • And then there is the Character Continuity that exists for each and every single character. Ensuring they act a certain way, and talk a certain way throughout the entire book. If someone stutters - they need to stutter throughout the book - not just the first time you're introduced to them - and then magically the dialogue is back to normal 

So when I read the scenes out loud to my wife, what I noticed were continuity issues that fell mostly in the Information and Place/Location buckets.

  • First, there is an artifact, or a device that is found in the Prologue of the book:

    • In the Prologue, I described it one way - then in subsequent scenes I described it another way

    • And after writing those subsequent scenes I realized none of them were correct - the device really needed to look like "this" rather than "that"

    • So I went back to each of the places where I described the device and ensured that were all consistent

  • Second, I had written an entire scene using the Great Pyramid of Giza as the location and the structure in which the scene took place:

    • The funny thing is this - I've never been to, or even seen the inside of the pyramid

    • So my scene made a lot of assumptions and most were incorrect

    • After reading it to my wife, I went and found a video walkthrough of the pyramid

    • And after seeing that - I understood the problem

    • Instead of having the entire scene take place in the pyramid - I had to create a fictional "Visitor Center" where most of the action could take place before the team ever got into the pyramid

    • Now, you can say this had nothing to do with continuity - that it was just a dumb writing mistake based on lack of knowledge (and that would be somewhat true)

    • But since I had already created the location in the Prologue, and then realized the problem in subsequent scenes - it became a continuity thing

    • I rewrote the recent scenes, but also went back to the Prologue to ensure it set up the new ideas correctly

So there you go. Again, going back and editing was something I said I wanted to stay away from - but since it was glaring I wanted it taken care of immediately.

Now I feel pretty confident that all 8 scenes are working well together - and it's safe to move on.

I know there will be future drafts where I (with the help of an editor) will address continuity for the entire book. But for now - at least a couple of those issues were addressed.

Let's Land the Plane:

Thanks for hopping on today and spending some time with me on my writing journey.

I hope you have something you're working on as well. And I hope these conversations are helpful even if you would not consider yourself a writer.

Believe it or not, some of this can be applied to screen writing, music, poetry, and possibly even art. Might be a stretch, but it's possible.

Whatever it is - I'm just glad you're here. And I wish you all the best on your WIP. Your Big Idea.

And with that, I'm out. Have a great week friends - and keep Transcending Human!

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