Tuesday, February 16, 2010

My Hero Wrote This Chapter

Here's a little experiment you might want to try for whatever it is you're currently writing (or revising). Imagine that your protagonist and your antagonist are each writing their own version of the final chapter of the book (or the final paragraph of the story, if you aren't writing a novel). Ask yourself how they would write that chapter--what they want that chapter to contain. Then, go back through the story and every time your protagonist or antagonist makes a choice, see to it that the choice they make would be in line with that chapter/paragraph they'd have written. If they are making choices that would lead them away from their visions of the book/story outcome, then you either have some rewriting or some explaining to do. Don't take this to mean that your characters have to always be making the right decisions; but people in general think they're making the right decisions to get what they want. Don't take this to mean that your protagonist or antagonist will be able to predict the actual outcome of the book/story, either. Either or both of them will be wrong.

This isn't something you need to be able to do when you first sit down writing. So back off, pantsters! But it is a question that you'll have to be able to answer at some point before you can declare that your book/story is finished.

I also recognize that not all stories are about achieving specific goals or acquiring people/places/things or defeating/surviving enemies/adversity. Yes, I know this because I'm fairly widely read. But the thing is, if you are writing a story, then there is likely going to be some change in the main character's life, and that character will be interested in and have an opinion about that outcome.

16 comments:

  1. Woohoo, first commentor. And a pantster, to boot!

    This is a great idea, Scott. It's also very timely, since I'm trying to wrap up my current WiP. I may just have to give this a try.

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  2. Great idea and something to consider as I near the final stage of my current work in progress. Thanks.

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  3. Exercises like this always help me. I think one of the most useful things we learn as writers is how to be sympathetic to other people. We have to be able to get into other minds and motivations if we want to create characters that seem to be alive and moving of their own free will.

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  4. I love this idea. I need to do something like this for my denouement.

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  5. You know, I kind of like it when two characters DO both write a chapter or scene, not just for a writer's exercise. I just read a short story in which a man looks out the window and sees a woman laughing. He comes to all these conclusions about her based on this impression.

    Then the POV moves to the woman, and you find out that from her perspective, she is actually crying. Also, she has this strange feeling she is being watched, but she's convinced she's being watched by an old man with dementia, not the neighbor who is actually spying on her.

    It's an interesting way to build tension!

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  6. Hmm, good idea. I'll have to try that But what about books with lots of twists and turns? At the beginning of the book, there's no way that my main character can predict what's gonna happen.

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  7. Livia: Your MC doesn't have to predict what's going to happen; if they already know, where's the drama? But once the actual story begins, your MC ought to at least think it's going to turn out in some way or another, right?

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  8. It's definitely an interesting idea. And post. I'm tweeting it...

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  9. See, this sounds like such a simple exercise, but I'd bet it's actually harder for most people than it looks, especially if you try to write down something fairly concrete. This kind of goes hand in hand with my post about finding the heart of the story.

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  10. What an excellent take on this, Davin. I think I'm going to use this strategy.

    Carla
    http://writingtodistraction.blogspot.com

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  11. This is an intriguing idea. I like it.

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  12. Very interesting. I alwasy try to get into my character's head but I have never considered having them write it. Can't wait to try it. It may be just what this panster needs.

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  13. Neat experiment; I'llhave to give it a try. Thanks Scott. You're writing ideas are always a welcome adventure for me.

    ..........dhole

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  14. Oh, fantastic idea! I may do this when I get to revising the end of Monarch. I'm halfway through again. My antagonist isn't in the last chapter, though, does that matter? So I could have him write the last chapter he's in.

    One of the most helpful things I did for my book was write the entire story as a several page journal entry from my protagonist's POV. That helped me find his motivation really quick.

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  15. This is a wonderful idea. Indeed, it may serve for me not only the purpose you detail in your post. It may also help me get past the roadblock I have encountered in my current WIP novel. I never write the ending of a novel or short story beforehand, but if I write several alternative endings from the POV of my different characters, it could help me get the sense of direction I may be lacking a third of the way into a project. Thanks for prompting me to do this.

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  16. This is a brilliant way to keep your focus on your climax! Absolutely. And you can do the opposite, as well: write it as each character's worst nightmare.

    The trick is to make them want opposite things. And want them bad.

    Livia, the plot twists and turns come from the toe-to-toe struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist (or the protagonist's internal antagonist) as each strives with everything they've got to achieve their own goal.

    Oh, yeah. And you give them really bad luck, too.

    Someone's got to win. Who is it going be? The reader keeps reading to find out.

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