Tag Archive | story structure

Writing Retreat Much?

May15

Mount Shasta

 The benefits of writing retreats.

  

Recently, I had the privilege of spending 6 days with Nina Bruhns. She’s the Editorial Director and Senior Editor for Entangled Publishing’s DEAD SEXY books. She’s also a Bestselling romantic thriller author. She writes as both Nina Bruhns and Nikita Black and her books are absolutely sexy-thrilling.

From right: Nina Bruhns, Virna DePaul, Grace Callaway, Susan Hatler, Cyndi Faria, Rochelle French

A benefit of the small retreat setting was that I got to know the writer behind the book cover. Nina’s love of travel, not to mention that she’s also an archeologist (an Egyptologist), was inspiring as she has lived and worked all over the world.

During the Mt. Shasta retreat, in California, Nina talked about the ten types of movies and how romance writers often find themselves writing the same types of books over and over again.

Movie types include:

  • Monster in The House
  • Golden Fleece: Road movie.
  • Out of the Bottle: Wish plus magic.
  • Dude/Dudette with a Problem: Ordinary guy/extraordinary circumstances
  • Rites of Passage
  • Buddy Love
  • Whydoneit? Villain plus why?
  • The Fool Triumphant: Outsider triumphs by luck.
  • Institutionalized: Band together for common cause.
  • Superhero: Extraordinary guy/ordinary circumstances

She also presented her twist on Blake Snyder’s “Beats” for screenwriters (as detailed in Blake Snyder’s book, Save the Cat), which she has tweaked for romance writers and teaches her method at various retreats and conferences.

So if you’re a writer who wants to improve your writing craft and networking in a big way, I encourage you to check out your local RWA chapters for writing workshops and retreats. You’ll not only deepen your relationship with fellow authors, but, who knows, maybe you’ll bring home a new critique partner or a friend for life.

From Right: Cyndi Faria, Virna DePaul, Rochelle French, Susan Hatler, Poppy Reiffin

Check out some of this year’s writing retreat attendants’ talents, books, and websites below:

Published Authors:

Pre-Published Authors:

  • Poppy Reiffin—Web Developer and E-book Designer, Contemporary Romance
  • Vanessa Kier—Urban Fantasy and Romantic Thriller
  • Maris Bennett—Columnist for Contra Costa Times
  • Linda Livingston—Women’s Fiction with Romantic Elements
  • Kristina Mathews
  • Sam Bradley—Women’s Fiction with Romantic Elements
  • Laura McCann—Contemporary Romance

Mood, Tone, and Style

Dec1

By understanding Tone, Mood, and Style, you’ll be able to entice your readers with an opening image and keep them turning pages.

According to Blake Snyder, author of Save the Cat , “the opening image…sets the tone, mood, and style of the movie, and very often introduces the main character and shows us a ‘before’ snapshot of him.” As writers, it is imperative that we begin our novels in the same way.

Tone is Genre. If you’re writing a dark paranormal romance, give the reader an image of what this looks like from the first page, then every page thereafter. Tone, as defined by Wikipedia, is a” literary technique that is a part of composition, which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, guilty, condescending, or many other possible attitudes. Tone and mood are not interchangeable. The tone of a story is often defined as what the author is feeling towards the subject, rather than what the reader feels. What the reader feels is defined as the mood.”

Mood, according to Bestselling Author Dr. Vicki Hinze is defined as “the characters’ (and thus the readers’) emotional reactions to the events occurring in the scenes of the book, and the emotions aroused in the characters/readers by the overall book.” For a more detailed discussion read Vicki Hinze’s Blog on Mood vs Tone

Style (the author’s voice) is the unique way that an author communicates an idea by using syntax and word choice. An author can use sentence length to control their unique style by infusing each sentence with sensory details, figurative language, metaphors, similes, alliteration, and rhythm.

Ask this of your own writing as you visualize the scene:

Is the scene intriguing? Does the writing agree with the genre? Is the main character likeable, redeemable, or sympathetic? Does the story pull you in?  Do you want to know more about main character’s interesting/unique job, situation, or outcome?

By understanding Tone, Mood, and Style, the answer to the questions above will be “Yes” everytime.

Happy Writing, Cyndi Faria

Story Structure for Fiction Writers

Sep1

By applying screenplay structure to your novel and incorporating compelling heroes/heroines, internal and external desires, and conflict, your characters will be able to obtain their goals.

One of the quickest ways to see story structure in action is to watch movies. No matter the length of the movie, the five key turning points will happen at the same place (%) in the movie.

I’ve broken down the romantic comedy 50 First Dates, a film by Peter Segal, for my examples. I’m using the hero Henry Roth (played by Adam Sandler). This movie is 100 minutes long—note the minutes at each percentage and what happens.

Each act is broken down into percentages.

ACT 1 (0%-25%)

0-10%: Stage 1 – Setup

  • This stage must grab the reader’s attention.
  • The hero or heroine (H/h) must be likeable: sympathetic, humorous, and or powerful.
  • Showing the H/h in their everyday life the reader must see their character flaws.
 In the beginning:
Henry is a playboy in Hawaii–spending every night with a different, beautiful tourist showing each woman the time of her life–but living a no-strings-attached life and pretending to someone he’s not.
By day, he is a marine biologist working at the local sea world taking care of walrus. 
Flaw: He lacks comittment.

10%: Turning point 1 – New Opportunity

  • In a romance, this is where the H/h meets each other;
  • The protagonist meets the antagonist;and/or
  • The dead body is revealed.
 10 Minutes into the movie:
Henry meets Lucy (played by Drew Barrymore) at a local diner. Their connection and attraction is immediate and funny.

 10%-25%: Stage II – New Situation

  • During this time, the H/h reacts to their new situation.
  • As the conflict builds, the H/h realizes that he must change his plans.

 ACT II (25% – 75%)

Turning Point 2 – Change of Plans (Desire/Goal/Motivation Defined)

  • At the end of this stage, the H/h defines their desire.
  • The story goal is defined.
  •  The H/h outer motivation is revealed.
25 Minutes into the movie:
Intrigued with Lucy and disregarding her memory loss, Henry leaves his old way of life and tries to make Lucy fall in love with him every day.
 
External Goals:
Henry shares his goal to study walrus’s in Alaska.
Lucy wants to teach art.
 
25%-50%: Stage III – Progress
  • During the progress stage, obstacles to achieve the GOAL are easily overcome.
  • The H/h could return to their old life.

 50%: Turning Point 3 – Point of No Return:

  • Once the H/h passes the 50% mark there is no going back.
  • They fully commit to their goal.
  • This is when the H/h stop acting from their flaw and are rewarded with sex.
50 Minutes into the movie:
After discovering that Lucy has short term memory loss, integrating with her family, seeing the reality of what his daily life with Lucy would be like, having to reintroduce himself to her and make her fall in love with him all over again every day, he makes the decision to stay. He tells her he wants to have sex.

50%-75%: Stage IV – Complications and Higher Stakes

  • As a result of passing Point of No Return, the conflict heightens and the H/h has a lot to lose. The goal becomes difficult to achieve.
  • As the conflict continues to build, the H/h sees their goal in reach, but at the end of this stage suffer a major setback called the Black Moment.

ACT III (75% – 100%)

75%: Turning Point 4 – Black Moment

  • Black Moment is when the H/h confronts their fears and what they desire most is taken away.
  • They are stripped of their flaws, but they see the truth and accept to move on.
75 Minutes into the movie:
When Henry discovers that her condition is permanent, he is willing to give up his dream to study walrus and take care of Lucy (note: he rejects his no-strings-attached flaw accepting commitment).
Lucy over hears him telling this to her doctor, and then she convinces him to breaks up with her.
He returns to the aquarium, fixes his boat, and decides to leave for Alaska.

75%-90%: Stage V – Final Push

  • In this stage, the H/h must face the biggest obstacle;
  • Conflict is overwhelming;
  • The pace is accelerated;
  • Everything works against the H/h until they reach the Climax.

90%: Turning Point #5 – Climax

  • They must face the biggest obstacle of their journey.
  • The H/h must determine THEIR OWN FATE SEPERATELY
  • Outer motivation must be resolved.
90 Minutes into the Movie:
Henry returns to island. He finds Lucy teaching art (She has obtained her external goal).
She asks him “Why do I dream about you?” (She remembers him).
He asks her to marry him – she says yes. He gets girl.
He becomes self-accepting, genuine, and benevolent.

90%-100%: Stage VI – New Life

  • The H/h objective is resolved.
  • The H/h gets their internal and external goal (if you’re writing a happily-ever-after HEA)
  • But because the H/h has changed, the resolution of the H/h goal is not exactly as they originally expected.
90 Minutes into Movie:
Together they journey to Alaska, where he studies walrus and she creates a memory book (art).

Try applying this method to other movies—it’s fun!

Now open a book and search for the turning points, or better yet, create a story of your own using the Three Act Structure.

Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Writing, Cyndi Faria