This week: Pivotal Moments in Your Story Edited by: Joy  
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“A novel is a tricky thing to map.”
Reif Larsen, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet
“Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth.”
Khaled Hosseini
“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.”
Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing
“There's an old rule of theater that goes, 'If there's a gun on the mantel in Act I, it must go off in Act III.' The reverse is also true.”
Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“Rule 1: Each scene must advance the plot and the characters, but more importantly, the plot and characters must advance the theme.
Rule 2: Do not be obvious about rule 1.”
Ken Goudsward
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. This issue will be about the major steps in mapping a plot around events and characters.
Please, note that there are no rules in writing, but there are methods that work for most of us most of the time.
The ideas and suggestions in my articles and editorials have to do with those methods. You are always free to find your own way and alter the methods to your liking.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
Let us suppose you have a good idea for a story and even characters who, more or less, are distinct beings in your mind. What do you think has to come next?
Some say an outline of scenes and others an old-fashioned outline. Others stick to the idea of a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Constructing a story, in my opinion, needs a lot of thinking and organization. Truth is, I arrived at this better-organization idea as a once-upon-a-time pantser who found major holes in her stories. Then, going by what better writing instructors advise, I now jot down the major crucial moments as Hook, The Inciting Incident, Plot Points, and Resolution. Then I think of the story inside and around those chief points.
Each of these moments can have positive or negative events or happenings but having both a positive and a negative event isn’t a must. Then, these crucial moments can also be divided into smaller key moments and twists to add flesh to the story.
Let’s see, in general, how those crucial moments can fit into a story or novel outline.
I. Hook
Hook can introduce the status quo or a seemingly favorable life for the characters, on the positive side.
Yet, on the negative side, disillusionment, heartbreak, corruption, etc. can be in the everyday story world.
The question to ask or suggest to the readers here is: Is the character lying to himself about their existing world or are they aware of the negatives or bored with what is there?
The question the authors have to ask themselves can be: Even if the character is believing in or trying to evade this world, how much of the truth are they aware of or will let on right at the start?
II. The Inciting Event:
A sudden change in status or an unexpected incident triggers a change, which hints at a truth possibly challenging the character’s lie to himself about his life.
On the other hand, the unexpected happenings reaffirm and emphasize the lie, making the character believe in the lie even more so.
III. Plot Points : Here the authors may add as many plot points as they wish, making their stories as long as they wish, but I’ll stick to three plot points for brevity’s sake.
A. Plot point One:
This will set the character on their journey.
On the positive side, an event or events, possibly unexpected, make the character face accept the changes they must undergo.
On the negative side, they begin their journey unknowingly to be led to a downfall at the end.
B. Second Plot Point (Also maybe the Midpoint):
The major conflict is introduced, and the character is now aware of the truth or the lie. This leads to a series of transforming events or supplemental conflicts that make the character accept the truth or stretch the lie.
The Turning Point can come here at the end of the midpoint threatening as a false win or a sad realization (dark night of the soul). Some authors, depending on their plot construction, may choose to leave the Turning Point to later, and even to the end, to create a shocking effect, but this may not be advisable for less experienced writers.
C. Plot Point Three:
On the positive side, the character wins and gains success toward making their world better after giving up the lie.
On the negative side, the character is still the fish out of water and loses.
IV. Resolution
The character accepts the truth about the situation and themselves, makes amends, transforms the world or wins the battle, resolving the central conflict.
On the negative side, character and/or other story elements end up in tragedy.
Wishing you the best with all your story elements.
Until next time!  |
 Enjoy!
| | | Road to Somewhere (13+)
Judd hides the bullets as he tells his kids their pregnant dog is going to a new home.
#2258185 by Cubby  |
| | Pilots (18+)
Inspired by the quote: "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."
#2261541 by deemac  |
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Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
 This Issue's Tip: If a character needs to apologize to someone, make the apology fit that character. As a scenario, take one of your favorite characters, and make them to apologize to someone making it blow in their face.
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Feedback for "On Writing a Deep POV story"
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Nobody’s Home 
Deep POV! Thank you from a newbie! I've been trying to explain to friends why I love Robin McKinley's novel Shadows. It's written beautifully with Deep POV, which is perfect for the story she tells.
I've been trying to practice this, and have received feedback about how I've worded things or my sentence structure. If my writing in Deep POV was more consistent, would "following the rules" would be easier overlooked by reviewers?
Thank  you for the feedback. I guess it depends on the reviewer's viewpoint. But I've read interesting, exciting work thar involved me so much that I overlooked a flaw or two. After all, simple flaws can be edited out. Just consider the suggestions as friendly reminders.
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QueenNormaJean maybesnow?! 
Thank you so much for featuring my story. It makes me smile every time I read it. Who knew gnomes could have deep POV?
Thank you. I enjoyed your story. Why not gnomes!
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Drama: March 30, 2022 Issue [#11270]
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