  Short Stories
This week: Fear of Failure Edited by: Storm Machine  
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"Failing is a part of success. To make goals effective, you have to fail at them 50 percent of the time, or they didn't stretch you far enough." Chip Wilson, courtesy of an article by Ella Lawrence called Set Your Course from Yoga Journal
This doesn't just work for personal goals- this is about your protagonist and his goals. |
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Are you afraid to fail? Is it hard to make your protagonist reach for a goal and get it smacked out of her hands? So many times we protect our characters. We give them big dreams and we slowly build them up, but we hate to tear them down.
One of the biggest parts of a story is where the protagonist gets crushed on the way to the dream. There is always a bully, a villain, someone out there who is a menace. Darth Vader has to win in order for us to fear him. He has to destroy a planet, knock the hero on his butt, and seem utterly indestructible to be the great foe.
What if George Lucas had simply postured Vader as someone to fear yet doesn't follow those words with actions? If all we had in the movie were Stormtroopers marching around and causing havoc, but Luke never lost his hand and Leia never lost her home and incompetent commanders were simply reassigned, would we appreciate the Rebels' success and the Empire's downfall?
We need to dig deep, as writers. You need to let your protagonist dream of the moon, stars, and sky being within reach. Then we need to snatch that away the first time they think they can get there. You need to help your protagonist grow, and the most growth comes from failure.
Does he want to get the girl? At some point she must reject him, or he must feel rejection even if it isn't from her. This is the heart of the conflict. Something must tear the lovers apart. His school, her job, parents or other family, friends, society - someone has to be trying to shove them apart.
Does she want to be successful? Get her fired from her job, whether she is in her dream job or not. It doesn't have to be her fault, but it gives her trouble to overcome. Maybe she's too proud to get assistance because it was her fault she got fired, and because of that she's now drowning in debt. There's a story behind that worth telling, and people will be cheering on your protagonist to overcome this and still succeed.
Imagine the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist, especially in the theme of your story. Make it happen. Raise the stakes, even in your short story, so your protagonist has to work for happiness. Your readers will thank you.
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| |  | Not Here Again (E)
How the life and love of so many people hangs on the tips of the words on a page.
#1977282 by Janie  |
| | | Everything (E)
A young girl watches helplessly as the life of the person she held most dear slips away.
#1976796 by Ellie Williams |
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#885749 by Not Available. |
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Short Stories: February 19, 2014 Issue [#6171]
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