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 Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:00 pm
BUILDING BLOCKS OF A STORY
Some thing people may or may not know is that most Stories people encounter now days are NOT in the form of prose, but as TV or movies. Some thing else they may or may not know is that these new fangled shows all follow a set of formulas.
"FORMULAS?!?!?"
I can hear you panicking already. I can hear you saying
"But I want to be ORIGINAL! I REFUSE to follow a FORMULA!"
I agree, we don't want to write yet ANOTHER 'Blond-Meets-Brunet-Man-romantic-comedy', or 'Brunet-Man-ACTION-FLICK OF-C.G.-DOOM'. What we want are tools to help us form the basic structure of the story we wish to write.
Hollywood and the big shot TV people mostly use a small hand full of formulas that make them money. They are an industry. They have made an art form out of using the same scripts over and over and over with variations on who the stars are and what the underlying message is. We do not wish to follow them, BUT we will do well to learn their tricks and tips.
There are a LOT of formulas out there that aren't Hollywood cookie cutter recipes, but rather basic plot and character building blocks to use in assembling some thing solid. We can use these building blocks our selves with out feeling as if we are all doing the same thing.
If you are still unsure you want to use these blocks, thinking it might just cramp your style, think about Legos. The Lego company makes only so many kinds of BASIC blocks, yet a creative person or team of people can build whole worlds out of them. They provide endless hours of fun for people all over the world. (Aside from the basic set of blocks they have all sorts of advanced tom-foolery that we'll discuss latter, in the ADVANCED writing sections.)
BUILDING BLOCK #1:
The most basic of all is this. . . All stories have at least one character trying to achieve one goal. This is the most basic of basic building blocks. That's it. One character + one goal. Who and what is all up to the author.
There are four kinds of story structures we can use to get our character to his goal in prose.
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:01 pm
BUILDING BLOCK #2:
The next MOST BASIC of all building blocks is the GENRE. Lets look and see if you recognise them. They are. . . Drama, Thriller, Romance, and Comedy.
I'll bet you recognised them, didn't you? Don't lie to me now, I can feel you nodding 'yes' all the way from here! You may know of them, and have one you prefer to the point of not being interested in the others, but we'll take a look at them all any way. Drama: Drama –noun 1. a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story involving conflict or contrast of character, esp. one intended to be acted on the stage; a play. 2. the branch of literature having such compositions as its subject; dramatic art or representation. 3. the art dealing with the writing and production of plays. 4. any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results: the drama of a murder trial. 5. the quality of being dramatic.
Drama there for is a story of conflict and intense emotions. Does the character really WANT to reach his goal? How much PAIN will there be for him to go through to get it? Thriller: Thriller –noun 1. a person or thing that thrills. 2. an exciting, suspenseful play or story, esp. a mystery story.
This story type makes the readers excited, there's a lot of high emotions, but there might not be a lot of conflict. Every turn he's closer to his goal, yes, but at every turn we encounter some thing new and exciting! Maybe by the time he reaches his goal he'll have found some thing ELSE that means a whole lot MORE! Romance: Romance –noun 1. a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvellous deeds, pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginary setting. 2. the colourful world, life, or conditions depicted in such tales. 3. a medieval narrative, originally one in verse and in some Romance dialect, treating of heroic, fantastic, or supernatural events, often in the form of allegory. 4. a baseless, made-up story, usually full of exaggeration or fanciful invention. 5. a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion, or desire. 6. romantic character or quality. 7. a romantic affair or experience; a love affair.
Here the goal that pops in you your mind when you hear ROMANCE is by now automatically "LOVE". BUT STOP! It doesn't HAVE to be love! ROMANCE, By definition, as you JUST READ, means ADVENTURE.
This story needs FLAIR and SPARKLE! Every thing done here is dreamy or extravagant! The hero is THE HERO! The Dragon is TERRIBLE! But it's not overly conflicting like the drama, nor does it have a lot of twists and turns like the thriller. Nope, it's a straight shot from point A to B! Yes sir, straight and an arrow! But it's a FUN straight shot, that's for sure! Comedy: Quote: –noun 1. a play, movie, etc., of light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion. 2. that branch of the drama which concerns itself with this form of composition. 3. the comic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life. 4. any literary composition dealing with a theme suitable for comedy, or employing the methods of comedy. 5. any comic or humorous incident or series of incidents.
It has elements from all three of the previous genres, BUT it's done in such a light hearted way that nothing feels too serous. Yes we have a goal, but we can take our time getting to it.
BUT WAIT! There's a trick to this genre. . . even if the character has a goal, he doesn't need to reach it to make this a good story. In fact in COMEDY it might be best if he NEVER reaches his goal!
(Note here, my friends, I did not write ACTION, HORROR or SUSPENSE as a category. That is because those are CONDITIONS of A Drama, Romance, Thriller or Comedy. You can have a Romance with both love and Suspense, or a Drama that has Horror and Action. In fact you can have a comedy with Horror as well (A movie example that comes to mind is Shawn of the Dead.)
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:03 pm
BUILDING BLOCK #3
Three and Three
Three kinds of CONFLICT
1 Man against other man: The Antagonist against the Protagonist, or temporary protagonist as in a lover's quarrel. Any character against another character.
2 Man against nature: Or man against a situation. Perhaps he must climb a mountain or defuse a bomb.
3 Man against him self: The character must wrestle with a decision he alone can make.
Three kinds of IRONY
1: Verbal irony is a disparity of expression and intention: when a speaker says one thing but means another, or when a literal meaning is contrary to its intended effect. An acute example of this would be sarcasm.
2: Dramatic irony is a disparity of expression and awareness: when words and actions possess a significance that the listener or audience understands, but the speaker or character does not.
3: Situational irony is the disparity of intention and result: when the result of an action is contrary to the desired or expected effect. Likewise, cosmic irony is disparity between human desires and the harsh realities of the outside world . By some definitions, situational irony and cosmic irony are not irony at all.
Three kinds of ENDING
1: The Mission Complete ending where the character accomplishes his goal
2: The Mission Not Complete ending where the character does not accomplish his goal
3: The Ironic ending where the Character abandons his goal by the end.
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 6:55 pm
This is actually VERY helpful! I needed to figure out where I wanted my story to go but wasn't quite sure how to accomplish that. I looked over this guide, copied some stuff down, and soon I was making notes on my story! Thanks for posting!
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:49 pm
WyattYukanna This is actually VERY helpful! I needed to figure out where I wanted my story to go but wasn't quite sure how to accomplish that. I looked over this guide, copied some stuff down, and soon I was making notes on my story! Thanks for posting! Happy to hear it helped! biggrin ^^ Please fell free to check out any of our guild's other resources, and if there's a guide you need but we don't have, mention it in either the Questions/Feedback thread or the Resource Directory and a guild staff (or other knowledgeable member) will do their best to make one for you.
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