IntroductionWelcome| 00:04 | I am Lisa Cron, and welcome
to The Craft of Story.
| | 00:07 | I have to say I am thrilled to be here.
| | 00:10 | There is nothing I love more than working with writers,
because writers are the most powerful people in the world.
| | 00:17 | Writers can change the way people think simply by
giving them a glimpse of life through their character's eyes.
| | 00:23 | That's why I've spent my entire career
working with writers, in publishing as a literary
| | 00:28 | agent, as a story analyst for Hollywood
studios, as a teacher, and story consultant.
| | 00:34 | I've worked with hundreds of writers and
with thousands of manuscripts and screenplays.
| | 00:39 | And along the way, it's taught me something
really surprising, the place where most writers
| | 00:45 | go wrong has nothing to do with how well they write
and everything to do with their ability to tell a story.
| | 00:53 | And make no mistake, it's story that
hooks the reader, the viewer, the listener.
| | 00:59 | That's why the most important thing a writer
can learn is what a story really is and how
| | 01:04 | to craft one, which is what
I'll be focusing on in this course.
| | 01:08 | Together, we will explore what the brain's
hardwired expectations are for every story we hear.
| | 01:14 | Then I'll show you how to bring each element of
story to life in your work and to make it even clearer
| | 01:21 | I'll walk you through before and after examples.
| | 01:25 | Each chapter ends with an exercise you can do
at home, along with a checklist of questions
| | 01:30 | to ask of your own story, whether you are still at
the planning stage or diving into your umpteenth rewrite.
| | 01:37 | When we're done, you'll come away with the
tools to craft a story that will have them at hello.
| | 01:41 | So, let's get started.
| | 01:43 |
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| How to use this course| 00:00 | This course has been organized so
that each chapter has three movies.
| | 00:05 | In the first movie of each chapter, I'll provide an overview
explanation of the story principle we will be discussing.
| | 00:12 | In the second movie, we'll peek over the shoulder
of a writer as her work goes from a weak before
| | 00:18 | to a strong after, by incorporating
a principle we've been discussing.
| | 00:22 | In the third movie, I'll give you a checklist
of questions to ask yourself when you begin
| | 00:28 | to write or rewrite your own story.
| | 00:31 | And if you aren't writing
a story yet, don't worry.
| | 00:35 | You can practice on the exercise
examples provided at the end of each chapter.
| | 00:40 | The checklists and the exercise examples can be found
in the Exercise Files tab on the Course Details page.
| | 00:47 | If you're watching this tutorial on a DVD,
the exercise files are included there.
| | 00:52 | With that in mind, let's begin.
| | 00:57 |
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1. What Is a Story?Explanation (What is a story?)| 00:00 | Before we dive into what a story actually is,
I'd like to tell you something that just
| | 00:05 | might knock your socks off, because it reveals
the amazing power that writers actually have.
| | 00:11 | You see, although story is universal, until
very recently, stories were primarily seen
| | 00:17 | as just another form of entertainment.
| | 00:20 | Sure, we thought they make life much more
enjoyable, but they don't really play a necessary
| | 00:25 | role when it comes to survival. Wrong.
| | 00:29 | Turns out that story has been
crucial to our survival from day one.
| | 00:34 | Story is what allowed us to envision the
future and to prepare for the unexpected.
| | 00:39 | As a result, story in our
brain evolved in tandem.
| | 00:44 | Story is how we make sense of the world.
| | 00:47 | But for writers, the real breakthrough is
the discovery of what triggers that sense
| | 00:52 | of pleasure we feel when a story hooks us.
| | 00:56 | It's not lyrical language, great characters,
realistic dialogue, or even vivid images.
| | 01:02 | Nope, curiosity is the trigger.
| | 01:06 | In other words, the desire
to find out what happens next.
| | 01:10 | That feeling of pleasure, it's actually
the rush of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
| | 01:16 | It's our brain's way of rewarding us for
following our curiosity until we find the answer.
| | 01:22 | This information is a game changer for writers,
especially given how often we're led to believe
| | 01:28 | that having a way with
words is what hooks readers.
| | 01:32 | In fact, words are the handmaiden of story.
Story is what captivates the brain.
| | 01:39 | Now, I'm not saying that great
writing isn't a huge plus, obviously it is.
| | 01:44 | But without a story, great writing just sits
there like a beautifully-rendered bowl of waxed fruit.
| | 01:51 | So, what are the brain's
expectations when it comes to story?
| | 01:55 | And how can you make sure
your story delivers them?
| | 01:58 | That's exactly what we will be exploring in
this course, beginning right now with a definition
| | 02:03 | of what exactly a story is.
| | 02:07 | Here goes: a story is how what happens affects
someone who is in pursuit of a difficult goal
| | 02:14 | and how he or she changes as a result.
| | 02:17 | Let's take a closer look using language
that you might already be familiar with.
| | 02:23 | What happens, that's the plot; someone,
that's the protagonist; the goal is what's known
| | 02:30 | as the story problem or story question and
how he or she changes as a result, that's
| | 02:37 | what your story is actually about.
| | 02:40 | A story is about how the
plot affects the protagonist.
| | 02:44 | In other words, story is internal, not external.
| | 02:50 | All the elements of a story are anchored in
this very simple premise where they work together
| | 02:56 | to create what it appears to the reader as
reality, only sharper, clearer, and far more entertaining.
| | 03:04 | This is because stories filter out
everything that would distract us from the situation
| | 03:09 | at hand, which is what does your
protagonist have to confront and overcome in order to
| | 03:15 | solve the problem you've set up for her?
| | 03:17 | Is discovering what the problem is that
ignites the reader's curiosity, which means that we
| | 03:23 | have to have a sense of it,
beginning on the very first page.
| | 03:27 | Let's explore this a little further by
seeing how it works in action in the next movie.
| | 03:32 |
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| Example (What is a story?)| 00:00 | Let's take a look at the kind of
idea that writers often start with,
| | 00:04 | and I'll show you how with just a few tweaks we
can take it from not so great to really stellar.
| | 00:11 | It's all a matter of
following our definition of story.
| | 00:15 | Here's an example of the
first draft of a story idea.
| | 00:20 | (female speaker: My novel is about an aspiring actress
who doesn't think that her father ever loved her.
| | 00:25 | He was a famous actor, and all
he ever cared about was his work.
| | 00:30 | He was always gone throughout her childhood--
he was almost never there for birthdays or
| | 00:35 | when she was in a performance herself, and
worse, he started to get all these plum roles
| | 00:41 | for older men, but he's made her so
insecure, she can't get a job at all.)
| | 00:48 | Let's run this through our story
definition to see how it holds up.
| | 00:52 | A story is how what happens.
That's the plot. What's a plot?
| | 00:56 | A plot is what happens in the story.
| | 00:59 | And what's happening in this story?
Nothing, no plot, no story.
| | 01:04 | So let's check the next part of our
story definition to see if that works.
| | 01:08 | Even though the writer told us the actress
is the protagonist, you can't be a protagonist
| | 01:13 | unless you actually do something, otherwise you're just
a character standing around waiting, no story in that.
| | 01:20 | I think we might be in trouble.
Let's check the next component.
| | 01:24 | We need a protagonist who is in pursuit of
a difficult goal, that's the story problem.
| | 01:30 | The trouble is the writer hasn't told us what the
actress' goal is, so there is no story problem here.
| | 01:36 | Sure, we could probably do our work for
her and guess what the actress' goal is.
| | 01:42 | To win her father's love, to land a major role, to hire a
thug to break up her father's legs maybe? We don't know.
| | 01:49 | And if there is no goal, there's no
story problem, which means there's no story.
| | 01:54 | So when it comes to how the protagonist changes
as a result, that's what the story is actually
| | 02:01 | about, in other words,
what the protagonist learns.
| | 02:04 | Well, as far as we can see, she doesn't change at
all, because so far the story isn't about anything.
| | 02:11 | So, how can the writer improve this?
| | 02:15 | By going back in and adding the specific motivation,
details, and action that pin the story to the page.
| | 02:23 | Let's give the writer another chance.
| | 02:27 | (female speaker: My story is about an aspiring actress
whose father, an iconic actor, has done everything
| | 02:33 | he could to undermine her career.
| | 02:36 | Her biggest fear is that he is right.
And she really is making a fool of herself.
| | 02:42 | She's about to give up when her agent sends
her on one last audition: a hot young director
| | 02:48 | is looking for an unknown to
play the lead in his next film.
| | 02:52 | Believing that if she gets the role she can
finally show her father that she's got what it takes,
| | 02:58 | she ups her game and lands the part.
| | 03:01 | But she soon begins to see how life in the
limelight can change a person, realizing that
| | 03:06 | beneath her father's bravado, there's a fearful
man who is probably just as insecure as she is.)
| | 03:14 | Let's put this new version to
the same test. What happens?
| | 03:18 | Our aspiring actress pulls out the
stops to land a lead role against all odds.
| | 03:24 | But when she does, she begins to experience how
different success is than how she envisioned it.
| | 03:30 | Who does it happen to?
| | 03:32 | An aspiring actress who find herself in the
midst of actual events that we can actually envision.
| | 03:39 | What's her goal? To show her disapproving father that
she really does have the chops to make it. How did she change?
| | 03:47 | She realizes that making is a very
different experience than she thought it would be.
| | 03:53 | And that gives her something she never
thought she'd feel, empathy for her father.
| | 03:59 | And there you have it, with all of the
elements in place, the writer has created a foundation
| | 04:04 | on which you can build a very compelling story.
| | 04:07 | In the next movie I'll give you a checklist of questions
that you can use to make sure your story stays on track.
| | 04:14 |
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| Story check (What is a story?)| 00:00 | Now that we've established the definition
of a story, here are some a quick questions
| | 00:04 | you can ask yourself when you begin
to write or rewrite your own story.
| | 00:08 | These questions will help you
make sure your story stays on track.
| | 00:12 | First, what happens? What will
actually happen in the external story?
| | 00:18 | What events have to occur in order to force your protagonist
to confront and overcome the thing that's holding her back?
| | 00:25 | Remember, it's something she's probably
spent her whole life avoiding, so the plot must
| | 00:31 | really put the screws to
urging her ever forward.
| | 00:35 | Second, who does the plot affect?
| | 00:38 | It's a good idea to double check that
you actually have a clear protagonist.
| | 00:43 | Remember, that's the person
in pursuit of a difficult goal.
| | 00:47 | You'd be shocked, I mean really
shocked, at how often writers overlook this.
| | 00:52 | Third, what is your protagonist's goal?
| | 00:55 | All stories revolve around an immediate and
unavoidable problem that the protagonist has
| | 01:01 | no choice but to deal with now.
| | 01:04 | So the question is what problem will your
protagonist have to face and solve as the story unfolds?
| | 01:11 | And finally, how does your protagonist change?
| | 01:15 | What will she realize at the end of the day that
changes how she saw things when the story started?
| | 01:21 | Sometimes this realization allows her to reach
her goal, and sometimes it's that moment when
| | 01:26 | she realizes that her goal wasn't
what she really wanted after all.
| | 01:31 | The more you know about what she'll need
to learn, the easier it is to make sure that
| | 01:35 | your plot will compel her to learn it.
So let's practice writing a strong premise.
| | 01:41 | In your exercise files you'll find the rough draft of
the story concept, take a minute and make that weak example sing.
| | 01:50 |
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2. Hooking Your ReaderExplanation (Hooking your reader)| 00:00 | From the very first sentence, a story must
revolve around how someone solves an unexpected
| | 00:06 | problem that no matter how hard
they try, they simply can't avoid.
| | 00:11 | So what's not surprising at the very first
question that's always in the back of our
| | 00:15 | brain--whether we are aware of it or not--when
we begin reading a novel or watching a movie
| | 00:20 | is what rapidly escalating problem
will the protagonist have to deal with?
| | 00:26 | It's something the reader
needs to sense from the get-go.
| | 00:29 | And nothing grabs the
brain quicker than a surprise.
| | 00:33 | That's what ignites our curiosity, after all.
| | 00:35 | If we sense that something isn't quite right, it
instantly makes us wonder what's really going on here?
| | 00:41 | So the question is how do you
convey this from the very beginning?
| | 00:45 | The answer is by providing the three things
that the reader's brain instantly hunts for.
| | 00:52 | Whose story is this? What's happening here?
And what is at stake?
| | 00:56 | First, it's important to know from the very
beginning whose story it is, because as we'll
| | 01:02 | see, in a story the reader
feels what the protagonist feels.
| | 01:07 | There are our points of entry, and we experience
everything that happens based on how it affects
| | 01:12 | them in pursuit of their goal.
| | 01:15 | Are there times when the
protagonist doesn't appear on the first page?
| | 01:18 | Of course, but when that
happens, two things are necessary.
| | 01:22 | The reader still must have a sense of whose
story it will be and everything that happens
| | 01:28 | in those first few pages must in some way affect the
protagonist the moment he or she ambles into the story.
| | 01:36 | Second, the only way the reader can want to know what
happens next is if something is happening in the first place.
| | 01:44 | That means you don't want to spend pages setting
the stage for what's about to happen or filling
| | 01:50 | us in on things we will need to know
later in order for the story to make sense.
| | 01:54 | Instead, you want to plunge us into
something that's actually happening.
| | 01:59 | This is what provides the reader
with a sense of the big picture.
| | 02:03 | It helps to think of the story as a single
problem that gets more complicated as it progresses.
| | 02:11 | Can we glimpse that problem on the first page?
| | 02:14 | And finally, there needs
to be something at stake.
| | 02:18 | If there is nothing at stake, we
have no reason to read forward, why?
| | 02:22 | Because there's nothing to be curious about,
no conflict that needs to be resolved, no
| | 02:26 | burning question we want answered.
| | 02:28 | Having everything go according to plan is
really nice in real life, but it's deadly in a story.
| | 02:34 | Stories are about our expectations not being
met and what that forces us to do as a result.
| | 02:42 | Can all this be
accomplished on the very first page?
| | 02:44 | Let me give you an example of how all three
questions can be answered in the first sentence.
| | 02:51 | This is the opening sentence of a novel called
What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George.
| | 02:56 | And here's the sentence: Joel Campbell, age 11 at the time,
began his descent toward murder with a bus ride. Whose story is it?
| | 03:06 | That's easy, Joel Campbell's. What's happening?
| | 03:08 | He is on bus which will somehow trigger his
unavoidable descent into murder. What is at stake?
| | 03:16 | Someone's life, not to mention Joel's future.
| | 03:18 | The beauty of it is that, that single
sentence then becomes the yardstick by which we can
| | 03:24 | measure everything that happens in the novel.
It all adds up because we know where it's going.
| | 03:32 | Knowing what's at stake
allows us to ask of each event.
| | 03:35 | Does this move Joel closer to murder,
or does it move him further away?
| | 03:39 | And the more we care about Joel,
the more deeply invested we become.
| | 03:45 | Let's explore this a little further by
seeing how it works in action with the next movie.
| | 03:50 |
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| Example (Hooking your reader)| 00:00 | Imagine you pick up a new novel, turn to
the first page, and this is what you read:
| | 00:06 | (male speaker: The day dawned clear and bright,
the sun was shining, and the sky was a vivid blue.
| | 00:12 | Tommy awoke and lay still for a moment.
| | 00:15 | Morning was his favorite time
of day, and he liked to savor it.
| | 00:18 | At last, he got up and went to
the window and pulled the shade.
| | 00:23 | He saw kids walking to school with their
big sneakers and their heavy backpacks.
| | 00:27 | He saw a few energized souls riding their bikes to
work, their messenger bags slung across their backs.
| | 00:33 | Remembering the presentation he was scheduled
to give at the morning meeting, he yawned,
| | 00:38 | turned from the window, and
started dressing for work.)
| | 00:43 | It's not a terribly engaging story.
| | 00:45 | Let's see if we can figure out why by asking whether this paragraph
answers the three questions readers will have. Whose story is it?
| | 00:53 | Tommy's, so far so good, but is
it a story yet? What's happening?
| | 00:59 | Tommy's getting up and going about his day,
pretty much like we all do, which brings us
| | 01:03 | to the key question, what's at stake?
| | 01:06 | Absolutely nothing, there's
nothing out of the ordinary here.
| | 01:10 | We have no idea what the story will be about,
which means there's nothing for readers to
| | 01:14 | anticipate and nothing for
them to read forward to find out.
| | 01:18 | No curiosity, no rush of dopamine, no reader.
| | 01:22 | Let's see if we can make Tommy's story
and his day just a wee bit more intriguing.
| | 01:28 | (male speaker: On Tuesday Tommy woke up
knowing that by noon his fate would be decided.
| | 01:33 | He was either going to convince Anne that he
was worth hiring as a junior graphic designer
| | 01:39 | or he was going to have to move back to his
parents' house in Bethesda and become just
| | 01:43 | another graduate who couldn't get a job.
| | 01:47 | He was sure that the
presentation he prepared was slick.
| | 01:49 | He'd shot a video, designed an animated logo,
recorded music, but as he put on his best
| | 01:54 | suit and tie--okay, it was his only suit and tie--
the image of his childhood bedroom crept into his mind.
| | 02:01 | His baseball card collection and dusty
shoeboxes under his bed, the poster of Radiohead on
| | 02:07 | the wall, the old electric guitar still in
its stand, and his little sister standing
| | 02:12 | in the doorway telling him he was a loser.
That bedroom was a graveyard of dead dreams.
| | 02:19 | If he had to go back now,
how would he ever get out?)
| | 02:24 | Now let's see what we have. Whose story is it?
Still Tommy's. What's happening?
| | 02:29 | Tommy is about to make the presentation of his young
life, something that clearly means a lot to him.
| | 02:35 | What's at stake? His job, his home,
and most importantly, his sense of self.
| | 02:41 | So is this the beginning of the story?
You bet.
| | 02:44 | In this version we not only have a sense
of who Tommy is, but of the problem he's
| | 02:49 | facing and what it means to him.
| | 02:52 | As important, we're beginning to care
about Tommy, at least enough to read on to find
| | 02:58 | out what happens when
Anne sees his presentation.
| | 03:00 | A presentation we can't help suspecting might not
be quite as successful as he hopes it will be.
| | 03:07 | This opening paragraph has done its job.
It's given us a glimpse of what the overarching
| | 03:12 | story will be about, and it stands a good
chance of piquing the reader's curiosity.
| | 03:19 |
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| Story check (Hooking your reader)| 00:00 | When you are checking the opening paragraph
of your Story, here are four questions to ask.
| | 00:06 | First, will the reader know whose story it is?
| | 00:09 | If the reader doesn't know who the
protagonist is, there will be nothing to give meaning
| | 00:14 | to the events that unfold
and worse, no one to root for.
| | 00:18 | Second, is something happening,
beginning on the first page?
| | 00:23 | Don't spend pages setting up the scene or giving
us background information that we will need later.
| | 00:28 | Don't just set the ball rolling.
| | 00:31 | Leap in with the ball
already careening downhill.
| | 00:34 | What better way to kick-start the reader's
curiosity than opening with something that
| | 00:38 | has a clear impending consequence?
| | 00:41 | After all, how can we wonder what happens
next unless something is already happening?
| | 00:47 | Third, does something hang in the balance?
| | 00:50 | Ask yourself, is the reader aware that something
specific is at stake right there on the first page?
| | 00:57 | Fourth, Is enough of the "big picture" visible from the
get-go to give us a sense of where the story is heading?
| | 01:05 | It's the big picture that puts everything in context,
supplying perspective and conveying the point of each scene.
| | 01:12 | Without it, it's like having all the pieces
of a jigsaw puzzle with no idea how they fit
| | 01:17 | together or what the
final picture might look like.
| | 01:20 | Now that you've seen the incredible difference a
little editing can make to an opening. Give it a try.
| | 01:26 | You'll find a rough draft
paragraph in your exercise files.
| | 01:30 | Remember, there are no right answers.
Let your imagination be your guide.
| | 01:35 |
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3. All Stories Make a PointExplanation (All stories make a point)| 00:00 | All stories make a point beginning on Page 1,
which means the reader needs to have an
| | 00:05 | idea of what that point is from the get-go.
| | 00:09 | It's like when your friend is rambling on
about something that happened yesterday, and
| | 00:13 | you nod and smile politely while a little voice in your head
screams, okay, okay, but what's your point? Same with a story.
| | 00:20 | If you zero in on your point before you
begin writing, not only will your story be easier
| | 00:26 | to craft, but you'll spend less time rewriting.
| | 00:30 | If you know what your story's point is, it
allows you to filter out everything that's irrelevant.
| | 00:35 | This is crucial because as far as the reader
is concerned, everything in a story is there
| | 00:40 | strictly on a need-to-know basis.
| | 00:42 | If they didn't need to know it, you
wouldn't bother telling them about it.
| | 00:46 | They assume that everything you tell
them will have a story consequence.
| | 00:50 | So, if you include things they don't need
to know, they are going to read meaning into
| | 00:54 | it anyway, and it will inherently be the wrong
meaning, since there isn't a right one, which
| | 01:00 | means pretty soon your
story will stop making sense.
| | 01:04 | That's why knowing your story's point is one of the
most important things to pin down before you begin writing.
| | 01:11 | Without a point, a story isn't about anything.
It's just a bunch of things that happen.
| | 01:16 | I can't tell you how many manuscripts I have
read where if someone asks me, what's it about?
| | 01:21 | I'd say it's about 300 pages, I have no idea.
So, how do you zero in on your point?
| | 01:29 | By focusing on three essential elements that together are
the foundation that a story is built on? First, the Theme.
| | 01:37 | Theme, I know can seem intimidating, but it
actually boils down to something very simple.
| | 01:44 | What are you saying about human nature?
| | 01:46 | In other words, the theme defines how
the characters will treat each other.
| | 01:51 | It's interesting to note that the theme sets the
story's tone, and the tone sets the reader's mood.
| | 01:57 | For instance, in a lighthearted romantic
comedy, tone is bright and sunny, and we know that
| | 02:02 | love not only can save the
day, but it actually will.
| | 02:05 | In a more Realistic universe, the tone is
a little grittier, and although there will
| | 02:10 | be genuine misunderstandings between the
characters, love will be worth it, probably.
| | 02:16 | Second, your protagonist's inner issue, which
is an internal conflict or belief that holding
| | 02:22 | him back and that he must deal with and
overcome in order to achieve his goal.
| | 02:28 | Third is the Plot, that is the escalating
cause-and-effect progression of external events
| | 02:35 | constructed to force your protagonist to deal with
his inner issue if he wants to solve the story problem.
| | 02:40 | Once you have pinpointed your story's theme
and your protagonist's inner issue, you can
| | 02:46 | craft a plot that will make your story's point.
| | 02:49 | Let's explore this a little further by
seeing how it works in action in the next movie.
| | 02:54 |
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| Example (All stories make a point)| 00:00 | A mistake many aspiring writers make is that they only
focus on the most visible part of the story, the plot.
| | 00:08 | So they tell us a whole bunch of general things
that happened, but it doesn't add up to anything.
| | 00:13 | A summary of their overall story
often goes something like this...
| | 00:17 | (female speaker: My novel is about a guy who's been
genetically engineered to have an amazing memory.
| | 00:24 | Ever since he was a child he was groomed to become
a CIA operative, so he's never had a normal life.
| | 00:30 | Now he's part of an elite group of spies that
goes all over the world solving the toughest
| | 00:36 | intelligence problems, but no one
know he's been genetically altered.
| | 00:41 | It all goes well--until he falls
for a woman he's sent to spy on.)
| | 00:47 | Which leaves me wondering,
and so what's the point?
| | 00:51 | Clearly, this example doesn't focus in on our three essential
elements: the Theme, the Internal Issue, and the Plot.
| | 01:00 | Let's see if we can help the writer
dig deep and improve her summary.
| | 01:04 | First, theme, what might she
be saying about human nature?
| | 01:09 | (female speaker: My novel will show that our ability
to genetically engineer humans has outstripped
| | 01:15 | our ability to understand
its ethical implications.
| | 01:19 | The underlying theme is that we can't
escape our humanity, because to the dismay of
| | 01:24 | the scientists who created him, even a genetically
engineered person will ultimately seek meaning and connection.)
| | 01:32 | This theme gives us both a clue as to how the story
will end and how the world will treat her protagonist.
| | 01:40 | That's why doing your homework
before you start writing is so important.
| | 01:44 | Just two sentences can shape the entire story.
| | 01:48 | Now let's turn to the
protagonist's internal issue.
| | 01:52 | What's this guy really struggling with?
| | 01:55 | (female speaker: My protagonist is a CIA operative who's
been genetically engineered to have an amazing memory.
| | 02:02 | His issue is that because he was created to
do crucial top-secret work no ordinary human
| | 02:08 | could do, he doesn't believe he has the right to feel
emotions ordinary humans feel, or to question his destiny.)
| | 02:17 | This is a great inner issue because it's
something that the plot can then force him to deal with
| | 02:22 | at every turn, causing him great internal conflict
and continually compelling him to make really hard decisions.
| | 02:31 | Now that we know what his issue is and
what the theme is, the writer can craft a plot
| | 02:36 | in which far more interesting
and important things happen.
| | 02:41 | This gives us a foundation for the story that's infinitely
more likely to engage a reader than the one we started with.
| | 02:49 | Here's how it looks.
| | 02:50 | (female speaker: My protagonist is a CIA operative who's
been genetically engineered to have an amazing memory.
| | 02:57 | He's sent on a top-secret mission to spy on a young foreign
woman he's told is working to overthrow the government.
| | 03:05 | He finds himself drawn to her in an unsettling
way he doesn't understand, which causes him
| | 03:10 | to question everything he's been told--ever.
| | 03:14 | He soon begins to suspect that she isn't
trying to overthrow his government;
| | 03:18 | she's trying to prove that the CIA
is working to undermine hers.
| | 03:23 | Even more startling, he realizes what
he's feeling for her just might be love,
| | 03:28 | something his handlers told him wasn't capable of.
| | 03:32 | Now he must decide whether to finish the job
he was engineered to do, or leave his genetics,
| | 03:38 | his training and his security behind and open the door to
something much more messy, confusing and satisfying--his humanity.)
| | 03:48 | Now that sounds like an interesting story,
the one I know I'd be excited to read.
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| Story check (All stories make a point)| 00:00 | Here's a nifty checklist to help you zero in
on what your story is actually about.
| | 00:06 | First, what's your story's point?
| | 00:09 | Ask yourself what is my story leading up to?
What will people walk away thinking about?
| | 00:15 | Remember, writers are the most powerful people in the
world because they can change how others see the world.
| | 00:22 | How will your story change your
readers' worldview, even if only by a smidge?
| | 00:27 | Second, what's your story's theme?
| | 00:30 | Ask yourself what does my
story say about human nature?
| | 00:35 | The brain is wired to turn the story to
make sense of the world, so we probe each story
| | 00:40 | for useful information that will better
help us understand what makes people tick?
| | 00:45 | What's your story saying
about what it means to be human?
| | 00:48 | Third, do the protagonist's inner issue, the theme,
and the plot work together to answer the story problem?
| | 00:56 | The story problem will always be in the
back of the reader's mind, so everything in the
| | 01:02 | story must revolve around how it's solved.
| | 01:05 | With that in mind, ask yourself is my theme
reflected in the way people treat my protagonist?
| | 01:12 | Does each plot twist force my protagonist to
deal with the inner issue that's holding him back?
| | 01:18 | Finally, can you sum up what your story is
about in a short paragraph? Yeah, this is hard.
| | 01:24 | There's an old saying that goes, if only I
had more time, I could have written less.
| | 01:30 | Take your time with this,
because it's well worth it.
| | 01:33 | If you can concisely sum up what your story
will be about so that you are aware of what
| | 01:38 | its point is, it would be far easier to write.
| | 01:42 | After all, since the story is about someone
solving a problem, it's best to know precisely
| | 01:46 | what that problem is before you begin writing.
| | 01:49 | Now, see if you can sharpen your skills
with the example from your exercise files.
| | 01:55 | Dive into this set of events and give
this story what it's missing, a point.
| | 02:00 |
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|
|
4. Feeling What the Protagonist FeelsExplanation (Feeling what the protagonist feels)| 00:00 | A story is a simulation that allows the reader
to experience what the protagonist goes through.
| | 00:06 | But how do we get the reader
into the protagonist's skin?
| | 00:10 | By letting them feel what the protagonist feels.
Why is this so important?
| | 00:15 | Because neuroscience has revealed that every
decision we make and every reaction we have
| | 00:21 | is based on emotion.
Emotion comes first and reason follows.
| | 00:26 | If we're not feeling, we're not conscious,
and when it comes to story, if we are not
| | 00:30 | feeling, we are not going to
keep reading. What do we feel?
| | 00:34 | We feel what the protagonist feels.
| | 00:37 | This is why everything that happens in
a story needs to affect the protagonist.
| | 00:42 | In fact, everything in a story gets its
emotional weight and meaning based on how it affects
| | 00:47 | him in terms of his quest.
| | 00:49 | If it doesn't affect him, even if we are
talking about birth, death, or the fall of the Roman
| | 00:54 | Empire, it's neutral, and so
it has no place in the story.
| | 00:59 | That's why in every scene you write, the protagonist
must react in a way the reader can see and understand.
| | 01:06 | This reaction must be specific, personal, and have an
affect on whether or not the protagonist achieves his goal.
| | 01:14 | Sometimes the reaction is external, meaning
that the protagonist actually does something,
| | 01:19 | but very often a character's reaction to what
happens is solely internal, be it a thought,
| | 01:25 | a sudden insight, a memory, or an epiphany.
| | 01:28 | And don't forget, we need to know what his
expectations were to begin with, otherwise
| | 01:33 | we have no way of knowing when those expectations
are being met, or far more likely, not being met.
| | 01:40 | So how do you clue the reader into the
protagonist's thoughts and reactions?
| | 01:46 | When writing in the first person, the
protagonist is telling us a story, which means that these
| | 01:50 | thought and expectations must be
woven into absolutely everything.
| | 01:55 | He draws a conclusion about everything he
mentions, down to the smallest detail, because
| | 02:00 | everything he mentions inherently pertains to the
story he's telling and to the point he's making.
| | 02:05 | He never mentions anything just because or
objectively describes what something looks like.
| | 02:13 | When writing in the third person, the
trick is to seamlessly slip out of the
| | 02:17 | neutral narrator's voice--that's you by the way--and
into the character's very subjective point of view.
| | 02:24 | To do this, you don't need to use labels
like he thought, or she mused, nor do you need
| | 02:29 | to use quotation marks or italics.
| | 02:32 | Let me give you an example from an
Elmore Leonard novel, Freaky Deaky.
| | 02:37 | Robin watched him drink his
wine and refill the glass.
| | 02:40 | Poor little guy, he needed a mommy.
She reached out and touched his arm.
| | 02:45 | "Mark?" Felt his muscle
tighten and took that as a good sign.
| | 02:48 | Now there is no doubt that it's Robin rather than the author
who sees Mark as a poor little guy in need of a mommy.
| | 02:55 | Yet there is nothing at all in the text
that flags this as Robin's opinion. Why?
| | 03:00 | Because none is needed, and notice, too, that
she didn't just feel his muscle tighten, she
| | 03:06 | drew a conclusion about what it meant.
She saw it as a good sign.
| | 03:10 | Whether or not she was right is up for
debate, and that's what keeps us reading.
| | 03:15 | We want to find out.
| | 03:17 | Open just about any book written in the third person
and you'll find examples of this on almost every page.
| | 03:23 | Done well and it's invisible, which is why
even though you have probably read hundreds
| | 03:28 | of such novels throughout your life, how to weave in a
characters thoughts and reactions can still seem elusive.
| | 03:35 | Great writers always clue us into what their
characters are thinking and feeling because
| | 03:39 | that's where the story lives.
| | 03:44 |
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| Example (Feeling what the protagonist feels)| 00:00 | Okay, now let's try it together.
| | 00:03 | We'll start with a rough draft
of a scene about a hockey game.
| | 00:07 | (male speaker: It was the seventh game of the championship and
the Stanley Cup was on the line--the biggest prize in hockey.
| | 00:13 | Fans were crammed into the
arena, hooting and hollering.
| | 00:17 | Goalie Joe Williams looked at Larry Barnes, his
childhood rival, who was playing for the opposing team.
| | 00:22 | Boy, they sure had come a log way.
| | 00:25 | Larry had the puck and was about to try to
score, so Joe crouched in front of the goal--his
| | 00:30 | few feet of ice--and waited to do his job.)
That wasn't a very exciting scene, which is odd.
| | 00:37 | After all, it's the seventh
game of the Stanley Cup.
| | 00:40 | The reason it falls flat is
because we have no one to root for.
| | 00:44 | Sure we figured Joe probably wants to win
the game, but it doesn't seem to matter to him.
| | 00:49 | In fact, nothing seems to mean much to him,
not the screaming fans, not that his team
| | 00:54 | made it to the finals, not the fact that
his life-long rival is about to slam the puck
| | 00:58 | into the goal he's guarding.
| | 01:00 | So why would a writer forget
to let us know how Joe feels?
| | 01:05 | What most likely happened is that the writer
believed the situation is so incredibly exciting
| | 01:10 | that we will inherently know how Joe feels, so
he decided not to waste time telling us about it.
| | 01:16 | This is a very common mistake.
| | 01:18 | Your job is to help the reader
feel what the protagonist feels.
| | 01:22 | To make that happen, this
writer would need to do two things.
| | 01:26 | First, he needs to let us know what Joe feels.
| | 01:30 | Second, he needs to let us
know why Joe feels that way.
| | 01:35 | Let's look at the improved version below,
so you can see exactly how it's done.
| | 01:39 | Note that this time the writer lets us into
Joe's feelings at every turn and has crafted
| | 01:45 | a why that's specific, clear, and present.
| | 01:50 | Also note that the writer didn't accomplish this
simply by tweaking the bad version of the scene.
| | 01:56 | Instead, he completely
reimagined and rewrote it.
| | 01:59 | As we'll discuss throughout, the willingness
to re-write is what separates those who are
| | 02:04 | successful from those who
never quite get there. Here we go.
| | 02:10 | (male speaker: When the puck skidded across the ice,
careened off the boards, and landed right on Larry's
| | 02:14 | stick with six seconds remaining
on the clock, Joe had to laugh.
| | 02:18 | Of course Larry would
maneuver to take the last shot.
| | 02:21 | Of course Larry would race up the ice and
stare him in the eye as if he wanted to kill him,
| | 02:25 | not shoot the puck past him
and into the goal.
| | 02:29 | It was Larry pitted against Joe, one more
time--although this time, they weren't just
| | 02:34 | a couple of ten year olds playing in their
first game, or a couple of high school kids
| | 02:38 | playing for the league title.
| | 02:40 | This time they were facing off for the
Stanley Cup--the biggest prize in hockey--and the
| | 02:45 | whole world was watching.
| | 02:48 | With a grim smile, Joe
crouched, every muscle tense.
| | 02:51 | He was a machine finely tuned to do just one thing:
this time, he'd stop Larry Barnes from scoring.)
| | 02:59 | Now I am dying to know what happened.
| | 03:02 | Did Larry score this time?
Did Joe stop the shot?
| | 03:05 | How did Joe feel at the end of the day?
And hey, what's behind their rivalry anyway?
| | 03:10 | It sure sounds like stopping Larry shot
means more to Joe than just winning the game, and
| | 03:15 | that my friends is what keeps me reading.
| | 03:20 |
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| Story check (Feeling what the protagonist feels)| 00:00 | Now for a handy list of questions to make sure that
your reader is able to feel what your protagonist is feeling.
| | 00:07 | First, is the reader aware of your
protagonist's specific expectations so we can tell whether
| | 00:13 | they are being met or not?
| | 00:15 | This is something that writers
very often forget to tell us, why?
| | 00:19 | They assume that the reader knows what the
protagonist expects, or just as common, they
| | 00:24 | assume that a general answer will suffice.
| | 00:27 | James going to a party and Jane expects to have
a good time, but that's a general and a given.
| | 00:32 | Who wouldn't want to have a good time?
| | 00:34 | The real question is what specifically would have to happen
at the party in order for Jane to have that good time?
| | 00:43 | Second, does everything that happens affect
your protagonist emotionally in the moment?
| | 00:50 | This doesn't mean that the protagonist has to get
all emotional and weep or laugh or go nuts and slug someone.
| | 00:56 | It means that the reader must know what
emotion the protagonist is feeling, especially when
| | 01:02 | that emotion is at odds with what he is saying.
| | 01:05 | Third, does your protagonist
react to everything that happens?
| | 01:10 | Sometimes this is a physical reaction.
| | 01:12 | Sometimes it's what the
protagonist thinks or feels.
| | 01:14 | Remember, a story isn't about what happens on the surface,
it's about how what happens affects your protagonist.
| | 01:23 | Fourth, can the reader see the causal link between what
happened and why your protagonist reacted the way she did?
| | 01:31 | This comes back to making sure that the reader
knows what the protagonist's expectations were.
| | 01:37 | If they know what she expected, chances are they
will understand why she's reacting the way she does.
| | 01:43 | Not only that, but they will be able to
anticipate what she might do as a result.
| | 01:49 | Finally, if you're writing in the first person,
does everything reflect to protagonist's point of view?
| | 01:55 | Remember, in a first-person account,
nothing is ever neutral, even for a moment.
| | 02:01 | This means the narrator will never tell us
about anything that doesn't affect him in some way.
| | 02:08 | Think of the narrator as a
narcissist, but in a good way.
| | 02:12 | Everything in the story relates to him, which is
why he's telling us about it in the first place.
| | 02:16 | Now that you know how to make sure the reader can feel
what you're protagonist feels, let's practice doing it.
| | 02:22 | Open the example from your exercise files.
Can you improve this very rough draft by showing
| | 02:28 | us how the protagonist is
reacting to what's happening?
| | 02:33 |
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|
|
5. All Protagonists Have a GoalExplanation (All protagonists have a goal)| 00:00 | Everyone has an agenda, you, me, and
every protagonist worth their salt.
| | 00:06 | That's because we're wired to be goal-driven, the better
to achieve our primary objective, physical, and social survival.
| | 00:13 | As far as our brain is concerned,
without a goal everything is meaningless.
| | 00:19 | That's why in a story, the reader immediately
needs to know what the protagonist's agenda
| | 00:24 | is, since that's what gives meaning
to every single thing that happens.
| | 00:29 | So the first question you need to
ask is: what does my protagonist want?
| | 00:34 | Surprisingly, this is
something that writers often miss.
| | 00:38 | So I want to say it strongly, every story
begins with a protagonist who wants something
| | 00:43 | very, very badly, even if what they want is to stay
exactly the same, like Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit.
| | 00:52 | Remember what we said about the readers slipping into
the protagonist's skin and feeling what the protagonist feels.
| | 00:58 | Well, those feelings all stem from the protagonist's driving
desire and what he has to overcome to achieve his goal.
| | 01:07 | We then gauge everything based on whether it
brings him closer to his goal or puts him further away.
| | 01:12 | Without a goal, there is no yardstick by
which to measure your pilgrim's progress and no
| | 01:18 | context to give it meaning.
But there is a bit more to it than that.
| | 01:23 | Because the protagonist actually has two goals:
one is external, and the other is internal.
| | 01:31 | What does he want? That's the external goal.
Why does he want it? That's the internal goal.
| | 01:38 | The external goal is the actual plot level
thing he wants, a million dollars or the love
| | 01:43 | of a beautiful woman or not to change an iota.
| | 01:48 | Protagonists tend to believe that by getting
their external goal, their internal goal will be met,
| | 01:53 | the money will make you feel like a success,
her love will make him feel worthy, and not
| | 01:57 | changing an iota will make him feel safe.
| | 02:01 | Often the protagonist's internal goal is a
secret, sometimes from everyone else in the story,
| | 02:08 | sometimes even from himself, but never from
the reader, because it's the protagonist's
| | 02:14 | internal goal that gives
meaning to what he does.
| | 02:18 | The reader must be aware of it.
| | 02:21 | Once you have a solid understanding of what
your protagonist wants, what it means to him,
| | 02:26 | and what long-standing fear he has to
overcome to have a shot of success, your story has
| | 02:32 | a shot of giving readers what they come for.
| | 02:37 |
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| Example (All protagonists have a goal)| 00:00 | We know that the protagonist must have a very
clear goal at the start of the story, something
| | 00:05 | he or she desperately wants but can't yet reach.
| | 00:08 | Here is an example of the kind of external goal a
writer might create during the development stage of a story.
| | 00:16 | (female speaker: Dan ditched a promising career as an
environmental lawyer to take a lucrative job at an investment
| | 00:21 | company that specializes in oil futures.
| | 00:24 | He made his move even though he knows the
guys at the top of firm are shady, because
| | 00:29 | he just turned 29 and his goal is to
make ten million by the time he's thirty.)
| | 00:35 | Do we know what Dan's goal is?
You bet, he wants to make $10 million.
| | 00:39 | That is pretty darn clear.
What's missing is the why.
| | 00:44 | We have no idea why he wants the $10 million
other than a rhetorical, hey, who wouldn't?
| | 00:50 | But we don't turn to stories
to tell us what we already know.
| | 00:54 | We turn the stories to tell us what we
don't know and are dying to figure out.
| | 00:58 | And what we don't know here
is why Dan wants $10 million.
| | 01:03 | One answer could be that he
wanted to buy a lot of expensive stuff.
| | 01:07 | The only problem is it
that still leaves us thinking,
| | 01:10 | yeah, but who wouldn't?
What's your point?
| | 01:13 | The trouble is right now the answer to why
does Dan want the money is basically just because.
| | 01:20 | And in story, you never want the
answer to anything to be just because.
| | 01:26 | So how do we find the real answer?
| | 01:30 | By asking what does having
a lot of money mean to Dan.
| | 01:34 | In other words, we're
looking for his internal goal.
| | 01:38 | So let's figure it out.
| | 01:39 | And notice that once we do, it completely changes and
deepens the plot, including shifting his external goal.
| | 01:49 | (female speaker: Dan spent his life
dedicated to helping humanity.
| | 01:52 | He's worked long hours, and along the way he
neglected his wife, his friends, even his own health.
| | 01:58 | Just as his environmental law firm scores
a major victory against a big oil company,
| | 02:04 | he discovers that his little girl had a
rare and deadly blood disorder and he realizes
| | 02:09 | how much his family means to him.
| | 02:11 | The doctors tell him they've found a cure, but
they need ten million dollars to implement it.
| | 02:16 | Torn between his drive to help humanity
and his desire to save his daughter, he quits
| | 02:22 | his job and goes to work for the very oil
company he's on the verge of putting out of business.
| | 02:28 | His goal: to make enough money
to save his daughter. The cost?
| | 02:33 | He must help overthrow the victory
his law firm just spent years securing.)
| | 02:37 | Hey, turns out Dan's real goal
was to save his daughter's life.
| | 02:42 | The money is just a means to that end.
| | 02:45 | And his internal goal is to prove to his wife
and daughter that he loves them so much he'll
| | 02:50 | do anything for them, which sets
up an excellent internal struggle.
| | 02:55 | Which is more important to Dan?
Helping humanity or saving his beloved daughter?
| | 03:01 | And is there a way he can do both?
| | 03:04 | That's the kind of premise
that really hooks a reader.
| | 03:09 |
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| Story check (All protagonists have a goal)| 00:00 | Here are few questions to help you make sure that
your protagonist has a goal worthy of an entire story.
| | 00:07 | First, ask yourself what is
my protagonist's external goal?
| | 00:13 | What does he want more than anything?
What's his reason for living?
| | 00:18 | Everyone has an agenda, what's his?
| | 00:21 | And remember, saying he wants $10 million
isn't enough, it's general, and besides, who
| | 00:26 | doesn't want $10 million? The point is be specific.
Second, what is my protagonist's internal goal?
| | 00:37 | What will achieving his
external goal mean to him?
| | 00:40 | Why does he want it?
| | 00:41 | What does he think
getting it will say about him?
| | 00:44 | How will that affect his self image?
And as important, is he right?
| | 00:50 | Third, do these goals force him to face
a specific long-standing problem or fear?
| | 00:56 | What secret fear must he confront if
he is going to have a shot at his goal?
| | 01:00 | What hidden truth has he spent his whole life
avoiding that he's now forced to look straight
| | 01:04 | in the eye or give up and go home?
| | 01:07 | Now that you know how important it is to really
nail your protagonist's goal, open the example
| | 01:13 | from your exercise files.
Remember, the protagonist's fate is in your hands.
| | 01:20 |
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|
|
6. Uncovering Your Protagonist's Inner IssueExplanation (Uncovering your protagonist's inner issue)| 00:00 | We've been talking about how important it
is that the reader immediately gets a sense
| | 00:04 | of your protagonist's agenda, what she wants,
why she wants it, and a long-standing fear
| | 00:09 | that she'll have to overcome to get it.
| | 00:12 | Question is, how the heck do you
know what those things actually are?
| | 00:16 | The answer is by digging in
your protagonist's backstory.
| | 00:20 | After all, you can't filter everything that
happens through your protagonist's worldview
| | 00:25 | unless you know what her worldview is.
| | 00:27 | While writers often balk at the idea of
outlining or developing their characters before they
| | 00:32 | begin writing, this is the key thing
that can cut down on rewriting time.
| | 00:37 | But this kind of preparation doesn't have
to put a crimp in your creativity, and it
| | 00:41 | definitely doesn't have to include one of
those long births to death character bios.
| | 00:46 | Here's the secret: you're only looking for
information that affects the story you're telling.
| | 00:53 | If a story is about the protagonist facing
a specific long-standing problem or fear in
| | 00:58 | order to get what she wants, then what
you're looking for is the root of that problem.
| | 01:04 | You want to pin-point two things.
| | 01:06 | First, what specific event caused
her problem or fear in the first place?
| | 01:12 | Second, what event triggered
her desire for the goal itself?
| | 01:17 | The trick is to then trace how these two competing
forces shaped her life up to the moment that the story begins.
| | 01:25 | That's what makes digging into
your character's past so essential.
| | 01:29 | Truth is, everything a character does is
based on their interpretation of the events.
| | 01:35 | After all, we don't see the world
as it is, we see the world as we are.
| | 01:40 | For instance, Olive thinks that everyone
is only in it for themselves, thus the nicer
| | 01:46 | people are to her, the more she is
sure they're only out to con her.
| | 01:50 | So, knowing how your protagonist sees the
world and where and why her interpretation is
| | 01:55 | off is what allows you to create a
compelling plot that will force her to come to grips
| | 02:01 | with her mistaken end belief.
| | 02:03 | Remember, a story is about change,
things start out one way and end up another.
| | 02:09 | The information you'll unearth is the
protagonist's before, which you can then weave into the
| | 02:15 | story so the reader
understands what she's changing from.
| | 02:20 | The beauty of knowing these things is that
it will also reveal something that writers
| | 02:24 | often struggle to nail down:
when exactly did your story start?
| | 02:29 | The answer is it starts the moment life will
no longer let the protagonist avoid her fear,
| | 02:35 | not if she wants to achieve her goal, that is.
| | 02:38 | And this is the brilliant thing,
unearthing the root of your protagonist's inner issue
| | 02:43 | will tell you what she has to learn at
the end of the story in order to succeed.
| | 02:49 | Now let's go to the next
movie to see how it's done.
| | 02:54 |
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| Example (Uncovering your protagonist's inner issue)| 00:00 | The way to pin-point the specific event that
caused the problem or fear that the protagonist
| | 00:05 | must overcome is to relentlessly ask
why of everything until you hit paydirt.
| | 00:11 | Here's how such a conversation
between two writers might go.
| | 00:15 | (female speaker: Thank you for going over my script
with me and helping me with this.)
| | 00:19 | (male speaker: Sure!)
| | 00:20 | (female speaker: So, it's about a woman named Olive,
and she cannot make any relationship work.)
| | 00:25 | (male speaker: Okay, why not?)
| | 00:27 | (female speaker: She sabotages
every relationship she gets into.)
| | 00:31 | (male speaker: Why?)
| | 00:33 | (female speaker: Um, she starts to fall in love with
a guy, and then she pushes them away emotionally.)
| | 00:38 | (male speaker: And why is she doing that?)
| | 00:41 | (female speaker: Because she doesn't feel worthy, she doesn't
want to be hurt, um, she doesn't want to be manipulated?)
| | 00:48 | (male speaker: Okay, so is there a specific incident
in her past that makes her feel this way now?)
| | 00:54 | (female speaker: I don't know.
I guess that's where I'm blocked.
| | 01:01 | Um, okay, so when Olive was thirteen she had a
huge crush on her older brother's best friend,
| | 01:09 | Brad, and would do his homework for him,
make him snacks, um, and one day she came home,
| | 01:18 | and she overheard her brother and Brad making
fun of her, and she was totally heartbroken,
| | 01:25 | really sad, really devastated, and every relationship after that,
she put up walls 'cause she didn't want to be hurt.)
| | 01:35 | (male speaker: Okay, good.
So we know what started it all.
| | 01:40 | The question I have for you is what's the issue in Olive's
life right now that's forcing her to deal with that?)
| | 01:47 | (female speaker: I know the answer to that one!
| | 01:50 | Okay, so she just me the first man who
made her feel the same way that Brad does.
| | 01:57 | It totally feels like love now, and this time
she's really desperate to break that pattern.
| | 02:04 | And she's totally terrified, like can she do it?)
| | 02:10 | Bingo! Specific fear versus specific desire.
What a better place for a story to start?
| | 02:17 | And you know what else?
| | 02:19 | Asking why can be a great
antidote to writer's block.
| | 02:22 | You can brainstorm like this with
a friend, or you even by yourself.
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| Story check (Uncovering your protagonist's inner issue)| 00:00 | The root of all your protagonist's desires
and fears are buried in their backstory,
| | 00:06 | which is exactly where you'll
find the answers to these questions.
| | 00:10 | First, what's the source of the fear and of the desire
that the plot will force your protagonist to struggle with?
| | 00:18 | Can you trace her inner issue
back to specific events in her past?
| | 00:22 | Do you know how her inner issue has stopped her from
fulfilling her desire right up to the moment the story begins?
| | 00:30 | Ask yourself how have these things
shaped how she sees the world and herself?
| | 00:36 | Second, has your protagonist revealed
her deepest, darkest secrets to you?
| | 00:42 | Writers often shy away from
uncomfortable truths because they are hard to admit.
| | 00:47 | Just talking about them can be unnerving,
but unless you're planning to write a story
| | 00:51 | with the depth of a greeting card, you
really need to explore the messy stuff.
| | 00:57 | Third, are your character bios specific enough?
| | 01:02 | When you close your eyes, can you envision
it, picture it, see it, or is it conceptual?
| | 01:08 | If it's conceptual keep
asking what happened exactly?
| | 01:12 | For every answer your
protagonist gives you, ask her why.
| | 01:16 | And never underestimate the value of the therapist
tried-and-true question: now how do you feel about that?
| | 01:24 | Fourth, why does your story begin when it does?
Can you answer the question?
| | 01:30 | Why now as opposed to yesterday, tomorrow,
or when Aunt Bertha gets back from bingo?
| | 01:35 | What started the clock ticking?
| | 01:37 | What unavoidable event is compelling your
protagonist to act now, whether she wants to or not?
| | 01:44 | Fifth, where is your story heading?
| | 01:47 | This isn't to say you need to know how it
ends when you right word one, but it sure helps.
| | 01:54 | Ask yourself what will my protagonist
have to come to grips with at the end?
| | 01:58 | The more you know exactly what she has to
learn, the more likely it is you will write
| | 02:03 | a story that teaches her that exact lesson.
| | 02:07 | To get the hang of it, open the
example for your exercise files.
| | 02:12 | It's an example of a premise
that's just a little bit too general.
| | 02:17 |
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|
|
7. Being Specific Rather than VagueExplanation (Being specific rather than vague)| 00:00 | Here's something interesting: we are
not wired to think in the abstract.
| | 00:05 | We think in specific images. Concepts, generics,
generalizations can't engage us emotionally.
| | 00:13 | If we can't visualize it, we can't feel it.
| | 00:17 | For something to really penetrate, it needs to be put
into context that allows us to vicariously experience it.
| | 00:25 | It's the difference between talking about life on the
Mississippi or seeing it through the eyes of Huck Finn.
| | 00:31 | It may sound counterintuitive, but universal
theme or emotion is only accessible through
| | 00:37 | a very specific story that focuses on
how it specifically affects one person.
| | 00:43 | For instance, when you think of love, you
don't envision a concept, you envision images
| | 00:49 | that for you invoke the concept of love, which is why I'm
overly fond of saying the story is in the specifics.
| | 00:58 | Yet writers often write in vague
generalities without even knowing they're doing it.
| | 01:04 | Take a simple sentence like
Jake had a hard day at work.
| | 01:08 | It's a fine sentence, except we have no idea
what Jake considers a hard day or what actually
| | 01:13 | happened, so we have no idea
what might happen as a result.
| | 01:17 | For instance, he could have goofed off all
day and been caught, that would sure be a
| | 01:21 | bad day, or he could have worked insanely hard
only to have his rival take the credit for it.
| | 01:28 | That would be a bad day too.
| | 01:30 | Both paint a very different
picture with very different outcomes.
| | 01:35 | Be specific, use the eyes wide shut test.
If you shut your eyes, can you see it?
| | 01:41 | If not, then neither can the reader.
| | 01:44 | With that in mind, let's look at the six places
where the specific has a tendency to go missing.
| | 01:50 | First, the specific reason
a character does something.
| | 01:54 | Remember, we don't care
what a character does, per se.
| | 01:57 | What we care about is why they do it,
because often the reason someone does something is
| | 02:03 | the opposite of what it seems like on the
surface, and that of course is the interesting part.
| | 02:09 | Second, the specific thing a
metaphor is meant to illuminate.
| | 02:14 | Readers must know exactly what the metaphor
refers to in the story itself, or else they're
| | 02:20 | left with the feeling that the writer is
saying something really, really, important,
| | 02:24 | but we don't know what it is.
| | 02:25 | Third, the specific memory an
event evokes in the protagonist.
| | 02:31 | Often writers will say something like it
reminded her of what her mother said when her sister
| | 02:35 | was born, and that gave
her the strength to carry on.
| | 02:39 | Without telling us what exactly her mother
said, it's like saying I'm going to make a
| | 02:43 | point, but I'm not going to
tell you what it is, tell us.
| | 02:48 | Fourth, the specific reaction a
character has to a significant event.
| | 02:52 | Writers often go vague here because they
assume that the reader will know exactly how the
| | 02:57 | character feels, so why
waste time telling us about it?
| | 03:00 | The answer is because if the character doesn't
react, we won't supply the emotion they are feeling.
| | 03:05 | We will simply assume that they
aren't feeling anything at all.
| | 03:09 | Fifth, the specific possibilities that run through a
character's mind as she tries to figure something out.
| | 03:16 | Even if the character will end by saying,
"I don't know what the answer is,"
| | 03:20 | hearing what she thought it might be gives us
insight into who she is, how she sees the world,
| | 03:26 | and often very helpful snippets of backstory.
It's an opportunity you do not want to miss.
| | 03:33 | Sixth, the specific reason a
character changes their mind.
| | 03:36 | One of the most interesting things in a
story is why someone would suddenly decide to do
| | 03:41 | something they have vowed
they would never ever do.
| | 03:44 | We want to be privy to the raging internal
debate and what it is that ultimately tips the scales.
| | 03:51 | Finally, the last thing to keep in mind is
that each and every specific must be relevant
| | 03:56 | to the story you're telling, and that includes
the one specific that writers are often encouraged
| | 04:02 | to use with abandon: Sensory details.
| | 04:06 | Sensory details we're told are what
bring a story to life, and that's very true.
| | 04:10 | That's why it's easy to lose sight of the
fact that the real goal of sensory details
| | 04:16 | is to give us insight into the story
itself, so we experience it emotionally.
| | 04:22 | The real world is chock full of relevancies,
chaos, and the delightful vagaries of life.
| | 04:28 | Stories let us slip out to this surface
confusion and into something just as real but deeper,
| | 04:35 | which is precisely why every sensory detail you
choose must in some way give us insight into that world.
| | 04:43 | After all, the reader knows
what the world looks like.
| | 04:46 | What they are dying for
is a glimpse of your world.
| | 04:51 |
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| Example (Being specific rather than vague)| 00:00 | You'd surprised how easy it is for a writer
to think they're being specific, when in fact
| | 00:06 | they're firmly stuck in the general realm.
For instance...
| | 00:10 | (male speaker: Max walked slowly across the
carefully manicured lawn thinking about that day so
| | 00:16 | long ago when everything changed.
| | 00:19 | Did everyone else who'd come here today to honor
the dead remember the same kind of horror he did?
| | 00:24 | Or was their loss somehow simpler?
Somehow easier to live with? He didn't know.
| | 00:31 | He stopped, looking across the expanse of
graves until he was jolted from his reverie
| | 00:37 | by a little boy who ran up and saluted him.
| | 00:40 | Rather than return the salute, Max turned and
walked away, certain the kid got the message.)
| | 00:47 | Having read this passage, two
things are abundantly clear.
| | 00:50 | One, the writer is trying to communicate
something he believes is very important.
| | 00:55 | Two, we have no idea what it is.
What went wrong?
| | 01:01 | The writer couldn't tell the difference
between the story he was seeing in his head
| | 01:05 | and the one he had actually written on the page.
| | 01:08 | He knew exactly what each
generality really referred to.
| | 01:12 | For instance, he knew what had
changed on that day so very long ago.
| | 01:17 | He knew what Max is remembering with horror.
He knew what losses Max is referring to.
| | 01:23 | He knew why Max didn't return that boy's salute,
and he knew what message Max was certain the kid got.
| | 01:31 | Trouble is, he knows all these things so well
that he didn't realize they are not on the page.
| | 01:37 | Here's the story he thought he'd written...
| | 01:41 | (male speaker: Max walked slowly across the
carefully manicured lawn thinking about that day
| | 01:46 | so long ago when everything was lost.
| | 01:49 | Ten men had been in his squad, each as young and
scared as he was, but only he'd survived the blast.
| | 01:57 | He blinked and saw it for the thousandth time--
Billy falling through the sky;
| | 02:02 | Al vaporized in an instant;
Joe, slipping beneath the waves.
| | 02:07 | Did everyone who came out on the Veteran's Day
to honor their dead remember them with
| | 02:11 | the same kind of horror he did?
| | 02:13 | Or was their loss somehow simpler, easier to
live with because they hadn't been there at the end?
| | 02:19 | It had to be, or they'd
look as haunted as he felt.
| | 02:22 | He stopped, staring across the expanse of
graves until he was jolted from his reverie
| | 02:28 | by an eager little boy
who ran up and saluted him.
| | 02:31 | The kid was staring at Max's medals, grinning.
| | 02:35 | Max smiled ruefully, shaking his head,
"There's no glory in it, son," he said,
| | 02:40 | "and little good, either."
| | 02:42 | He turned and walked away without saluting,
hoping that maybe one day that kid would cast
| | 02:47 | a vote that kept the
country out of war altogether.)
| | 02:52 | This time the story is on the page where we
can experience firsthand what Max is feeling.
| | 02:57 | Of course, you can't go too far with specifics,
especially sensory details, adding too many
| | 03:04 | or adding the wrong ones at the wrong time.
| | 03:06 | The thing to remember is that since
specifics are where your stories live and breathes,
| | 03:12 | every specific must pertain to the story.
| | 03:15 | It not only has to tell us something we don't
know, but something we need to know right now.
| | 03:21 | Speaking of which, let's go to the next movie,
where I'll give you a checklist to help you
| | 03:26 | root out all those generalities lurking in
your story and translate them into specifics.
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| Story check (Being specific rather than vague)| 00:00 | If you want to be sure your story is grounded
in specifics, what the reader not only needs
| | 00:05 | but really wants to know, ask yourself
the following questions--and be ruthless.
| | 00:11 | First, have you translated every
single generic into a specific?
| | 00:17 | You want to make sure that everything on the
page is so specific that as far as the reader
| | 00:22 | is concerned, your story is virtual reality.
| | 00:25 | Second, will the reader know what your
protagonist's specific reactions are?
| | 00:31 | Remember, the reader isn't simply interested
in what happens, what they really want to know is
| | 00:37 | how what happens is affecting your protagonist.
| | 00:40 | Don't forget to let us in on
what she's really thinking.
| | 00:44 | Third, do all your sensory details--that is
what something looks like, feels like, tastes
| | 00:50 | like--have an actual story reason to be there?
| | 00:54 | You want to be sure each sensory detail is
strategically placed to give us insight into
| | 01:00 | your characters, your story,
and perhaps even your theme.
| | 01:02 | Remember, the reader expects that everything you
tell them is there strictly on a need-to-know basis.
| | 01:09 | That includes how delicious the strawberry
taste, how stunning the sunset looks, and
| | 01:14 | how excruciating the
pointy-toed high-heels were.
| | 01:17 | Okay, to help get the hang of this,
open the example in your exercise files.
| | 01:23 | It's the rough draft of a scene
featuring a woman named Mable.
| | 01:27 | She's worried about something.
Your job is to decide exactly what.
| | 01:32 |
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|
|
8. Suspense and ConflictExplanation (Suspense and conflict)| 00:00 | We've seen that story is about how someone solves
a problem and how they change as a result.
| | 00:06 | But here's the fine print, change only results
from unavoidable conflict, because no one--
| | 00:12 | you, me, or the guy next-door--
changes unless we're forced to.
| | 00:17 | The story's job is to shove the protagonist
into the fray where he or she finds out what
| | 00:22 | they are really made of.
It's like that great JFK story.
| | 00:26 | When asked what made him a war hero,
he replied, "I didn't have a choice.
| | 00:31 | They sank my boat." The problem is we
don't like conflict in real life that is.
| | 00:38 | Ever since kindergarten, our goal is been
to work well with others, so it's no surprise
| | 00:43 | that conflict can make us uncomfortable.
| | 00:47 | As a result, we writers are
often way too nice to our protagonist.
| | 00:52 | Instead of plugging them into a really thorny
situation, we tip-toe up to it and then deftly
| | 00:57 | rescue them in the nick of time before
anything really bad happens. Resist this urge.
| | 01:05 | It's conflict that readers come for, so
they can vicariously experience the risks they
| | 01:10 | tend to avoid in real life.
| | 01:12 | They're dying to know what it would it cost
emotionally to take those risks, and ultimately,
| | 01:18 | what they might gain by it.
| | 01:20 | But does that mean the characters must constantly be fighting,
arguing, and bashing each other over the head? Of course not.
| | 01:27 | Such moments of bare-knuckled
conflict are few and far between.
| | 01:31 | The goal is to let us in on where impending
conflict is lurking just beneath the surface,
| | 01:37 | so you can build a sense of ongoing
suspense as we get closer and closer to it.
| | 01:44 | This is what keeps the reader hooked.
| | 01:45 | They're dying to know what will happen when
that conflict erupts and forces the protagonist
| | 01:50 | to take action, preferably
action she'd really rather not take.
| | 01:55 | Such conflict tends to
spring from two opposing forces.
| | 01:59 | I like to think of these
battling forces as this versus that.
| | 02:05 | Keeping in mind that every story has more
than one source of conflict, here are the
| | 02:09 | most common, the protagonist versus the antagonist, AKA
the force of opposition, Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader.
| | 02:20 | What the protagonist believes is
true versus what is actually true.
| | 02:24 | Jane believes her mean demanding boss hates her.
| | 02:28 | In reality, he's hard on her because he's
grooming her for success, what the protagonist
| | 02:33 | wants versus what the protagonist actually has.
| | 02:37 | Ted wants to be quarterback,
instead he is a water boy.
| | 02:41 | What the protagonist wants
versus what's expected of her.
| | 02:45 | Jennifer wants to be a writer; her
parents expect her to go to medical school.
| | 02:50 | The protagonist versus him or herself.
| | 02:53 | Jim wants to make a million dollars, but to
do it he has to sell out his core beliefs.
| | 02:59 | The protagonist's fear
versus the protagonist's goal.
| | 03:03 | Joe is terrified of admitting to his
humble beginnings, but if he lies about his past
| | 03:07 | and is discovered, he will
lose the girl of his dreams.
| | 03:11 | Remember, in literature as in life,
change only results from unavoidable conflict.
| | 03:18 | By identifying where the conflict in your
story will come from, you can then build toward
| | 03:23 | it creating suspense and
suspense is what hooks the readers.
| | 03:28 |
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| Example (Suspense and conflict)| 00:01 | What grabs the reader is a sense of
impending conflict, which means the writer's goal is
| | 00:06 | to create an ongoing air of suspense.
| | 00:08 | With that in mind, imagine you're reading
a crime thriller, you're a chapter or two
| | 00:13 | into it when you come across this scene...
| | 00:18 | (female speaker: Val is searching for her
roommate Enid who's hours late coming home.
| | 00:22 | After canvassing the neighborhood, she
reluctantly knocks on the door of her new neighbor, Homer,
| | 00:28 | shows him a photo of Enid,
and asks if he's seen her.
| | 00:31 | He says no, but seeing how worried Val is, he
invites her in for a soothing cup of herbal tea.
| | 00:38 | Realizing she's probably blowing the whole thing out
of proportion, and that Homer's really cute, Val accepts.
| | 00:44 | Over two steaming mugs, Homer reassures Val,
suggesting that Enid probably just decided
| | 00:49 | to visit a friend, nothing worry about.
| | 00:52 | Half an hour later Val leaves, feeling
relieved and wondering whether Homer is single.)
| | 00:57 | Val's mood arcs during the scene, she
goes in worried and comes out happy.
| | 01:02 | We know why her mood changed.
| | 01:04 | She realized that Enid was
probably okay and Homer is really cute.
| | 01:08 | It leaves us with something to
anticipate, will Val and Homer get together?
| | 01:13 | Does the scene need to suggest more than that?
| | 01:16 | Well, if this were a
lighthearted romance novel, probably not.
| | 01:20 | But it's not, it's a
crime thriller and guess what.
| | 01:23 | There was a crime being
committed in that very scene.
| | 01:27 | It was just very well hidden because since
the writer didn't want to give it all away,
| | 01:32 | she kept the most heart-pounding
part of the scene a big fat secret.
| | 01:38 | She thought she'd reveal it all
later and really surprise the reader.
| | 01:42 | But she did such a good job of hiding it
that we had no idea there even was a secret.
| | 01:48 | If we don't know there is intrigue
afoot, then there is no intrigue afoot.
| | 01:53 | So let's imagine the exact same scene,
except this time the writer has let us know that...
| | 02:01 | (female speaker: Enid struggled with the duct tape
binding her arms to the chair in the basement below.
| | 02:06 | "I'm down here!" she wanted to scream, but the
t-shirt stuffed in her mouth muffled the sound.)
| | 02:14 | This time we're riveted, rooting for Enid, and
praying Homer hasn't slipped a roofie into Val's tea.
| | 02:21 | It's a far superior scene.
| | 02:24 | But what if the writer really doesn't want
to let us in on exactly what's happening yet?
| | 02:28 | Does she absolutely have to tell us?
| | 02:31 | No, but what she does have to do is give us
hints that will both add suspense in the moment,
| | 02:38 | by letting us know that all was not as it seems and will
also make the truth believable when it's revealed.
| | 02:44 | How? Let's see what the writer comes up with...
| | 02:48 | (female speaker: "At the moment my time is taken,"
the man replied.
| | 02:51 | "Please, just see if you recognize her," Val
said and thrust out the photo from their trip.
| | 02:57 | "Really, I have no..."
he trailed off in his words.
| | 03:01 | "Wait, she does look a little familiar...
Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?
| | 03:07 | I find that a nice cup of
Earl Grey always jogs my memory."
| | 03:10 | "I'm not sure if I should, I'd like to
continue canvassing the neighborhood."
| | 03:16 | "Well, I do think..." The man's jaw tightened
and he looked annoyingly at his feet.
| | 03:23 | "The rats are always
gnawing at the floorboards."
| | 03:26 | Val hadn't noticed before but there was a faint
scraping sound coming from below. That's odd.
| | 03:33 | The whole neighborhood was
fumigated just last month.)
| | 03:37 | Things like that stoke suspense by implying
that someone is probably lying, which in turn
| | 03:44 | triggers a dopamine-fueled rush of curiosity as the
reader tries to figure out what's really going on.
| | 03:50 | I can't say this often enough, a story is
not about what happens on the surface, it's
| | 03:55 | about what's really going on beneath it.
| | 03:58 | The writer's job is to let us see enough of what's
underneath to care about what's on the surface.
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| Story check (Suspense and conflict)| 00:00 | In order to give your readers the thrill of
anticipation, you've got to give them a taste
| | 00:04 | of the conflict that's at
the heart of your story.
| | 00:08 | Here are the questions to ask to
be sure you're on the right track.
| | 00:12 | First, what are the specific this
versus that sources of conflict?
| | 00:17 | Can we anticipate what the protagonist will
have to battle in order to achieve his goal?
| | 00:22 | Can we begin to calculate the
emotional cost he will have to pay?
| | 00:26 | Second, are the seeds of future conflict
planted right there beginning on page 1?
| | 00:33 | Readers love being a step
ahead of the protagonist.
| | 00:36 | Have you given them enough hints so they can
anticipate the problems that the protagonist
| | 00:41 | might not yet be aware of?
| | 00:44 | Third, does the conflict force
the protagonist to take action?
| | 00:48 | The one thing you don't want your protagonist
to be is passive, so no matter how much you'd
| | 00:53 | really rather sit this one out, don't let him.
Make sure the story forces him to take action.
| | 01:00 | Fourth, if you're withholding specific facts
for a big reveal later, are you sure it actually
| | 01:06 | makes your story better?
| | 01:08 | Don't be afraid of giving too much away as you write,
because you can always pare back later when you're editing.
| | 01:13 | Besides, showing your hand is often a very
good thing indeed. Now, it's your turn.
| | 01:18 | Open the example in your exercise files and
practice by adding conflict to a premise that
| | 01:23 | at the moment isn't terribly exciting.
| | 01:28 |
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9. Cause and EffectExplanation (Cause and effect)| 00:00 | Story, like life, is driven by
emotion, but it's ordered by logic.
| | 00:05 | The brain analyzes everything
in terms of cause and effect.
| | 00:10 | If this happens, it will cause that to happen.
| | 00:13 | What makes us different from all other species
is that we are wired to take it one step further
| | 00:19 | by trying to understand why this caused that,
and better, not only anticipate what might
| | 00:25 | happen next, but to figure out
how to change it to our advantage.
| | 00:29 | Stories allow us to test drive those
possibilities without having to actually take the risk.
| | 00:35 | It's as close as we can get to
having our cake and eating it too.
| | 00:39 | When a story doesn't follow a clear cause
and effect trajectory, the brain doesn't know
| | 00:44 | what to make of it because we have no
idea what things are meant to add up to.
| | 00:49 | This can result in a feeling of physical distress, not to
mention the very real desire to chuck the book at the window.
| | 00:56 | The good news is that story-wise, cause and effect
boils down to a simple mantra of if-then-therefore.
| | 01:06 | It's what drives the story forward.
| | 01:09 | If I call in sick one more time, then I'll get
fired, therefore I better get up out of this cozy bed.
| | 01:18 | If you think of your story's cause and
effect trajectory as a row of dominoes, you'll see
| | 01:22 | that once one falls, the
others will naturally follow.
| | 01:26 | The thing to keep in mind when crafting your
story's trajectory is that there are two levels
| | 01:32 | of cause and effect which always work in tandem.
| | 01:36 | Plot-wise, cause and effect
plays out on the surface level.
| | 01:40 | One event logistically
triggers the next. This is the what.
| | 01:44 | For example, Betty was late for work on
her first day, therefore Betty was fired.
| | 01:51 | Story-wise, cause and effect plays out on a
deeper internal level, that of meaning this is the why.
| | 02:00 | It reveals why Betty was late for work
even though she desperately needs that job.
| | 02:06 | Since stories are about how what happens
affects someone, it's knowing the why that allows
| | 02:11 | you to figure out the what.
| | 02:13 | The key thing to remember--and something
that writers really often forget--is that simply
| | 02:19 | seeing the surface cause and
effect isn't all that interesting.
| | 02:23 | What makes it interesting is how it's
affecting your protagonist, which means we need to know
| | 02:29 | the internal effect it's
having on her in the moment.
| | 02:34 | This is what show, don't tell actually means.
| | 02:37 | That is, don't tell me the
protagonist is sad, show me why is she sad?
| | 02:44 | Very often that means show us her train of
thought in the moment, especially when her
| | 02:50 | expectations aren't being met.
| | 02:53 | And hey, that's what stories are about,
what we do when our expectations aren't met.
| | 03:00 | The beauty of mapping out your story's
cause and effect trajectory is that it helps you
| | 03:05 | identify deadly digressions that can
derail your story. What's a digression?
| | 03:12 | It's anything we don't need to
know for the story to make sense.
| | 03:16 | That is, anything that's not part
of the cause and effect trajectory.
| | 03:20 | One way to root out digressions is by
using what I like to call the "And so" test.
| | 03:26 | You can use it when you're writing, after each
paragraph, each page, each chapter, whenever.
| | 03:32 | Simply ask yourself, And so, why does the
reader need to know this? What's the point?
| | 03:39 | How does it further the story?
| | 03:41 | If I cut it out, is there anything
in the story that wouldn't make sense?
| | 03:45 | If the answer is no, out it goes.
It's as simple as that.
| | 03:50 | After all, the reader is wired
to hunt for causal connections.
| | 03:54 | And when there aren't any to be made,
we tend to hunt for another book to read.
| | 03:59 |
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| Example (Cause and effect)| 00:00 | Let's see how this works with a story
we probably all know, Romeo and Juliet.
| | 00:06 | First, what do they want?
| | 00:08 | They want to be together,
preferably out in the open.
| | 00:13 | Every decision they make is based on
that one single overarching objective.
| | 00:18 | Think of their internal mantra as if I do
this, then I'll overcome the obstacle that's
| | 00:25 | keeping us apart, therefore we'll be together.
| | 00:29 | The external if-then-therefore logic plays out
against this internal logic all the way through.
| | 00:36 | The thing is we humans are wired to assume that
each little thing we do will solve the big problem.
| | 00:43 | And how often does that really happen?
| | 00:46 | Usually never, particularly not in a good
story, which of course means the therefore
| | 00:53 | we get is almost always
something other than what we expect.
| | 00:58 | The more things get messed up, the harder
Romeo and Juliet try to bend the external
| | 01:03 | world to their internal desire.
| | 01:06 | With that in mind, let's
see what's going on in Verona.
| | 01:10 | Romeo meets Juliet, and they fall in love.
| | 01:13 | Because of the internal logic we discussed,
they instantly understand the external cause
| | 01:19 | and effect equation that now governs them.
| | 01:23 | If they can figure out a way for their families
to reconcile, then they can be together, therefore
| | 01:29 | they hatch a plan to wage peace.
| | 01:32 | All this sounds good, except for the fact
that the therefore isn't going to turn out
| | 01:37 | exactly as they hope.
It begins like this.
| | 01:42 | If Romeo refuses to fight Juliet's kinsmen,
who has challenged him to a dual, then the
| | 01:48 | family feud will end, therefore everyone will
kiss and make up and be delighted that Romeo
| | 01:53 | and Juliet already got secretly married.
| | 01:56 | What actually happens is that Romeo ends up
killing Juliet's kinsman, and the best laid
| | 02:02 | plan ends up becoming the
worst possible nightmare.
| | 02:07 | Now the equation looks like this.
| | 02:10 | If Romeo stays in Verona with Juliet's family
hungry for his blood, then he will be killed
| | 02:16 | himself, therefore he has to flee the city.
| | 02:20 | More complications ensue as each therefore
catapults them into another gut-wrenching
| | 02:25 | decision, especially when Juliet's
parents suddenly betroth her to Paris.
| | 02:30 | If Juliet doesn't act fast, she will end up
officially married to Paris, then she'll never
| | 02:36 | be allowed to see Romeo again, therefore
she hatches a plan to thwart the marriage and
| | 02:41 | reunite with Romeo. What's the plan?
| | 02:45 | If Juliet pretends to die, then she will get
out of the whole Paris marriage thing, therefore
| | 02:51 | with a little help from the Friar, she can
rendezvous with Romeo in the family crypt
| | 02:56 | and they will find a way
to live happily ever after.
| | 02:59 | This is when things take a genuinely tragic
turn because there was one bit of if-then-therefore
| | 03:05 | logic that no one contemplated.
| | 03:08 | If Romeo doesn't get the letter the Friar
sent telling him about Juliet's plan to fake
| | 03:13 | her death, then when he finds out
she is dead, he will believe it's true.
| | 03:18 | Therefore, he will lose his desire to live,
and after smooching her still warm lips chug-a-lug
| | 03:24 | a vial of poison, this if-then-therefore logic--
even though it's based on facts that are dead wrong--
| | 03:33 | propels the story to its tragic end.
| | 03:35 | If Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo dead, then
she will want to die herself, therefore she
| | 03:42 | will take the happy dagger
from his belt and do herself in.
| | 03:47 | And finally, if-then-therefore logic propels
the bittersweet resolution of their families.
| | 03:53 | If our children could love each other this
much, then maybe we should stop this bloodshed,
| | 03:59 | therefore we'll reconcile.
Better late than never I guess.
| | 04:03 | But for writers, what's so exhilarating
about looking at story this way is that you soon
| | 04:08 | begin to recognize the if-then-therefore pattern all
over, and things begin to fall into place naturally.
| | 04:14 |
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| Story check (Cause and effect)| 00:00 | Here are a few questions that will help you make sure your
story stays on an if-then-therefore trajectory all the way through.
| | 00:08 | First, does your story follow a cause and
effect path so that each scene is triggered
| | 00:14 | by the one that preceded it?
| | 00:15 | What you want is an if-then-therefore
pattern all the way through.
| | 00:20 | It's like the one-two-three of a waltz.
| | 00:23 | Get that rhythm stuck in your head,
if-then-therefore, and use it to build momentum.
| | 00:29 | Second, do the events that take place in your
story spur the protagonist's internal quest?
| | 00:37 | We don't care about a hurricane, a stock
market crash, or even aliens taking over downtown
| | 00:42 | Cleveland, unless it somehow directly affects
your protagonist's pursuit of his internal goal.
| | 00:50 | Third, do you always show your protagonist's
train of thought when he's making a decision?
| | 00:55 | The reader wants to know how what happens
affects the protagonist, so we understand
| | 01:00 | why he makes the decisions he does.
| | 01:03 | Don't forget, just because you know what your
protagonist is thinking, doesn't mean your reader will.
| | 01:09 | Finally, can everything in your
story withstand the "And so" test?
| | 01:14 | This is another way of asking what's the point?
Why does the reader need to know this?
| | 01:19 | How does it further the story?
| | 01:22 | Ask it relentlessly, and the minute you can't
answer, know that you're in the company of
| | 01:26 | what's likely a deadly digression which will
bring your story's momentum to a screeching halt.
| | 01:32 | So, boot it out before it does.
| | 01:35 | The best way to practice the if-then-therefore
logic is to pick a movie you know well and
| | 01:40 | write it out the way we
just did with Romeo and Juliet.
| | 01:43 | Movies are much easier to do this with than
books, because it's a simpler, more straightforward
| | 01:48 | medium, not to mention the fact that it's easier to
watch a 2-hour movie than to read a 400-page novel.
| | 01:54 | When it comes to picking a movie, believe it or not,
Disney and Pixar films work really, really well.
| | 02:00 | Try The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo,
or my personal favorites, Toy story.
| | 02:05 | If you prefer movies with actual flesh-and-blood actors,
you might try It's a Wonderful Life, or Die Hard.
| | 02:12 | Once you get the swing of it, it will be
surprisingly easy to apply it to your own work.
| | 02:17 |
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|
|
10. What Can Go Wrong, MustExplanation (What can go wrong, must)| 00:00 | There's an old saying: Good judgment comes from
experience, experience comes from bad judgment.
| | 00:07 | But since bad judgment can be deadly,
scientists believe that the reason the brain allows us
| | 00:12 | to get lost in a good story is because
sometimes the best experience to learn from is someone
| | 00:18 | else's, for instance, your protagonist.
| | 00:22 | That's why when you're writing a story,
everything that can go wrong must go wrong and then some.
| | 00:29 | Your protagonist has to
work hard to earn her victory.
| | 00:33 | And the only way she can do that is if you
construct a plot that forces her to face things
| | 00:39 | she has probably spent her
whole life trying to avoid.
| | 00:43 | This means that everything she tries to do to
solve the problem is only going to make it worse.
| | 00:50 | That's how the stakes
escalate and the story builds.
| | 00:54 | Your goal, therefore, is to undermine your
protagonist's best laid plans at every turn,
| | 01:00 | forcing her to dig deep and
discover what she is really made of.
| | 01:05 | Anyone can say they're a hero; your story
will force your protagonist to prove it.
| | 01:10 | With that in mind, here are six ways to ensure that your
story will make your protagonist earn her hero status.
| | 01:18 | First, don't let your characters admit
anything they aren't forced to, even to themselves.
| | 01:26 | Information is currency, and the only way
anyone ever admits to anything is because
| | 01:31 | they've been backed into a corner.
| | 01:34 | Second, let your protagonist lie and have
secrets so the story can force him to divulge
| | 01:40 | things he really doesn't want to.
| | 01:43 | Story often comes to life in the space between what a
character says out loud and what they're really thinking.
| | 01:49 | But remember, unless the reader knows what
those secrets and lies are, they won't know
| | 01:54 | the real why behind the character's actions.
So, don't keep secrets secret from the reader.
| | 02:02 | Third, let your character start out
betting small, and end up betting it all.
| | 02:07 | When faced with a big problem we can't avoid,
it is human nature to do as little as possible
| | 02:13 | and hope to heck that, that solves it; fat
chance, almost always, that only makes it worse.
| | 02:20 | The same is true of your protagonist,
which is bad for him but good for the reader.
| | 02:25 | The other quirk of human nature to keep in
mind is as Aesop so astutely said: Men often
| | 02:32 | bear little grievances with less
courage than they do large misfortunes.
| | 02:36 | Thus, by the end, when your protagonist has
to give up everything in order to solve the
| | 02:41 | problem, chances are he will do it far more willingly
than when he parted with that first measly dollar.
| | 02:48 | Fourth, make sure there is a clear,
present, and escalating danger.
| | 02:53 | A story needs a force of opposition.
| | 02:56 | Without one, the protagonist has no
reason to get up out of his easy chair.
| | 03:01 | The only way he can prove his worth is if the force
of opposition is well-defined, present, and growing.
| | 03:08 | It can't be a hazy threat that never really
materializes, no matter how potentially dangerous.
| | 03:15 | It's not always a person,
but it's always personified.
| | 03:20 | Think of the force of opposition as a rapidly
ticking clock that not only forces the protagonist
| | 03:25 | to take action, but that constantly ups the
game, so the protagonist must do likewise.
| | 03:32 | Fifth, make your protagonist earn everything.
| | 03:37 | Never give him the benefit of the doubt,
or let anything come to him easily.
| | 03:42 | Remember, there's no such thing as a
free lunch, unless of course, it's poisoned.
| | 03:47 | Sixth, do expose your character's
flaws, demons, and insecurities.
| | 03:54 | Flaws aren't just what makes characters
interesting, they are what make them accessible.
| | 03:58 | Writers often think their characters have to
be likable, meaning they can never do anything
| | 04:03 | wrong or think a bad thought.
| | 04:05 | But often what makes a character
likable are his flaws and insecurities.
| | 04:10 | They would allow us to identify
with them, and so root for them.
| | 04:14 | What's more, stories are about how the protagonist
overcomes his deepest fear, his most closely held misbelief.
| | 04:22 | A character who has no flaws has nothing to
learn, and so nothing to teach us, which brings
| | 04:27 | us back to where we began.
| | 04:29 | Since the best experience to learn from is someone
else's bad experience, be mean to your protagonist.
| | 04:36 | After all, as Emily Dickinson said:
A wounded deer leaps the highest.
| | 04:41 |
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| Example (What can go wrong, must)| 00:00 | We know that in a story, what can go
wrong must go wrong. And then some.
| | 00:05 | It's how the suspense escalates, forcing your
protagonist to deal with things she'd really rather not.
| | 00:12 | That's why one of the biggest things that can go
wrong with this story is when nothing goes wrong in it.
| | 00:18 | Here is what such a story might look like.
| | 00:22 | It's 1872 and Rose, a headstrong 21-year-old,
lives in Rochester, New York, just as the
| | 00:29 | fight for a woman's right
to vote is gaining steam.
| | 00:32 | Her father is a prominent banker, and her
mother is active in social causes, starting
| | 00:37 | a library, and raising money
to help children with polio.
| | 00:41 | Unbeknownst to them, Rose has been avidly
following the work of Susan B. Anthony,
| | 00:45 | so when she learns that Anthony is going
to try to vote in an upcoming election,
| | 00:51 | she announces she is going along.
Her parents forbid it.
| | 00:55 | They're worried about what their friends will think, and
besides, what if something happens and Rose is arrested?
| | 01:01 | But Rose sneaks off anyway and joins the crowd
supporting Anthony as she goes into the polling place.
| | 01:08 | Rose has a glorious day and comes away
with renewed commitment to the cause.
| | 01:12 | Her parents, though--disappointed by her disobedience--
re relieved that none of their friends found out
| | 01:17 | she was there and that
no real harm came to her.
| | 01:21 | By the time women get the right to vote in 1920,
Rose is an old woman herself, her parents long gone.
| | 01:28 | Remembering the good times of her youth, she's
filled with pride as she cast her first vote.
| | 01:33 | Oh, that's a sweet story,
not to mention boring, why?
| | 01:40 | Because nothing ever went wrong.
What did Rose struggle with? Nothing.
| | 01:45 | What did her actions cost her? Nothing.
What did Rose learn? Say it with me, nothing.
| | 01:52 | The stakes don't mount
because there are no stakes.
| | 01:56 | So let's poke around in the story, pin-pointing where
the writer missed opportunities to set Rose up for a fall.
| | 02:03 | As we do, notice how it's only when things
go wrong for her that she's forced to tap
| | 02:08 | into strengths she
probably didn't even know she had.
| | 02:12 | Also, notice how easy it is to make changes
when the story is only one paragraph long,
| | 02:18 | as supposed to waiting until 300 pages.
First off, let's look at Rose's first action.
| | 02:26 | If she is going to sneak out, we want her not
only to be caught, but maybe even get arrested.
| | 02:33 | Everything that happens must spur an
unexpected and hopefully unwelcome consequence.
| | 02:39 | Never let your protagonist off the hook unless
doing so will land her in even bigger trouble.
| | 02:46 | Then there's her dad's occupation.
| | 02:48 | He's a banker, and so instead, why not
make him a judge who will be directly involved
| | 02:55 | in thwarting Anthony's crusade?
| | 02:58 | That would make Rose's actions much worse
for him, and by extension worse for her.
| | 03:04 | Plus, it gives her a very personal
cost for standing up for her beliefs.
| | 03:09 | And what about her mother
situation? Here is a thought.
| | 03:13 | Maybe Rose's mom is in the midst of a huge
fundraising campaign, and her biggest donor
| | 03:18 | threatens to pull out if Rose
continues to publicly support women's rights.
| | 03:24 | This gives Rose's actions
another very personal consequence.
| | 03:29 | Most important, what about Rose's
action in the heat of the moment?
| | 03:33 | Let's have the writer take it from here.
| | 03:37 | After vowing to herself that she won't do
anything to attract attention, Rose gets so
| | 03:42 | inspired that she tries to vote.
| | 03:45 | When officials turn her away,
she fights back and is arrested.
| | 03:48 | Once in jail, things get even worse.
| | 03:51 | Her parents won't bail her out,
hoping to teach her a lesson.
| | 03:55 | But instead of breaking her spirit, she
sees how horribly the downtrodden are treated,
| | 04:00 | and it doubles her commitment.
| | 04:02 | Then Rose faces her own father in court,
and standing before him, she realizes that if
| | 04:08 | he acquits her, he'll lose the trust of his colleagues,
so she makes an impassioned speech admitting her guilt.
| | 04:16 | But it isn't enough.
| | 04:18 | Seeing her beloved parents shunned for her
beliefs, she begs them to disown her and is
| | 04:24 | a little stunned when they tearfully agree.
| | 04:26 | Then even with all that, Rose still comes
away with a renewed dedication to a cause
| | 04:33 | that she believes is bigger than their own lives.
| | 04:37 | Decades later, on the day she votes for the
first time, she feels a deep sadness at the
| | 04:42 | pain she caused her family, a sadness tempered by a
deeper sense of pride for what she helped accomplish.
| | 04:51 | This time because what could
go wrong for Rose did go wrong.
| | 04:55 | She found out what she was really
made of, which makes for a great story.
| | 05:00 |
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| Story check (What can go wrong, must)| 00:00 | To make sure that your story builds and
attention escalates, ask yourself:
| | 00:06 | first, has everything that can go wrong gone wrong?
Don't be nice to your protagonist, even a little bit.
| | 00:13 | Take the gloves off and throw
social conventions out the window.
| | 00:17 | Make sure your plot continually
forces her to rise to the occasion.
| | 00:22 | Second, have you exposed your protagonist's
deepest secrets and most guarded flaws?
| | 00:28 | No matter how embarrassing or painful the
revelation, have you forced her to fess up?
| | 00:33 | Have you made her confront her demons?
| | 00:36 | After all, how could she possibly overcome
them or realize they aren't so bad after all
| | 00:41 | unless your story forces her to.
| | 00:45 | Third, does your protagonist earn
everything she gets and pay for everything she loses?
| | 00:50 | This is another way of saying that there must
be a consequence to everything that happens.
| | 00:56 | Ideally, a consequence that forces your
protagonist to take an action she'd really rather not.
| | 01:02 | Fourth, does everything your protagonist tries to do
to make the situation better actually make it worse? Good.
| | 01:10 | The worse things get for your protagonist,
the better it gets for your story by making
| | 01:14 | sure that things go from bad to worse.
| | 01:17 | You keep your story's pacing on track as the
tension and the stakes ratchet ever upward.
| | 01:24 | Finally, is the force of opposition
personified, present, and active?
| | 01:31 | It doesn't always have to be a giant raging
gorilla or a gun-toting psychopath, but readers
| | 01:36 | want someone or something to root against.
| | 01:40 | This means that vague threats, generalized evil, or
unspecified possible disastrous events don't cut it.
| | 01:49 | The danger needs to be specific
and wired to a rapidly-ticking clock.
| | 01:55 | Now it's your turn to take a potentially
dramatic but currently hum-drum story and throw in
| | 02:00 | a monkey wrench or two of your own.
| | 02:02 | So turn to the example in your
exercise files and get started.
| | 02:07 |
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|
|
11. Setups, Payoffs, and the Clues in BetweenExplanation (Setups, payoffs, and the clues in between)| 00:00 | In a previous movie, we talked about how the
brain analyzes everything in terms of cause
| | 00:06 | and effect, if/this, then/that, because we're
hardwired to see causality as the cement of the universe.
| | 00:14 | The brain detests randomness.
| | 00:17 | As a result, it's constantly converting
raw data into meaningful patterns, the better
| | 00:23 | to figure out what's safe, what isn't,
and what the heck to do about it.
| | 00:29 | So it's no surprise that as readers
we're always on the look out for patterns.
| | 00:34 | To the reader, everything is either a setup,
a payoff, or the road in between.
| | 00:41 | Once readers spot a setup, they immediately start hunting
for the breadcrumb trail that will lead to the payoff.
| | 00:48 | Another words, a setup is
anything that implies further action.
| | 00:51 | Like when a guy throws a banana peel over his
shoulder and we immediately start wondering,
| | 00:56 | oh, who is going to trip?
| | 00:58 | A big part of the pleasure of reading is recognizing,
interpreting, and then connecting the dots as the pattern emerges.
| | 01:07 | After all, it's curiosity that
keeps us turning those pages.
| | 01:12 | That means you want to make sure every setup
actually has a payoff and that there aren't
| | 01:18 | any inadvertent setups leading nowhere.
| | 01:22 | This is crucial since as we know readers assume
that everything in a story is there on a need-to-know
| | 01:30 | basis, which means they take it for granted
that everything you tell them is part of a pattern.
| | 01:36 | They believe that each fact, each event,
each action will have story significance.
| | 01:43 | That's why it's incredibly easy for them to
mistake a random unnecessary fact for a setup.
| | 01:50 | To make matters worse, because its relevance
to what's happening now isn't clear, readers
| | 01:56 | assume it'll have even more significance later.
| | 01:59 | So it becomes part of the filter that they run the
meaning of everything through from that moment on.
| | 02:06 | Naturally, this undermines the
assumptions that you do want them to make.
| | 02:11 | If for example, no one immediately slips on
that banana peel, your reader will spend the
| | 02:16 | entire story expecting
someone sometime to take the fall.
| | 02:22 | In order to make sure you don't lead your
readers astray, follow these two major rules
| | 02:28 | of the road to get from setup to payoff.
| | 02:31 | Rule 1, the setup must
come long before the payoff.
| | 02:35 | Telling us about a problem at the very moment
it's being solved robs the story of suspense
| | 02:42 | and of those specifics we
were talking about earlier.
| | 02:44 | We don't just want to know that the problem was
solved, we want to know how with the protagonists
| | 02:50 | solved it and what she went through to do it.
| | 02:53 | This means that the clues escalate as we go
from setup to payoff because solving a problem
| | 02:59 | is almost always harder than it seems at first.
| | 03:04 | Rule 2, the reader must be able
to actually see the problem unfold.
| | 03:09 | Writers often believe that once the reader
knows that the protagonist is dealing with
| | 03:13 | the problem, they'll automatically imagine how
that problem is affecting the protagonists, not so.
| | 03:20 | It's the writer's job to make sure that each clue along
the way is there in plain view so the reader can see it.
| | 03:28 | Writers tend to hold back because since
they know what each hint and each clue actually
| | 03:34 | means, they certainly will be
completely obvious to the reader too, it's not.
| | 03:39 | What the writer fears as a dead giveaway
is actually a tantalizing clue to the reader
| | 03:45 | who is counting on these clues to be able
to anticipate what might happen next and do
| | 03:51 | what readers love best, try to
figure out what's really going on.
| | 03:55 | Remember, by creating engaging setups, you'll
trigger the reader's curiosity, and by giving
| | 04:01 | them intriguing clues that they lead
toward the payoff, you'll keep them reading.
| | 04:07 | So when you find something random,
irrelevant, or neutral in your story, boot it out.
| | 04:12 | Lest it become the banana peel that causes
your reader's curiosity to slip and fall.
| | 04:17 |
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| Example (Setups, payoffs, and the clues in between)| 00:00 | Let's look at a rough draft that doesn't
follow the two rules for setups and payoffs.
| | 00:06 | Imagine you're reading a novel and the
protagonist, Louisa, is on her way home from work when
| | 00:12 | you come across this paragraph.
| | 00:14 | (male speaker: Ahead a doorman whisked open a
glittering glass door and a harried man dressed in black
| | 00:20 | stepped out onto the sidewalk
leading a sleek black Doberman Pinscher.
| | 00:25 | The dog's mouth was secured by a leather muzzle,
but as soon as Louisa stepped under the awning,
| | 00:30 | it began to growl--a horrible low rumble.
| | 00:34 | She froze in her tracks.
She hated doges, and clearly this dog knew it.
| | 00:39 | She flicked wide eyes
toward the dog's amused owner.
| | 00:41 | "He won't bite as long as I'm
holding the leash," the man said.
| | 00:45 | "The hold on really tight, please," Louisa whispered,
walking away as quickly as she could in stilettos.
| | 00:51 | That paragraph would trigger a reader's
story radar because it's a perfect setup.
| | 00:57 | We instantly assume that there is
something about that encounter that's important.
| | 01:02 | After all, the author
took the time to describe it.
| | 01:05 | I mean, there is even dialogue.
| | 01:07 | But since we have no idea what the scene's
significance is, from that moment on, we're
| | 01:12 | on the lookout for its real meaning.
| | 01:15 | Because one thing is for sure, Louisa's fear
of dogs is going to come into play later--
| | 01:21 | at least that's what the writer has implied.
| | 01:24 | Trouble is, the writer didn't actually
intend for the dog story to mean anything.
| | 01:30 | He just thought to add a nice intensity to a story
and enlighten Louisa's otherwise boring walk home.
| | 01:36 | He has no intention of
returning to it now or later.
| | 01:40 | But we don't know that, so we are
anticipating that the whole dog thing will come up again,
| | 01:47 | and we're actively trying to figure out when.
So what should the writer do about it?
| | 01:52 | Well, unless he is going to rewrite the
entire story so that the random dog scene has an
| | 01:57 | actual story reason to be there, he'll have
to steel himself and cut the scene, even though
| | 02:03 | it's well written, even though by itself
it's kind of exciting, because we know that the
| | 02:09 | sooner a writer learns to
kill their darlings, the better.
| | 02:15 | But what if the writer has the opposite problem?
| | 02:18 | What if there is a payoff at the end of the
story that doesn't have a corresponding setup?
| | 02:25 | This time imagine there's been no sign
whatsoever that Louisa is afraid of dogs.
| | 02:30 | This, then, is the novel's last paragraph.
| | 02:34 | (male speaker: Louisa had to get to
Nick before the reporters did.
| | 02:39 | She was innocent, but it didn't matter.
He'd confess just to keep her out of jail.
| | 02:43 | She was hardly breathing as the cab
screeched to a halt outside the building.
| | 02:48 | She leapt out and then she heard it, the low growl
of a wary dog, coming right toward her. She froze.
| | 02:56 | Surely the animal sensed her terror and would do what
all creatures do in the face of someone else's fear: attack.
| | 03:02 | It's a dog eat do world.
Who needs kindness?
| | 03:06 | And then she though of Nick and
what he was about to do for her.
| | 03:10 | Trembling, she held out
her hand, closing her eyes.
| | 03:14 | She felt the dog's warm muzzle in
her palm, and then a tentative lick.
| | 03:19 | Opening her eyes she saw he was wagging
his tail, but he wasn't looking at her.
| | 03:23 | He was staring into the
building, as if he was urging her on.
| | 03:27 | She patted his head and ran.
| | 03:29 | But as Louisa raced up to Nick's
penthouse, her anxiety evaporated.
| | 03:34 | Somehow she knew she'd get there in time.)
| | 03:38 | That was a great scene, except since it wasn't
set up earlier in the story, we'd be thinking,
| | 03:45 | wait a minute, Louisa is scared of dogs?
When did that happen?
| | 03:49 | And what's that thing about people
attacking you when you're scared?
| | 03:51 | Did I miss something?
Maybe I should go back and reread.
| | 03:56 | So, does the writer have to cut this payoff
the way he had to cut the stand-alone setup?
| | 04:01 | No, truth is, he probably couldn't because
this time it isn't just a random addition,
| | 04:08 | it's something that's integral
to the story he is telling.
| | 04:10 | It's an important moment.
He just forgot to let the reader in on it.
| | 04:15 | So what he needs to do is go back into the
beginning of the story and give us a setup.
| | 04:21 | Maybe even that formerly random scene
with a muzzled Doberman and the man in black.
| | 04:26 | But this time he needs to lace in the why
behind Louisa's fear of dogs, the same way
| | 04:32 | he did in the payoff when he told us that Louisa
believes that showing her fear provokes attack.
| | 04:39 | Then throughout the story, there will be
moments when things would happen that would reference
| | 04:44 | her fear, so we're continually aware of how it's
holding her back and what she's doing to overcome it.
| | 04:51 | These events then become that breadcrumb
trail leading from setup to payoff.
| | 04:57 | They're what allow the reader to experience
that delicious feeling of satisfaction
| | 05:02 | when it all comes together in the end.
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| Story check (Setups, payoffs, and the clues in between)| 00:00 | We know that every setup must have
a corresponding well-earned payoff.
| | 00:05 | So as you comb through your story,
here are a few handy questions to ask.
| | 00:09 | First, are there any
inadvertent setups hiding in your story?
| | 00:14 | Are you sure nothing whispers, implies, or
suggests setup without actually meaning it?
| | 00:20 | If there is, cut it out.
| | 00:22 | Remember, an if without a then becomes an
elephant roaming the halls of your story,
| | 00:28 | diverting attention from
what's the really important.
| | 00:31 | Second, is there a road
from your setup to your payoff?
| | 00:35 | Are you absolutely sure you never tell us about
the problem at the very instant it's being solved?
| | 00:42 | Remember, the reader
won't care it's been solved
| | 00:45 | unless they know what it cost the
protagonists both emotionally and logistically to arrive
| | 00:51 | at the solution, because that's where the
attention, anticipation, and suspense comes from.
| | 00:57 | Third, are there clues along
the road from setup to payoff?
| | 01:02 | Make sure you aren't assuming that the
reader will intuit unwritten clues.
| | 01:07 | Readers love connecting the dots, but
they don't want to have to invent them first.
| | 01:12 | Fourth, do your clues build?
| | 01:15 | When taken together, do the clues form an
escalating pattern from which the reader can
| | 01:19 | draw conclusions and
anticipate what might happen next.
| | 01:24 | Speaking of what's going to happen next, now
it's time for you to go to your exercise files
| | 01:28 | where we have set you up with an example.
It's your job to pay it off.
| | 01:36 |
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12. Flashbacks, Subplots, and ForeshadowingExplanation (Flashbacks, subplots, and foreshadowing)| 00:01 | It's always amazed me that although paintings
are flat, they can suggest the physical and
| | 00:06 | emotional depth of reality.
The same is true of stories.
| | 00:11 | After all, stories are merely words on a page,
completely linear, and yet they're capable
| | 00:18 | of creating the experience of life's multilayered
three-dimensional richness in the reader's mind.
| | 00:26 | How does the writer accomplish this?
| | 00:29 | By weaving ongoing subplots, relevant flashbacks,
and hints of the future--that is, foreshadowing--
| | 00:36 | into what's happening in the moment.
| | 00:39 | This is crucial since subplots give prospective,
foreshadowing helps shape the readers expectations,
| | 00:46 | and information culled from backstory and
flashbacks help the protagonist decide what to do next.
| | 00:54 | It's just like in real life.
| | 00:56 | We are wired to use both the past and any
auxiliary info we can summon to evaluate the present.
| | 01:03 | Your goal as a writer is to be sure your
story has these multiple layers and then to make
| | 01:09 | sure the information you're weaving
in comes at the exact right moment.
| | 01:14 | So the reader sees it as necessary,
rather than as one of those deadly digressions.
| | 01:21 | Let's start with subplots.
Subplots flesh out the story in countless ways.
| | 01:27 | They can complicate the main storyline,
provide the why behind the protagonist's action, plug
| | 01:33 | up any other ways of gaping plot holes,
introduce characters who will soon play a pivotal role,
| | 01:39 | and show us things that
are happening concurrently.
| | 01:42 | But all subplots have three things in common.
| | 01:45 | One, they all arc,
meaning they have a resolution.
| | 01:50 | Everything they set up pays off.
| | 01:52 | Two, they all impact on the
main storyline in some way.
| | 01:58 | Three, they all dovetail back into
the main storyline, moving it forward.
| | 02:04 | In short, a subplot's reason for being
is always to serve the main storyline.
| | 02:10 | The same is true of flashbacks and backstory,
which are both cut from the same cloth, things
| | 02:15 | that happened before the story began.
What's the difference between them?
| | 02:20 | A flashback stops the story and is a
scene itself, usually complete with dialogue.
| | 02:25 | On the other hand, bits of
backstory are woven into the present.
| | 02:30 | They tend to be mere snippets, fragments
of memory that run through the protagonist's
| | 02:35 | mind as he experiences and
evaluates what's happening in the moment.
| | 02:40 | The key question is how do you know
exactly when to weave in flashbacks and subplots?
| | 02:47 | Luckily, there's a simple set of
clear cause and effect guidelines.
| | 02:53 | First, there's a specific need or
cause that triggers the flashback.
| | 02:58 | The only reason to go into a flashback or
subplot scene is that without it what happens
| | 03:03 | next in the main
storyline won't quite make sense.
| | 03:08 | Second, that cause needs to be clear from
the moment you ease into the scene, so the
| | 03:14 | reader knows why it's relevant.
| | 03:16 | Third, when the scene ends, the information
it provided must immediately affect--
| | 03:22 | that is, change--how the reader
sees the story from that point on.
| | 03:28 | Finally, let's talk about foreshadowing.
| | 03:32 | Foreshadowing hints at what's to come,
which is often what pulls the reader in.
| | 03:36 | Instead of squashing suspense,
foreshadowing often spurs it.
| | 03:41 | For instance, starting a chapter with,
"Tonight was the night I would be fired," gives the
| | 03:47 | reader a yardstick by which they then evaluate
everything that happens as they eagerly await
| | 03:54 | what it is that will
actually get the protagonist fired.
| | 03:58 | Foreshadowing is also an incredibly useful
tool when you know that your protagonist will
| | 04:03 | soon be doing something that's out of the
ordinary, either because it's something that
| | 04:07 | you would never do, or
because it's physically impossible.
| | 04:11 | You can use foreshadowing to
make just about anything believable.
| | 04:15 | Here's how: long before the story demands
your protagonist do something they otherwise
| | 04:20 | wouldn't or couldn't, like fly or speak
ancient Aramaic, you need to let us know that they
| | 04:25 | have that ability by either showing them
doing it long before the story actually hinges on
| | 04:31 | it, or by giving us enough clues along the way so that
when they do it it's not only believable, but satisfying.
| | 04:39 | It's mastering the art of weaving in and
out of subplots, flashbacks, and foreshadowing
| | 04:45 | that enables you to give
perspective to the story you're telling.
| | 04:49 | This is a big part of what
makes stories feel just like life.
| | 04:54 |
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| Example (Flashbacks, subplots, and foreshadowing)| 00:00 | The goal is to slip into the flashback or
subplot at the precise moment we need to know
| | 00:06 | the information it conveys so that when a
scene ends and we re-enter the story, we have
| | 00:12 | a new insight into what's happening
and often into what's actually at stake.
| | 00:18 | With that in mind, let's take a look at this
passage from the novel about Emma, a violinist
| | 00:24 | about to give her very first recital.
| | 00:28 | (female speaker: As soon as they announced
my name, I walked to center stage.
| | 00:32 | I couldn't see past the brightness of the
footlights, but I knew there were hundreds
| | 00:37 | of Paganini devotees waiting to hear me play,
to hear precisely how I would interpret one
| | 00:44 | of the greatest works ever written for violin.
I paused and an image flashed through my mind.
| | 00:52 | It was my eighth birthday, and I'd
just started taking violin lessons.
| | 00:56 | I was at school, hoping no one knew it was
my birthday, because most kids' moms brought
| | 01:01 | in cupcakes, and I knew mine wouldn't.
| | 01:04 | I was mortified when the teacher announced
to the whole class that it was my birthday,
| | 01:09 | but before I could take cover in the
cloakroom, my best friend's mom came in carrying the
| | 01:15 | most beautiful homemade
birthday cake I'd ever seen.
| | 01:19 | She told the teacher my mom had
made it and asked her to deliver it.
| | 01:22 | I was so relieved I wanted to hug her,
especially since I knew she'd baked it herself--
| | 01:28 | my mom couldn't even boil water.
| | 01:30 | I shook off the memory, glanced at my mom in the
audience, lifted my instrument, and began to play.)
| | 01:38 | My guess is you're wondering what the
birthday flashback has to do with violin concert.
| | 01:43 | The story is at such a crucial moment, we
figure the writer wouldn't interrupt it unless
| | 01:48 | there is something we really need
to know before Emma begins playing.
| | 01:52 | So we're busily trying to find something that
isn't there, a connection between the two events.
| | 01:58 | There are two reasons a writer would do this.
| | 02:02 | One, since the recital is such a big moment,
she wanted to milk it for all its worth so
| | 02:08 | she decided to prolong it by hitting
the pause button, which isn't a bad idea.
| | 02:13 | Two, since at some point we'll need to know
about the birthday cake incident, she figured
| | 02:18 | now was as good a time as any--which is a bad idea--
and that's where her story went off the rails.
| | 02:24 | Introducing information before readers have
any idea that will have significance, let alone
| | 02:30 | what that significance
might be, only confuses them.
| | 02:34 | Ironically, these transform information
that would shed light on something important if
| | 02:39 | it appeared at the right time into
something that stops the story cold instead.
| | 02:44 | The key to writing a good flashback is to make
sure it conveys information necessary in the moment.
| | 02:51 | So let's imagine the same opening paragraph
as we slip into a flashback that does tell
| | 02:58 | us something we need to know
before Emma begins to play.
| | 03:03 | (female speaker: I paused, recalling the first
time my parents brought me to this theater.
| | 03:08 | I was eight years old.
| | 03:09 | I sat on the edge of my velvet seat, and when the
violinist appeared, I felt the energy in the room change.
| | 03:16 | It was as if everyone opened a little door
in their hearts for her, even my parents.
| | 03:22 | As she started to play, I glanced at my mother,
her eyes were closed and she was smiling.
| | 03:29 | I'd never seen her smile before.
I didn't know she could.
| | 03:34 | I ached to be able to make her smile like that.
| | 03:37 | Maybe if I mastered the violin,
she'd open her heart to me.
| | 03:42 | I knew one thing: I had to try.
| | 03:44 | Now, just nine years later, I
was the musician on that stage.
| | 03:50 | I was the one the audience
was opening their hearts to.
| | 03:53 | Still, I didn't dare glance at my mother as I lifted
my instrument, tucked it under my chin and began to play.)
| | 04:01 | This time the flashback informs what's happening
in the moment by giving us a glimpse of what
| | 04:07 | underlies Emma's desire to play and
what she hopes the concert will bring her.
| | 04:12 | She doesn't want into everyone's heart, she wants her
mother's smile, and knowing that changes everything.
| | 04:19 |
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| Story check (Flashbacks, subplots, and foreshadowing)| 00:00 | The writer's job is to weave in subplots,
flashbacks, and foreshadowing, so the reader
| | 00:06 | sees them for what they are, necessary information,
rather than what they are not, deadly digressions.
| | 00:13 | Here are questions to ask of your
story to be sure you've done just that.
| | 00:17 | First, does each subplot or flashback
in some way affect the main storyline?
| | 00:24 | What specific information does it
give that the reader needs to know?
| | 00:28 | It might be factual information, it might
give us insight into the protagonist, or both,
| | 00:33 | but whatever it is, it must be relevant. Second, does the
reader need to know the information at this very moment?
| | 00:43 | Make sure the logic is on the
page and not just in your head.
| | 00:47 | When you leave the main storyline, you want the
reader to follow you willingly, not kicking and screaming.
| | 00:53 | Third, when you return to the main storyline, will your
readers see things with new eyes from that moment on?
| | 00:59 | You want readers to come back to the main
storyline feeling as though they have new insight.
| | 01:06 | Ask yourself, what has the reader learned that
changes how they'll see things from here on out?
| | 01:11 | The only wrong answer is nothing.
| | 01:14 | Fourth, if a protagonist does something
out of character, have you foreshadowed it?
| | 01:21 | This is a bona fide get out of jail free card.
| | 01:24 | Otherwise, when the protagonist does
something out of the blue that he or she would never
| | 01:28 | do, it's to groaner, but if you set it
up in advance, it's a delight because you've
| | 01:33 | surprised us with something
you've allowed us to suspect.
| | 01:36 | Now you try, the example in your exercise files is about
Mona, a young woman who's just earned her first paycheck.
| | 01:44 | Your job is to choose where to stop the
scene and write a flashback that gives it meaning.
| | 01:49 |
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ConclusionNext steps| 00:00 | And there you have it, what we are wired to
expect in every story and the tools to make
| | 00:05 | sure your story meets
those expectations every time.
| | 00:09 | So, what are the next steps?
| | 00:12 | First, write every single day,
even if it's just a little.
| | 00:17 | The more you get into the
habit, the easier it will become.
| | 00:21 | Second, join a local writers group.
| | 00:25 | Just having a deadline can
be incredibly motivating.
| | 00:28 | The thing you want to keep in mind is that
writing is a process, one that takes time.
| | 00:34 | And while finishing your first draft will
be thrilling, exhilarating, utterly fabulous,
| | 00:40 | that's also when the work really begins.
| | 00:42 | When you get to that stage, hire a
professional editorial consultant.
| | 00:47 | Look for someone who's been an agent, an editor,
or a writing instructor at a reputable institution.
| | 00:54 | You want an objective pro who can help
guide you through the revision process.
| | 00:58 | But that doesn't mean you didn't get it right.
| | 01:01 | If there's one thing every successful
writers process includes, it's rewriting.
| | 01:06 | Talent aside, in my experience what really
separates the writers who make it from those
| | 01:12 | who don't is perseverance along with a wholehearted
desired to zero in on what isn't working and fix it.
| | 01:20 | The good news is that the writing
community is supportive, caring, and friendly.
| | 01:25 | To help you get acquainted with it, I've put
together a list of resources, websites, and
| | 01:30 | books that you might find helpful.
You'll find this list in your exercise files.
| | 01:35 | Here is my parting advice, be kind to yourself when
you write and be mean to yourself when you don't.
| | 01:43 | Here's hoping our paths cross again soon,
'til then, onward and upward my friends.
| | 01:48 |
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