Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Catherine Chisnall on November 13, 2010 at 1:55am

I think this is a brilliant suggestion, plus the one about converting thoughts to dialogue by Lindsey Barrett on this page :-)

Permalink Reply by Q Lindsey Barrett on November 13, 2010 at 10:26am

Gosh, thanks. For inspiration take a look at Charles Webb's The Graduate (book not movie). It changed the way I construct scenes.

Permalink Reply by Tina Deschamps on August 28, 2010 at 2:35pm

One of the best suggestions I've received is from Robert McKee's book Story. The book is about plotting screenplays, but it is great for plotting any work of fiction. McKee says that all action should come naturally from theme. Once you know what you are trying to say, brainstorm actions and situations that provide point and counterpoint to your theme. Tension is created by going back and forth between the two poles of your theme, and the final action, or climax, should support your theme.

For instance, if you theme is, "A woman is happiest when she pursues her own dream rather than the dreams of others," you could show the satisfaction she gets from helping her children in one scene, then move into a scene where she feels resentment over having to pick up her son at soccer practice because her husband, who's responsibility is was, is having "business drinks" with his boss. Perhaps her day goes like this, back and forth between finding satisfaction in the help she provides her family and feeling resentment over her unrealized dreams. Perhaps the climax is her finally making the call to register for a pottery class, or french lessons, or ditching her PTA meeting and digging out her oil paints. It can be subtle, but still make a statement.

Permalink Reply by Emma French Connolly on August 28, 2010 at 3:19pm

have you ever read "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers . . . "? good resource for ideas when you get stuck with what your characters are doing or not doing.

Permalink Reply by Melissa McNallan on November 14, 2010 at 6:04pm

I love Christopher Volger! His insights are great. Another one to try is Robert McKee's Story. I have his on CD and LOVE it.

Permalink Reply by Carissa Lentz on October 8, 2010 at 6:12pm

I have this problem as well and it generally stems from leaving my character alone too long, without interaction with other characters. You do say that your character is interacting with other characters, but perhaps do a writing exercise and put your character with another character with a very conflicting personality. Play with it and see how your character will react. That might spark some interesting action.

Another thought-- perhaps a change of scenery might help.

If you would like, I'd love to actually see what you have. I am currently writing a short story and am having the same problem so we could switch? Give each other fresh ideas? I only have a page so far...

Permalink Reply by Kim Haas on October 13, 2010 at 3:53pm

Carissa- Love this idea! Thanks. And I'd be open to reading each other's work. It'd be nice to have some fresh eyes beyond mine and those of my writing group.

Permalink Reply by Tina Deschamps on October 13, 2010 at 3:36pm

Kim,

I'm curious - have you been about to fix the problem and move forward? If so, what did you do?

Tina

Permalink Reply by Kim Haas on October 13, 2010 at 3:51pm

These are all great ideas! Thank so much for the response. I am especially drawn to having her interact with more characters to see what happens. Also, I read on Tayari Jones' blog about asking what would break your characters heart.I've been doing some freewriting on that. This story is part of a novel-in-stories so I've returned to the beginning, got some feedback from my writing group, made some revisions and am reading the stories in order. I've taken a bit of a break from it by doing that as well as writing an entry for NPR's 3-minute fiction. I'm hoping that when I return to my story with fresh eyes and these wonderful ideas, something might finally happen. Thanks again, everyone:)

Permalink Reply by Russel Zhang on October 15, 2010 at 5:27am

go out and have a walk alone, you may get some new ideas. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by Q Lindsey Barrett on November 2, 2010 at 11:02am

A little late to the party, but I tend to write in my characters heads as well, because in life that's where most things take place. But this is fiction, meant for reader participation, so I've taken passages and converted them to dialogue with some success.

Permalink Reply by Melissa McNallan on November 14, 2010 at 6:02pm

I go through it and write until the end a lot of the time and then go back and unpack what I've written. Often there's action in what's written, it's just hiding in how it's written. I discovered this after having my work juried by the MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant Committee. I received the Grant, but the biggest dissenter about my work who had to be convinced to approve it said, "She's missed lots of opportunities for action." I've found that I've had to excavate for it though. I just don't see it all until the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or howevermanyeth time through. Hope it helps.

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