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Several Things

Antaus

Minstrel
I'm working on a fantasy story and I've run into some issues, I'd appreciate a little feedback on this.

1) I've got the hero of the story and supporting characters, but they're still kinda vague.

2) I also have a plot and a goal, but a nice gaping hole between start and finish marked 'story here'.

3) One of my biggest problems is world creation because it's hard for me to know where to stop. As in what needs to be developed and what doesn't. I know it should generally be story specific material, but a lot of unseen material feeds into the seen.

4) This may seem a little weird, but I do sometimes use pictures with my stories. I know 99% of writers don't, but I kind of enjoy it. It's different.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
4) I use pictures all the time. I have them of characters, landscapes, anything that that jogs my imagination and gets me rolling. Not using them seems weird to me... but hey, different strokes...
3) I love to world-build. I would spend all my time doing if I could as I don't know when to stop. So now I go cold turkey a lot of the time and wing it for a while. Now as soon as I know what the general settings is for my story and I only w-b what I need to. It can make writing very stop-start, but that brings me to...
2) Yeah - the Soggy Middle I believe it is called... I have the same problem myself. I have tried the Snowflake technique. And just tearing through a short [2-3 page/ 1000 word] abstract of the story and building on that. No world building whatsoever at this point... and then go back to see what happens. Also I write out a story idea as it comes to me [even a fragment of dialogue or a scene description - anything] and then try to forget about it for a week or two. If it disappears I was going to have a problem with it, If it keeps nagging at me I use the time to build up an outline of a plot, where it fits, what it means...
1) There are dozens [okay, several] methods for building a character. Have a look at them and find one that works for you. I have a fairly good physical image of the character when I start so I like to get an idea of how they will think and then how they will react and how they look. Even if they have a favourite toy, colour, deep dark secret. [my deep dark secret - as a short-cut, if I'm looking for someone like "The Outlaw Josey Wales" then I'll use that character [Clint Eastwood sneer and all] and then find out how they change and develop into the person I need them to be]

Everyone has their own way through this. This is part of the "fun"...
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
1 - Do each of your characters have a goal? Do they want something outside of what the story requires? If they don't, then there's your starting point. IMHO the foundation for a character lies in the answer to two questions. What do they want plot wise? What do they want personally? For example, in Star Wars, plot wise, Luke wants to defeat the empire/rescue the princess, and personally, he wants to leave the farm and live a life of adventure/become a Jedi like his father.

2 - Understanding story structure will help with that middle. Here's a link to a post I made about act structure a while back. Maybe it will help. http://mythicscribes.com/forums/writing-questions/4222-story-frustration.html#post52308
 
I imagine I'm casting my characters from actors from TV/Film - so I have a clear idea of who would play them - and I avoid the big names lesser known actors.

This helps visualise them and build a personality - of course they don't stay that way - and go off to be their own thing - but it helps starting out.

PenPiolet though is spot on - finding out what each character wants and making those needs a mixture of the same/antagonistic in some way is important. It allows for negotiation, threat, bribery, trickery, love - all sorts of dramatic events between them.
 

goldhawk

Troubadour
I'm working on a fantasy story and I've run into some issues, I'd appreciate a little feedback on this.

1) I've got the hero of the story and supporting characters, but they're still kinda vague.

Your hero needs two things: desire and flaw.

Desire: Your hero needs a desire that will keep him going no matter what. Something he wants more than anything else. This is what keeps him going despite all the trials and tribulations you place in his path. Without a desire, your hero will look like he is just running around, collecting story tokens.

Flaw: Your hero's flaw is an emotional barrier that has, so far, kept him from his desire. For example: Luke wants to leave home and become a fighter pilot. But his Uncle Owen has laid a guilt trip on him about leaving him and his Aunt Beru alone on the farm. Your hero's flaw has stop him from his desire. Your story is about how he overcame his flaw and achieved his desire.


2) I also have a plot and a goal, but a nice gaping hole between start and finish marked 'story here'.

The most important scene is the opening. The second is the climax. The third happens in the middle of the story and has been given many names: Crisis, Reveal, Reversal but I like to call it Raising The Stakes.

This is the scene where your hero and the readers find out that the story is about more than him. For example, in Guardians of the Galaxy, it is when Peter Quill discovers what is in the orb and why everyone seems to be after it. From then on, the story shifts into high gear and rushes toward the climax.
 

KC Trae Becker

Troubadour
The third happens in the middle of the story and has been given many names: Crisis, Reveal, Reversal but I like to call it Raising The Stakes.

This is the scene where your hero and the readers find out that the story is about more than him. .

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is the piece of the plot structure that I've been looking for that everyone I've spoken to seems to forget to mention.

You've summarized it very nicely as well. Thank you for this ah-ha moment. Plot structure makes sense for the first time.
 
My favorite way to flesh-out less than three dimensional characters is to have two of them come together and have a conversation.
Since I start with strong personality traits, these traits will either come into sync or come into conflict, and the scene starts writing itself...and inevitably I learn things about both of them. Sometimes they both conflict and sync (humanoids are complicated!). I once threw one of my wizard characters and my pushy demon-hunter onto a parapet (where the wizard had gone to be alone, thank you very much). During their 'conversation' I learned something I never knew about the wizard...he was secretly one of the 'demons' the hunter had spent his life hunting. Though the wizard started off borderline hostile, by the end of the conversation the wizard had adopted the hunter as a kind of apprentice. The plot took a left turn.

Max
 
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4) Using pictures is wonderful if you have the visual eye - go for it! I use pictures to draw maps of cities, nations and the world, as well as flow charts for timelines and other concepts. Not only does it help with writing but it will help draw inspiration for you.

5) I could world build for ever but I'm trying to restrain myself to the details that I really need to tell my story - what is behind the conflicts, the characters, the key settings etc. This is purely for time management as there is so much to do. But then I think you also need to do some exploring to see what stuff comes up, which could enrich your world further, so I don't totally keep myself focused on story aspects.

2) The beginning of the story is vital - it is the hook that captures attention of the reader. Think the first few minutes of Star Wars or the Matrix or LOTR - just how intense the action/drama is. BTW it doesn't need to be an action scene - for a horror story it could be a shocking scene, for a mystery story it can be a scene that leaves the reader with a massive question that draws them onward. Whatever it is it MUST capture the reader/viewer's attention and make them want to continue.

Act 1 comprises mostly backstory to build the character/setting and ends with a crisis that propels the protagonist into their quest - think Luke meeting Obi Wan and his foster parents dying at the hands of storm troopers - his life is never going to be the same again. In the Matrix its Neo swallowing the pill and in LOTR its Frodo accepting the ring. Often just before this the protagonist is called to the quest but initially refuses (e.g. Neo not following Morpheus's instructions, Luke arguing against going with Obi Wan - "I have so much to do here, its so far away").

Act 2 is generally the longest act and is the quest. Often its a voyage or process of discovery that takes the protag far from their home, particularly in fantasy. The middle of Act 2 is the twist, when the action gets turned on its head. Luke & co find themselves stuck on the death star rather than Alderan. What they thought was going to happen didn't and the stakes are upped. In the Matrix its Neo finding out he isn't the one, in LOTR its Rivendell and Frodo realising he must now take the ring to Mordor.

The end of Act 2 is the epiphany/dark night of the soul. This is where the hero must confront their flaw and go beyond it. In Star Wars its Obi Wan getting killed and in the Matrix its the betrayal by Cypher and Morpheus taken prisoner. In LOTR its Gandalf falling with the Balrog. Often at this point the 'guide' is disposed of and the protagonist is on their own.

The beginning of Act 3 is the plan - where the protag makes their decision to fight regardless - as said above, its the protag realising the conflict is about more than themselves. Luke & co listen to the briefing about taking down the death star. Neo decides to save Morpheus and says "we're going to need guns". Frodo & co are in Loth Lorien and its here that Frodo realises he will need to go to Mordor alone.

Act 3 is generally short and comprises the final confrontation - Luke vs Darth Vader, Neo vs Agent Smith, the attack of the Uruk Hai. In the final confrontation the protag's flaw is resolved - Luke uses the force, Neo can see the matrix's reality and becomes 'the one', Frodo leaves his friends to go to Mordor alone. Act 3 then ends with the protag experiencing the result of the resolution - Luke gets his medal, Neo talks about freeing everyone from the matrix, Frodo and Sam have their bromance hug.

Each of these stages is important in the emotional story/arc of the protagonist. I've seen this structure described in other ways but it seems to paraphrase/correlate to the above I think. The protagonist's flaw is vital as it structures the whole story and conveys the message/theme of your story.
 
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