Great Beginnings For Writers Sneak Peek

Synopsis:

The beginning of your book is the most important part. This is where you hook the reader and have them continuing to flip the pages until they reach the end. The first chapter, probably even the first page, is what makes editors and agents accept or reject a manuscript.

This is also where a reader decides to either put your book down or make their way to checkout. Writing a compelling opening can be very hard, there are so many things that a great beginning needs. Also, there are so many mistakes to avoid.

Here is what you’ll learn:

-Deciding where to start

-Write an amazing first line

-Establishing the time and place of your story

-Getting your readers emotionally involved

-Avoiding openings that are boring

And more!

Excerpt:

3 Act Structure

Story Structure

Identifying Structure in fiction is necessary for two reasons:

• So your stories will “hang together” and make sense
• Readers need structure so they can understand the story they’re reading, and feel something as a result

The story structure is internal, as opposed to the form of the story, which is external. The two interrelate, but they’re not quite the same. The internal structure is like a house’s frame, the beams, braces and other appurtenances inside the walls. The external form concerns what’s been done with the structure, whether it be a colonial or a contemporary, large or small, one- or two-storied.

For obvious reasons, it’s hard to consider one without the other. An architect of a ten-floor office building wouldn’t using the same structural materials as he would in a split-level ranch. As with the office building, if the form of your story is a mammoth 100,000-word epic, but your structure is only enough for a 65,000-word romance, your story will fall in upon itself.

Fortunately, many of the same principles of construction apply to both projects. Thus, the elements of structure, properly applied, are scalable to whatever form you can imagine. A span can only support so much weight and tension without additional bracing. A solid foundation is essential.

3 Act Structure (Fichtean Curve)

A plot that follows a Fichtean Curve start right in the rising action — which is sprinkled with exposition and several crises that include their own rising and falling action. These main points include:

• Rising Action (including multiple crises)
• Climax
• Falling Action

The Fichtean Curve starts with the inciting incident and propels the story straight into the rising action. Multiple crises should occur. Each of these should contribute to the readers’ overall understanding of the narrative, replacing the initial exposition’s need.

Rising Action

The rising action should take up the majority of the novel and include several crises that almost look like their own little Freytag Pyramids: each crisis should have a build-up, a breaking point, and resolution, which then builds back up, crests, and then falls again, all building up to the major climax.

Climax

The rising action crises should build tensions towards, and correspond with, the story’s major climax. Like the three-act narrative structure, the Fichtean Curve’s climax typically occurs two-thirds through the book. Example: Readers know this moment is coming but aren’t sure.

Falling Action

From the climax on, some level of resolution is achieved, and readers get to at least glimpse the “new norm” for the characters.  

How to Introduce Your Protagonist

For introducing your protagonist, there’s a fine line to walk for any writer. Here are three things to remember:

Your Character vs the World

            The first introduction to a character is crucial, and it usually comes around the same time as our introduction to the world you’ve created. Some writers establish the world first. Some establish the character first. My advice is to establish both at once. Show the fishbowl along with the fish. How is your character at once a part of and separate from the world of your film? How do they see things? How do their friends/family/coworkers see them?

Avoid the Gratuitous

            Opening on a gruesome murder is a good way to go for attention. However, consider the opening to any episode of Law and Order: there’s an illegal act, which is often shocking, but the act itself is only as shocking as the context in which it appears. Why else do we spend the rest of the episode clamoring for justice? We care about those who have been wronged, and we want justice served.

Even in a film like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume One, the opening scene, a blood-spattered bride on a chapel floor, is full of character, story, and context. We have one shot, and it’s a disturbing one, at that. It’s dark, violent, and grabs our attention immediately. It’s iconic. But it’s more than a beaten woman, shot on a floor.

We learn so many things about the woman and her assailant in this scene that, if we don’t mind the violence, we can’t help but tune in for the remaining minutes of volumes one and two. This scene sets up so much, but ultimately, it forces us to ask two questions:

A. Why does a man who commits such a sadistic act consider himself, instead, masochistic?

B. What’s the deal with the baby?

The two films are about a woman who seeks revenge for her own attempted murder and the apparent murder of her unborn child. The first scene of the first film tells us everything we need to know. It grabs attention, tells us a lot about the characters, and moves the story forward. It’s a lot to do, but you absolutely must do it.

Your protagonist sticks out. We’re following him/her as opposed to his/her friends, parents, teachers, and so on. So why are we doing that? What makes your character notable? What will make your character unique is indeed what they do, but also why they do it. Why does Lester Burnham pursue the affections of a cheerleader? Why does Tony Stark seek to keep his own company’s weapons out of the hands of terrorists in Iron Man? Why does Rick Blaine seek to use the letters of transit as leverage in Casablanca?

Show Us Their Uniqueness & Specific Problem

Your character is larger than life: he or she is the very best at something or the very worst at something. Therefore, we’re following this character as opposed to another. Furthermore, your character has two problems: the first being the internal, thematic dilemma – what your character needs to do to become a better person. Then, there’s the external, plot issue – what your character must do to fix unfortunate external circumstances. How your specific character grapples with both of these creates your entire story.

Regardless of what your character fights internally and externally, you have to show these to your audience quickly. Not to jam it down their throats, but to create a need to know and most important, a need to care. Andrew Stanton of Pixar calls this the number one commandment of storytelling: make me care. Within the first 10 pages of your feature, if we don’t care, you’ve lost us.

How to Set Your Plot in Motion

So What Is the Plot of a Story?

Plot is the sequence of events that makes up your story. It’s what compels your reader to either keep turning pages or set your book aside. Think of Plot as the engine of your novel. A successful story answers two questions:

1. What happens? What happens is your Plot.

2. What does it mean? What it means is your Theme.

Ideally your readers think for days about your theme. They may remember the plot, but they should chew on the theme.

Digging Deeper: 7 Plot Types

While stories seem limitless, most plots fall into these categories:

1. Adventure: A person goes to new places, tries new things, and faces a myriad of obstacles. Examples: Harry Potter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Chronicles of Narnia, Gulliver’s Travels, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

2. Change: A person undergoes a dramatic transformation. Examples: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Great Expectations, Beauty and the Beast, A Little Princess, Don Quixote, Moby Dick, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings.

3. Romance: Jealousy and misunderstandings threaten lovers’ happiness. Examples: Sense and Sensibility, Titanic, The Fault in Our Stars, The Notebook, Wuthering Heights, Water for Elephants, Redeeming Love.

4. Mistake: An innocent person caught in a situation he doesn’t understand must overcome foes and dodge dangers he never expected. Examples: Indiana Jones, Finding Nemo, The Color Purple, To Kill a Mockingbird, Left Behind.

5. Lure: A person must decide whether to give in to temptation, revenge, rage, or some other passion. They grows from discovering things about themselves. Examples: The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Riven, A Christmas Carol, Les Miserables, The Scarlet Letter, Of Mice and Men, The Hobbit, MacBeth, The Pearl, Oliver Twist, The Secret Life of Bees, Animal Farm.

6. Race: Characters chase wealth or fame but must overcome others to succeed. Examples: The Great Gatsby, Catch-22, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Treasure Island, Chariots of Fire, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Devil Wears Prada.

7. Gift: An ordinary person sacrifices to aid someone else. The lead may not know his own heroism until he rises to the occasion. Examples: A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Red Badge of Courage, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey, The Green Mile, Charlotte’s Web, Schindler’s List.

Regardless which basic plot you choose, your goal should be to grab your reader by the throat from the get-go and never let go.

Plot Development Secrets

Ask yourself two questions: Is your story idea weighty enough to warrant 75,000 to 100,000 words, and Is it powerful enough to hold the reader to the end?

If you’re not an Outliner but write by your pants’ seat (we call you Pantsers), don’t panic—this is just a basic structure, not an outline. But, even Pantsers need a basic idea where you’re headed.

Dean Koontz’s Classic Story Structure

1. Plunge your main character into terrible trouble as soon as possible. The terrible trouble depends on your genre, but in short, it’s the worst possible dilemma you can think of for your main character.  For a thriller it might be a life or death situation. A romance novel could mean a young woman must decide between two equally qualified suitors—and then her choice is revealed a disaster.

Just remember, this trouble must bear stakes high enough to carry the entire novel. One caveat: whatever the dilemma, it will mean little to readers if they don’t first find reasons to care about your character. The trouble is seen in an entirely different light once a reader is invested in the character.

2. Everything your character does to get out of that trouble makes it only worse. Avoid the temptation to make life easy for your protagonist. Every complication must be logical (not the result of coincidence), and things must grow progressively worse.

3. …until the situation appears hopeless. Novelist Angela Hunt calls this The Bleakest Moment. Even you should wonder how you will ever write your character out of this. Make your predicament so hopeless that it forces your lead to take action, to use every new muscle and technique gained from facing a book full of obstacles to become heroic and prove things only appeared beyond repair.

4. Finally, your hero learns to succeed against all odds. Reward readers with the payoff they expected by keeping your hero on stage, taking action. Give them a finish that rivets them to the very last word.

Beware These Deadly Plot Killers

Beginning with chapter one, page one, your singular mission is to make every word count. Gone are the days when a reader enjoyed curling up with a book and spending the first hour or two by immersing herself in the beauty of the setting and culture. These are important and must be woven into the narrative as seasoning.

But today’s readers have nanosecond attention spans. By the end of the first page, they should be hooked. Avoid main characters who can do no wrong. Heroes should be fundamentally likable, but we need to see their struggles too. They shouldn’t be wimps or cowards, but they must have imperfections. Character arc is crucial to a successful plot.

Villains must be three-dimensional too. Yes, even bad guys need a soft side, a weak spot, maybe even a modicum of generosity. And their evil has to have some genuine motivation. No one is simply mean for no reason. Adding dimension to your characters gives dimension to your plot.