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outlining a cycle
Jul. 25th, 2021 08:24 pmHad a short story. Thought of expanding it into a short story cycle. Especially since the first story set up an obvious end point.
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reflections on revision
Jul. 17th, 2021 11:59 pmIt tends to ripple.
Consider giving the princess this gift or that one for her christening. Give her both. Realize that the fairies are going to have a quarrel at one point about her use of them. And then someone will exploit them, or attempt to.
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Consider giving the princess this gift or that one for her christening. Give her both. Realize that the fairies are going to have a quarrel at one point about her use of them. And then someone will exploit them, or attempt to.
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Plot devices
Jul. 8th, 2021 07:09 pmJohn Gardner once sagely observed that writing exercises were good practice because they were like the writing life, much of which consists of inventing stuff not because you particularly want to but because it is vitally important for what you really want to write.
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The Return of Jonnet
Jul. 1st, 2021 10:03 pmBeen a while. And usually ideas come and go and never return. But Jonnet wandered by to casually observe the fix for my dilemma.
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flip-flopping
Feb. 8th, 2021 11:37 pmOur hero is returning in triumph from his quest and going from success to success --
No.
He's going success to nerve-wracking attempt to success. It's too long a sequence to carry about without peripeteia. Even haiku and sonnets often have reversals going because it's so powerful a tool.
Denouement is all success but then it's a single scene.
No.
He's going success to nerve-wracking attempt to success. It's too long a sequence to carry about without peripeteia. Even haiku and sonnets often have reversals going because it's so powerful a tool.
Denouement is all success but then it's a single scene.
a love story
Dec. 16th, 2020 11:59 pmWrestling an idea free from its matrix, filing off the serial number -- and inscribing my own -- takes several passes.
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beginnings, ends, and middle
May. 22nd, 2020 11:49 pmI have the beginning up to the point at which the team forms and knows what villainess they face (and are aware there's two more in existence, though they do not realize how they will actually interfere with the problem).
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the thread of the traitor
May. 12th, 2020 11:59 pmSo who betrayed the character?
The real problem here is that, actually, that was less of a problem than a plot device.
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The real problem here is that, actually, that was less of a problem than a plot device.
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back and forth
Apr. 10th, 2020 10:57 pmRevision needs to take in the whole story. Beginning to end. And needs to be fairly quick.
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back and forth
Mar. 25th, 2020 10:39 pmCharged through the climax of the story yesterday.
Today sat down to poke at the denouement, and how condensed it can be.
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Today sat down to poke at the denouement, and how condensed it can be.
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attack of the witch
Mar. 11th, 2020 11:10 pmhmmm. . . .
Leading up to the climax. The last witch standing is about to make her attack.
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Leading up to the climax. The last witch standing is about to make her attack.
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villain and view
Nov. 24th, 2019 04:40 pmWas reading a book recently and the end fell flat.
Part of it was that even though we had followed the villainess's point of view periodically for much of the book, we got only her narrow planning for each stage of the plot, and then, at the end, it was revealed it was not only an objective of pure selfishness, it was incredibly petty and small.
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Part of it was that even though we had followed the villainess's point of view periodically for much of the book, we got only her narrow planning for each stage of the plot, and then, at the end, it was revealed it was not only an objective of pure selfishness, it was incredibly petty and small.
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observations on endings
Nov. 14th, 2019 10:28 pmStory parts have to be in proportion.
You can get away with a short denouement, if you want to pull it off. But the climax of the story should be a drama with a length that fits the rest of the story.
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You can get away with a short denouement, if you want to pull it off. But the climax of the story should be a drama with a length that fits the rest of the story.
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ursine adventures
Nov. 1st, 2019 10:58 pmAnd just when I thought I had all the threads at least laid out. . . .
The bear trudging through the forest between the scenes informed me, in terms of no ambiguity, that he's going to have some scenes.
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The bear trudging through the forest between the scenes informed me, in terms of no ambiguity, that he's going to have some scenes.
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all together now and other stupid ideas
Oct. 31st, 2019 10:53 pmFour plot threads. Four. Two of them thrown into the story after the outline, when I was chugging along, as merry little things.
And now they all come to a head in a short span of time in four different places. grumble grumble GROUSE
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And now they all come to a head in a short span of time in four different places. grumble grumble GROUSE
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