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next stop on the quest
Mar. 31st, 2022 11:21 pmThe heroine is on a quest.
Go to I Know Not Where, Bring Back I Know Not What --
Which is technically true. She wants something to solve a problem, but she doesn't know exactly what. Those are fun to organize.
Fortunately, though she is not in a fairy tale and doesn't get a mysterious figure to advise her, she had a clue from the start, and followed it to where she has another. It introduces a complication.
Go to I Know Not Where, Bring Back I Know Not What --
Which is technically true. She wants something to solve a problem, but she doesn't know exactly what. Those are fun to organize.
Fortunately, though she is not in a fairy tale and doesn't get a mysterious figure to advise her, she had a clue from the start, and followed it to where she has another. It introduces a complication.
Well, not too far into the story, she knows all about the death of her uncle. Something about reviving him from the dead does not leave her room for ignorance, especially since they talk along the way. (Along with the fox.)
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light on the legends
Feb. 14th, 2022 11:36 pmSometimes you need a group of characters.
And then you have to remember that you don't want to make it too obvious that the writer is making them special.
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And then you have to remember that you don't want to make it too obvious that the writer is making them special.
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tell me my story
Feb. 10th, 2022 11:49 pmWhen does the heroine get to hear her story?
The curse at the christening, the politics involved, why they know one prince is not THE prince. . . .
AND the reader's heard it all already, in living color, too, so how do I omit and summarize and put in something new to keep the readers awake?
the ways of the witch
Nov. 5th, 2021 08:57 pmOutline was stirring. The other witch was taking shape. I pondered her character, and how she needed to more complex from her niceness to the heroine vs. her nastiness to the hero.
Poke, poke, poke --
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Poke, poke, poke --
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time of confusion
Oct. 9th, 2021 11:08 pmCharacter is confused.
And not a situation where he sees a labyrinth before him, goes in with the knowledge that he may get confused, and does so. He gets blind-sided by this.
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And not a situation where he sees a labyrinth before him, goes in with the knowledge that he may get confused, and does so. He gets blind-sided by this.
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rule of three
Sep. 27th, 2021 10:07 pmSo our prince goes into the forest. And he meets with a little old woman in a hut. Learns something, gains something. . . .
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sword & sorcery goes to war
Jul. 23rd, 2021 07:55 pmWhen sorcery goes to war, what would it do? How would the kingdom use wizards? How would wizards work in kingdoms? Like, becoming king? (And, come to think of it, superpowers would have much the same effect.)
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twists and turns
Jul. 2nd, 2021 09:08 pm Knowing how the story ends does not tell me how the middle goes. I could do a travelogue, but that would mean no rising action, and there's too much plot for that. (Ironically enough, the first outline had to be junked because it rose too fast, too soon.)
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out of the military
Jun. 3rd, 2021 10:51 pmSo the heroine -- who has slogged into a military front and thrown her weight around with her magic -- now has some intelligence of vital importance.
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ah randomness and writing
Mar. 19th, 2021 11:57 pmThere's only way to ensure that something in your story is random. No matter how much your characters assert it, or your narrator, you need to use a random generator.
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down the years
Mar. 6th, 2021 10:04 pmAh, the bildungsroman! I know the years ahead. I know many events that will happen in them.
I even know that some will happen before others!
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I even know that some will happen before others!
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planning a project
Feb. 22nd, 2021 10:48 pmAll the girls are putting their heads together for their project. What shall they do, what shall they do? It's crucial. It's their master project and required to graduate. (They could work on ones of their own, but aren't that silly.)
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adventures in plot devices
Feb. 16th, 2021 11:08 pmI set out the hero on the first page of his story, and I realize I don't introduce the adventure of the forest until the second page, and there's no real incident on the first.
I realize I have a natural point for the heroine to reveal something to the hero except that -- he has to learn it later, when he has a powerful reaction to it. There are a couple of things that might shut her up but only if properly deployed.
I put in that something the heroine has to do is a test, and she won't be allowed to study unless she passes, and I realize this has to be mentioned before half way through the test. She would be positively threatened with it.
sigh The things you miss.
I realize I have a natural point for the heroine to reveal something to the hero except that -- he has to learn it later, when he has a powerful reaction to it. There are a couple of things that might shut her up but only if properly deployed.
I put in that something the heroine has to do is a test, and she won't be allowed to study unless she passes, and I realize this has to be mentioned before half way through the test. She would be positively threatened with it.
sigh The things you miss.
portals as plot device
Oct. 9th, 2020 11:24 pmShoving your character through a portal of some kind to another world is not something to be done lightly. As in, not to be dropped without dealing with it.
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three by rule
Sep. 20th, 2020 09:30 pmSo I'm about to send the hero off on his journey because of his curse. . . and thinking he should meet three on his way.
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