#TipfulTuesday Scenes That Propel Story

#TipfulTuesday Scene Setting Tips
(The bridge in the photo is significant for this topic...read to the end to see why)

When the story scene moves to a new location, the writer provides a brief description, transporting the reader there.

The point of today's post is to show the flaw in that statement.

Yes, each new scene should have a description. 

Brief at first. More revealing as action and dialogue quickly take over. Readers want to know if they are underwater, on a mountaintop, in an office room, a small town, etc. This is essential for storycraft.

So, what is the error in the introductory sentence to this post?

"The writer provides."

Setting the scene will look very different depending on the POV character, and as a result, sets the tone and so much more. It's true!

Say, for example, the scene is in a living room. This is the first time this living room has been in the story.

The POV character is a female detective. Her boyfriend left for Italy with another woman on a business trip this morning. He didn't say goodbye. A body is on the floor. When the detective walks into the room does she first see the body or the Italian deco? Well, that would depend on where her mind is at that moment. Is she in the job? Then the body. If she struggles with her relationship, then the deco. 

Both will be described in this scene because both are essential. The Italian deco lets readers see more than just a body and carpet. Naturally, hidden clues can only be seen if the description takes readers beyond the body. Still, readers want to know more about the crime. Who died? A child, a woman, a man with a mask and a gun in his hand, etc.?

The first descriptive sentences of a scene propel the story forward, indicating exactly where the POV character's focus is. The first also tends to go deeper for that very reason.

Therefore both answers can be correct. It simply depends on the forward momentum of this story at this time. 


 A great resource for more information is, Kathy Tyers Writing Deep Viewpoint.

Do you have questions?

Oh, and the Venetian bridge in the photo served as the last view a prisoner received of the world before guards took him or her to prison. Can you image their POV when looking out this window? Changes the way you first looked at this photo. Right?

~Mary Vee
Photo taken in Venice, by Mary Vee

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Mary Vee -Rock climbing, white-water rafting, and hiking top Mary’s list of ways to enjoy a day. She was homeless for a time, was a teacher, a missionary, and married an Air Force vet. Mary has been a finalist in several writing contests and writes for her King.

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Equall-Yoked POVs

I have about three or four books half-read at any time. I usually read the first few chapters, then get distracted by my crazy life or the inspiration to continue on my wip. Usually, I have at least read enough of each novel to know whose pov will be used. And since I read mostly romance novels, the typical povs used in one novel are the hero's and the heroine's.

One of the recent books in my reading list began in the perspective of the hero. It was intriguing, mysterious, unusual, and top-notch.

And then enters the heroine.

While she had some significant issues, the craft that shone in the hero's perspective was lacking in her's. I couldn't believe that the two povs were even written by the same person. Perhaps, I should read further and get comfortable with the heroine, but once I got back to the hero's pov, I sighed relief because it was interesting again!

So, after talking with my fellow Alley Cats, I think I have a grip on what makes alternating povs successful.

At first, I thought, well, maybe the reason I had such a hard time reading the above book was because the author went from “showing” the hero's situation, feelings, stakes, to using a LOT of telling with the heroine. But the Alley Cats talked about books they have read where the author was successful in this way, and come to think of it, I have read a few that use telling as part of the “voice” of a character.

So then, I thought about the stakes. Perhaps, each character should have the same intensity of what's at stake. If life is on the edge for one character, then it should be on the edge for the other. But that doesn't really work in real life or fiction.

Maybe it was voice. Maybe the voices of each character were too different, too simplistic for one and too complex for the other. But just the thought of that stirred my creative juices and I want to tackle that idea at some point in my own writing!

I kept trying to put my finger on it, wondering why I had such an issue with these unequally yolked povs. Every point I thought about, had some sort of exception. And as I sat down to write this post, it finally hit me...Whether you “show” with one character, and “tell” with the other, whether one character is in a “life” threatening situation, and the other is sitting by enjoying life, whether one character is a man and the other a woman, there is something very important needed when writing two different point-of-views:

CONSISTENT CRAFT

Each pov in a book must be as well-written as the other. It's as simple as that. If you don't have it in you to write a character well, if you feel like you are much more inspired by one character over the other, then seriously think about nixing that pov...or spicing up that character so that you care to write him/her!

Search for a distinct voice for each character, but make sure you mold and shape each person to be unique, endearing, entertaining, and well-written!

Consistent Craft vs. Inconsistent Craft would be:

• Fine-tuning voice in each character vs. giving a generic voice to the character you're not as thrilled to write about.

• Ramping the tension in one pov, then flat-lining with the next character. Even if a character isn't going through tragedy, use power words, make even the every day situation intriguing to bridge the gap between the characters until they are woven together in the plot.

• Language differences: Using power words, tight writing, good dialogue with one pov, then sprinkling adverbs, boring sentence structure, simplistic dialogue in your next pov. This is particularly tricky in historical and dialect of certain countries...for some reason we want to use adverbs for historical writing...it just seems...more proper, doesn't it? Something I am working on!

Final tips on Point Of Views:

Write each character's pov as if they are their own story, not as if one is assisting the other. Use the different perspectives to move toward the main plot-line of the book, to ramp up the tension toward the point of character collision or the characters' a-ha moment together.

Finally, two POVs are only powerful when they are both consistent in moving the story forward.

Thanks, Alley Cats, for helping me sort through these thoughts on POV. I am by no means an expert, so I would love to open the discussion to our readers and see if anyone else has tips or insight also!
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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and CEO of a family of six.

 

Is Your Voice Shouting?

Are you stylish? I'm not talking about what's in your closet, but about your narrative style. In Donald Maass's book, The Fire In Fiction, he writes about the importance of a writer's voice - how you tell your tale. He points out different ways to make your voice "shout out".

GIVING CHARACTERS VOICE - This doesn't mean just taking their dialogue and dialect and making it different, but it means their outlook...their take on life. You need characters who have a unique way of looking at things, without becoming cartoonish. Their opinions need to be heard, however different it is from the norm. Sometimes we make our characters "safe", when we really should let them be real.

DETAILS AND DELIVERY - Maass asks why we avoid making a hero really different. He says, "Even the most ordinary people have a life that's unique. The details that make it so are a secret source of what critics glibly refer to as voice." Details are important. They give a story life and a voice. The way you state things, or the way your character speaks, gives your story its voice. It can be through syntax and/or details of what they say, do, or feel.

DIFFERENT WAYS OF RELATING STORY - Writers need to choose beforehand which POV and which tense to write from. There's no right or wrong way, but whatever you choose, you need to go deep into it. Make the character real, flaws and all.

I think VOICE is such an elusive thing. While I don't think your voice can be manipulated, I think Maass has some good suggestions for making your voice come through loud and clear. His ideas give a spring board to amplify your writing and letting you ....the real you...be heard.

It's not just the words that make a writer's voice unique. It's all the little things like details, delivery, outlook, original perspective, opinions, etc, that make an author's voice shout out.

I haven't found my voice yet. Not sure how I would go about finding it, other than just writing alot. I still feel like I am just getting started in this journey. I feel I am still whispering...afraid to speak up.

Do you think you have found your voice? Is it shouting yet?

*Reposted from a 2009 post on Sherrinda's personal blog.

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This post is brought to you by

 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

Hands-On Plotting

So, I have always considered myself a pantster. When I get an idea, I do a very barebones rough outline of what's going to happen and how it will end, and then I begin to type and just go with the character flow. Perhaps it's because I am more right-brained and plotting seems too structured for me, or maybe I just don't have the patience to sit down and map it out when my story is brimming to the surface, ready to be written.

But after listening to Shelly Beach's presentation on her plotting technique, I have a whole new outlook on it, and I'm eager to try it out. It's very hands on and I always like a little craftiness...but two pluses for me:

One, it is very visual: You have a giant map of your whole idea right in front of you as you type.

Two, it is workable: You can move stuff around and change things up throughout the writing process.

In order to plot this way, all you need are post-its, assorted colored notecards, and a large blank wall .


Step 1: Mapping Out Your Story

Begin to map out back story, conflict, complications, obstacles, ultimate crisis (climax), resolutions, using post it notes for each piece of information. In my very conceptual graphic, you see that you are doing a chapter by chapter outline (I only show a few chapters here, but you would go all the way to the end of your story). Be sure your points are moving the story forward and maintaining a rise in tension toward a climactic point (ch. 20 on my example). Visually doing this with your post-its helps you to remember where the story is going, what loose ends need to be dealt with, and what the stakes are at different points of the book.

Examples of what would be written on the post-its from my wip:

Spanish explorers arrive on the river

Chief thinks Spanish commander is a god

Fake god shows powerful arquebus,

Andres and Yana meet at falls...

Step 2: “Braiding” Plot and Characters

So, you have a chapter by chapter outline of what is going to drive your story-- through character emotions and situations. Shelly reminds us that “plot and character go together. Character's flaws drive the plot.”

To learn more about this, check out Robin Perini on Braiding Character with Plot.

Now, assign a notecard color for your main character's point of view and other characters' point of view. (Shelly suggests that one character needs to be your primary point of view.)

On each notecard, write what you want to show through the character's pov at that post-it point in the story.

So from my story (the illustration does not necessarily go with my wip example):

Post it: Spanish Explorers arrive on river

Yana: Intrigued by Andres on vessel

Andres: Journal entry: hardships on river, fear of people they may encounter

Post it: Chief declares fake god

Yana: Doubts in the fake god

Andres: Journal entry: fears his commander's idolatry, notices Yana's doubt

You begin to see how the characters and plot braid together by showing the character's pov in specific ways along the plot line.


A word on plot, from Shelly's notes:

“Don't let your focus be the plot, which is the series of events and situations that occur along the route of your story. The Plot is a natural outcome of the seeds of your story—it emerges from your setup of the characters, their conflicts and the setting they occur in. You'll write a more powerful, believable story if you focus on seed planting long before you worry about the harvest.”