Melanie Anne Phillips

In the last step you added some unusual characters to your story, but not so unusual that they couldn’t easily be explained. In this step we’ll pull out all the stops and list some completely inappropriate characters that would take a heap of explaining to your readers if they showed up in your story. Example: In our example story set in an old western town, such characters might be: Richard Nixon Martians Ghost of Julius Caesar Pretty “out there,” right? Although you'll likely discard these characters in our pruning step down the line, the process of coming up with outlandish characters can lead to new ideas and directions for your story. For example, the town Marshall might become more interesting if he was a history buff, specifically reading about the Roman Empire. In his first run-in with the gang, he is knocked out cold with a concussion. For the rest of the story, he keeps imagining the Ghost of Julius Caesar, giving him unwanted advice. Now’s the time to ...

In the previous step you added to your cast list some characters who would not raise an eyebrow if they showed up in your story’s world. Now, let yourself go a bit (but just a bit) and list a number of characters that might seem somewhat out of place but would still be fairly easily explainable in such a story as yours. Example: In our example story of a small town in the old west, these “unusual characters” might include: A troupe of traveling acrobats Ulysses S. Grant A Prussian Duke A bird watcher You may be wondering why you’d want to have such odd characters in an otherwise normal story. The reason is to prevent your story from being  too  normal. Neither reader nor publisher will want to waste time or money on a book that is just a rehash of the same tired material they’ve read over and over again. What they are looking for is something with a unique personality – something that sets itself apart from the usual run of the mill. Adding one or two so...

Excerpted from the book,  Dramatica: A New Theory of Story The question arises: Is telling a story better than telling a non-story? No. Stories are not "better" than any other form of communication — just different. To see this difference we need to define "story" so we can tell what a story is and what it is not. Herein lies a political problem. No matter how one defines "story," there will be an author someplace who finds his favorite work has been defined out, and feels it is somehow diminished by not being classified as a story. Rather than risk the ire of countless creative authors, we have limited our definition to a very special kind of story: the Grand Argument Story. As its name indicates, a Grand Argument Story presents an argument. To be Grand, the argument must be a complete one, covering all the ways the human mind might consider a problem and showing that only one approach is appropriate to solving it. Obviously, this limits out a lot...

Ah, the adventurous life!  Sure, there is trial, tribulation, physical strain and the threat of disaster, but if you can squeak through, the rewards of standing as captain of your own destiny far outweigh the struggle to get there.

Back from the first of two moves to Big Bear. Teresa drove the truck, I followed in the car - it was like watching a symphony, the way she handled those curves coming up the mountain from the desert side through Apple Valley. We loaded up the day before - two old coots shouldn't carry that much weight! Scores of big boxes of books - heavy, heavy - probably (we figure) about 2 to 3 tons, we loa ded in the 14' truck. As soon as we arrived around 1:30 Wednesday afternoon, we unloaded it all. Now doesn't that sound stupid - loading up a truck just so you can unload it again the very next day? Hail storm while unloading. Teresa's lucky omen is that it rains every time she moves. That's been true for each of our moves over the last 16 years. Slept on the air mattress we bought for Mary when she came up to stay with us in PMC for Christmas. I am SO SORRY Mary!!! We bought the highest rated one for you for your Christmas visit, but never slept on it. That thing is a me...

In the previous step, you added characters implied by your synopsis to your potential cast list. Range a little wider now, and jot down some characters that aren't explicitly mentioned or even implied but wouldn't seem particularly out of place in such a story. Example: In the example story we’ve been using, no one would be surprised at all to encounter a saloon girl, a bartender, blacksmith, rancher, preacher, schoolteacher, etc. There is no specific limit to how many or how few “usual characters” you can or should add to your growing cast list. So just add the ones that appeal to you. Don’t be worried if any of your additions seem stereotypical of too predictable. By the time we’re through a few more steps your list will be so large we’ll need to pare it down. So for now, beef up your cast with any additional characters that would fit right in your novel as described in your synopsis. Excerpted f rom the book,  Write Your Novel Step by Step Based on  StoryWeav...

Excerpted from  Dramatica: A New Theory of Story The process of communication requires at least two parties: the originator and the recipient. In addition, for communication to take place, the originator must be aware of the information or feelings he wishes to transmit, and the recipient must be able to determine that meaning. Similarly, storytelling requires an author and an audience. And, to tell a story, one must have a story to tell. Only when an author is aware of the message he wishes to impart can he determine how to couch that message so it will be accurately received. It should be noted that an audience is more than a passive participant in the storytelling process. When we write the phrase, "It was a dark and stormy night," we have communicated a message, albeit a nebulous one. In addition to the words, an- other force is at work creating meaning in the reader's mind. The readers themselves may have conjured up memories of the fragrance of fresh rain ...

In Step 11 you made a list of all the characters explicitly named in your revised synopsis. Now list all the characters that your synopsis doesn't specifically name, but that would almost be expected in such a story. Include any additional characters you intend to employ but didn’t actually spell out in your synopsis. Again, list them by role and name if one comes to mind. Example: Suppose a story is described as the tribulations of a town Marshall trying to fend off a gang of outlaws who bleed the town dry. The only specifically called for characters are the Marshall and the gang, which you would have listed in Step 10. But, you'd also expect the gang to have a leader and the town to have a mayor. The Marshall might have a deputy. And, if the town is being bled dry, then some businessmen and shopkeepers would be in order as well. So, you would list these additional  implied  characters as: Gang Leader Mayor Deputy (John Justice) Businessmen Shopkeepers Do...

Excerpted from  Dramatica: A New Theory of Story  (Annotated) Mastering the craft of writing requires a skill in communication and a flair for style. Through communication, an audience receives meaning. Through style, an author achieves impact. The Dramatica theory of story explores both aspects of the writing process providing structural guidelines for clarifying communication and artistic techniques for enhancing style. Accordingly, this book is divided into two principal sections:  The Elements of Structure  and  The Art of Storytelling . Separating these two aspects of the writing craft allows us to see more deeply into each. This arrangement also splits the experience of writing into two parts, when in practice, they are usually blended in a simultaneous effort. Many other books have been written which explore the blended creative process. In contrast, this is a book of theory, and is designed more to educate, than to inspire. Still, the motivation ...

Congratulations! You’ve completed the first part of your journey toward a completed novel. It was a heck of a lot of work, but it is all about to pay off. From here on out, we’ll be drawing on material you’ve already created. What’s more, each step from this point forward is far less complicated, requires far less effort and is shorter to boot! In this step, for example, we’re going to look for characters in the material you’ve already created. You don’t have to invent anything new. In fact, it is important that you don’t! Read through your revised synopsis from Step 10 while asking yourself “who’s there?” Make a list of all the characters  explicitly  called for in your story, as it is worded. To be clear, don’t list any characters you have in mind but didn’t actually spell out in your work – just the ones who actually appear in the text. You may have given some of these characters names. Others, you may have described simply by their roles in the story, such as Me...

Smoothing Out the Bumps In Step 9 you integrated all your new material into your existing synopsis to create an all-inclusive description of your story’s world. In this step you’ll move things around and reword them so that your revised synopsis reads like butter. You’ve come a long way. And, you’ve just completed a lot of hard work messing around with intangible ideas. Time to get literary again for a refreshing break. Your job in this step is to reread your synopsis as it stands, not for content but from the standpoint of word play. For a moment, put story aside and think about  how  things are said rather than  what  is said. See if you can come up with a more interesting way to express the very same thing. Don’t feel you have to get too stylistic or come up with memorable ways of phrasing things – brilliant lines of soaring prose that sweep the reader off their mundane little feet. Nobody is going to see this final plot revision but you. The purpose is...

A tale is a simple linear path that the author promotes as being either a good or bad one, depending on the outcome. There’s a certain amount of power in that.  Still, it wouldn’t take our early author long to realize that if he didn’t have to limit himself to relating events that actually happened he might wield even more power over his audience. Rather, he might carry things a step farther and create a fictional tale to illustrate his belief in the benefits or dangers of following a particular course.  That is the concept behind Fairy Tales and Cautionary Tales – to encourage certain behaviors and inhibit other behaviors based on the author’s belief as to the most efficacious courses of action in life. But what kind of power might you garner if you went beyond merely stating, “This conclusion is true for this particular case,” but rather boldly stated “This conclusion is true for all cases?” In other words, you tell your audience, “If you begin  here , then no ...

Your Inspired Plot In Step 8 you made a list of all the new material you’ve created that you’d like to include in your novel to fill holes and fix inconsistencies.  In this step, you’ll weave those concepts into your existing synopsis to fashion an all-inclusive and enriched version. The first thing to do is re-read your synopsis from Step 5 to re-familiarize yourself with your novel as you originally saw it.  Then, look over your list of the new story elements to be added to the mix. Begin with the notion you’d most enjoy seeing in your story and, scanning your synopsis from top to bottom, locate the best place or places to insert it so that it will seamlessly integrate into your existing material.  When you know where it is going to show up, re-write just that section (or sections) of your synopsis to include it. After each inclusion of new material, scan over the rest of your synopsis to see if the changes conflict with any other sections.  If so, make an...

When an animal screams in pain, others notice, yet this is not communication as there was no intention involved. But when an animal calls out in alarm at an approaching predator it is more likely to be an intended communication. Meaning may come from patterns recognized from previous experience or by translating the actions or sounds produced by others into what they would mean if one did those things oneself. But communication requires the intentional accurate transmission of information and/or passion from the author to the audience. Communication likely emerged through raising an alarm, then quickly evolved to pointing at items to get the attention of others and direct it in particular direction or at a particular place. Following these lines, continued progress would likely center on making sounds or movements to indicate issues about oneself, such as rubbing one’s stomach and pointing at one’s mouth to indicate hunger. Success in achieving communication would illustrate i...

Putting It Back Together If you’ve been diligent in the last step and generated a lot of answers, you probably have a huge number of potential story points. But which ones to use? Usually, you won’t be able to select two answers for the same question, as they would conflict. What’s more, some answers for one question might conflict with several from other questions. The time has come to make some hard choices. In preparation for this, you need to get a good feel for all the potential directions your story might take depending upon which answers your choose to include. When you came up with your answers, you were probably focusing on each question, one at a time, not on your story as a whole. So, the first thing is to stand back again, read over all the questions and answers from top to bottom straight through at least once or until you have a really good sense of what this grab back has to offer. Now answer just one more essential question – how married are you to the origin...

Filling the Holes In Step 6, you found holes and inconsistencies in your story as it stands so far by looking at it as an audience would, rather than as an author, and asking questions about what was missing or didn’t make sense. In this step you’ll fill those holes and fix the inconsistencies by answering these questions to make your story more complete and to tune it up so it rings true. Recalling the “Creativity Two-Step” method you employed in Step 4, you can see that the questions you’ve just asked about your synopsis are the first part of that technique. Just as before, your task in this step is to come up with as many potential answers for each question as you can (within reason). And speaking of reason, just a reminder that the “two-step” method works because it alternates between logic and passion; between the analytical mind and the creative mind. Asking questions about your synopsis is an analytical endeavor: you are trying to make sense of the story and noting ev...

The process of communication requires at least two parties: the originator and the recipient. In addition, for communication to take place, the originator must be aware of the information or feelings he wishes to transmit, and the recipient must be able to determine that meaning. Similarly, storytelling requires an author and an audience. And, to tell a story, one must have a story to tell. Only when an author is aware of the message he wishes to impart can he determine how to couch that message so it will be accurately received. It should be noted that an audience is more than a passive participant in the storytelling process. When we write the phrase, “It was a dark and stormy night,” we have communicated a message, albeit a nebulous one. In addition to the words, another force is at work creating meaning in the reader’s mind. The readers themselves may have conjured up memories of the fragrance of fresh rain on dry straw, the trembling fear of blinding explosions of lightning...

Pulling It All Apart In Step 5, you created your first comprehensive description of what your story is about – who’s in it, what happens to them, what it all means, and the  story world  in which it all takes place. In this step you’ll take a new look at this synopsis to find holes in your story – dramatic elements that are either missing or inconsistent with one another. For a moment, step out of your role as author, and put yourself in the position of your reader or audience. Read over your story synopsis from Step 5. If something doesn't make sense, is off kilter or missing, make a note of it. List each point in the form of a question, as this tends to help you focus in on exactly what is needed to fix the problem. When you have finished your novel, your audience will be unforgiving, so be harsh now! Don’t gloss over problems, but don’t try to solve them either. That comes later. For now, just ask questions about everything that bothers you about your story fro...