Danika Dinsmore

Author / Educator / Activist

weekly workout

Getting to the Story

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I am developing an online course called Getting to the Story to begin in February 2015. This blog post features a sample from the coursework. If interested in taking the class, contact me HERE.

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According to NaNoWriMo stats, about 23% of their participants finished their 50,000 words by the end of Nov. If you were one of them, congratulations. You have a big pile of words to play with!

And if you were one of the 77% (hi there!) who didn’t finish, whatever you wrote you still have, and whatever you learned you’ve still got on your tool belt.

The joke around here is that my NaNoWriMo became a DecNoWriMo, and now I’ve succumb to the fact that it’s really a JaNoWriMo. But that’s fine by me, because when I started my NaNo this year, I realized I didn’t know this story at all. During NaNo month, I didn’t have the time to figure it out, so I just started telling my story, rambling down a long summary.

In the end, I have to start somewhere, and it’s always new.

After NaNoWriMo was over, I took a look at what I had and went, “Ugh.” It was the literary equivalent of waking up to a pot of crusty half-cooked noodles I’d left in the sink the night before.

I know from experience that I couldn’t just think my way out of my lumpy noodly mess. If one thinks and thinks and thinks about the mess, it doesn’t magically become a story. I believe the only way the story gets written is to write it.

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by Stefan Zsaitsits

And so, I set the mess aside and pretty much started at the beginning again.

First thing, I had to get to the story…

 

GETTING to the STORY WORKOUT
Part One

I teach an outline style called Sequence and Beat. I teach my students to write out the major sequences of their stories and then divide those up into “scenes” or “beats.” But how do I figure out what those sequences and beats are? Usually by writing exercises where I discover it on the page. (NOT AT THE COMPUTER — these exercises should be hand-written)

Think in terms of Big Action

In the following exercise, you’ll divide your story into three parts (Beginning, Middle, End). In each of these parts, there will be a BIG ACTION that crucially changes the status quo (some call this a reversal). There will be other minor reversals and complications. The Big Ones are the set up of the story (conflict) and the journey (trials and tribulations) that result in achieving (or not) the over-arching goal. If you keep these Big Actions in mind, it will help you move your story forward cohesively.

For instance, if the over-arching goal of the entire story is for a man and woman to be together, there will be things that drive them apart.  Maybe small things at first, but then something that seems insurmountable to them both happens. Maybe the Big Action by the end of the first section is the woman marries someone she doesn’t love. Bummer. Boo.

In Book Four of my White Forest series, the over-arching goal is for Narine to “reset” the world’s balance. Before she can do that, she has to find the one character who knows her destiny. That character is in mortal danger and Narine has to save her. The Big Action in part one is saving this character, but there’s a lot of things that stand in her way.

All the sequences that lead up to the Big Action make sense

The sequences that lead up to this point – the woman marrying someone she doesn’t love, for example – need to make logical sense and/or force the character into this position. What things get in her way and redirect her into doing something she would not have done at the beginning of the story? Did her kingdom become enemies with her lover’s and another kingdom demand her hand for their prince for their allegiance? Or was it more subtle – neither party recognized what the other felt and the man took a job in another country out of heartbreak?

EXERCISES

Please write without too much thinking, without stopping, and without rereading & editing

1) Start with the line below and keep writing for 5-7 minutes OR until you think you’ve covered all the events leading up to the Big Action.

The first section of my story all leads up to __(Big Action)___. This event is inevitable because . . .

2) Repeat the exercise for parts Two and Three using the following start lines:

After the events of Part One, my protagonist is left to . . . 

In Part Two, the Big Event that propels/ignites my protagonist into taking action is . . .

In Part Three of my story, the over-arching goal is achieved after . . .

 

 

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Weekly Workout: Did Someone Say Resolutions?

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(Weekend Workout is now Weekly Workout and posted on Mondays. Skip to the bottom of the page to go straight to this week’s workout)

Currently Reading:
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stievater (I am digging this book more than I thought I would)

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Yesterday, author Kelly Barnhill wrote a lovely post about making a list of intentions for the new year (rather than one of oppressive “resolutions”). Strangely, her intentions list was almost identical to mine – other than the no “erasing” documents, because I’m queen of saving versions of manuscripts. Oh, and the fact that I do intend to learn a new instrument (or rather, pick up an old one) this year. That’s a subset of my overall intention for the new year, which is: to have fun.

(What I also love are Barnhill’s non-intentions, which help you get clear about what you are not intending to do for the next 12 months.)

I jumped off the New Year’s Resolution band wagon years ago for many of the same reasons as others have, but after reading Barnhill’s post, I started to think that perhaps resolution is just getting a bad rap. It’s not the word “resolution” that is the problem, it’s more that we tend to make our promises to ourself unwinnable or out of our control (i.e. I can’t say with absolute authority, “I will get an agent this year” because I only have control over the sending-out-the-best-query-I-can part, the other part is up to an agent). Then I might give up hope, get depressed, and blame the poor four-syllable noun (curse you Resolution!).

If I said, I’m going to write one completely polished short story this year, I could win at that. I could feel great about myself and maybe even write a second one and feel even better. Holy cow, I’ve just done twice as much as I said I would! But no, something about my brain won’t let me do that. Something in my hardwiring says, Don’t be ridiculous, that’s a wimpy goal and you can do better. So, I often set my standards way too high and then beat myself up for not reaching some completely arbitrary goal.

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by Stefan Zsaitsits

I do like the idea of intentions, or even just: this is what I’m looking forward to this year! On New Year’s Eve, everyone in my Tribe (even the kidlets) said ONE thing we each wanted to get out of the upcoming year. One Thing, and everything else can fall into that. As I stated above, I told everyone I wanted to have FUN this year.

Just for kicks I looked up the word “resolution” and yes, one of the definitions is of course a determined resolve, a firm decision to do or not to do something. But only 2 of the 5 dictionaries I looked it up in had it listed as the first definition. It’s also, of course, the act of finding an answer or solution to a problem or conflict. And as a writer, I find the RESOLUTION such a wonderful place to swim around in. I always feel like I’m bearing down on the finish line when I get to my resolution in whatever draft I’m working with. I can taste my resolution coming, its bittersweetness (my favourite kind of resolution).

Also resolution is from the Latin resolutio, from resolvere ‘loosen, release’

Ah, maybe we can use THAT definition at the beginning of the year from now on, and instead of RESOLVING firmly that we are going to DO this thing or NOT DO this thing, what if we released that which no longer served us (i.e. that which was creating conflict in our lives) and loosened ourselves up to new opportunities. Or perhaps it’s a way of looking at all the unfinished business of our lives and taking any next steps toward completing them.

No matter how you decide to take on the New Year, here’s to 2014.

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YOUR WORKOUT

1) SET YOUR TIMER for 7-10 minutes.

I was using my Antagonist for this exercise, but you can use your Protag or any other character who has an arc.

Start with the line:
My character’s “unfinished business” looks like…

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

 

2) SET YOUR TIMER for 10-12 minutes.

Start with the line:

In order to resolve his/her inner conflict, my character must let go of …

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

3) SET YOUR TIMER for 15-20 minutes.

Write a SCENE (action/dialogue – no description) in which another character CONFRONTS your character about his or her unfinished business. Have this character make accusatory statements. Volley denial, anger, resentment, etc, and in the end, try to come to a CONFESSION of some sort if you can.

This might not become an actual scene in your story, but hopefully it will deepen your understanding of your character and build motivation.

Start with the line: Character X turns to Character Y and says, “Why do you always do that?”

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.