Well, well, well, where are we now with fine-tuning that perfect story....? Let's see we did Part 1 of a Plot last week....
Oh, yes, we are ready for the second step of the plot. Yippie!
Recap: We have covered the basics of describing the setting of our story which includes the time period. We have introduced our main character in the first chapter and minor characters perhaps. We have given some background information about the main character and the setting as well. These all create step one of our story and every story has a plot.
We are now ready to take a look at step two of the plot which is known as the step where the rise of action takes place. Now, the plot is the meat of the story so we want to be careful to make it a good one. The plot also connects the story from the beginning to the end without losing or disengaging the reader. This makes a perfect plot, too.
Ok, writing the perfect plot may seem easy until you begin to actually write it out. You may start to find some bumps and bruises known as writer's block. Hopefully, these tips will help you organize your plot so you can minimize those bumps and bruises.
So, I think the best way to approach writing the plot is to know these few things up front:
1) what events do you have planned for your main character?
2) what role will minor characters play in those events?
3) what subplots can act to enhance the main plot?
4) how connected is the main plot to the subplots (yes, it should be); and
5) does your plot support (prove) the theme?
We have introduced the main character or characters such as "John" and his share-cropping town covered in last week's post. All of this has created that very first step of a plot known as the "exposition" step in a good plot.
Now, we are poised for the next step in the perfect plot of a story and that is the rise of some type of action in the story. This is the wonderful part of a story where we introduce a conflict or problem that the main character will face.
Now, always have all your index cards of notes or story outline either spread out on the floor (I love working this way) or posted nearby somehow, but keep it handy for easy reference. Those notes will help you describe what the problem will be in your story. Hey, no cheating...it's not time for the problem to be solved yet so put those notes away!!
Ok, so with all the events or "actions" in front of you, make sure they are in order and make sense. Keep your index cards numbered and write the event just as you see it in your mind. You can edit it later. You can use transitional words to move from one event to the other such as:
Then suddenly
Next
On Monday....
Over the weekend
Soon it will be
In 2009,
Ok, you get the idea. The important thing to remember is that when writing out your plot, you want to cause the reader to be able to tell when one part of the plot ends and another part begins smoothly. If you write your action carefully, you can create a good page-turner as well. Here is a nice exercise to help you write your plot: draw or imagine an upside down triangle the size of a sheet of notebook paper. Inside the triangle from wide-to-narrow, insert one turn of events as you imagine it.
Ask yourself these questions:
What will the main character have a conflict with?
Why will she have the conflict?
What will cause the conflict?
How will she feel about the conflict?
What will be her mood before and presently?
What will be the first, second, third thing the main character does when she learns about the conflict?
Where was she when the conflict began?
What was she doing? Wearing?
What will she say about the conflict?
Whom will she say it to?
What do others say about the same conflict? Why?
What will be the driving force to keep the action moving along? (i.e., greed, jealousy, lust, etc.)
Ok, you should be flowing with your own questions and they can be as exhaustive as you want, but you will have to connect those questions and answers to the plot to set it off.
Alrighty, let's look at "Dust Tracks On A Road" by Zora Neale Hurtson again for some clarity on step 2 which is the rise of action in a plot.
Zora gave us the perfect exposition step in the first few chapters. Zora uses clever "transitional words: Into this...." or a definitive statement that she then explains, to start off chapters. She had already established that John desired a better life. The action in the story begins with John moving to another town and meeting his wife. All the while, Zora is "showing" the reader how John is moving more and more away from the typical life of a negro of his time period to become the thing he desired. She introduces supporting characters such as John's wife and Zora includes minor actions of John such as his labor while he strives for a better life, his church activity, his marriage, and then the birth of a unique child to be known as Zora.
Some of the skills Zora uses in creating the rise in her plot is humor, saying it without saying it, and action words. It is still established that share-cropping and cotton-picking is not desireable by John and now his offspring. Zora is consistent in showing how desiring something better will be the driving force of the story about her life.
See ya next week ...
TIP: If you flip your triangle right-side up, you should have the "Exposition" at the base (background details, character descriptions, setting, etc.) and moving towards the top of the triangle, you should have Rising Action on top of the Exposition. What do you think will be at the very tip of the triangle....?
See, "Reader's Handbook: A Student Guide for Reading and Learning" by Great Source 2002.
Swaggie Coleman can be contacted at Swaggie86@aol.com
Visit Swaggie's Voice at:
http://swaggiecoleman.blogspot.com Swaggie's Voice is exclusively published by Levine-Oliver Publisher.
Posted By: agnes levine
Friday, January 29th 2010 at 8:41PM
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