Recommitment Scene

Another example of what I call the "magic of writing."  I just love it when this happens!

In going over scenes with a writer, I ask for the 1/2 way mark / recommitment scene and lo and behold, the scene she tells me about fits the recommitment parameters perfects. She did not consciously write it that way but she also did not get in the way of letting it come naturally. 

I find the less our egos interfere and the more clearly and cleanly we can act as a conduit for the muse, the more "magic" like this occurs.

Brings about a pleasing read for a reader and movie for an audience when these natural moments are let to shine.

Click on green highlighted plot concept(s) for further explanations via video. Each time a concept is referenced you are directed to new information.

Universal Story and Plot

I bow down to the writer's spirit in each of us -- the spirit of perseverance and for continuing against all odds and against all conventional reason.

A writer on her third major rewrite finds the Universal Story defines the linear plot and structure of her intuitive and otherwise random story. Now that she has the logical, sequential order of the scenes in place and objectively knows where the story is going, she can forget about the bigger picture and subjectively concentrate on writing each scene one word at a time. 

This is not necessarily easy for a random, intuitive and subjective writer. Classically favoring "right-brain" thinking, for her to focus in on the parts does not come naturally. However, as long as she stays at the concrete level (a strength) of the scenes and words, she'll be fine. 

I especially love it when writers like her reach the Middle because the scenes there take place in an exotic world of her own making. Thus, she can craft those scenes in her truly authentic voice and style and can follow the energy. Here, time does not have to travel in a linear fashion, the exotic world can be anything she wants it to be, as random, intuitive and subjective as she desires.

Where the Wild Things Are

Used Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak with a group of 15 8 - 10 year old kids. 7 kids opted for private secretaries made up of teen volunteers and other Friends of the Library board members. One of the seven needed brainstorming support only. The other six benefitted from someone else performing the fine motor skills necessary to actually write the story down on paper. Whether they wrote the story themselves or used the help of another, all the kids finished stories in 2 1/2 hours which will now be made into a book by a local publisher for the kids and local library.

Where the Wild Things Are is a classic example of the Universal Story (the paradox of life = that which is simple/small is actually huge. That which is big is actually not much at all.)

The Beginning (1/4) introduces Max, establishes his goal = to be a wild thing, shows his flaw = stubborn and belligerent, and strength = enormous imagination.

The End of the Beginning (page twelve of 37 pages) occurs when his bedroom is no longer a bedroom but a forest. 

The Middle (1/2) begins at the precise moment Max undertakes his journey. In the Middle, Max encounters antagonists = dragon of the sea, rough water, Wild Things. The entire middle (6 pages), has no text and shows the unusual, exotic world in which Max now resides = Wild Things making wild rumpus.

Crisis ensues ((3/4 mark = page 29) when Max turns lonely and longs to be where someone loves him best of all.

The End (1/4) begins when he smells good things to eat from far across the world. Though his new friends beg him not to leave, off Max sails.

The Climax comes one page before the end of the book when he is able to shed his wolf suit (metaphor for his wildness) and settle down enough to eat his dinner (something he was completely unable to do at the beginning of the story. He needed to go through everything he does in order to gain the skills necessary to appreciate his ordinary world.)

Simple? Yes. Timeless? The book has lasted for 46 years and the movie is soon to be released.

Sometimes we as writers make things too hard. This simple story is about character transformation which is the basis for every great story. Analyze the plot and structure of your story with this in mind. Hope it helps simplify the underpinnings so you can work your magic in the details.

A New World Order

In the 60s, Curtis Mayfield sings of a new world order, a change of mind for the whole human race. Marie Elena Gaspari dances to it in the 90s. The old world order falling away.

Isn't that what the Universal Story form is really all about? Okay, go ahead. Roll your eyes. But stick with me here. 

The old world order (ordinary world) falls away at the 1/4 mark. The story launches into a new world order (exotic world of the antagonists / the Middle 1/2).

Antagonists from each of the Five Standard Antagonists serve to trip up the protagonist on her way toward her life goals. Rather than break down the secondary characters into the traditional archetypes of mentor, ally, etc, I focus here on the concept of all characters serving as antagonists because, for the most part, ultimately all the characters test, hold back, interfere with the protagonist achieving her goals. Some secondary characters may shapeshift from ally to antagonist and back, but nearly all the characters challenge the protagonist in one way or the other. 

Each of the characters hold up a mirror for the protagonist to better see herself. Yes, even the antagonists. Especially the antagonists.

I am a devout student of plot, the elements of great fiction, the Universal Story form, Character, Action, and Theme. I also am a devotee of physics / the study of energy. Forgive me when I interchange the two. 

The energy of a story pretty much ebbs and flow like the energy of our lives. It takes until the Crisis (3/4 mark) before the protagonist comes to understand what the antagonists represent in her life. For us? Sometimes, it takes until the very end of our lives before we finally understand what the antagonists in our own lives really represent to us and about ourselves. 

In the end, the character and, in turn, we come to understand that the antagonists, be they someone else, society at large, nature, machines, time, ego, is nothing more than a reflection of us giving up our own individual power to what we perceive as having some sort of authority over our lives.

In real life, we can play the victim. 

Not possible in stories. No matter how insecure the protagonist may act, or fearful, no matter how small they play their parts, how much power they relinquish, how poor, how weak, the protagonist in a story never allows herself to be victimized, at least not for long. Ever. 

An interesting message.

The Crisis causes the protagonist to rethink life as she has always known it and earns the protagonist a gift, a special skill, consciousness, enlightenment (thanks to the very antagonists who caused her the most grief).

In the End (1/4)(old), the protagonist goes back to the Beginning (now new). What she brings back ultimately, because of her transformation, also transforms and allows for a new world order to emerge. 

This is the work of heroes and heroines in stories... and of common folk, like you and me...

Plotting the Climax of Your Story

In the End -- the final 1/4 of the entire page or scene count, the protagonist still has foes to confront and overcome. Only now, she is armed with a new understanding of herself. For the first time, her goal is within reach.

The Climax at the end serves as the light at the end of the tunnel. The protagonist moves toward the light -- one step forward toward the ultimate transformation, three steps back, a fight for a couple of steps, being beat backwards.

The Climax is the crowning glory of the entire project. The Climax is where protagonist "shows" in scene her acting in a transformed way -- in a way she could not have acted in any other part of the story because she first needed to experience everything she does in the book to get to the final stage.

The Climax spotlights the character in full transformation demonstrating the necessary new skill or personality, gift or action.

Ask yourself what scene will most dramatically show her demonstrating her transformed self?

Plot and Character

Thanksgiving came quickly. Not much advance planning except in brief contemplation when I plotted out vague ideas of food and events. Tradition dictated lunch and Thanksgiving dinner at home. Old family friends to join us for dessert. Next day, leftovers at the beach. Fingers crossed that once again Northern California would offer up one of the best beach days of the year.

Decisions made for who brings what, where and when.... Pre-plotting gives me a feeling of control over that which I know is uncontrollable. As much as I can plot out the events, the dishes, grocery lists, and sleeping arrangement, I know from experience that with the characters involved, disaster loomed.

The End of the Beginning arrives the Monday before Thanksgiving as the first family members trickle in.

Old friends invited say yes. Wednesday spent pre-cooking with Sister One, Mother, and Niece One. The doorbell rings. Niece Two beams at my look of surprise. Niece Three arrives. More sleeping arrangement plotted out. Grocery lists grow longer.

The big day arrives. Antagonists and allies align. Yes, predictably, the fun and surprises led to a Crisis, but this year there was also a personally satisfying Climax at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk on a glorious ride on the Big Dipper, the oldest wooden roller coaster in America.

One of the benefits of working with writers about plot is knowing the Universal Story form inside and out. As weird as it sounds, I live plot. That means I, as the protagonist of my own life, have the power to create Climax after Climax of my own liking.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? The challenge is to stay conscious of my own Character Emotional Development. If I get too caught up in the Dramatic Action of others in the moment, I lose clarity.