Day 37

English 101 Day 37

1. Structure and Design
a. The story: the what
b. The plot: they why

2. Events over time—Chronology
a. Keep flashbacks and flashforwards to a minimum.
b. What is the “logline” of your story? One sentence of 25 words or less that summarizes the story.

3. Where to begin:
a. In media res “in the middle of things”
b. usually best to start as close to the end as possible.
c. Exposition: history, characters, time and place (5 w’s).
d. Draw your readers in.

4. Plot structure:
a. Exposition
b. Rising Action
c. Climax
d. falling action
e. resolution

5. Conflict: A Character faces challenges
a. Conflicts are often bigger than life. Stories magnify real experience.
b. Some specific event within the story causes the conflict to arise. A character’s life is thrown out of balance and he or she is called to the Journey. Often this external event mirrors an existing internal struggle.
c. In the beginning, the main character’s dominant personality traits dictate the character’s actions and reactions to the conflict.
d. Complications intensify the conflict, forcing the main character to adjust and change.
e. The main character makes several attempts to solve the conflict.
f. By the end of the story, the main character has grown so much that he or she resolves the conflict with knowledge and skill, not trickery or artifice.

6. Assignment: Briefly describe the conflict your character will solve in your story, and then describe the event that will call your initiate to the journey. Ask yourself, What event or situation will upset your character’s life? Is something missing, has something been taken, or ahs the initiate’s life been thrown out of harmony?

7. Checklist

8. Creating characters

a. Good and bad sides, three-dimensional and round- complex.
b. Flat, two dimensional, static characters- often single characteristic.
c. What does your character desire?
d. What are their quirks?
e. Composite characters—combinations of ourselves and others.
f. Gradually revealing characters—peal the onion slowly.
g. Names—meaning and avoiding confusion.
h. Character profile questions:
i. What is a typical day for this characters before the journey?
j. Adding depth and personality
i. list names of characters in your story.
ii. What are their dominant personality traits?
iii. They were the kind of person who…x5

k. Characterization:
i. Telling
ii. Actions
iii. Conversations
iv. Feelings
v. Names exercise?

l. Checklist

Homework: Read 118-127