Gay Ingram's Blog - Posts Tagged "climax"
Help Readers 'See' Your Story
Fiction is most effective when readers can see vividly what it is you're describing on the page.
Scenes need to hook the reader, make us eager to find out what happens next. A scene needs to be a unified action with its own beginning, middle and end, usually taking place in a single location, in a single period of time. A scene should be a mini-play with its own powerful climax and resolution.
Filmmakers can serve as helpful guides to writers striving to achieve 'visual language.Use visual elements to capture the electricity, tension, and suspense.Try to write your scene with out adjectives, using instead really strong verbs. Help your reader learn about your characters by way of descriptive traits.
Use the elements of plot, characterization, tone, point of view, voice, etc. to tell your stories in the most compelling way possible.
Scenes need to hook the reader, make us eager to find out what happens next. A scene needs to be a unified action with its own beginning, middle and end, usually taking place in a single location, in a single period of time. A scene should be a mini-play with its own powerful climax and resolution.
Filmmakers can serve as helpful guides to writers striving to achieve 'visual language.Use visual elements to capture the electricity, tension, and suspense.Try to write your scene with out adjectives, using instead really strong verbs. Help your reader learn about your characters by way of descriptive traits.
Use the elements of plot, characterization, tone, point of view, voice, etc. to tell your stories in the most compelling way possible.
The Arc of a Short Story
A story is held together by the shape into which the elements of fascinating characters, witty dialog and lyrical scenes are combined.
You have a first draft completed. But is it a satisfying story? Here are some questions to consider.
What does your main character want? Why? The fulfillment of a hope raises the stakes.
Does the story have a beginning, a middle and an end? Do the events expose the hidden hope the character seeks?
Does the story have the makings of a central metaphor as it is explored and used in the story? Not necessarily required, a metaphor can be hidden from obvious view yet add richness and depth of texture.
A well-shaped story should look somewhat like a bell curve. The setup and complications occur at the beginning of the bell; the rising action takes up the dome; and the climax and denouement occur as the bell winds down at the other end.
Rising action is the meat of the story and requires the bulk of the weight.
The climax should be brief by comparison. Don't make the mistake of dragging out your ending.
You have a first draft completed. But is it a satisfying story? Here are some questions to consider.
What does your main character want? Why? The fulfillment of a hope raises the stakes.
Does the story have a beginning, a middle and an end? Do the events expose the hidden hope the character seeks?
Does the story have the makings of a central metaphor as it is explored and used in the story? Not necessarily required, a metaphor can be hidden from obvious view yet add richness and depth of texture.
A well-shaped story should look somewhat like a bell curve. The setup and complications occur at the beginning of the bell; the rising action takes up the dome; and the climax and denouement occur as the bell winds down at the other end.
Rising action is the meat of the story and requires the bulk of the weight.
The climax should be brief by comparison. Don't make the mistake of dragging out your ending.
