Story Tips #11 - Plotting Variations

By Jax Hunter

Welcome to the next installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen. This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***     ***     ***     ***

It’s been a year! How could that be? Sheesh.

Over the last twelve months, we’ve looked at the most common story structure: Three Act Structure. We’ve looked at outlining and at the Hero’s Journey Structure. In this, I’d like to give you an overview of a few plotting variations. As you’ll see, with some, there isn’t always a clear-cut line keeping these structures within their boundaries. I present them in no particular order. Remember, we’re stealing from screenwriters, so many of the examples will be films or television shows. 

Multiple Plot Stories: These are the ensemble pieces with many characters. Each character or group of characters has its own story, complete with inciting incident, turning points one and two, a beginning, middle, and end. Usually, these stories contain an overall story theme and each sub-plot is linked either by place or by time frame. 

Examples of this plot variation: many one-hour TV dramas, such as CSI, West Wing, Third Watch, and movies, such as Gossford Park and American Beauty

Act Mix-up: This is a technique in which the third act is presented first, followed by how the characters got there. The TV show Columbo was known for showing the arrest first, followed by backstory, including the reasons for the crime, the crime itself, and how Columbo put all the pieces together.

Same Story, Mulitiple POV’s: This style presents a story multiple times through the eyes of different characters. In the TV show Boomtown (which I liked - certainly the kiss of death when I like it) the crime is committed, then replayed through each character’s point of view. The movies Rashomon, Z, and Lawless Heart are examples of this style. For more information on this structure, check out Teach Yourself Film Studies, by Warren Buckland.

Two Act Structure: This is the typical structure for half-hour sitcoms. The plot is equally divided, half and half, with the cliffhanger moment at the end of Act I and a moment of truth halfway through Act II, followed by resolution. This is a simple structure that likely can’t carry novel length fiction. However, it might be perfect for the short story.

Four or Five Act Structure: Longer Films like Gone with the Wind, Braveheart, Casino, and Titanic follow this structure. The turning points in this structure are the same as with three act structure, with turning point one at the quarter mark and turning point two at the three quarter mark.

Nine Act Structure: This structure can simply be a division of three acts into nine. However, that isn’t necessarily so. It features a significant change of goal in the middle. For example, in ET the first goal was to keep ET here and the second to get ET home. In Mrs. Doubtfire, the first goal was to become Mrs. Doubtfire in order to get the kids back and the second to become the husband and father the kids’ mother wanted. If you’re interested in learning more about this structure, take a look at this website: www.dsiegel.com/Film/Filmhome.

Portmanteau structure: These stories contain separate stories running back to back. They are linked by the same characters, the same location, the same theme, the same event, etc. This structure is often found in themed anthologies. 

As you can see, there are many flavors of plot. Genre fiction tends toward those which are less “different.” Literary fiction is often where you find the less classic structures. If you’d like to read more on these variations, I point you to Teach Yourself Screenwriting, by Raymond Frensham.

Now that we’ve studied overall story structure, the plan for the next part of the series is to study the structure of the scene, primarily, but not exclusively, from a screenwriting perspective.  

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard)

Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #10 - Hero's Journey, Act III

By Jax Hunter

Welcome to the next installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen. This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***     ***     ***     ***

Thank goodness we’re almost done with this topic. If I’d known when I started this Hero’s Journey series how long four months really were... Well, anyway, we’re to the end.

Act III: We’ll get your trusty hero out of that tree now - the Vogler way - with the final three steps.

Step Ten - The Road Back

In this step the story engine, which has been idling for a while, gets revved up again. Our hero must be forced from the plateau upon which he rests. You got it - our hero has stirred up a hornets nest and now must deal with the consequences of the Supreme Ordeal. Now’s his chance to show whether he’s really learned the lessons he’s picked up along the way. 

On his way back to Ordinary, our hero will be subjected to the final temptations and tests which may actually cause a change in the story goal.

In Star Wars, this step has Luke and Leia chased by Darth Vader as they flee the Death Star. 

Dorothy is ready to go home - the balloon is prepared and the goodbyes said. Then Toto (remember his role as Dorothy’s intuition?) takes off after a pesky cat and the balloon leaves without her.  Dorothy is stranded in the Special World with no way home.

Step Eleven - Resurrection (the Dark Moment)

This step is something of a cleansing process, sealing in the good and burning away the bad. Often, we have a death scene followed by a new birth. This death can be literal (in which case it’s likely a near death scene - we really don’t want to actually kill our hero) or it may be figurative (as in the death of the relationship in a romance.) Either way, hope is dead.

The Supreme Ordeal was the Mid-term. The Resurrection is the Final Exam. To learn is one thing - to be able to bring that knowledge home a bit more difficult. It’s one final shot from the enemy. This is the last chance for the hero to pass the test. Often in the Supreme Ordeal, he either just scraped by or he actually failed the test. Here’s the last chance for redemption, the final test of faith.

In each of the original Star Wars movies, Luke is “killed” and miraculously reborn. Each time he’s reborn increases within him the power of the Force. Han Solo is also reborn in the first movie as he turns his back on the battle but shows up at the last minute to face the enemy beside his comrades. 

In the Wizard of Oz, the Wizard has floated away. There’s no hope of ever getting back to Kansas. Then, Voila! The good witch shows up and tells Dorothy that she always had it within her to get home. We have that great moment when Dorothy is asked what she’s learned and she replies that her “heart’s desire” is “in her own back yard.” What a great movie!

Step Twelve - Return with the Elixir

It’s not enough to just get home in one piece; our hero must return to Ordinary with a treasure. A cure. A lesson learned. The key to the enemy defeat. The power to heal the wounded land. Or, in a romance, a committed relationship. 

Luke defeats Darth Vader and restores peace and order.

Dorothy’s perceptions of Kansas have changed. She admits that the Special World was beautiful, but also had some horrible elements. “There’s no place like home.” 

The circle is complete. The story is satisfying to the reader because you have taken the hero through the full cycle. All is right with the world. And they live happily ever after. Cliches all. I won’t mention here that this full circle concept is very American and that things aren’t always so neatly wrapped up in stories around the world. 

Now I have to get back to my WIP (work in progress) and I don’t know what we’ll be doing next month.  Consider it a surprise. I am :) 

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard)

Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #9 - Hero's Journey, Act II

By Jax Hunter

Welcome to the next installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen.  This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***     ***     ***     ***

Last month, we covered the first five steps of the Hero’s Journey; those that take place in Act I. That left us crossing the threshold into Act II, with the steps that make up the middle half of the book.

Step Six -  Tests, Allies and Enemies (oh, my.) 

This is the special world of the adventure/quest, where our intrepid hero finds new challenges, makes new friends and learns the rules of the world and the battle he entered.   

This Special World stands in sharp contrast to the world of Ordinary left behind. After the long, lonely time crossing the first threshold, our hero gets to rest and recuperate for a little while, often in a seedy bar or saloon. Remember the cantina in Star Wars, where the alliance is made with Han Solo (who is the true hero of the movie - at least for me. . . I could go on and on comparing the dashing Han with the wimpy Luke, but I won’t.) In these scenes, Luke and Obi Wan begin to gather a team together to go after the prize.

In Oz, this phase begins with the question to Dorothy “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” Dorothy, too, gathers her allies in this section and earns their loyalty. She has opportunities, as well, to learn about the enemy. 

This is a good time to begin exerting pressure on your characters to see what they’re made of.

Step Seven  - Approaching the inmost cave

In the approach phase, our hero and his stalwart companions draw near to the edge of danger where the prize awaits. Here, they’ll strategize and gather their weapons for the coming battle. This phase covers all the preparations for entering the Inmost Cave. It is a great place for romance and humor as the hero looks ahead to a time of conflict.

In Star Wars, Luke and his friends are sucked into the Death Star where they meet Darth Vader. 

Dorothy and her friends leave the woods and catch sight of the Emerald City. They happily skip on toward that goal, unaware of further obstacles and challenges in their way. They are seduced by illusion in the field of poppies and find Threshold Guardians blocking their way (the rude sentry at the doors of the Emerald City.) 

Often the tools gathered so far on the journey will be keys to getting past these guardians, as we see when Dorothy shows that she has the ruby slippers. Within the Emerald City, Dorothy and her team are prepared for their meeting with the Wiz. But when trouble rears her pointy head, any friends they thought they had back away, leaving them alone and vulnerable. 

The approach phase can be laden with setbacks like flying monkeys which disarm and discourage the hero as he gets close. This is a time of raising the stakes. At last, the final obstacles to reaching the prize are overcome so that the Supreme Ordeal may begin.

Step Eight - The Ordeal

This is the phase of the big crisis - death and rebirth - when fortunes are down and fears are up. Goals are in jeopardy. The most common pattern for the timing of this phase is the middle of Act II, though it can also be found frequently toward the end of the act. 

We see R2D2 and C3PO listening as Luke and his team are nearly crushed to death by the trash compactor. Then Luke is pulled under the mucky water and the bubbles stop. All evidence points to his death, but he manages to emerge alive. 

Other patterns found in the Ordeal involve the hero witnessing death (Luke sees Obi Wan die), the hero causing death, a battle with the Shadow and a battle inside the hero himself. Sometimes the villain is killed in this phase (Dorothy killing the witch.)

After all this, our hero has faced death and lived. He’s ready to seize the prize.

Step Nine - Reward

We can now quit throwing rocks at our hero and let him get down from the tree. We’re at the second turning point, headed into Act III. Now we celebrate as the hero takes possession of that which he sought. Luke rescues Leia and captures the plans for the death star. He also settles up with Darth Vader.

Dorothy seizes the broomstick and the foursome return to the wizard to claim their rewards. Of course, the Wiz balks. Toto then fulfills his purpose by revealing the man behind the curtain and the wizard bestows the prizes: a diploma to Scarecrow, a medal of valor to Lion and a wind up heart to Tinman. Sadly, there is nothing there to help Dorothy get home. 

At the end of this segment, things can look pretty bleak. The hero can think that all is lost. The fates (and the author) are not through with him yet. We’re headed back to Kansas, but there will be one final obstacle.

Next month, we’ll take our hero home at last. The way won’t be smooth, but we’ll get him there. 

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard)

Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #8 - Hero's Journey, Act I

By Jax Hunter

Welcome to the next installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen.  This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***     ***     ***     ***

Last month, I gave you an overview of the Hero’s Journey. This month, we’ll look at the first section of that mythic structure. For the most part, the steps we’ll work with this month are those that make up Act I in our story.

Review: Do you remember the pattern - get your hero up a tree, throw rocks at him, get him out of the tree? Ready to get that hero or heroine up that three? Then let’s begin.

Step One - the Ordinary World. 

This part of the book is the opening, in which we get to know the protagonist, see his values, his character, and maybe even his flaws. It shows the reader the hero’s comfort zone. It is given so that the reader will have a baseline to measure the hero’s growth. Ideally, it will be as different as possible from the Special World into which the hero will soon be forced.

The ordinary world may be rather ho-hum, or it may be a world of excitement. For example, a military hero may be very comfortable dodging bullets, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes or hanging from the side of a mountain. (Can you tell I’m writing military romance at the moment?) Take a man like this and put him into a situation where he has none of his tools, none of that excitement, and you have a man up a tree.

In the Wizard of Oz, the Ordinary World is represented in black and white, the Special World in technicolor. It’s the boring world of a Kansas farm where a young girl dreams of no more problems. In Wizard, this world foreshadows the Special World Dorothy will soon be blown into. Your hero’s Ordinary World may do the same. For Luke Skywalker, it’s another farm in a galaxy far, far, away. His problems, though, are fairly similar to Dorothy’s. 

Step Two - The Call to Adventure - also known as the Inciting Incident.

This is the part of the book, ideally as soon as possible, in which the problem, challenge or adventure shows up. This Call throws off the balance of the Ordinary World. It establishes the game and the goal becomes clearer. It may be as simple as the hero running out of options. 

For Dorothy, she’s faced with an angry Miss Gulch who wants to take Toto away. Auntie Em, Dorothy’s sanctuary, is unsympathetic to her plight. The only answer is to run away.

For Luke Skywalker, the Call takes the form of a hologram of Princess Leia, begging for the help of Obi Wan. “Help me Obi Wan, you’re my only hope.” Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Heroes hardly ever respond to the call with a hearty heave-ho. Like us, they tend to cling to their comfort zone and to the status quo. Which brings us to the next step:

Step Three - Refusal of the Call.

During this part of Act I, the author has the opportunity to point out the clear and present dangers inherent in the hero taking on the challenge. This is a time of fear and waffling for our hero. 

Sometimes, in this part of the book, we see a Threshold Guardian that blocks the way for our hero. In Wizard of Oz, Dorothy runs into Professor Marvel who convinces her that she needs to go home. She’s an example of a hero that willingly leaves her comfort zone - because she doesn’t see the comfort there. 

In other stories, we meet the mentor briefly at this point. In Star Wars, Luke runs into Obi Wan, but ends up turning away from the Call and going home. Refusing the Call often leads to tragedy, as we see when Luke arrives home to find his family dead and the homestead in ruins. In this case, the refusal didn’t RESULT in the tragedy, but many times it does.

Step Four - Meet the mentor.

This step can be separate, or it may be hidden within the other steps. Sometimes, there really is no mentor. A Mentor, though, does not have to be a person.  It can be a map, a book, or even the hero’s strong code of honor. The Mentor stage is defined by a time of preparation for our hero, where he is given advice, training, guidance and, sometimes, magical equipment with which to enter the fray. 

Be careful, in this stage, to avoid the typical mentor who has become a bit cliched: the wise old woman or man, the fairy godmother or wizard. If you do use these characters, make sure you twist them a bit.

Dorothy has many mentors in her journey. The most obvious may be Glenda, but she only shows up three times, when Dorothy can go no further without intervention. Nowadays, readers may prefer heroes who don’t rely on intervention. However, Dorothy has mentors, of sorts, in the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion. The Wizard, himself, becomes a mentor. And we can’t forget Toto, who is with her every step of the way and in whom resides Dorothy’s intuition.

Luke, of course, has Obi Wan, who trains him to trust the force and who gives him his father’s light sabre. 

In some stories, the mentor is simply a sounding board for the hero, someone who listens to and encourages him along the way.

Step Five - At the end of Act I, we come to Crossing the Threshold.  

This is the turning point at the end of Act I that propels us into Act II. The hero finally commits to the journey, sometimes after a swift kick in the pants from the mentor, sometimes because he has no choice. Often, we see a Threshold Guardian here, an obstacle that stands between the hero and actually getting into the Special World. The hero may need to engage this Guardian, kill him and absorb his power. Or, it may be a matter of just pushing through the obstacle, or simply acknowledging it. 

At this point, we’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Next month, we’ll look at Act II steps in the hero’s journey.

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard)

Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #7 - Mythic Structure, Introduction

By Jax Hunter


Welcome to the next installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen.  This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***     ***     ***     ***

This month, and for the next few months, we’re going to take a look at structural variations of stories. Of course, these variations are not the sole property of the screenwriting world any more than three act structure is. However, many of the screenwriting sources talk about these variations, and I hope they’re helpful to all of us.

The first structure we’ll be looking at is that of myth throughout the ages, the Hero’s Journey. It fits nicely into our three act structure. Therefore, after an overview and review of the big picture this month, we’ll look at each act within this structure over the next few months.

The Hero’s Journey, a term coined, as close as I can tell, by Christopher Vogler, is a series of twelve stages seen throughout the centuries in classic stories. Vogler borrows from Joseph Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces to come up with his stages.   

In this classic pattern, the mythic hero journeys through all the stages of death and rebirth to come out the other end transformed. Lajos Egri in The Art of Dramatic Writing calls this “growing from pole to pole.” A lost and lonely Dorothy finds home and family. A stupid scarecrow finds his brain. A fraidy-cat lion finds his courage. And an empty tin man finds his heart.

The basic premise of this hero’s journey is this: The hero travels from his ordinary world into the mythological woods for varying reasons. While in this other world, he is faced with trials and tribulations, meets friends and foes alike and, when all seems lost, finds what he’s looking for. He then returns to his ordinary world - not always an easy trip - with the prize.

The classic mythic hero - James Bond, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Indiana Jones - is always on the side of good and always fights evil in one form or another. He is usually courageous and clever. He’s often endowed with a special talent or gift and is likely motivated by idealism. He may begin the journey with only self interest (Han Solo) but, by the end, he puts his life or fortune on the line for something bigger than himself.

In the course of the story, the mythic hero never quits. He never resorts to unheroic actions - though a shortcut may present itself that will test his integrity - and he never wins by lucky break.

The hero leaves his every day world and enters a “foreign place,” often because he has no choice - to refuse the call would go against everything he believes in. On the journey, he’ll be tested, learn the rules of this new world and be opposed by evil. He may be helped along the way by new friends and a mentor. He’ll face universal fears, both external (heights, big bugs, monsters, driving snow) and internal (failure, ridicule, loss of love.)

At the end of his journey into the woods, he’ll likely have a confrontation with the Evil One, which he’ll either win or lose. On his return home, he may be again opposed by evil.  He may lose the prize and have to retrieve it, and he will, ultimately, have a death/rebirth experience - even if its metaphorical.

When he returns to the ordinary world he has been transformed. He may find that the glory is stolen or isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. He may learn the true meaning of the journey and may get a call to another. 

Here are the twelve steps - outlined within the three act structure (remember him?)

Act I - get your hero up a tree

1.  Ordinary World

2.  Call to Adventure

3.  Refusal of the Call

4.  Meet the Mentor

5.  Crossing  the Threshold

Act II - throw rocks at him

6.  Tests, Allies and Enemies

7.  Approach the inmost cave

8.  The Ordeal

9.  Reward

Act III - get him out of the tree

10.  Road Back

11.  Resurrection

12.  Return with Elixir

Next month we’ll look more in depth at the Act I stages in the Hero’s Journey. If you would like to investigate the subject more, let me recommend the following books:

The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler

The Key by James N. Frey

Myth and the Movies by Stuart Voytilla

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard)

Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips # 6 - Eight Basic Stories

By Jax Hunter

We're delighted to be able to offer further episodes in the Story Tips series from Jax Hunter. This monthly column explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story.

Image by OCAL, clker.com

Shakespeare said that there’s nothing new under the sun. That was Shakespeare, wasn’t it? Or was that in Proverbs? No matter. Whoever said it was right, and Shakespeare managed to come up with some great stories, didn’t he? There really are no new stories, only new people playing out the age-old patterns.

Michael Hauge (Writing Screenplays that Sell) says there’s only one type of story: David and Goliath - man against impossible odds.

Screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr. Believed there were only two: fish out of water and the odd couple.

We’ve all heard these: man vs. himself, man vs. man, and man vs. nature.

Ray Frensham (Teach Yourself Screewriting) contends there are eight classic plots, which we'll explore in this post. He titles them with classic story titles, many of which come from ancient mythology.

1) Achilles: A character flaw leads to destruction of either the hero or the villain.

2) Candide: You can’t keep a good guy down - optimism will triumph.

3) Cinderella: Dreams come true, transformation brings the reward.

4) Circe: The classic chase story - spider and the fly - the innocent pursued by evil.

5) Faust: The extent to which man will go to get what he wants - selling your soul to the devil.

6) Orpheus: Tragedy of loss, or looking for that which is lost.

7) Romeo and Juliet: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back (or doesn’t).

8) Tristan: The love triangle.

So why do we need to even think about these classic plots? Does anyone out there actually sit down to write a story and think, “Gee, I think I’ll write a Circe story.” Well, there might be a few who do, but I’d wager that to be the exception to the rule.

I believe that most of us come up with a what if - what if someone woke up in a car by the side of the road and didn’t know who they were - first, and find the pattern second.

So why bother trying to stick your story into one of these patterns? Many screenwriting tutors believe that this process helps us to know the general direction of our story. Knowing the components of the classic stories, then, can help us determine which pieces our story needs. 

Knowing the pattern that your story fits also helps you to twist the plot. It’s all about ideas, isn’t it?

Once we know the category, we can also add elements of other categories to our tales. You will find that many stories - in this case, movies - fit more than one pattern.

Fatal Attraction fits Achilles and Tristan.

Erin Brockovich fits Candide and Cinderella.

The Graduate fits Romeo & Juliet and Tristan.

And Miracle (a movie that this hockey fan cried all the way through) fits Candide and Cinderella.

Your assignment, then, is to start watching for these patterns. Maybe keep a small notebook beside the Lazy Boy and start sticking every movie you watch into its category or categories. How about your current work in progress? I write romance so, of course, every book of mine fits Romeo and Juliet. The current WIP also has Cinderella and Orpheus elements. 

Also, keep in mind that any of these patterns can be written in any of the many forms: comedy, drama, suspense, mystery, romance, noir and the like.

I encourage you to study these formats and let them be frames on which to hang the meat of your stories.  Don’t let them bog you down.  Instead use them as tools to spark ideas.

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard) 

Cheers, Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #5 - The Ticking Clock

By Jax Hunter

Welcome to the fifth, and final, installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen.  This monthly column explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***     ***     ***     ***

The ticking clock. . .

As authors, we are always looking for ways to crank up the dramatic tension within our stories.  One of the best ways to do this is with what is known as a time lock. 

Time locks set a deadline for the hero to get what he wants and inject urgency into the story.  They force your hero into situations that could otherwise wait.  They throw obstacles into his path that either limit his time or limit his options.  (Some sources differentiate between time locks and option locks - see Dramatica software for details.)

Dramatica sources tells us that if the primary obstacles thrown in front of your protagonist are delays, then what you’re looking at is a time lock.  If the obstacles are missing parts, the option lock is in effect.

Some stories set the initial stage with a time element.  The FOX TV show 24 sets the ticking clock in place right away, and that element hangs over the heads of the characters all the way through.   The finale of Friends set in place the departure of Rachel to Paris and the clock ticked away as Ross tried to tell her how he felt.  Small delays, followed by bigger and bigger delays, kept him from getting to her until it was too late - or so we thought for a minute.

Other examples of this would include the movie High Noon, where the bad guys are due to show up on the noon train; Armageddon, where doom is coming to earth in the form of an approaching asteroid; and Casablanca, in which the plane will be leaving with or without Ilsa on it.

Other stories use a ticking bomb (so to speak) to crank up the tension in the middle or closer to the climax.  Think of Speed in which the ticking clock was the gas gauge moving toward “E”.  Romeo and Juliet are in no hurry to work out their problems and could have gone on ad infinitum until Juliet’s parents set the wedding date for Juliet and Paris.  Sleepless in Seattle’s final push involves getting to the top of the Empire State Building before it’s too late.  And in Monsters, Inc. Mike Wazowski (all one word at my house) is given thirty minutes to return Boo to her bedroom before the door closes forever and all is lost.

Of course, not all stories can make use of a time lock.  But if you start paying attention to both the books you read and the movies you see, you’ll find that the time lock element can be very subtle.  It is simply a tool for raising the tension in a story.  Give it a try and have fun with it.

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard) 

Cheers, Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #4 - Outlining Your Novel - The Script Writer's Way

By Jax Hunter


Welcome to the fourth installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen.  This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***   ***   ***   ***

Last month we learned the two minute movie and now we have a four-page treatment of our story.  The next step is the outline, or the step outline.  A step outline is simply a skeletal version of the story, your two minute move played out scene by scene.

Robert McKee in his wonderful book Story, defines a scene as a story event, an action through conflict in more or less continuous time and space.  He goes on to talk about value changes within scenes, but that’s a topic for another time. 

Before I write an outline, I like to know what I will need for this particular book.  So I get out my calculator.  We talked a bit about this method in the article about three-act structure.  If I’m shooting for a three-hundred page book, and I like to write ten page scenes (just an example), I will need thirty scenes.  Fifteen scenes will be split between Act I and Act III and fifteen will fill Act II.  I’m ready to outline thirty scenes.

With these numbers in mind, I know approximately where my plot points will fall so I jot them down in the appropriate slots.  We could call that plot slot jotting.  But I digress.

Then, I just fill in all the numbered scenes.

Being able to scrutinize the skeleton this way, on a sheet or two of paper, makes it easy to see if you really do have enough plot to fill the book.  At this stage, it’s easy and painless to make changes as well, long before you’ve spent hours, days, weeks writing, only to find out that you should have turned left back at the first light. 

Once this step outline is finished, you can focus all your energy on filling in the body of the story, the character emotions, setting details, dialogue, etc.  You’ll know where you’re going and won’t have to worry about whether the motel will be full-up or not when you get there.  (I love road-trip spontaneity, but also love knowing I have reservations.)

So what does a step outline look like?  I’m glad you asked. Hang with me a moment and I’ll show you some steps.  First, let’s look at the two minute movie outline of Romeo and Juliet.

Melancholy Romeo Montague meets innocent Juliet Capulet at a Capulet party.  They fall in love.

Because the two families hate each other, the Friar agrees to marry the kids secretly - and so they marry.

Soon thereafter, a street fight ends with Juliet’s kinsman dying by Romeo’s hand.  Romeo flees Verona after consummating his marriage to Juliet.

Juliet’s family announces her forthcoming marriage to Paris.  Juliet fakes her death.

Romeo misses the message and thinks that she’s really dead so he kills himself.  Juliet awakens to find Romeo dead and kills herself.  End of story.

So, here’s what the first few scenes would look like in the step outline:

1.  Two Capulet servants tussle with two Montague servants.  Prince arrives, breaks up the fight.  Romeo is melancholy because he loves Rosaline, conversation with his cousin.

2.  Paris talks to Juliet’s father re: marriage.  Romeo and Benvolio learn of the Capulet party and plan to go.

3.  Juliet and Mom discuss marriage to Paris, Juliet is obedient.

4.  The boys on the way to the party.

5.  Romeo first sees Juliet.  Tybalt realizes that there are Montagues present.  Patriarch steps in and averts violence.  First touch.  First kiss.

You can see that it was quite a jump between the highlights of the two minute movie and the “final” step outline.  It’s very possible that there will be versions in between.  It all depends on how much detail you have cooked up in your head before the plot slot jotting begins. 

Every author works differently and some absolutely can’t plot beforehand.  Most screenwriting books insist that you do so, though.  And while I absolutely HATE to be told that I HAVE to do something, I have come to see the value of outlining before I write.

Whatever you decide, just write.  See, though I’m not good at taking orders, I’m pretty good at giving them :)   I hope these ongoing tips from the screenwriting world have sparked ideas and given you more tools with which to work.  

Until next month, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard) 

Cheers, Jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #3 - The Two Minute Movie

By Jax Hunter

Welcome to the third installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen.  This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***   ***   ***   ***

Hello again from altitude.  This month, as promised, we’re going to make a two minute movie.  At least on paper we are.  I know you’re all asking “What the heck is a two minute movie?”  Be patient - we’ll get to it.  First, just a quick review of three act structure.

Last month we did a more in-depth study of three act structure (TAS).  If you missed it - stop right here - and go back to it.  It’s important for our two minute movie.

TAS - Get your hero up a tree in Act I, throw rocks at him in Act II and get him out of the tree in Act III.  Act I takes about one fourth of the book and ends with the first plot point (an event that spins the action in a different direction).  Act II takes about half the book and ends with the second plot point.  Act III takes another fourth of the book and brings us into the dark moment where all is lost, then resolves the story in a satisfying way. 

With that in mind, let’s go on.  The two minute movie is a plotting tool that will help us get past the page 30 crisis.  You know the point - you’ve taken this wonderful idea and are happily typing along when you hit the wall. Your story comes to a screeching halt because you don’t have a clue what comes next.  Writer’s block sets in and you either bang your head against the monitor until you need ibuprofen or you head straight for the harder drugs.  Just kidding.  I would guess, though, that we’ve all been there.

The two minute movie is a two page - not one or three or four - a two page treatment of your story.  Whenever I hear the word “treatment” - very Hollywoodish - I can’t help but think of Cosmo Kramer.  But I digress.  In this treatment, you “consciously develop your idea” into a story.  The idea comes from Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting 434. 

In this two-page, double-spaced overview, you walk your story through the three act paradigm. 

Act I gets three paragraphs or so, setting up the characters and their needs.  The last paragraph here sets up the first crisis - plot point one.

You’ll use five or six paragraphs to tell the rising action of Act II.  Remember to fill Act II with obstacles that stand between where your character is and where he wants to be.  This section is the action - reaction part of the book.  Each action forces the characters into situations in which the stakes are higher than the last.  Each action cranks up the tension until you arrive at plot point two. 

And that leaves two or three paragraphs to cover Act III -  the dark moment where all is lost, and the resolution. 

There’s your two minute movie.  Hunter suggests that you may want to show this two page treatment to trusted friends who will be able to give good feedback.  He states that this exercise not only helps you in the next process (the step outline) but will tell you if you really have a story at all.

Syd Field, in his book The Screenwriter’s Workbook has a similar exercise.  He calls his the 4-page treatment.  Syd says that “the hardest thing about writing is knowing what to write.”   I couldn’t agree more.

His method has the author starting at the end and writing backwards, so to speak.  He wants you to map out the ending, the beginning and plot points one and two before you start your treatment.

Here’s how Field’s four pages look:

            One half page describing the opening scene or sequence;

            One half page describing the general action of Act I;

            One half page that describes the plot point at the end of Act I

            One half page for the action of Act II

            One half page for the plot point at the end of Act II; and

            Three quarters to one page for Act III, the resolution.

These exercises are much harder than they look on the surface.  It’s way too easy, as you’re writing these paragraphs, to wonder at the why’s - to get hung up with character motivations and the small actions that thrust your character into the bigger moments.  However, if you’ll stick to the overview method in this phase of building your story, you will have much better luck staying out of the bogs and moving forward.

Another time that two minute movies are invaluable is in the midst of writing.  I have a recurring problem with getting ideas for future books while I’m still embroiled in the current book.  Somewhere recently I read that when these ideas come to you and you’re concerned about losing them, take a few minutes to an hour to get the idea on paper.  That way, the idea doesn’t escape and it won’t be hounding you as you write the work in progress.  The two minute (two page) movie would be perfect for getting this idea down before it escapes.  Then simply file it away and when you get quickie ideas that go with that story - characters, locations, whatnot - just stick them in the file. 

Until next month, campers, when we’ll take a look at outlining, I leave you to your movie making.    Don’t forget the most important thing, BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard).  

Cheers, jax (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.

Story Tips #2 - Three Act Structure

By Jax Hunter

Welcome to the second installment of Story Tips From the Big Screen.  This monthly column (to be posted the second Monday of each month) explores screen writing techniques that will help fiction writers tell a better story. 

***   ***   ***   ***

Did I wear you all out last month?  I hope not.  This month, I promise to be a bit more reasonable. 

Screenwriters learn early on that most screenplays are based on three act structure, a paradigm that goes back to Aristotle’s Poetics, written in 350 B.C.

The simplest restatement of three act structure is: Beginning, Middle and End.

There’s a saying found in many screenwriting sources that is variously credited to many different people.  “In Act I, you get your hero up a tree.  In Act II, you throw rocks at him.  In Act III, you get him out of the tree.”  We’ll look in greater detail at these three steps.  The rule of thumb in screenwriting, though, is that Act I is 25% of your play, Act II is 50%, and Act III is 25%.

Up a Tree:  

Act I gets your reader involved with your story, with your characters.  You use this section to introduce your characters, the setting, the goal and the obstacle.  Halfway through Act I, your protagonist will face or take on a problem.  Act I ends with the first plot point.

Plot points are defined by Syd Field (Screenwriting Workbook) as “an incident, episode, or event that ‘hooks’ into the action and spins it around into another direction.  It can be anything: a shot, a speech, a scene, a sequence, an action, anything that moves the story forward.”  It’s the first plot twist, the first real complication.   In the movie Braveheart, it’s the moment that Murron, our hero’s wife, is murdered.  Now the obstacle/problem becomes personal -  it is invested with real emotion.

Throw Rocks:

Act II heightens the emotional commitment to the story, both for the characters and for the reader.  In Act II,  you complicate everything.  This section has a pattern of rising action, each complication getting more threatening to the protagonist.  Along the way, our hero has more and more to lose.

Act II ends with the hero apparently defeated.  This is the black moment.  All is lost.

C’mon down, hero: 

In Act III we start from the darkest point - where all is lost and the hero makes a last ditch effort to get to his goal.  This is the final push to the climax.  The showdown.  Finally, the resolution brings a satisfactory end to the reader, even if it doesn’t bring the same to our hero.  In romances, the hero and heroine end up together.  In mystery and suspense, the good guy figures out who the bad guy is and, ultimately, defeats him.

Stuart Voytilla, in his book Myth and the Movies (closely related to Vogler’s Writer’s Journey) suggests that Acts I and III occur in the hero’s Ordinary World while Act II takes place in the Special World.

Dramatica Software’s manual describes the acts as journeys.  Act I takes the hero from the starting point, City A, to City B; Act II from City B to City C; Act III from City C to the destination, City D.

These are the basics of three act structure.  If I’m aiming toward a 300 page book, then I know that the first 75 pages will be Act I, pages 76 - 225 for Act II, and another 75 for the crisis and resolution.  Once I have these structural definitions, it’s easier to see how many scenes I’ll need along the way. 

Of course, this is just a model.  It’s a tool to use, not a recipe that you have to follow exactly.  I’ll leave you with one more restatement from Syd Field.  He speaks of the three acts as: Setup, Confrontation and Resolution.

Next month we’ll look at the two minute movie.  Until then, BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard.)

Cheers, Jax   (www.jaxmhunter@gmail.com)

(This series first ran in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers newsletter in 2004.)

About the Author: Jax Hunter is a published romance writer and freelance copywriter. She wears many hats including EMT, CPR instructor, and Grammy. She is currently working on a contemporary romance series set in ranching country Colorado and a historical romance set in 1775 Massachusetts. She lives in Colorado Springs, belongs to PPW, RMFW and is a member of the Professional Writer's Alliance.