Welcome back! Happy New Year!
It’s revision time here.
The process where we step back and look at the whole forest of plot points and characters and what scenes go where.
I’ve been using information from three bloggers— Jami Gold, Janice Hardy, and KM Wieland— to sort through weaknesses:
getting a consistent goal on the page,
getting motivation on the page, and
getting stakes on the page.
You noticed the commonalities among those three points?
Getting it on the page! That’s pretty important for the reader.
If the goals, motivations, and stakes for protagonist and antagonist are not evident, or at least alluded to, there’s no tension.
If there’s no tension, why would anyone at all be interested in reading to the end of the story?
Revision Worksheets
From Jami Gold’s blogs on Broken Story and on Missing Motivations or Stakes, the worksheets are simple word docs.
It may sound like homework but it’s much more fun.
I’m still enthralled with my story and still trying to get it all out of my head and onto the page so readers will find it as thrilling.
As I answer questions, if I find I’ve not put this information into the story, I either go right there to write it in OR, if it’s complicated, I’ll highlight that answer so I can go back later and find it after I’m done answering all questions.
It’s not easy work. Broken Story alone has nine steps. I completed Steps 1- 4 on Dec 28, 2018!
Yes. I date each step. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Steps for Broken Story
What are the steps for Broken Story from Jami Gold’s blog? Here are the first 3 steps I completed for my story:
Step 1 - Identify what I’m trying to say in the story.
Here I wrote down my theme, which focuses on coping with various levels of violence. I broke the violence into the different levels and types. The spectrum of violence encompasses: physical, emotional, economic, institutional, societal, and familial. I looked at the opposite of violence and listed what the antidotes are. What does love and courage look like in my story.
Step 2 - Identify what pieces of the story fit with this and what pieces don’t.
Do the plot developments, character insights, story elements tie into the theme identified in Step 1. Do my subplots reflect the theme of dealing with violence through courage and love? Do any aspects of my story undermine the theme and focus of my story?
Step 3 - Are there enough scenes that fit the theme? Or are there enough bits and pieces of theme that all I need do is tweak or shift the scene a bit so it’ll refocus on the big picture again?
I have found Jami Gold’s process helpful for layering my story and making sure I have what I’ve envisioned in my imagination…on the page!