Is anyone interested in doing some brainstorming/plotting sessions on IRC?
I got the idea from a session I participated in with some other women last week. However, they are writing for publication rather than writing fanfiction and weren't interested in brainstorming about Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
I'll be on IRC
tonight starting at 7:00 Central Time in a channel called
#brainstorming if anyone wants to pop in and give it a whirl.
If you have a story you're stumped on or an idea you just can't quite get off the ground, this might help.
When you throw all your ideas into the ring, usually a couple turn out to be pretty good.
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Some material to chew on whether you participate or not... from
www.ChicagoWriters.com Goal, Motivation, & Conflict
One of the best books on the craft of writing fiction that I have read in the past few years is GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict. It spells out the who, what, why, and why not of good fiction. This article summarizes some of the highlights, but GMC is a great book to include in your writing library for reference and rereading.
Who, What, Why, and Why Not
Just as journalists conform to who, what, where, and when in their articles, so should every good novelist include the who, what, why, and why not in each story.
Who = characters, answering the question, "Who is this book about?"
What = goal, answering the question, "What do these characters want?"
Why = motivation, answering the question, "Why do they want it?"
Why Not = conflict, answering the question, "What's stopping them?"
Characters can make or break a story. Good characterization is essential and there are literally hundreds of books on the subject. For now, we're going to skip right down to goals.
Goal
A goal is what your character wants. Your character should want something he doesn't have, and the more important and urgent that thing is, the better.
Goals can be external (saving her business) or internal (overcoming fear)—or both. Goals can change or evolve over the course of the story, but all decisions your characters make should drive the plot of the book toward these goals. Goals should be believable.
Goals should be achieved by the end of the story, but if they're not, you have to find some other way to satisfy your readers. They're really pulling for your characters!
Motivation
Motivation is why your character want or needs a goal—what drives him to achieve it. The stronger the motivation, the easier it will be for your reader to suspend belief and immerse himself in your story. Motivation can never be too strong or too urgent.
It's important to keep goals and motivation appropriate to the character's background, as all the character's actions and decisions should be based on motivation.
Conflict
Conflict is the reason your character can't have what he wants. Conflict is not an option; it is required in fiction. Conflict is struggle, tension, friction, opposition, or doubt. It is bad things happening to good people and bad things happening to bad people. It's roadblocks and hurdles, both internal and external.
Conflicts produce a winner and a loser. They test your characters and cause them to grow. The strength of your book is in your conflict.
GMC isn't all theory. The author walks the reader through examples of goals, motivation, and conflicts using The Wizard of Oz and other widely understood stories as background. She guides you to create GMC charts for your own work in progress and she includes a transcript from a sample GMC brainstorming workshop.
The book is an easy read and the concepts are practical to apply. And GMC might just make you a better writer.
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Article resource:
GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction by Debra Dixon
Published by Gryphon Books for Writers.
ISBN 0-9654371-0-8
