Tag: beginning
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Of Plot, Nouns and Verbs…
According to plot guru, Martha Alderson, plot can be viewed as either a noun or verb. She states: “Plot as noun encompasses every element of a story. Plot as verb allows conscious development of those elements.” I invite you to visit her blog, and to follow her on Twitter. Her daily Tweets are gems of…
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Of Time, Plot and Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity…
When we think about time, we automatically link it with motion. The most constant things in human history have been the motions of the objects in the universe. So we first figured out how to measure time by figuring how long it took for the various astronomical motions in our solar system. If you move…
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Of Silence, The Three-Act Structure and Death…
Dreams are but stories that possess a beginning, middle and end. Recognizing this Aristotle superimposed this organization of dreams–his three-act structure onto that of plays and stories to render them more comprehensible. Dreams, like stories and plays, hold drama, and their trajectory of plot often includes a dilemma, even if the problem is one of…
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Of Peeling Onions, Surrender and Writing from The Zone…
The stage of renewal in a story offers a second opportunity for rebirth. Unlike the crisis, the scenes of renewal focus on the inner life of the major character. Through the action of deciding and choosing to share the good news of her or his triumph in both word and deed, the protagonist now heads…
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Of Cause and Effect, Twin Universes, and Sacrifice…
The protagonist’s decision to act constitutes a cornerstone moment in the life a novel. It signifies the shift from the beginning or set-up of the novel to the middle characterized as a process of action and reaction, better known as cause-and-effect. Still others term this area of the novel, and quite aptly, causality-and-build. Cause-and-effect emphasizes…
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Of Borderlands, Willingness and Shifts in Consciousness…
Leaving the world as it is, and entering the border between the world as it was, and presently exists in the newly leveraged chaos of change requires courage and faith. It also asks for willingness to acknowledge that one has entered the unknown. Like our protagonists, each time we venture to write a new story…
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Of Cruise Ships, Planes, Ocean and Sky…
Traveling by ship, or cruising, starts with the point or process of embarkation, going onto the ship and finding our room. Your bags arrive soon after that. And within an hour or so the ship sets sail. Unlike with an airplane, where matters move at a faster pac