protagonist – Page 2 – Anjuelle Floyd

Of Pacing, Tension and the All-Important Artistry of Holding the Reader’s Attention…a

Author, Ken Follett, writes, “There is a rule which says that the story should turn about every four to six pages. A story turn is anything that changes the basic dramatic situation. It can change it in a little way or change it in a big way. …You can’t go longer than about six pages without a story turn, otherwise the reader will get bored. … Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, follows the same rule. In Dickens it’s the same; something happens about every four to six pages.”

The author of at least 20 novels, many of which are thrillers that have achieved international success, this list includes Follett’s well-received historical works, The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, the latter of which made the New York Times Best Seller List.

Adapted for film, The Pillars of the Earth debuted July 23, 2010 on Starz as a mini-series.

When it comes to pacing, Follett’s admonishments are well taken. But what is he really talking about?

Pacing. Read the rest of this entry…

Of Pacing, Tension and the All-Important Artistry of Holding the Reader’s Attention…a Read More »

Of Setting, Change, Action, and Dilemmas…

Articles and Essays / Anjuelle Floyd

What creates setting, both physical and emotional?

And what goes into creating a setting that stimulates a reader to feel?

What is the challenge of creating a formative and transformative setting?

What needs to remain static and constant in a setting?

And what needs to cry out for change?

These questions point out the importance of setting and the challenge of meeting the needs that setting addresses in a story or novel.

John Truby, author of The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Masterful Storyteller, advises that the setting of a novel needs to include 2-3 separate and distinct places.

His belief debunks the idea that a good story needs to have a list of settings in order to sustain interest and hold the reader’s attention.

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Of Mars in Cancer, Courts of Change, and Travels…

Leave a Comment / Articles and Essays / Anjuelle Floyd

Every story is like a court case wherein we, the author, like an attorney, tries a case of our protagonist.

Who is on trial?

Is your protagonist the defendant or the plaintiff seeking judgment and damages for a wrong committed upon her or him?

If she or his had been wronged then what was the crime and the injury inflicted?

Who committed the injustice?

What cries out for change?

Is this injustice still occurring at the outset of the novel?

If so what does the central character need to accomplish to stop the wrongful act?

The story we craft becomes our protagonist’s quest, their journey to achieve justice and survival, a tale of change and transformation.

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Of Symbols, Change and Arc of Growth and Transformation…

Leave a Comment / Articles and Essays / Anjuelle Floyd

The display the revelations that take place during the denouement and resolution, end, of a novel must take place in scene, not summary.

End of story revelations work much like the action taking place during the crisis and climax points where the immediacy of the characters’ actions impress upon readers the significance and meaning of the ordeal the central character/characters are undergoing, surviving and ultimately growing stronger by enduring.

Just as the crisis and climax point of a novel provide places of major transition and transformation, so to the revelations presented during denouement and at resolution offer one last stage of growth and change.

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Of Revelations, Redemption and Grace…

Leave a Comment / Articles and Essays / Anjuelle Floyd

The greatest revelation in a novel often comes, quite understandably, during the end. The context in which this occurs involves releasing underlying knowledge, all of which provides the stage upon where the ultimate truth of everyone’s motives comes forth.

Protagonists that draw on our senses and emotions not only face tough dilemmas and challenges they also encounter wonderfully treacherous antagonists whose actions force the main character to dig deep within themselves, assess and display their strengths.

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Of Turning Points, Disclosures and Amplifying Conflict…

1 Comment / Articles and Essays / Anjuelle Floyd

Revelations in a novel not only reveal character, but also ideally raise the stakes, up the ante, so-to-speak, which ultimately intensifies conflict.

The opening revelation and/or those of the first chapters of a novel establish the chaos that has befallen your protagonist, i.e. display the problem she or he is facing.

Disclosures during the middle of your story widen the deepen the borders of the problem, thereby expose more of your protagonist’s–personality, weakness and strengths, hopes and fears.

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Of Revelations, Developments and Hidden Aspects of Personality…

Leave a Comment / Articles and Essays / Anjuelle Floyd

Novels consist of a string of revelations.   

These revelations, consistently timed and well paced comprise and provide an important part of plot.   

As such they play and inherent and necessary role in character development.

Revelations lead to irrevocable moments wherein the protagonist, when faced with an immediate challenge demanding on the spot response, makes a decision and acts in a way that forces her or him forward.

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