| |
This Month
Character and Plot
The Australian Women’s Weekly/Penguin books short story contest 2007
Berkelouw Books: Stores In Paddington, Leichhardt & Rose Bay
Character and Plot
Dear ,
One of the things we stress to people who come to us wanting to write stories is that character and structure are two sides of the one coin. One exists to reveal the other.
If you want to write a classic story, the starting point should always be the character journey, no matter what the field you are writing in or no matter what the genre.
By a classic story we mean one that has your readers wanting to know what happens next while taking your main character on an emotional and spiritual journey of change.
An article on Shawn Ryan, who created the Emmy award winning cop show The Shield, makes this point very well and it helps explain why the show has been such a hit in America.
Ryan worked with Joss Wheedon, who created Buffy, Charmed and Firefly.
He said, “The main thing I learned from him is to approach stories from a character point of view, as opposed to a plot point of view.
“Forget about the plot in the beginning, because if you know what emotional journey you want to take your character on, the rest will follow.
“We break our crime stories not in terms of who did this and what's the clue; it's what do we want our cops to go through on this particular story.
“Once we know that, the plot will come later.”
If the character journey or arc doesn’t drive your story, it will most likely end up being just one damn thing after another.
If the character journey drives your story, your story will come alive for you and your reader and take them and you on a dramatic and worthwhile journey.
The Australian Women’s Weekly/Penguin books short story contest 2007
It is on again. The chance to win $10, 000 and be published in The Australian Women’s Weekly. We know many of you entered last year and we are challenging you all to enter again. Remember, a professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.
In order to enter your story into this contest you need an original entry form. There is one in the October issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly which is out now on Page 322.It is the one with Steve Irwin and his family on the cover.
Your story can be any genre you choose. The only requirements are that the central character must be a woman and the story length is between 3000 and 5000 words.
Berkelouw Books: Stores In Paddington, Leichhardt & Rose Bay
If you print this email off and take it to a Berkelouw Bookstore, you will receive a saving of 10 per cent on their new books, stationary and at their café. (excludes secondhand, rare books and other discounts.)
|
|
COURSE
DATES AND EARLY BIRD SPECIALS
Unlocking Creativity
This is our introductory course. You will learn tools and techniques to dramatically improve your writing and gain an introduction to story structure. About Live
About Online
Testimonials |
10 Month Novel and Script First Draft Course
Find the story you want to write and complete your first draft in ten months.
Prerequisite: Unlocking Creativity About Live
About Online
Testimonials |
6 Week Character & Critique Short Story Course
Develop and explore the characters you want to write about within the framework of four key genres: love, comedy, thriller and fantasy. You will write a 1200-1300 word story every ten days in each genre and your online tutor will critique every story you post.
Prerequisite: Unlocking Creativity More...
Testimonials |
Advanced Courses Second Draft Third Draft |
|
