Hooked
by Les Edgerton
(Writers Digest Books 2007)
Do you dream of writing a novel? The trick is getting started. Over the years, I have begun several. I believe that I have written six manuscripts. I though that each of them was a masterpiece, complete, exciting, and destined to ride atop best-seller lists.
My faithful blogger gave me Hooked. Well, I was hooked, that’s for sure. In this wonderful, succinct tome, Mr. Edgerton lays bare the process of beginning a novel. He explains how to, and not to, do so. I must say that I, like almost all aspiring writers, run afoul of the backstory and narrative traps, telling not showing our readers the story. I keep trying.
I first read Hooked several months ago as I was finishing what I hoped to be the final draft of my current manuscript Bite Me! Now that my writing coach and I are on the same wave length and she has given me the green light to keep revising the manuscript, I re-read Hooked on a 10-day cruise in the Baltic Sea.
Wow! I can tell from my highlighting, in different colors for the respective reads, that I have learned and confirmed a lot about writing the opening of a successful story. If you are just getting started on your first work, or your 20th, you will find Edgerton’s information and style to be educational and instructive. The essence of his message follows:
1. Story Structure: Stability + Inciting Incident = Instability + Struggle to Resolve Instability = New Stability
2. Inciting Incident: A scene in which something happens to the protagonist (“P”) that creates P’s Surface Problem and introduces the first indications of the Story-Worth Problem.
The story then involves P’s struggle to resolve the Surface Problem and the Story Worthy Problem (such as P’s guilt over failing to perceive what was boiling in her husband, which failure led to his murder and kidnap of her children).
Should be associated with P’s inner self; a deep psychological problem. The story is emotionally framed as this problem is laid bare (understood by the reader).
Each new Surface Problem must arise organically out of the preceding problem.
3. Scenes: a unit of drama. Each must involve Conflict.
Opening scene:
a. Dramatization of the Inciting Incident.
b. Usually followed by a sequel scene in which delves into P’s emotional reaction to the drama of the opening scene.
Not completely understood by P until the end of the story.
c. Make a stellar opening sentence
d. Backstory: should make appearance only after Inciting Incident, and be delivered as a scene that ends with P and reader at least somewhat aware of the Story Problem.
Language: avoid adverbial qualifiers; use “said”
e. Goals:
(1) successfully introduce the story
(2) hook the reader: intrigue her
(3) establish the rules of the story
(4) forecast the ending of the story
When P becomes aware of the Initial Surface Problem and is forced to take action is one of the most important aspects of a story.
f. Emotion: reader must experience the story to have emotional reaction – i.e., show. It is scene evolution not exposition that emotes reaction. Flatten out words so that the reader experiences the scene as it unfolds.
As I have read many other books throughout the year since I first read Hooked, I have annotated my notes, which is actually quite interesting to review and edit. We’ll see if I can successfully transform all of this study into a successful thriller.
Warms, Cym
0 comments:
Post a Comment