Forum Transcripts

Dramatic Arc 8/18/06

Event start time:

Fri Aug 18 19:03:21 2006

Event end time:

Fri Aug 18 20:31:50 2006



Legend:
Questions from the Audience are presented in red.
Answers by the Speaker are in black.
The Moderator's comments are in blue.

mary rosenblum

Hello all.

mary rosenblum

I hope you've had a good week and are enjoying the summer as the days slowly grow shorter and September looms on the horizon.

mary rosenblum

This is our After Hours Forum, with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We're talking about Dramatic Arc. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out in November) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..

mary rosenblum

I wanted to talk about dramatic arc, because it's a word books on writing and writing teachers throw around a lot. :-)

mary rosenblum

And often we forget that maybe the listener doesn't really understand what it means...

mary rosenblum

or how to make it happen.

mary rosenblum

Essentially it is a description of the 'shape' of a dramatic plot.

mary rosenblum

The story usually begins at a point. As the Main Character encounters problems and struggles to overcome them, the tension mounts and the story 'arcs' higher...

mary rosenblum

meaning that the MC seems less likely to succeed, more obstacles loom....

mary rosenblum

and finally, at the climax of the story arc, we come to a 'make or break' moment where our MC may succeed or fail...

mary rosenblum

it is the pivotal point.

mary rosenblum

And the choice is made. The conflict is resolved, the MC either succeeds or fails...

mary rosenblum

and the tension of the story drops way off as it winds down to a close.

mary rosenblum

Now not every story on the planet follows this form!

mary rosenblum

And you see it much less in literary mainstream...

mary rosenblum

but it's pretty typical of the other genres.

mary rosenblum

That dramatic arc might be very steep...our MC encounters physical threats and dangers and the tension of 'will she live or die' is very strong...

mary rosenblum

or it might be 'flatter' as a pair of lovers wrangle and edge closer to breaking up, or a father and son converge on a confrontation.

mary rosenblum

But it is the engine that drives a lot of fiction...

mary rosenblum

that continuously increasing tension of 'will the MC suceed or fail'?

mary rosenblum

Of course..

mary rosenblum

the question is just how do you make that happen?

mary rosenblum

And that's the hard part to explain. You can 'know' when it happens, but how do you tell someone how to do it step by step? :-)

mary rosenblum

Essentially, you are 'upping the ante'.

mary rosenblum

Think of a story as a series of conflicts and resolutions, not just one.

mary rosenblum

Yes, you have a main one...the central conflict and resolution that is your plot.

mary rosenblum

But as your MC strives to reach that climax, things will get in his or her way.

pthib

is it easier for plot writers or writers that outline?

mary rosenblum

You mean writers who just plot as they go, compared to those who outline?

pthib

yes

mary rosenblum

Well, I don't think it's 'easier'' either way. :-) You have to do what works for you.

mary rosenblum

But if roughing out scenes ahead of time works for you, it will probably save you considerable rewriting later.

mary rosenblum

Because you can get a sense of that dramatic arc before you committ 90,000 words to paper...

mary rosenblum

and adust any flat spots accordingly.

pthib

should you know the Black Moment before you write?

mary rosenblum

It is a very good idea to know what your climax is.

mary rosenblum

I generally know that. I may not know my ending. :-) Or I may be wrong about my ending.

mary rosenblum

But if you know where you intend to go...what peak you're striving for...

mary rosenblum

you can 'aim' in that direction and you're less likely to wander off on overly long side paths that deflate the story.

ducky

Your phrase "upping the ante" resonates - In my big project right now, I've got two characters who are being manipulated by a background agenda. The agenda at work wants these two to move in a certain direction, but getting them to do it is like herding cats. It's one obstacle after another, of increasing intensity. Is that what you mean by that phrase?

mary rosenblum

Exactly, ducky.

mary rosenblum

You know what direction you're heading...your character has a central conflict to deal with.

mary rosenblum

Say our kid is trying to prove to Dad that he's as good as his brother who was killed in the war.

pthib

what if your story is full of "black" moments?

mary rosenblum

Well, your story really needs the one where at that point, your MC is either going to succeed or fail, depending on his/her choice.

mary rosenblum

You can even have more, smaller conflicts after your climax, but right there, he/she is going to choose a path that will resolve that central conflict...

mary rosenblum

or choose a path that will fail to resolve the central conflict.

mary rosenblum

If you just have lots of small peaks, or 'black moments'...you can end up with something like a flat line...

mary rosenblum

and sooner or later your reader gets tired of black moments and quits.

mary rosenblum

Yo'ure not going anywhere...no one thing is at stake to keep us reading (does she succeed? Will she blow it?)

ducky

Can a story be full of "peaks and valleys" but still be marching toward the Black Moment?

mary rosenblum

Of course. Unless you're writing a short short, you build tention and rise toward your peak by throwing...

mary rosenblum

obstacles in front of your MC.

mary rosenblum

Each time the MC struggles with that obstacle, you increase the tension.

mary rosenblum

The next obstacle is a bit more important, a bit bigger...

mary rosenblum

the tension rachets up again.

mary rosenblum

A new obstacle, a new struggle...up again.

mary rosenblum

The early obstacles might be rather low key, and more designed to reveal backstory than raise tension.

mary rosenblum

As you progress, the obstacles might become harder to deal with and more directly related to your climax event.

dwkav

Lord of the Rings comes to mind here. Frodo and the gang encounter one obstacle after another until, finally, Frodo and Sam destroy the ring.

mary rosenblum

Yes, and that complex and sprawling novel covers several major dramatic arcs...

mary rosenblum

but let's look at that.

mary rosenblum

Generally the obstacles are external and physical...they are set upon by the dark riders...

mary rosenblum

on their way to Rivendell, they have to overcome attacks and hardships on the road...

mary rosenblum

but as they get closer to the finale in the third book, the hardships come one after the other in Morder and are much more intense.

mary rosenblum

If you separate that arc from the others in the story, you can see the rising arc very clearly. You have bigger peaks and smaller ones, but overall..

mary rosenblum

the intensity rises to the climax on Mt. Doom.

lore alley

I have a hard time figuring out what the climax of my story is. Lots of tension, just can't figure out where it's going. I assume that's bad :-) How do I fix it?

mary rosenblum

It's not bad as long as you can figure out what your conflict is, lore. Sooner or later. :-0

mary rosenblum

-)

mary rosenblum

Then you can resolve it.

mary rosenblum

Sometimes that is the problem...

mary rosenblum

you're really not sure what the central conflict IS.

mary rosenblum

Especially if you have an action packed story where everybody is busy staying alive.

mary rosenblum

Sometimes you have to step back and ask yourself...what is really at stake here and for whom?

mary rosenblum

This is our After Hours Forum, with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We're talking about Dramatic Arc. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out in November) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..

mary rosenblum

I see a lot of novice stories where characters are hacking their way through attack after attack...

mary rosenblum

and conflict is everywhere...but there is no dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

Just a whole lot of fighting.

mary rosenblum

Generally, you create your dramatic arc by focusing on the conflict of one person.

mary rosenblum

Your MC.

mary rosenblum

If you have a lot of characters, Lore, and you haven't really focused on one as your central MC...

mary rosenblum

you may be having difficulty creating an arc because you're defusing your dramatic tension as you shift...

mary rosenblum

from character to character to follow each one.

mary rosenblum

Generally, you have trouble creating a strong dramatic arc without a strong central character.

ducky

If you have more than one MC (I have two) is it too distracting to swap off conflicts between the two of them - shifting POVs from scene to scene, for example?

mary rosenblum

Not at all, ducky.

mary rosenblum

I usually have two POV characters, and swap scenes.

mary rosenblum

I may not alternate chapters religiously...I might have two chapters in one POV, then switch to the other.

mary rosenblum

But try let both POV characters share the same central conflict.

mary rosenblum

That way both POVs support your dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

They can have divergent conflicts that must be resolved, too...conflicts that don't necessarily involve the other POV.

mary rosenblum

But the conflict they share and must resolve together will create a strong dramatic arc to support the story.

mary rosenblum

This is our After Hours Forum, with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We're talking about Dramatic Arc. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out in November) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..

ducky

Yeah, these two definitely have separate sets of nasty emotional baggage, but it all leads to the same place. Could you comment on ways of illustrating internal emotional conflict vs. external physical conflict?

mary rosenblum

Sure. Internal conflict is going to be revealed through your character's mental and emotional reaction to events.

mary rosenblum

The character can betray that through speech, thought, or physical reactions. (He turns pale. Startles. Clenches his teeth and looks away).

mary rosenblum

The external conflicts are things like attacks, a stalled truck when he has a deadline...that sort of thing.

charie'

If you have multiple plotlines with several major characters all heading for the same Black Moment, do their peaks and valleys all follow the same rhythm or is it better to vary them?

mary rosenblum

YOu can 'trade off' on those peaks to keep your novel moving, charie.

mary rosenblum

While one character has to help granny get to her doctor's appointment and can't do much, the other is spying on the strange family that just moved in.

mary rosenblum

This is one of the ways you create a strong dramatic arc in novels...

mary rosenblum

your main characters can each contribute strong 'peaks' of dramatic action or reaction to keep the tension rising.

charie'

Not just trading peaks and valleys, but more lulls with actions.

mary rosenblum

Well, same thing really. But certainly if one character is taking a break, it's a good idea to turn to the other...

mary rosenblum

and let that one build a small dramatic peak to take the main dramatic arc higher.

mary rosenblum

You really don't want a scene where Nothing Much Happens.

mary rosenblum

It might not be an action filled scene...

mary rosenblum

but someone should dicover something, find something, advance the plot somehow!

mary rosenblum

You want the readers to feel that they are one step closer to that climax, at the end.

ducky

From what you say you could do a regular "round robin" with a "...meanwhile, back at the ranch, guess what just hit the fan..." with any number of characters interacting toward a climax, yes?

mary rosenblum

But of course you do it subtly. :-)

mary rosenblum

And if you have a host of characters, then it does take on that 'back at the ranch' feel...

mary rosenblum

because readers don't have the chance to feel intimate with any character before you bounce into the next POV.

lore alley

I have an MC and I know what he's dealing with. I just have such a hard time focusing the plot to rising arc/conflict/resolution... I like to sprawl, lol!

mary rosenblum

Yeah, nearly everybody does at first, lore.

mary rosenblum

But alas, readers have a very limited tolerance for sprawl.

mary rosenblum

If they don't feel they know where the plot is going, they tend to put the book down and forget to pick it up.

mary rosenblum

YOu can get away with some.

mary rosenblum

Some novels are simply more tightly paced than others...but at a certain point, it's simply flat.

mary rosenblum

The dramatic arc becomes sooooooooo spread out that it now seems like a plain rather than a peak.

mary rosenblum

This is our After Hours Forum, with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We're talking about Dramatic Arc. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out in November) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..

megger

Hi Mary. My conflict is virtually all internal, my MC going back & forth on one more major decision. Does external conflict work better than internal conflict? Wouldn't want anyone to start snoring!

mary rosenblum

Well, megger, many successful novels are based on internal conflicts, but generally, external conflicts support and contribute to that internal dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

Yes, if your character sits on the sofa for 340 pages and agonizes over her relationship with her mother.......ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

mary rosenblum

But she can do things, get herself into corners, have problems with friends, all of which illustrate that problem with her mother...

mary rosenblum

and then we have that external action that supports that central conflict.

charie'

I have two time sequences going, one in the present and one in the past leading to the present. They intersect in the near future.

mary rosenblum

Sounds like a dual plot novel, charie.

mary rosenblum

In a dual plot or parallel plot novel...

mary rosenblum

you have two complete and separate stories that only converge near the end of the book, and generally share the climax.

mary rosenblum

And while you go back and forth between them, they are separate arcs that happen to share a climax.

mary rosenblum

Loiuse Marley did this in her Glass Harmonica, where she followed a story in the modern world...

mary rosenblum

and simultaneously the story of a girl who lived in Ben Franklin's time

mary rosenblum

They converge at the end.

charie'

My MC is a minor part of the secondary plot, the main players in the secondary plot facilitate the MC's story.

mary rosenblum

Sounds as if you have two separate dramatic arcs though, yes?

lore alley

so if I just keep writing and handing stuff to readers, eventually I'll get from "manuscript? oh yeah... that one... " to "hey that was actually pretty good..."?

mary rosenblum

Yeah, if you keep on trying to make things stronger, listening to your readers, analyzing waht you read...

mary rosenblum

that's how you learn. :-) It's how you get better.

charie'

They'll all end up fighting a common foe

mary rosenblum

Which is your convergence.

charie'

I think the convergence is the Black Moment, How can I tell?

mary rosenblum

Will it resolve your central conflict? Can your MC fail there?

mary rosenblum

If so, that's probably your climax.

charie'

Yes

mary rosenblum

Sounds like your climax to me. :-)

mary rosenblum

Some of your early conflicts can simply help create your character...

mary rosenblum

and reveal your universe, while advancing your plot...

mary rosenblum

but as you get closer to the climax, generally, the conflicts your characters encounter have more to do with the oncoming climax.

ducky

Could you suggest a SciFi story or book where the MC's perception of life as a human gets challenged in a big way?

mary rosenblum

A lot of that type of story exists in the genre, ducky.

mary rosenblum

I think you can find some of that recently, in Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio and Darwin's Children.

mary rosenblum

In Nancy Kress Beggers and Strangers.

mary rosenblum

It's a major theme in my next SF book, actually.

sallyk

I think you've mentioned the arc in terms of NF in the past...could you again?

mary rosenblum

You really get 'dramatic arc' mostly in personal narrative, sally...

mary rosenblum

where you're using the devices of fiction to tell a true story.

mary rosenblum

And you build to your climax moment, whether it's humor or tragedy, in the same way.

mary rosenblum

For informational pieces, you're not really dealing with 'drama', in terms of tension and expectations, as you are dealing..

mary rosenblum

with organization so that you lead the reader neatly through a logical progression.

mary rosenblum

This is our After Hours Forum, with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We're talking about Dramatic Arc. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out in November) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..

mary rosenblum

The way you increase the 'steepness' of your dramatic arc...

mary rosenblum

is to increase the frequency of the smaller conflicts the MC must overcome.

mary rosenblum

And you stick to your main character or two, leaving out your secondaries for now.

mary rosenblum

The more often your character must encounter obstacles, the more tension you generate.

mary rosenblum

Now you can...as with all aspects of writing...go overboard with this!

mary rosenblum

And simply beat on your character so much that your reader begins to groan and hope the book ends soon! :-)

mary rosenblum

Remember that less can be more.

mary rosenblum

It's like the slasher movies where they have to buy fake blood by the 50 gallon drum!

mary rosenblum

The blood sloshes all over the scene and pretty soon it's boring and kind of repulsive rather than horrifying.

mary rosenblum

And you can create a story where the single stroke of a razor and beads of blood welling up along the white lips of the cut...

mary rosenblum

will make your reader shiver and tremble.

mary rosenblum

No more blood. I promies. :-)

mary rosenblum

But what I'm saying is that cliff hanger after cliff hanger starts to look very obvious very quickly.

mary rosenblum

Build up to your climax. Maybe your MC is trying to break into the castle. He first has trouble getting by the guard dragon, but sneaks past...

mary rosenblum

then he nearly falls off the wall as he climbs to the window, but he doesn't fall...

mary rosenblum

and only when he has seized the gems is he confronted by the guard.

mary rosenblum

Notice that the intensity of each set back rises?

mary rosenblum

He's sneaking in the first, he slips and nearly falls in the second...much more dramatic...and for the third, he has to draw his sword and fight for his life.

charie'

But don't you want to 'hook' the reader at the end of the chapter?

mary rosenblum

well, you should always end a chapter with a strong ongoing momentum ...something that the reader expects will happen later.

mary rosenblum

A cliff hanger can work, but do it too often and readers start snickering.

mary rosenblum

I loved the first Indiana Jones movie. I timed the cliff hangers. Every 15 minutes like clockwork.

mary rosenblum

But if you end the chapter with the MC's intention to visit the haunted house that night...don't worry, the reader isn't going to leave town.

charie'

Aha. Foreshadowing the next peak.

mary rosenblum

yep.

mary rosenblum

Part of pacing...which is part of dramatic arc...is foreshadowing, so your reader always anticipates cool stuff yet to happen.

mary rosenblum

If you focus on the moment...we do this and it's done...

mary rosenblum

with no sense of 'something wicked this way comes'...

mary rosenblum

you'll have a pretty flat dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

The more you add events that could happen in the near future and cause major problems...

mary rosenblum

the more you increase the tension and steepen that arc.

mary rosenblum

Will the extra troops arrive in time? Will it rain and put out the fire? Will the message get through?

mary rosenblum

If you character plods along dealing with whatever shows up in front of him/her and that's it...you have a video game. :-)

mary rosenblum

AS your character deals with events, more and more probabilities begin to accrue.

mary rosenblum

This could happen. That might not happen. What if this happens?

mary rosenblum

And they build the dramatic arc layer by layer.

mary rosenblum

It's not just action and reaction, it's also expectation...of problems, of successes, of love, of danger.

mary rosenblum

The 'will it happen' adds to the tension and steepens the dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

So you have these tools:

mary rosenblum

frequency of conflicts/resolutions, intensity of conflicts/resolutions, and expectations of events.

mary rosenblum

It's a complex thing..pacing and dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

You'll do it long before you'll have a clue just WHAT you're doing.

mary rosenblum

The nice thing about writing, is you can do it by 'feel'...you know when something works...

mary rosenblum

and only figure out how you are doing it when you try to explain to someone else how to do it.

mary rosenblum

This is our After Hours Forum, with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We're talking about Dramatic Arc. I've published seven novels (number eight will be out in November) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..

mary rosenblum

But this is also why a lot of books on writing don't really get into pacing.

mary rosenblum

They just tell you to do it. :-)

ducky

It is so easy, as a beginner, to NOT trust that gut feeling, and yet, that feeling is usually correct, isn't it?

mary rosenblum

Well, yes and now.

mary rosenblum

Yes and no.

mary rosenblum

You're usually better than you think and you're usually not as good as you think both at the same time.

mary rosenblum

By that I mean, you're probably doing better than you think. Most of us are pretty hard on ourselves.

mary rosenblum

BUT...you're probably not translating what you KNOW about your story in such a way that your readers can share it.

mary rosenblum

That's where craft comes in.

mary rosenblum

It takes some time and practice to see why the story that feels solid to you didn't move those readers.

mary rosenblum

As you get better at translating those personalities and powerful visuals, the sensory landscape and mood into words...

mary rosenblum

so that nearly all your readers share the same fully fleshed universe you do, you'll get better.

mary rosenblum

The story might be just as good...it'll just translate in 3-D living color.

mary rosenblum

That's why a 'good idea' isn't all you need.

mary rosenblum

It's the ability to translate that good idea so your reader shares it.

ducky

Sounds like a dramatic arc to me. :-)

mary rosenblum

-)

mary rosenblum

But a rather flat dramatic arc is a very common problem in novice stories.

mary rosenblum

Especially in novels where the middle can flatten out.

mary rosenblum

When you're doing novel form, every chapter really needs a dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

It doesn't have to be a steep arc, but it should be an arc.

mary rosenblum

And it can end at the top of the arc, if you want to do a cliff hanger.

mary rosenblum

One tip there.

mary rosenblum

If you're going to end a scene or chapter with a cliff hanger...don't pick it up way later in the story.

mary rosenblum

The dramatic power will have gone flat.

mary rosenblum

Come back to it fairly quickly.

mary rosenblum

Or your readers will have forgotten what was going on and the tension is lost.

mary rosenblum

And remember that you build dramatic arc...

mary rosenblum

by increasing the intensity of the obstacles your MC deals with.

mary rosenblum

If they're all equally intense, you get a flat line. And the reader gets desensitized after a bit.

mary rosenblum

Increasing the frequency of the obstacles also steepens the dramatic arc.

mary rosenblum

And as the dramatic arc steepens, your pacing increases.

mary rosenblum

Each scene has its own dramatic arc, as does each chapter. :-)

mary rosenblum

These smaller dramatic arcs are all part of the larger one, the central conflict and resolution.

ducky

Now there is a sticky wicket for me - what constitutes a chapter? I write in scenes but have trouble stringing them into chapters. ??

mary rosenblum

Well, that's sort of an individual rhythm, ducky.

mary rosenblum

They can be one scene or a couple of scenes.

mary rosenblum

Generally, I have a dramatic arc in mind for a chapter...something happens here...

mary rosenblum

and when that something has happened, I am ready to move on to the next chapter.

mary rosenblum

It's a good place to switch POV too.

mary rosenblum

In some genres, chapter length matters...books for younger readers tend to have shorter chapters..

mary rosenblum

but it's otherwise up to you.

mary rosenblum

Some thrillers have many very short chapters.

mary rosenblum

Some novels have veeery long chapters.

mary rosenblum

I think Bradbury's Farenheit 451 has what...four sections?

ducky

So the logical bracketing would be a series of scenes that significantly advance the plot?

mary rosenblum

Or a series of scenes that share an overarching dramatic arc, ducky.

mary rosenblum

I generally do one to two scenes in a chapter.

mary rosenblum

If it wants to run longer than that, I may redefine the chapter and break it into two.

mary rosenblum

But that is my rhythm.

mary rosenblum

I tend to write 15 - 20 page chapters.

mary rosenblum

My buddy Mike Moscoe does like 5 -10 page chapters.

mary rosenblum

Different rhythm.

mary rosenblum

No right or wrong. It just has to work.

mary rosenblum

Well, this has been a fun Oregon hour. :-)

mary rosenblum

I'll have to do a Forum on chaptering.

mary rosenblum

Will do! :-)

mary rosenblum

Thanks for coming, all!

mary rosenblum

I'll hopefully see you on Sunday, although I might be late.

mary rosenblum

I'm scribing for a herding trial. (Keeping score for the judge)

mary rosenblum

I'll post the transcript in the usual place.

mary rosenblum

Writing Craft: Forum Transcript

mary rosenblum

Good night all!

 

Return to Forum Transcripts