Establish the main characters, Define the goal in broad strokes, show the
Arena where the confect will take place.
.
When you are more familiar with the intention of the story come back and hint at the solution.
.
Give the Reader a sense of why they
should trust your protagonist and even care about what happens to them. Give a sense of the cost if they fail.
.
Start the story at the logical place
where everything has changed and the goal is now important. "Start with the day that's different",
they used to say.
FIRST ATTEMPT.[Never a complete success,] Forces the Hero
to limit and define his original broad scheme into a definable goal.
.
Having made a genuine effort and being confronted by the power of the Antagonist, the hero must step
back, look at themselves and redefine their goal with a clear area in mind. This one area will now be the focus of their attempts.
.
ONCE YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF THE STORY,
QUESTION: What is the hero attempting to accomplish? Why
did they fail? What do they recognize as the stimulus to make a second attempt? Can they do it themselves or do they
need someone else. [Most humans with non-magical powers need others; it's reassuming to the Reader] Has the Reader met them
before? If not, return to the finished Discovery Draft and find a way to suggest why they might be important before they actually
show up. Coincidences do happen in life, but they're suspicious in fiction, and NEVER, NEVER solve the climax with a coincidence.
It's sheer laziness!
.
Start soft but make
each blow more difficult for the Protagonist as is support [and confidence] is lessened.
.
Stories are built on the three-part theme of Action/Reaction. No matter
how many changes of scenery,until the Protagonist {and the Reader] have time to grasp what has happened and make an action
in answer to it.
.
The Reaction depends
on the character, shaping them. What will make them more focused on the task at hand? Take a step backwards? Abandon that
avenue? Is He/She a person easily affected by outward circumstances? Or are they so strong willed they will plunge forward
whatever the cost because they are sure they are in the right? This will affect the choices you make in the plot.
.
ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE DISCOVERY DRAFT, go
back and prune! Some actions may be too good to throw away so make notes on them to give to another character.
.
Once you have established the long range
goal as the protagonist initially sees it, the middle of the book will be the short term and immediate actions carrying the
Reader's interest forward with action and reaction, then the unexpected information that arises from these actions will keep
the Hero and the Reader guessing; especially as the villain is given access to important information that the Hero lacks!
.
The first tentative steps may even resolve
what appeared to be the issue. But as the Reader gets to see the Hero and his friends in action, they sense there is something
deeper at stake her then just the hero's ego. Things are seldom what they appear on the surface.
.
These actions lead the hero to make a more defined goal and
THE SECOND ATTEMPT, which also fails with evestating consequences. But this time
the Hero, who is now deeply committed to his cause sees 'THE BIG IF...' . If he can accomplish
this, then he has a chance to make a third and successful attempt to reach his goal. No one else can help
him with this!
.
DEFINE
THE HERO'S GOAL AND THE TANGIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF LOSING TO THE VILLAIN. BUILD THE OBSTACLES AGAINST THE HERO IN LOGICAL
STEPS! THIS WILL GROW ONCE YOU HAVE A BASIC IDEA OF WHERE THE STORY ACTUALLY WENT DURING THE DISCOVERY PORTION. It
isn't enough to stand in the way of the bad guy. The bad guy has to stand in the way of the Hero achieving his/her necessary
and worthy goal!
.
ADD NEW INFORMATION,
DEEPEN THE CHARACTERIZATION AND THE STRENGTH OF THE VILLAIN'S POWER. Make it appear the Protagonist is up against insurmountable
odds, bu the force of their character won't allow them to accept defeat and the terrible loses this would incur. Even if they
don't a definitive plan on the next step, something inside of them impels them forward to discover and implement one!
.
Now! The hero makes the most challenging and difficult struggle
to win - and DOES!
.
Give a brief
'breather' to the Reader, called the Anticlimax. If you can, as your skills improve with daily practice, look for some
small, satisfying 'thump' of satisfaction to leave with the Reader and when you start doing it automatically, you'll no longer
be a new writer, My Friend!