Creative Writing Workshop o s . m e 1 The Story Mix EVOCATION - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Creative Writing Workshop o s . m e 1 The Story Mix EVOCATION - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Aug 21, 2023 24 likes •334 views

Creative Writing Workshop o s . m e 1 The Story Mix EVOCATION ENTERTAINING GRIPPING A GOOD STORY OUT OF THE BOX POETIC/TIGHT PROSE STRUCTURE MESSAGE 2 o s . m e Fastest Growing Genre NON- CREATIVE FICTION FICITON NON-FICTION

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Creative Writing Workshop

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A GOOD STORY

EVOCATION GRIPPING POETIC/TIGHT PROSE STRUCTURE MESSAGE OUT OF THE BOX ENTERTAINING

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The Story Mix

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FICTION NON- FICITON

CREATIVE NON-FICTION Fastest Growing Genre

  • Fabricated
  • Based on author’s

imagination

  • Factual
  • Based on true

events

  • True stories

well told

Literary:

  • Plot is leisurely paced
  • Usually more about the inner life
  • f a character than it’s about fast

paced action Commercial:

  • Action oriented
  • Things happen to

the character from the outside

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The 3 Elements AN IDEA

CHARACTER SETTING CONFLICT

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PLOT

A sequence of events that make up the main part of a story. These events relate to each

  • ther in a pattern.
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PLOT IN ONE LINE

Po, a bumbling Panda who wishes to become a Kung-Fu master, defeats an evil snow leopard, Tai Lung, to bring peace to the valley.

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Plot Made Simple

Know the story – as much of the story as you can possibly know, If not the whole story – before you commit yourself to the first paragraph. If you don’t know the story before you begin the story, what kind

  • f a story teller are you?
  • John Irving
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L.O.C.K SYSTEM

Objective Lead Knockout Confrontation

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LEAD [L]

  • Strong plot has interesting lead
  • Compelling
  • Reader starts to care for the lead
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OBJECTIVE [O]

  • A goal. A wish. A driving force.
  • O makes the lead move his butt
  • O is either getting something or getting away

from something

  • O; will the lead realise his “O”?
  • Classic “O”; threat of death
  • O needs to be essential for L well being
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CONFRONTATION [C]

  • stir things up
  • opposition from other characters:
  • forces = makes readers fret
  • emotional attachment
  • putting obstacles in “L” way
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KNOCKOUT [K]

  • needs power
  • a definite end
  • a grand ending and satisfaction (e.g. justice

has been done)

  • knock the opposition to the mat
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Tell a Story

A Story Idea Turning an idea into a story

A specific character (e.g. “Po”) Setting (e.g. Ancient China) Situation (e.g. Po aspiring to be a Kung- Fu warrior) Resolution: Po defeats Tai Lung A solid character named Po (e.g. Kung Fu Panda) Conflict/Problem:

  • Po is unfit to defeat the

evil snow leopard, Tai Lung Plot graph:

1.

Action

2. 3.

Obstacles/Setbacks

4.

Forward motion

5.

Problem

6.

Climax

7.

Falling Action

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The 2 Limbs of a Story

Plot Structure

  • Is about L and O
  • Sequence of events
  • Intriguing
  • A solid plot unfolds in 3 acts
  • All about timing
  • The 3 Act Structure

Beginning Middle End (e.g. Spider Man)

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The 3 Act Structure Act 1 Act 2 Act 3

Beginning Middle End

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Act 1

1.Lead enters, thrown into adventure 2.Establishes a connection with the reader 3.Lay out the story work; time, setting, context 4.The tone:

  • 5. Introduce threat and challenges
  • 6. Move the reader to the middle

Romance Fast/Slow Suspense Action Drama

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Act 2

1.Confrontation, the mystery gets deeper 2.A major part of the novel is battles 3.Subplots add for complexity 4.Deeper character interactions 5.Set the stage for final battle, climax 6.Hook the reader to the story

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Act 3

1.Resolution 2.Tie up loose ends because readers remember 3.A message and fulfilment 4.Strong ending

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Transitioning

Initial disturbance (initiating incident)

Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 A doorway of no return:

  • A sense of inevitability is

created

  • Push the lead to Act 3
  • Look him through the

doorway (e.g. Uncle Ben’s death in ‘Spider Man’

  • Towards the doorway,

something should happen at the end of Act 2

  • Final confrontation
  • Story must end
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Subplots

PLOT

  • Flat
  • One-note
  • Draggy
  • Too simple

SUBPLOTS

Subplots are simple stands of stories, driving the main plot

  • Complexity
  • Interesting
  • Heighten the action
  • Patch holes
  • Litter clues and info

+ Secondary Characters

  • Strengthen the story

along with the main character greatly

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CHARACTER BUILDING

Diverse Cast Background Secondary Character’s unique voice Strengths & Weaknesses Character’s impactful past Avoid perfect characters Realistic Motives Quirks

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Character Arcs

CHANGE ARC

  • Hero’s Journey
  • Hunger Games
  • Lord of the Rings

GROWTH ARC

  • Atonement by Ian Mcewan

THE NEGATIVE/FALL ARC

  • Shakespeare
  • The Time Traveller’s Wife
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  • Kung-Fu Panda
  • Aladdin
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What’s In a Scene?

Character Plot Setting SCENE M E B

Creative Non-Fiction

Stories Scene

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All Show No Tell

I once had a garden. I can remember the smell of the turned earth, the plump shapes of bulbs held in the hands, fullness, the dry rustle of seeds through the fingers. Time could pass more swiftly that way. Sometimes the Commander’s Wife has a chair brought out, and just sits in it, in her garden. From a distance it looks like peace.

  • The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
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MYSTERY THRILLER SUSPENSE

  • Takes off after the

crisis event (murder)

  • Agatha Christie’s

novels

  • In danger from

the outset

  • 007
  • Creates drama before

the event

  • Ethan Hunt from

Mission Impossible

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F Words

This was magic school? I stood and stared at it; I thought it seemed to be set up to depress

  • us. I saw the green hill rising from the earth like some kind of cancer, and I could hear the

voices of students on the wind, chanting soullessly, as if the wonder and awe of true magic had been whitewashed from their lives. Not sure what to look for? Here it is with the filter words removed. This was magic school? It seemed to be set up to depress us. The green hill rose from the earth like some kind of cancer, and the voices of students carried on the wind, chanting soullessly, as if the wonder and awe of true magic had been whitewashed from their lives. What did we remove? I thought, I saw, I could hear. In other words, we removed anything that had you, the reader, looking at her looking at things, rather than looking at the things she saw.

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Know when to roll… and when to linger

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https://os.me/fiction

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To submit your stories go to:

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The Hidden Power of Subplots

https://youtu.be/DLXwzj59mnM

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Descriptive Settings

https://youtu.be/RSoRzTtwgP4

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Swamiji’s Recommended Reading List

  • 1. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
  • 2. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
  • 3. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
  • 4. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
  • 5. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • 6. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  • 7. The Stranger by Albert Camus
  • 8. Chess by Stefan Zweig
  • 9. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
  • 10. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
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