Welcome to Gaia! ::

One thing you should know about the S T R U C T U R E of any story is:



A second thing you should know about S T R U C T U R E is:



So what is your S T R U C T U R E?




And a whole lot more — but let’s focus on the main parts that are listed, because they are the most important parts of constructing a novel.


One of the best ways of getting past a part, or knowing where you’re going, is plan ahead! Think of where the scene starts out, then think about where you want the characters to end up after that scene.



©ђα®α©τέ®
__________________________ ______ _______ ____ _ _______
Character: the qualities distinctive to an individual.

Your character is pretty much a necessity in a story (unless you like writing about the California coastline or something). The important thing to note about a character is that it should be well-rounded. Unless you want flat.

A well-rounded character has strengths and weaknesses. You can have your character be a typical Mary-Sue or Gary-Stu (meaning that the character is oh-so-special and nothing is wrong with her or him at all, resolves all conflicts, and is well mannered, all around the best person in the room etc.) But it’s better to give your character(s) certain flaws that he or she cannot overcome. Maybe that person is good intentions, but then a terrible accident caused him to evolve into a ferocious beast.

Or maybe your character is too flawed. Like they do everything wrong and everyone makes them feel bad if not worse. The challenge here is that it’s not some form of an Emo Mary-Sue or Gary-Stu (someone that everyone hates; nothing good happens in his or her life; everything makes it worse. Everything.)

If you’re not sure about these character flaws and strengths, just be aware that as long as your character(s) is developing throughout the story, these faulty characters in the story are okay.






Conflict is the driving force of any novel. Very few stories can get away without any conflict. Some people like a lot of conflict and some people like rainbows and sunshine in their breakfast cereal every morning.

Conflict can come in many forms — it doesn’t have to be conflict re the characters and the plot. It could be that the characters themselves create conflict. Sure a simple disagreement can be resolved in two sentences, but why do that when that character is just so flippin’ stubborn. Sometimes making characters implode in on themselves is the best form of resolution to a story (regardless if it was resolved or not).

Problems related to conflict can be that it’s not done properly — some stories have that mid-life crisis wife who gets beaten by her husband, burns the dinner, is suicidal and cries over spilled milk. Well, too bad she’s not living in rainbows and sunshine land! Remember: with everything a story needs a balance of all factors (unless you’re really, really good at masking a whole lot of drama. This can be accomplished, but you have to know what you’re doing.)



δέŧŧíŋģ
_______________ ______ _______ ____ _ _______
Setting: the way or place in which something is set.

It is important to note that setting is very important — not only during Nanowrimo, but also in the novel itself. During Nanowrimo, nothing can knock out more words than where your characters are located. Use as much detail as you can! More imagery also makes the reader feel like the author put a lot of thought into his or her work.

Whether you know it or not, it’s common for authors to neglect setting in favor of focusing too much on the entire story. Kinda like not seeing the forest through the trees (or vise versa). Remember: always question how the reader is digesting the information in your story. Where is the character? Is he in a room with a knife? Is she in a warped space where she’s floating around upside down talking to her friends? Because if you don’t describe the setting, that’s exactly what it’s going to sound like!

Besides, once you describe the setting you will eventually get more ideas for how the room is set up and what the characters can use. Not sure how the setting should be? Go outside and take a walk. Do people watching. See how people interact in their environment. During your write outs with your region, consider the environment your fellow WriMos are in, then describe it in your story! See? Easy.

Though there are times where knowing the actual building can only be done with the proper research, make sure you do it! Some SRS BSNS readers will be reading and making annotations on the inside of your novel about how nitpicky they are! And how amazing they are at that particular building, and you are clearly not as superior!

...

You know, sometimes it’s good to ignore these people.






Well, who doesn’t have one of these? If you don’t, good luck! Although getting to the magical 50,000 word count is possible without a plot (by only making specific scenes rather than a completely rounded story) it’s still harder to accomplish without it. So what makes a plot exactly?

Pretty much? The entire conglomerate of your story. Why the characters are doing what they are doing. Why the antagonist(s) needs this particular thing to destroy the Earth. Why sparkly monsters and rabid werewolves are humping themselves over romance! You know, your THING that makes your novel the NEXT BIG THING!

Don’t know what your characters want to accomplish? Don’t know why the enemy wants to explode the Earth (I mean, where will he live anyway)? Smart, smart questions — questions you should be asking yourself, or one of our special Structure Wizards in this subforum!



ჩїაїŋģ Ą¢τїøŋ
___________________________ ______ _______ ____ _ _______
Rising action: a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest.

Quiet!

What was that?

s-i-l-e-n-c-e

What?

m-o-v-e-m-e-n-t

...

flck!

AH! The big scary monster! Stephen King probably said it best when he describes terror as the lead up to the monster, and horror, the actual monster. Well, your Rising Action doesn’t have to be terrifying or horrifying, but it does have to explain a conflict and how that conflict is reaching a peak in the story. It could be the crucial arch to your entire plot (when your heroes fight the evil scientist bent on destroying the Earth) or just a small part in the larger portion of your story (a side character is captured, making the rest of the character coalesce into finding her).

Whatever your Rising Action is, be sure to make the best of your verbs. Heighten the situation with strong, aggressive words (bolt, whip, skirt, etc) because if you use passive words (ran, skip, brisk jog) it probably won’t sound right. Experiment with the situation. How do the shoes sound if he’s skirting the halls? What kind of sound does she make when she hits the walls? Always consider the situation carefully to make the work look a lot better!

Some authors have problems in these areas. Some think that if you’re describing the situation in the past tense, then it is okay to describe action in the present tense to give the scene a more immediate tone (yes, it is okay to do this). So try losing the -ed! It may make the situation sound a lot better.






Well, that’s it!

Your heroes have just defeated the evil scientist! Congratulations! You’re awesome! A Falling Action is the moment when the Rising Action ends. When your heroes fight the evil scientist, win, and gaze into the bloodied, bruised face of the scientist, and know he is about to meet his end. Let’s all go out for pizza!

Nothing has been resolved yet, but just about. Once your heroes have defeated the evil scientist, they still have things to do, loose ends to tie up. People that still need to be saved (which would result in another Rising Action subplot). However, this is just the Falling Action, when things have calmed down considerably from the action packed moment two seconds ago. It is common for the Resolution to be done right after this, but not always (what if the evil scientist turns into a dragon? You never know! Those guys are crazy, man!)



ჩέაøℓμŧíøŋ
_____________________ ______ _______ ____ _ _______
Resolution: the resolving of a problem or dispute.

Soooo, just had your Falling Action? Great!

But, unfortunately, that evil scientist guy just left in his secret escape pod. Do they still make those? Guess so, because he’s gone!

Resolutions do not have to come at the very end of a novel — they just need to tie up all the loose ends that the evil-thing-from-before totally screwed up. A resolution is the absolution of a conflict (does that sound funny to you?) — they resolve the problem.

Well, yes and no. Sometimes the conflict will never be solved and can’t be solved, but that’s okay, at least we know that the conflict is over and the resolution begins.







Well, your heroes saved the world from the evil scientist, resolved all the loose ends that needed tying up, and are now honored by the city mayor, governor of the state, or even the president! Maybe all in one!

Obviously, you probably shouldn’t have such a neat, tidy ending, but this does get the point across. Your characters have seen the plot, its conflicts, rose to action and tied up all the loose ends. So now they can go back to being regular old citizens again — or being mobbed by fangirls, but that’s just below the belt.

Conclusions don’t have to be so nice and sweet — they can be dark and dank, ending with a funeral that holds a bright spot ahead, or the villain getting what he wants. It could end in many ways, but you only need it to end in the way that feels right to the story. If it needs a sad ending, then make it sad. If that’s just not how the story or theme flow, then make it happy. You know your own story, make sure it ends well!



τђέოέ
___________________ ______ _______ ____ _ _______
Theme: an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature.

A theme is a many tailed object — they could be symbols within the work, like colors, or an object like a dove. Or perhaps what the characters have learn creates the overall theme. Whatever it is, it’s central to the integrity of the work that you have one.

Even if you haven’t considered a theme, don’t worry, a theme usually manifests itself when you’re writing your novel. It’s up to you to make that theme come alive throughout the story, and end up at the conclusion. If you forget about your theme, then your story could have that unfinished feeling to it. Never neglect your theme!






Sometimes a story needs research — like, what is the element of salt? Is it possible to fling a guy through the air fifty feet and land on a car? Could my car chase contain extra explosions? If so, where?

Research isn’t only meant to frustrate you and make you punch your hand through a wall every few seconds, it’s meant to make your novel look more professional and make it look like you put a lot more effort into it than just throwing a bunch of characters, settings, actions, and conflicts together and saying, “WHATEVER!” then flipping a table over. Sure research can be frustrating, but in the end it makes your novel really stand out, and highlights you as a capable author who can make a great story and do the proper research on the subject material. And your novel is all the more better for it!

What’s the best place for research? Your local library has many nonfiction books at your disposal. Googling everything will only get you so far until you have to read the subject material yourself, and understand it. If you don’t, your SRS BSNS readers will tell all these terrible lies about how lazy you are with your research and how awesome they are when they are a part of the biggest brain on the planet — the internet.

But who cares, they’re jerks, right? And if you want to fling a guy out of the window of an explosive car while diving into a salt mine, that’s your prerogative! Besides, I don’t see any of them making the NEXT BIG THING, do you?