Although the importance of talent can not be ignored in the field of literature and art, James Scott Bell, the author of Writing Stories in this Way, insists that writing is a skill that can be learned.
The "acquisition" here does not mean that the novel will have a perfect solution like a formula, but that the writer can improve his creative ability of the story through deliberate practice, thus writing an "ugly" story. Just like learning to cook a dish, the finished product made by yourself is definitely not as delicious as the finished product made by the chef.
The methods listed by James Scott Bell in this book are like cooking recipes, pointing out the common thinking of wonderful novels, which is of great reference significance.
For writers who are determined to write amazing works, the theories and structures appearing in these articles will also be a foundation.
Today, let's discuss what is the plot and what is the key element of the lock.
Readers like a novel for only one reason: a great story. -Donald Mas
A novel is a story in the final analysis, and the composition of a story is basically a plot.
We like to read a story, in fact, we will ask ourselves these questions over and over again:
-What's this story about?
-What happened?
-Why should I keep reading?
-Why should I care about this story?
Even if there are attractive characters in the book, the characters are only one-sided and have no interesting plot support.
The plot can make up a dream for the reader, which is composed of conflicts, stories and experiences.
Therefore, the plot is the internal cause of the story, which is composed of conflict and experience. It is fluent, can be different from readers' daily life, and can provide readers with a new imagination.
Author James summed up the lock system after comparing and analyzing many texts.
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A solid plot always begins with an interesting protagonist.
Excellent novels often have interesting protagonists that make people stare. He may be a lot like you, but he has more courage. He may have extraordinary talents or strange hobbies.
A good protagonist can come from reality and be higher than reality, making readers feel that if it is not God's blessing, that person may be me.
However, I don't think the protagonist needs to arouse sympathy. The protagonist should be driven by the plot.
After reading many novels, I began to say that the protagonist is a calm and introverted psychological counselor. Then something happened, and the protagonist took pains to explain the cause and effect. Understandably, the author uses the protagonist to tell the story, but the protagonist's personal design is out of touch with the plot, which will also make readers read it.
In a word, an interesting protagonist is certainly more likely to arouse readers' curiosity than a mediocre protagonist.
Objective goal
The goal is the motive force of the novel, which pushes the story forward and prevents the protagonist from standing still.
Design a goal for the interesting protagonist and the plot will take shape.
Goals are usually divided into two forms: what you want or what you avoid.
Think back to the interesting novels or movies you have read. Are they all like this?
For example, in The Shawshank Redemption, the protagonist wants to escape from prison, while in Nightwalker, the detective wants to find out the truth and Xuesui wants to escape punishment.
Once you have a goal, readers will spontaneously want to know how the protagonist will achieve it.
Confronting conflict
Resistance from other characters or external environment can make your story come alive.
If the protagonist doesn't achieve his goal so easily, readers will involuntarily worry about him and want to make suggestions for him.
Knock-down impact over
As long as there is a happy ending, readers will be satisfied.
-Background-
Setting the story in a novel and interesting place can make the story come alive.
For example, relationships are usually in high-end restaurants. What if the scene is set in a tree house? Parked on the subway in the tunnel?
Is the picture feeling stronger?
The author should also dig deep into the details of the description object, so that readers can be immersed in it.
-Dialogue-
Every character should have his own way of speaking and never sound the same.
The words used by characters should reveal a little about who they are.
-End of the first chapter-
Read ||| "Write such a good story": How to use structure to stabilize the plot.
* Write it at the end,
The bold part of the text comes from the original text of the book, and the rest is the summary of the author's discussion and reading experience.
The book How to Write a Good Story is still worth reading at present, and subsequent chapters will be updated continuously.
Welcome friends to discuss, and I hope you can continue to pay attention ~
Xiao Gu would like to see one last time. Good day ~