Daily Archives: June 9, 2013
Kiddy Grade
Is the next anime series I’d like to discuss. It is a science fiction action story despite how it starts slow. The series takes the first six episodes to introduce all the main characters necessary to the greater story. After that it takes a darker turn and follows a ripping plot.
The show focuses on two young women (which is a misnomer) called Eclair and Lemaire. Both are over 250 years old, which is the only part of the plot I’m going to give away. Thus, the show covers the pitfalls of being an immortal in a painful way. While both Eclair and Lumaire are the two main characters, Ecliar’s back story takes precedent in the story. We don’t get Lumiare’s background until the end of episode 20 or 21. Both are very interesting though.
Those who are familiar with anime will recognize some of Dirty Pair Flash in the series because Kiddy Grade is a spiritual successor to the original much like Madlax is to Noir.
It’s another series I recommend watching.
Why the Three Act Structure is Unnecessary in Novels
One of the questions, or comments, seen by beginning writers of many boards is about the Three Act Structure as it relates to novels. This is an unneeded constraint to an author’s creativity. The reason for that structure was originally for plays. It allowed for a slight break at times, depending on the type of drama or comedy involved, along with allowing the play write to organize his or her writing. Once the motion picture was created, then the format carried over. This is where it belongs.
As for novels, and short stories for that matter, the structure is different. These are the parts.
Exposition:
This is the beginning of the story, where characters and setting are introduced. It can be a combination of dialogue and narration or one of the two exclusively.
Narrative Hook:
The Narrative Hook is where an event, whether caused by internal or external forces, that catches the reader’s attention and starts the ball rolling. This part can be called by various different names, but it’s essentially the same.
Rising Tension:
Is the part of the story where the action, or main drama, takes place. It’s where the pressure on the character starts to grow and helps to move the story along.
Climax:
Where the tension hit’s critical mass. Things are settled for good or bad here and it’s the high point of the story.
Conclusion:
This is where the writer ties up the loose ends and brings the story to a logical end. It also is where things can be set up for a series also. How a author chooses to do this part is up to them, but it still remains the same.
I hope this helps.
The Writing Process
One of the many things I read on writing forums are questions about the writing process. I’m not sure why beginning writers ask other people what the process is like because there’s no one size fits all approach to it. Each of us is different and how we approach writing, carry it out, and then edit will never be the same. Some folks can’t stand if they don’t edit as they go along, while some (like me) just want to get the, for lack of a better term, verbal diarrhea onto the screen and then saved before editing. To each their own.
What’s really different between us all is how we are when creating. There are folks who need an outline of everything to know where they’re going, while others like myself just work and work to get the first sentence and go from there. I remember a Hemmingway quote basically saying the same thing. If you having a hard time writing, create the best sentence you can and then go from there.
Me? I’m different in the fact that I let my novels grow biologically. So, there can be fits and starts in the rough draft, and things that seem like a tangent until I rewrite and start to polish. However, it works for me. Another thing I do is to I’m a ‘method writer.’ What I mean by that is I literally become my characters when writing and sometimes it’s hard to break away for the day because it becomes ‘real’ to me. It’s a similar concept to method acting, which people like Pacino, Duvall and Nickelson are masters of.
I don’t not endorse this for everyone.
While method writing gives me a very close contact with my characters, I can see how it would be dangerous for those who are not as mentally strong as I am. It’s very easy to lose sight of what’s reality and that can come back to haunt you. Even knowing that the world I’m writing in is fictional, it’s still very hard to walk away and I will become depressed over leaving. This can be bad if a writer isn’t capable of being able to make that break away.
So, there are literally thousands of different ways of approaching writing. What’s the most important thing, though, is letting go of your darling and letting it out into the world. With the growing surge in e-books, getting rejected by agents and the Big Six doesn’t mean the death of a dream or career. You may have to run a blog and take to social media to market your product. Just make sure it’s a polished and good as you can make it before sending it out.
And one last thing: don’t compared yourself to other writers who have been published. You’re not Grisham, Patterson, King, etc etc. You are you and the goal to shoot for is to be the best you can be and not be like someone else. To do so will do nothing but drive you crazy.
I hope this helps.
Talia's World 