Writerly Wednesday - The 5 ESSENTIAL Story Ingredients!!

Again, I stumbled upon an article in Writer's Digest, written by Steven James about the 5 essential story ingredients.  You can (and I HIGHLY encourage you to) read the full article by clicking HERE.  He boils his idea down to this:

Story Trumps Structure

What do you think about that?  Can you throw your ideas of structuring a story with a beginning, middle, and end and/or predetermined plot points and bake a cake instead?  Have I lost you? 

OK, so this story of yours/mine - should have these 5 essential ingredients:

Ingredient # 1:  Orientation

Ingredient # 2:  Crisis

Ingredient # 3:  Escalation

Ingredient #4:  Discovery

Ingredient #5: Change

And like baking a cake....

(source)

We can all start out with the same basic story ingredients, but end up with a wonderful variation of the final product.  Of course - like cake, if you leave an essential ingredient out, the cake falls flat.  Granted - you can tell me that a "recipe" has a beginning, middle, and end.  But, the choices you make with your ingredients are going to have a MUCH bigger impact on your cake/story than the fact that you can follow a recipe from point A. to point C.

Read the article.  It explains these essential 5 ingredients much better than I can.  And then tell me what you think?  Go on ~ I'll wait.  :)

Happy Writerly Wednesday!! 

Writerly Wednesday - Voice, Avoiding Melodrama, and Secrets to Great Storytelling!!

Now, I know you're all holding your breath for the day when I hit you on a Wednesday with original, witty, top-notch, Donea-esque writing tips...right?  Well, go ahead and breathe out.  Today is not that day.  (sorry!)  But, it will come.  Have faith!!  I'm just waiting for an agent to deem me worthy... :)  It's all about the validation, baby!

HOWEVER!  I do have some fabulous links for you.

#1:  "Like, seriously dude, if you're givin' me the blah, blah, blahs about this, that, and the other - shut it!  You get the hand." ~ *palm out*!  

Ah, you're thinking "a tutorial on cliches"!  Nope.  It's voice.  Check out this interview with agent Natalie Fischer on VOICE.

#2:  Omigosh, I read this blog about avoiding melodrama in writing and I just about DIED!  It was THAT good and after I read it, I was like flying through the clouds and my brain was a-buzz with all its FABULOUS tips and ideas and I have to cement them to memory TODAY or I might just seriously kick it!  (Melodramatic enough?) 

If you want to avoid the above suckage in your own writing... (thanks for still reading, btw)  Martina at Adventures in Children's Publishing posted an amazing article about writing emotion and avoiding melodrama by digging deeper. You can find it HERE.

source

#3:  Again I turn to Writer's Digest for some useful writing tips - the offer today?  3 Secrets to Great Storytelling!  What are they? 

A.  Always, always include a chimpanzee in your story. 
B.  If your MC's aren't macking (that's '80's slang for "making out")  They should be! 
C.  Don't forget to kill off an integral character.  You always get bonus points for making a reader cry...

Oh, oh!  What if the chimpanzee kills the integral character while he's making out!!!??

Ah, my bad.  Those are MY secrets to great storytelling!!  (see, told you I'm not certified for advice giving just yet...)

*Actually,  Steven James' article on Writer's Digest suggests that the 3 best secrets are:

1. Cause and Effect are King,  2. If it's Not Believable, It doesn't Belong, and 3.  It's all About Escalation

Please click HERE for the full article and details on these 3 awesome writing secrets.

*Don't forget!  There's still time to enter Brenda Drakes "Voice" contest to win a critique with agent Natalie Fischer.  Post the first 250 words of your complete novel on March 20th and 21st.  Don't forget to sign up!  The link is on my side-bar.

**Oh, and guess what?  I have a secret admirer!!  (Well, not so secret any more...)  E.J. Wesley of The Open Vein had some lovely things to say about me...erm...my blog.  Thanks, E.J.!!  You can read all about me it HERE.

***Friendly reminder!  I'll be out and about in blogger land tomorrow, Thursday, 3/17 - for Colene Murphy's and Alexia Chamberlynn's St. Patty's Day Blogfest.  There's still time to join up!!  Click HERE and follow the girl on the pig!

I have to say I'm constantly amazed by all the enlightening writing tips, generous contests, and heart-felt support this wonderful writing community of ours has to offer.  I hope these tips find you and your writing well.  HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!  :)