The point about considering how long the story needs to transpire in the life of the characters is not something I had previously considered. Very helpful tips!
Shorten the timeframe is a great idea. I too am writing a heist story and this just makes absolute sense - put everything on a timeline where it looks like the protagonist may not be able to get what they want unless they act immediately. This has the added tension of making bad decisions because they are time-based and has oodles of complications to keep things ticking over from one scene to the next.
Interesting. I had given the protagonist 14 days to solve the problem. In revision, I'm looking at allowing only 3 days. I like the idea of a 'hurry up' script. Thank you, Tim.
Listening to your discussion of the relationships between characters, I realized a new, extra connection I could create between two characters in my WIP that would significantly increase the tension for the protagonist. Thanks!
When you got to Tip # 4, I kept hearing the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want' lyrics bounce around my brain. The Stones added a truth in life and in storytelling, "You just might find what you need." Thanks for the tips.
I really liked #2- Interwoven character Relationships. I had not given this any thought at all until recently, when I actually thought about adding a secondary character into my novel to add a little more tension and intrigue. As I brain stormed who he was and why he was important, I began sort of doing what you described. Now I’m going to go back and work more on this element in my novel, creating a web of relationships as you described. Thanks for this video lesson!
The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin came to my mind instantly from the beginning of the video. It's a short story (that I love), but all the 4 points are covered.
I would add two things about exposition, as it is something I've been thinking about a lot (I'm writing a sci-fi novel, so I have huge amount of stuff that the readers need to know). First, the most interesting and dynamic way of presenting information is through dialogue. Naturally I do not mean putting a lecture in a character's mouth (although that might work in some contexts, too). But the most engaging approach is to make the info part of a conversation, debate, even quarrel. Have people ask about it, question it, deny it, mock it, get angry about it! Another way is what I call breadcrumbs-dropping. You mention stuff long in advance, without much explanation, as if it were something well-known to the reader. This works best with first-person narration, obviously. For the narrator, certain things will be a normal part of their life, not requiring explanation. „I passed the unfinished statue of X - not likely to be finished any time soon, considering the election results! - and entered the park”. This the first breadcrumb, leading to the controversy surrounding the legacy of mr X. But you do not explain it yet; you leave the reader wondering - and waiting for the next breadcrumb. That way you can turn a potential „sleeping-pill” into a source of interest.
All good stuff! In order of my favorites: 1) MV and JIT exposition. This both cuts out irrelevant info AND facilitates wonderful pacing. 2) Interwoven character relationships make the cast smaller, story easier to follow, and overall more conflict, drama, and complications. 3) Protag can't get what he wants. This is great for progressive complications, but you can always say Protag gets what he wants and then something else happens. 4) Shortening the time for characters--I can write a millennium in one sentence, so I'm not sure that's pivotal to excitement.
For your 4th point I took to mean something different. If my character needs to make a trip to see his ill mother and he has a week to plan and get there then fine, no pressure. If, however, he needs to travel hundreds of miles in a day, then not fine, much pressure, big ouch. Meaning : would it make sense to shorten the time a character has to accomplish something? Also consider that many ppl are very good at what they're doing when they are not stressed for time. As soon as you add a time constraint quality flies out of the window. Something like I can do a good job, a cheap job, and deliver it in the agreed for time - but you can only pick two from that combination.
Love this! But, I'm not sure how to apply the first tip about shortening the time frame without compromising the character relationship developments (I'm thinking enemies to lovers trope). I'm afraid of making it feel too rushed? Am I overthinking this?
Though emotional and situational changes in real life are mostly slow, they are usually quicker and quite acceptable in fiction, as long as the triggers are intense. Cf. the time-frame of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
It’s not about length, it’s about the steps or lack of that makes a relationship feel rushed or fleshed out. If you have enemies bickering for twenty chapters and only fall in love after that, it’s not gonna be less rushed than if you condensed the bickering to five chapters. But if you do show a gradual change in the relationship with clear steps that contribute to said change, then you’ll get a clearer view of which events you can afford to sacrifice and which events feel integral or special to the growth of the characters
These are very good tips. The first reminds me of Aristotle's Unity of Time rule. All of them, though, boil down to an overall unity-a streamlining of all the elements.
An exception to the rule, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Unless I’m remembering it wrong, he got everything he wanted throughout the entire story and faced no consequences for any of his actions. I think what kept it interesting was expecting him to eventually fail.
The problem with a short period of time is that it’s not realistic for a meaningful change in characters unless it’s a thriller or a mystery that doesn’t require characters to change.
_Ulysses_ by James Joyce (700+ pages) _Mrs. Dalloway_ by Virginia Woolf (~200 pages) _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens (~120 pages) All great books that aren't thrillers or mysteries that take place in a single day. There are many, many others. Before publicly making a sweeping statement about what is and isn't realistic, it might be worth doing a bit of research. - Tim
Ah…genre plays a part too. For contemporary romance if you shorten the time line there's a risk of throwing the reader out of the story, especially when a character's misbelief is tied to a lack of trust. It's possible to have a romantic suspense in a short time line because there's external forces that are forcing the characters to rely on eachother. Or even a friends or enemies to lovers story. But for other subgenres and set ups, like sweet romance between two strangers, if you try to condense it too much the reader won't be convinced they know eachother well enough to trust and buy into the sudden escalation of emotional intimacy.
Back in the day, someone like Honore de Balzac would overwhelm his readers with thirty pages of expository scene descriptions. And if, as a reader, I felt bored with all that exposition, my parents and teachers viewed it as *my* failure, not Balzac's. Ah, the good ol' days...
"Minimum viable exposition" is really tough. Quite often if you don't tell readers EXACTLY what they need to know three times they will get completely lost.
Oh, yeah, that's definitely not true. What happens more than anything is that readers are so familiar with story that they can keep up really well with MVE. - Tim
@@StoryGrid I'm not advocating for infodumping or anything else, really, just pointing out that the minimum may be a lot more than what the writer thinks it is. I have been in critique groups many times where people told me they were lost and I could point them directly to the information on the page. More than 75% of the time they didn't even know it was there.
We've seen a lot of what you're describing and the problem is not in the amount of exposition not being enough, it's in how the exposition is being delivered to the reader. - Tim
Have you considered that if you're repeating yourself that much the clever readers may DNF, and leaving you with the ones who need the exposition reiterated?
@@dueling_spectra7270 This attitude is exactly the problem: if I think "Oh, my readers are clever, they don't need me to spell it out," what happens? I don't say what I need to say. I use it as an excuse to not give them the information they need. The people making this complaint are not dumb: they've been best-selling and award-winning authors and editors of award-winning publications that are highly-respected in their genres. The responsibility is on me, the writer, to put the relevant information on the page. It's often way more than the writer thinks it is.
I love this channel. But does all the characters actions and dialogue need to be in pursuit of their object of desire, most of it probably, but some of my favorite parts are just characters musing, or saying, funny lines that don’t really serve the plot. I don’t know. Great video. Thanks.
No. You'd have to be pretty heavy handed about it for anyone to notice. Most of the time it's stuff that's mentioned in passing to give the scene atmosphere, or incorporated into action tags…until the biker smashes the bottle on the side of the table and all hell breaks loose. It's one of those craft things that readers are oblivious to. Writers will absolutely know Chekhov's gun is hanging on the wall for a reason.
One way the writer than to make the writing "exciting" is playing with words or style. The best way is to describe in an entertaining way. By the way, I can't stand "manipulative narrative", like they talk to us on something that doesn't let me have an impression or opinion.
Yes, yes, and if you make that Aneel is Eric's lover, and that third person is sleeping with Eric's wife, that's all great. Oh, no, Aneel should still turn out to be the father of any of Eric's wife's children. Perfect.
The point about considering how long the story needs to transpire in the life of the characters is not something I had previously considered. Very helpful tips!
The short time frame was my favourite. That's something I think would be most helpful for me.
I like the idea of avoiding info dumping and how important it is to put myself in the reader’s seat - it’s a new one for me. Thanks!
I struggle with info dumping.
Shorten the timeframe is a great idea. I too am writing a heist story and this just makes absolute sense - put everything on a timeline where it looks like the protagonist may not be able to get what they want unless they act immediately. This has the added tension of making bad decisions because they are time-based and has oodles of complications to keep things ticking over from one scene to the next.
Exactly! - Tim
Interesting. I had given the protagonist 14 days to solve the problem. In revision, I'm looking at allowing only 3 days. I like the idea of a 'hurry up' script. Thank you, Tim.
Listening to your discussion of the relationships between characters, I realized a new, extra connection I could create between two characters in my WIP that would significantly increase the tension for the protagonist. Thanks!
When you got to Tip # 4, I kept hearing the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want' lyrics bounce around my brain. The Stones added a truth in life and in storytelling, "You just might find what you need." Thanks for the tips.
I really liked #2- Interwoven character Relationships. I had not given this any thought at all until recently, when I actually thought about adding a secondary character into my novel to add a little more tension and intrigue. As I brain stormed who he was and why he was important, I began sort of doing what you described. Now I’m going to go back and work more on this element in my novel, creating a web of relationships as you described. Thanks for this video lesson!
The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin came to my mind instantly from the beginning of the video. It's a short story (that I love), but all the 4 points are covered.
I haven't see that one. I'll add it to the list. - Tim
Love the time tip and the web...just started to write a new story and i already see some extra connections and shorter time frames. Thanks❤
Love it! - Tim
This is brilliant!
Thanks for these videos. Im writing a story but I am not a writer and I am not writing a book. These videos are really helpful.
Avoiding info dumps and connections between characters are solid tips.
I would add two things about exposition, as it is something I've been thinking about a lot (I'm writing a sci-fi novel, so I have huge amount of stuff that the readers need to know). First, the most interesting and dynamic way of presenting information is through dialogue. Naturally I do not mean putting a lecture in a character's mouth (although that might work in some contexts, too). But the most engaging approach is to make the info part of a conversation, debate, even quarrel. Have people ask about it, question it, deny it, mock it, get angry about it! Another way is what I call breadcrumbs-dropping. You mention stuff long in advance, without much explanation, as if it were something well-known to the reader. This works best with first-person narration, obviously. For the narrator, certain things will be a normal part of their life, not requiring explanation. „I passed the unfinished statue of X - not likely to be finished any time soon, considering the election results! - and entered the park”. This the first breadcrumb, leading to the controversy surrounding the legacy of mr X. But you do not explain it yet; you leave the reader wondering - and waiting for the next breadcrumb. That way you can turn a potential „sleeping-pill” into a source of interest.
All reasonable points. Thanks for sharing.
All good stuff! In order of my favorites:
1) MV and JIT exposition. This both cuts out irrelevant info AND facilitates wonderful pacing.
2) Interwoven character relationships make the cast smaller, story easier to follow, and overall more conflict, drama, and complications.
3) Protag can't get what he wants. This is great for progressive complications, but you can always say Protag gets what he wants and then something else happens.
4) Shortening the time for characters--I can write a millennium in one sentence, so I'm not sure that's pivotal to excitement.
For your 4th point I took to mean something different. If my character needs to make a trip to see his ill mother and he has a week to plan and get there then fine, no pressure. If, however, he needs to travel hundreds of miles in a day, then not fine, much pressure, big ouch. Meaning : would it make sense to shorten the time a character has to accomplish something? Also consider that many ppl are very good at what they're doing when they are not stressed for time. As soon as you add a time constraint quality flies out of the window.
Something like I can do a good job, a cheap job, and deliver it in the agreed for time - but you can only pick two from that combination.
Thank you, Shawn and crew. My favorite trick was fourth.
Love all of these - especially shortening the time frame. Great job. I had my story at 6 weeks but chopping that down to 2 after thinking about it.
Love this! But, I'm not sure how to apply the first tip about shortening the time frame without compromising the character relationship developments (I'm thinking enemies to lovers trope). I'm afraid of making it feel too rushed? Am I overthinking this?
Though emotional and situational changes in real life are mostly slow, they are usually quicker and quite acceptable in fiction, as long as the triggers are intense. Cf. the time-frame of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
You can have flashbacks, they fall outside the timeline of the story
It’s not about length, it’s about the steps or lack of that makes a relationship feel rushed or fleshed out. If you have enemies bickering for twenty chapters and only fall in love after that, it’s not gonna be less rushed than if you condensed the bickering to five chapters. But if you do show a gradual change in the relationship with clear steps that contribute to said change, then you’ll get a clearer view of which events you can afford to sacrifice and which events feel integral or special to the growth of the characters
These are very good tips. The first reminds me of Aristotle's Unity of Time rule. All of them, though, boil down to an overall unity-a streamlining of all the elements.
So true! - Tim
Thanks man. These are great to put on a post-it note and keep within view while writing. Gonna absorb this. Cheers🎉
Please write more books extending the Dr. Pietro Brnwa series.
An exception to the rule, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Unless I’m remembering it wrong, he got everything he wanted throughout the entire story and faced no consequences for any of his actions. I think what kept it interesting was expecting him to eventually fail.
The best in the game.
These are amazing
The problem with a short period of time is that it’s not realistic for a meaningful change in characters unless it’s a thriller or a mystery that doesn’t require characters to change.
What could go wrong with the best laid plans.
_Ulysses_ by James Joyce (700+ pages)
_Mrs. Dalloway_ by Virginia Woolf (~200 pages)
_A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens (~120 pages)
All great books that aren't thrillers or mysteries that take place in a single day. There are many, many others.
Before publicly making a sweeping statement about what is and isn't realistic, it might be worth doing a bit of research.
- Tim
Ah…genre plays a part too. For contemporary romance if you shorten the time line there's a risk of throwing the reader out of the story, especially when a character's misbelief is tied to a lack of trust.
It's possible to have a romantic suspense in a short time line because there's external forces that are forcing the characters to rely on eachother. Or even a friends or enemies to lovers story. But for other subgenres and set ups, like sweet romance between two strangers, if you try to condense it too much the reader won't be convinced they know eachother well enough to trust and buy into the sudden escalation of emotional intimacy.
How would you apply these tips to a Kingdom building litRPG Kingdom builder?
Back in the day, someone like Honore de Balzac would overwhelm his readers with thirty pages of expository scene descriptions. And if, as a reader, I felt bored with all that exposition, my parents and teachers viewed it as *my* failure, not Balzac's. Ah, the good ol' days...
"Minimum viable exposition" is really tough. Quite often if you don't tell readers EXACTLY what they need to know three times they will get completely lost.
Oh, yeah, that's definitely not true. What happens more than anything is that readers are so familiar with story that they can keep up really well with MVE. - Tim
@@StoryGrid I'm not advocating for infodumping or anything else, really, just pointing out that the minimum may be a lot more than what the writer thinks it is. I have been in critique groups many times where people told me they were lost and I could point them directly to the information on the page. More than 75% of the time they didn't even know it was there.
We've seen a lot of what you're describing and the problem is not in the amount of exposition not being enough, it's in how the exposition is being delivered to the reader. - Tim
Have you considered that if you're repeating yourself that much the clever readers may DNF, and leaving you with the ones who need the exposition reiterated?
@@dueling_spectra7270 This attitude is exactly the problem: if I think "Oh, my readers are clever, they don't need me to spell it out," what happens? I don't say what I need to say. I use it as an excuse to not give them the information they need. The people making this complaint are not dumb: they've been best-selling and award-winning authors and editors of award-winning publications that are highly-respected in their genres. The responsibility is on me, the writer, to put the relevant information on the page. It's often way more than the writer thinks it is.
I love this channel. But does all the characters actions and dialogue need to be in pursuit of their object of desire, most of it probably, but some of my favorite parts are just characters musing, or saying, funny lines that don’t really serve the plot. I don’t know. Great video. Thanks.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤great!
Question: can JIT telling the reader what they need to know come across as contrived or forced, or duex ex machina?
No. You'd have to be pretty heavy handed about it for anyone to notice. Most of the time it's stuff that's mentioned in passing to give the scene atmosphere, or incorporated into action tags…until the biker smashes the bottle on the side of the table and all hell breaks loose.
It's one of those craft things that readers are oblivious to. Writers will absolutely know Chekhov's gun is hanging on the wall for a reason.
Boring my readers is also my biggest fear.
One way the writer than to make the writing "exciting" is playing with words or style.
The best way is to describe in an entertaining way. By the way, I can't stand "manipulative narrative", like they talk to us on something that doesn't let me have an impression or opinion.
The first but all were good
Yes, yes, and if you make that Aneel is Eric's lover, and that third person is sleeping with Eric's wife, that's all great. Oh, no, Aneel should still turn out to be the father of any of Eric's wife's children. Perfect.