Tuesday, September 25, 2018

How to Use a Story's End to Help You Write the Beginning


Character Goals Are Evident From the Very Beginning


When you enter a race, what's the goal? To finish, to get a certain time, or to win? It could be any or all of these. But if you enter the race, you're going to have a goal.

Same thing with a novel. Your character has to have a goal. There are both needs and wants. There are character goals and story goals. Sometimes it may be one in the same, but usually not. In Wonder Woman, she wanted to end the war, but she needed to find love. Ending the war was the story goal - the want. Finding love was the character goal - the need.


How to Write the Beginning with the End in Mind || christiewrightwild.com

The Character Goal vs. Need


Start with the end in mind! In Wonder Woman, Diana wanted to end the war. Since that was going to be the end, we know that she had to be challenged in the beginning - with her questions about who she was and who her father was. She spent her whole life training physically as a warrior. That was her status quo. Fighting. It was part of who she was and part of how she would be able to reach the end.

But ultimately, she also had to find love to truly end the war. It was what gave her the real inner strength to end the war of all wars. It was what was needed to help her grow.

Your Character Needs to Have a Goal


If your main character's goal it to feel loved, then you also need a story goal. Feeling loved is the character's need. The story goal then becomes the character's want. What is your character good at? Bad at? How could your MC be challenged? What would they succeed in?

In Moana, the story goal was to save her village and restore health to the island. That is what Moana wanted to do. When she "Gunshot" happened, she set off into the ocean to obtain her goal - her want.

But Moana also had a need. She needed to find her own identity. This need was the character goal. When she became humble enough to listen to her grandmother and her own heart, she discovered who she truly was and what she was capable of becoming - a master Wayfinder. This is what she needed to reach her goal, the story goal, of restoring the heart Te Fiti, so that her village could have fish again and thrive once more.

Your Character Dictates the Plot


The four fundamentals of a novel are character, plot, conflict, and theme. The character is what all the other elements hinge from. The characters actions and reactions dictate the plot. The wants, needs, and goals dictate the conflict, and the ending - how all the conflict is resolved - dictates the theme based on the character's needs and wants and how he or she changed in order to reach those goals.

Ask yourself the following questions.
  1. What does my character want? (This is the story goal.)
  2. What does my character need to do or change in order to reach the want? (This is the character goal, which they probably don't realize.)
  3. How can my character be challenged to make reaching the want harder? (This is the conflict.)
  4. What will my character learn as a result of fulfilling the need? (This is the theme.)



What is YOUR MC's want (story goal)? Share in the comments!



Outline Your Novel:
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Monday, September 17, 2018

How to Plot Your Novel's First Plot Point


5 Popular Examples of the Signup


The Signup is also known as the catalyst or the inciting incident. It's when the main character encounters an event that begins the story. Without this particular event, the story would never have happened. If your friend never signed you up for the local 5k, you wouldn't have run in it. That's the Signup.

How to Plot Your Novel's First Plot Point || christiewrightwild.com How can I plot the first turning point in my novel?


Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark


The inciting incident, catalyst, or Signup of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is when the U.S. government informs Indiana Jones that the Nazis are seeking the Ark of the Covenant in Cairo and they ask him to go after it himself. He never would have if they didn't ask him to, but especially since the Nazis were hunting it too.

Anastasia


The first plot point (The Signup) of Anastasia is when Anya is 8 years old at the ball, and the evil Sorcerer, Rasputin, arrives interrupting the celebration. The story then cuts to 10 years later.

The Bourne Identity


The first essential plot point of The Bourne Identity is when Jason Bourne discovers his IDs at the Zurich bank and realizes he has no memory of his an entire past life.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence


The first plot point in A.I. is when a humanoid robot named David (a Mecha prototype) is given to Henry and Monica Swinton when their son, Martin, contracts a rare disease.

Hotel Transylvania


The Signup of the popular children's movie, Hotel Transylvania, is when the human, Jonathan, is on a hike and accidentally discovers the monster hotel. If he hadn't discovered it, the movie would never have started.

You might also like: The Only 5 Plot Points You Need to Outline Your Novel, How to Plot Your Novel with a Movie Soundtrack, or The Shape of a Story.

What's the Signup of a book or movie you have recently read or watched? Share in the comments!



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Monday, September 10, 2018

Plot Arc Summary of Wonder Woman, the Amazon Princess


Plot Arc Library Movie Outline


Sometimes plot seems so very simple. And other times, it eludes us. Plot is merely the events of what has happened in a story. It goes hand-in-hand with the characters, conflict, and the theme. These four things together make up a story. But a plot structure, the story arc, can sometimes be hard to understand. That's why it helps to look at examples. Today's Plot Arc Library installment and plot structure example is Wonder Woman, the story of the Amazon princess. Below, you'll find the 5 main plot points.



Plot Arc Library: Wonder Woman, Amazon Princess || what is the plot arc or story structure of the new Wonder Woman movie? || christiewrightwild.com



The Signup


If the German war plane had never crashed into the ocean through the forcefield surrounding the Amazon warriors, Diana would never have known about the war and she would not have left her island home. Without this plot point, the story would never have started.

The Gunshot


Just like the runners in a race take off running when the gun fires, Diana embarks on her own journey to help end the war when she sets sail on the boat with the American spy soldier, Steve Trevor.

The Halfway Point


This plot point finds Diana fighting alone as she crosses No Man's Land and captures the enemy trench. Steve and Diana share a kiss.

The Wall


This is the deepest darkest moment, the abyss. Diana's "wall" is when Steve hijacks the bomber with the poison and sacrifices himself to save everyone else.

The Finish Line


Diana's memory of Steve helps her realize that people have good inside themselves and she continues fighting until the war ends.

For more plot summaries, check out Ferris Bueller's Day OffMy Girl 2, Jurassic Park, or Shrek.

What's your favorite superhero movie? Share in the comments!



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