No one can give a magic tool that will guarantee a best seller. But Story Planner is a tool to help develop and write the novel, arrange the scenes, and identify common mistakes.

The rules, ideas, and examples have come from the Glorieta Christian Writers Conference, the Mount Hermon Writers Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, the online course “Write Like A Pro” by Doran William Cannon, and a number of texts (see bibliography).

The Story Planner follows what might be called a blueprinting process. At each stage of building a story, a different format is used. The story is built a little more and a little better at each stage. The Story Planner guides the user through the three blueprinting stages of a written work. They are:

developing a story idea,
developing a one page story, and
developing a three to five page story.

These first steps are important for defining the foundation of the final product. Once a blueprinted a well structured three to five page story outline is produced, the writing of the actual long form work can begin. Help is provided during this stage. Tools are provided to search for common writing problems. These tools can be changed to meet the user’s needs. Storyboarding is accommodated through dragging and dropping scene icons in a tree structure representing the work.

Story Planner begins by focusing on the story structuring. Whether the final long form work will be a fiction, screenplay, play, or nonfiction work, the beginning point will be this structure.

Quick Start

You must have already downloaded the self-extracting distribution file and run the setup file to install StoryPlanner.

Double click on the icon which should be on your desktop. If the icon does not appear, the default installation folder is C:\Program Files\Macy Enterprises\Story Planner. The application name is StoryPlanner.exe.
Click on File.
Select New
Enter a Story Name
Press Define
Select the menu bar Help if you have questions.

Before installing a new version of StoryPlanner, always uninstall any version currently in use.

Uninstall

This product can be uninstalled by selecting Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel.

In the Add/Remove display, scroll down to StoryPlanner.

And click Remove.

Reality Check

At humorwriters.com, the following statistics can be found as compiled by Robyn Jackson.

“So you want to write a book. Well, why not? So does about 80 percent of the United States population according to a survey by the Jenkins Group.”

Writing a book is not easy and does not guarantee any income. First, an idea must be developed well enough to put it onto paper. Writing a novel requires following certain rules; it is an art as well as a craft. Once written, an agent must be found to market it to potential publishers. Once an agent is found, a publisher must be found. Once the book is published, it must find readers in the marketplace. StoryPlanner helps the writer create the manuscript. And, for many of us, that is the greatest goal. We want to leave a legacy to our children and their children. We want to create a work for our church or other organization. Our goals may not be to sell the manuscript. No matter what the goal StoryPlanner will help the author. And if you write, you are an author!

But, here is a reality check as you begin your writing adventure as found on the humorwriters web site.

The following statistics about book publishing and reading were found on www.parapub.com, the Web site of self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. They'll give you an idea of what you're up against if you want to write books for a living.

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.

80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57 percent of new books are not read to completion.

70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.

70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.

(Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroup.com)

53 percent read fiction, 43 percent read nonfiction. The favorite fiction category is mystery and suspense, at 19 percent.

55 percent of fiction is bought by women, 45 percent by men.

(Source: Publishers Weekly)

About 120,000 books are published each year in the U.S.

(Source: www.bookwire.com)

A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.

A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.

(Source: Authors Guild, www.authorsguild.org)

On average, a bookstore browser spends 8 seconds looking at a book's front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back cover.

(Source: Para Publishing, www.parapub.com)

Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.

(Source: Veronis, Suhler & Associates investment banker)

The First Screen

When beginning, the application work page looks like this:

The only options available are to use the file menu, select help, or define text analysis button defaults. Selecting the file menu gives the options to begin working.

The File Menu Options

These selections have to do with opening, creating, and saving story files.

New - Create a new story from scratch. This command sets up the framework for a new story and lets you begin editing.
Open - Open an existing stroy file to continue editing it.
Save - This will save any work you have done.
Save As – Lets you save the work to a name you choose.
Close - Closes an open file if there is one open. It does not exit the application.
Exit - Exit the application.

Once you have either begun a new work or opened a file of an existing work, the Story Planner presents you with a working form within which you can design your work. A number of menu options, buttons, and input fields are provided as described below.

Defaults

The Defaults menu option lets the user redefine text analysis buttons as desired or reset them to their initial values. The text analysis buttons are used on the Scene Edit form.

Redefine

This choice affects the options presented during textual analysis. By clicking on a button, the color can be changed, the button text can be changed, the strings for which it searches can be changed, and the rollover help can be changed. A defined button’s definition can also be deleted if the user no longer finds it useful. The Redefine option is discussed in more detail later.

Create

This choice affects the options presented during textual analysis. The create button sets the buttons to their initial values. A dialogue form is displayed showing the results of the operation. The Create option is discussed in more detail later.

The Working Form

Once you open an existing Story File or start a new one, the Working Form is made available. The flow of developing a story runs from left to right across the menu bar at the top of this form. The tool bar buttons and the Scene Layout panel function as a Story Board for defining and arranging scenes. The Scene Pool panel provides a place for scenes to reside before the author knows where in the structure they might go. The Dramatic Elements and Character panel reflects the contents of a scene that is selected and highlighted in the Scene Layout panel. Go the Scenes section for an in depth description of the Story Boarding and Scene Development. The process of creating a novel begins with the Story Idea.

The Story Idea

The one page story idea is a process of discovery. Write ideas quickly and don't worry about process or structure. But DO write in the form of a beginning, middle, and end.

Here's an example of a fairly well developed story idea for a modern fable.

An older gentleman with a white beard fills in for Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. When asked his name, he says he’s Kris Kringle.

Doris, the woman in charge of the parade, does not believe in Santa Clause. Her daughter Susan had learned her mother’s cynicism. Fred, a lawyer, loves them both, sees the magic of Christmas, and comes to see the possibility that Kris is special. Kris tries to get the Doris and Susan to see the magic of Christmas. He makes his value as a person dependent upon the success of this goal. But he meets resistance and doubters all along the way, typified by the store psychologist.

In the end, the girl’s Christmas wish comes true leaving the question: was Kris really Santa Claus?

Please note that a well developed story idea may take three or four tries. But it is just an idea; and, at this stage, it is not yet so well developed that it can stand as a well structured story outline. This story idea is the basis for The Miracle on 34^th Street.

The Story Idea menu item gives 4 options to choose from.

Beginning – Write a beginning.
Middle – Write a middle.
End – Write an end.
Create the Story Idea – A Rich Text document is created from the defined Beginning, Middle, and End.

Once this high level story idea has been created, some Initial Definitions need to be made.

Initial Definitions

Initial definitions include the major Dramatic Elements. These elements are unseen values which are implemented along the timeline of the three act format. The major Dramatic Elements are Passion, Theme, Character, Premise, and Story. The Initial Definitions Menu contains 10 options as described below including the Dramatic Elements and a refinement of Beginning, Middle, and End. The first definition to be developed is Passion.

Passion

This is a quantification of what is drives the author to write. It is built upon some human condition and is a tie that binds the author to the reader. The reader should feel what the author feels; he should be drawn into the emotion of the story. The author should determine what makes a work important—why he/she wants to write it.

What is there about the story that invokes a passion?

Describe the passion.

Why is this story important?

Your passion is a tool. Let it be the guide to the theme. Passion gives a heart and soul to the story. Passion leads to a definition of Theme.

Theme

Theme is set into motion by a Passion for some human condition. It is the trunk to which story and plot must adhere, like limbs, sprouting from bottom to top, beginning to end. Since the theme is the underlying point and purpose of the story, it is repetitively apparent behind the scenes like the melody of a song. As the structure develops, test story ideas by asking whether each story element suits the theme. It the theme is “parents don’t know what it’s like being a youth in today’s world,” the protagonist might be a teenager or a parent. He/she won’t be a single 25-year old. What takes place in story and plot should likewise be in line with the theme. Theme is used to develop the Premise for the story.

Premise

The premise combines the Theme and the character flaw of the main character. Premise is the basic story idea in but a few words and combines the force of the main character and his mission as a What if question. For example, what if Santa Claus came to New York City during the Christmas season, sees a lack of the Christmas spirit, begins to doubt his purpose in life, and decides to use a cynical young child as test—if he can convince her that Christmas is special, then his life has meaning. Development of a strong protagonist and a strong theme should lead to a strong premise. After defining the premise, which involves identification of a flaw in the main character, it is time to give more meat to the Protagonist.

Protagonist

Something must motivate the main character. This is what drives the story. Character, as a Dramatic Element, is defined by the inner conflict or flaw of the main character. (This flaw is discussed in greater detail in the Introduction to Character Definitions.) The goals for which the story is written must be exemplified in the main character. What motivates the protagonist, what hurts him/her, where are his/her weaknesses. The author must be immersed in the protagonist. The main character’s inner conflict must be what moves the story along. Usually the protagonist seeks to overcome his flaw. In the case of a fatal flaw, he succeeds. In the case of a tragic flaw, he fails and, in some way, dies. The Antagonist brings conflict into the story and is defined next.

Antagonist

The antagonist is driven by the main character’s flaw as much as the main character is driven. This is what develops the conflict between them. The antagonist has his own flaw, a tragic flaw. He has no intention of overcoming it. Rather, he embraces it and lets it fuel his fire against the protagonist. In the end, the antagonist and his tragic flaw must be overcome by the protagonist. After defining Passion, Theme, Premise, Protagonist, and Antagonist, it is time to develop—at a high level—the Story and Plot.

Story and Plot

Light and darkness, good and evil, yin and yang, Story and Plot—some things are go together and need each other to exist. “Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage.” A carriage without a horse is fairly useless. A plot with out story is useless. Story and Plot need each other in the context of a novel. Story is the emotion that moves the reader along the plot. The plot is the physical context within which emotions are exposed and experienced. Story activates Plot which carries Story along the 3 act timeline. Sadness is emotion; tears are plot. Readers want to experience the emotions of the characters. They want to feel the Story. The author must take pains to show emotion and not just tell it. Story is the most important of the two and yet the most difficult. When it comes to emotions, remember to show them, not tell them. Instead of saying a character is sad, show it through what he/she feels (he felt he had been turned upside down and emptied out) and through his/her external reactions to the emotion (she shook uncontrollably, longing to stifle her sobs). Various physical actions along the time timeline are called plot points. If a plot point has little or no emotional value, consider removing it. Now it is time to develop Beginning, Middle, and End a little more fully.

Beginning, Middle, and End

Beginning (Act 1), Middle (Act 2), and End (Act 3) here are continuations of the definitions used under the Story Idea menu option. Expand on these. Consider life—childhood, striving, resolution—beginning, middle, end. This is the way with a literary work. With this done, create a One Page Story Idea.

The One Page Story

The One Page Story Idea is the next menu item. It compiles the Initial Definitions into a single text that can be saved as a Rich Text File. It is a description of the work’s basic organization and can be shared with a critic for feedback on the initial ideas.

Here are some simple questions that must be clearly visible in the One Page Story:

What is the story (emotional)?
Who is the main character?
What does that character want?
What is his/her inner struggle?
Is there a sense of events bringing change to the protagonist's character?

Address how the protagonist impacts the story and brings about a dramatic change? What is the final resolution of the story? The details of the plot need not be spelled out, except those that affect understanding of the story. For example, the setting, if it is historical, may be important. The One Page Story should also be read looking for presumptions. Has critical information been left out that a reader would need to know?

A One Page Story idea can contain all the critical information needed to describe the work. The writer can discover hidden ideas, or subconscious drives. How well the idea is organized reveals the clarity of the writer’s mind on the story. If the One Page Story Idea is not understood, the story will not be understood. It should be written and rewritten until the idea is clearly discernable. Canon, in his class, says, “The greatest value of writing down what you are thinking is to discover what you are thinking.”

The story idea should begin: “The story of a man/woman who—.” If your work is going to be emotion in words, it usually should be about a flesh and blood, feeling person. This should be an introduction of the main character. Don’t develop the One Page Story around the plot (physical), but an emotional dilemma. Begin with emotional and moral issues involving the protagonist. Once done, blend story and plot together. Then develop a quick verbal pitch to describe your story. Add a few more details about the protagonist, the plot, and other key characters and then share the One Page Story with a critic to help evaluate the idea. The One Page Story Idea can be saved to a rich text-file.

Developing a One Page Story Idea for a favorite movie or book is good practice.

Now it’s time to develop the characters.

The Menu

The only choice under the One Page Story Idea menu option is to create an RTF file of the One Page Story. The Passion, Theme, Premise, Beginning, Middle, End, Protagonist, Antagonist, Story, and Plot are combined for the Story Idea. It is not to be a final version but will require your editing. This menu option just compiles your definitions of what should be included in the Story Idea.

Define Characters

Characters are not just “people who do things in a story.” Each character serves a larger purpose by reflecting specific activities or attributes which are key steps in the story’s problem-solving process. Depending upon the genre of your story or even with whom you are speaking, the cast of character archetypes varies. The Story Planner identifies eight character types and a ninth that you can define however you want. None of these are mutually exclusive characteristics. Also, a character can serve more than one function, and his or her primary function can change as the story progresses. The Protagonist and the Antagonist are the two most important characters. The menu options for this item are the character choices. Before describing these choices, some groundwork needs to be laid in an introduction.

Introduction

Character Drives the Story

Inner Conflict

The main character’s experiences, emotions, and actions are what drive the story forward. Character encompasses the motivations of the protagonist. The author must get into the head of the main character—know what he/she is thinking, what his/her conscious and subconscious reactions will be. The protagonist’s inner conflict must by the felt by the author. The main character must be made to conform to the authors will in directing the story and plot.

The main character must have an inner conflict, or flaw, that drives him/her and moves the story forward. Passion gives birth to Theme which translates into character which drives the story. As the work evolves, the story becomes the main character’s life. He/she will drive the story more than the author. As the story progresses, the main character will help define the other characters. They exist only for the benefit of the main character. As such, they should adhere to the theme and be driven by the protagonist’s inner conflict. It is the protagonist struggling with the inner conflict or flaw that drives the story forward. In the Miracle on 34^th Street, it is Kris’s self doubt that drives the story forward.

When we boil down the dramatic elements thus far:

Passion will yield theme.
Theme will yield character.
The character of your protagonist is driven by his or her inner conflict.
And inner conflict will, in turn, drive the story.

While inner conflict may drive the story, there is a corresponding outer conflict that drives plot.

Fatal Flaw and Tragic Flaw

The protagonist has a flaw that results in inner conflict. Without this, there is no story.

Kris Kringle’s flaw is his growing lack of self-confidence in who he thinks he is. If he didn’t need to convince the woman and her daughter who he is, where would the story be? Everything turns around who he believes himself to be. Even the antagonist is driven by the protagonist’s flaw, as is the case in Miracle on 34^th Street. A story requires a flaw in the protagonist—an inner conflict that maps into an outer conflict that drives the plot.

A flaw can be either fatal or tragic. A fatal flaw in the protagonist can and must be overcome. A tragic flaw is typified by the character’s death. As in the case of Hamlet, it is possible for the protagonist to have a tragic flaw. The antagonist is driven by his own flaw, usually tragic. But the motivation comes from the protagonist’s flaw.

While the protagonist seeks to resolve his/her flaw, the antagonist embraces his flaw to the end. As the protagonist interacts with the antagonist, he/she overcomes the flaw and the inner conflict is resolved.

Protagonist/Antagonist Interaction

It’s been said that all fiction reflects a basic conflict between good and evil. Usually, the protagonist exemplifies good and the antagonist evil. The flaw in the main character is “evil” that needs to be overcome, removed, and defeated. Evil in the antagonist is his nature. In story then, we have good versus evil…protagonist versus antagonist. Stereotypically, the protagonist is painted white by the author and the antagonist black. They are extremes wrapped in a persona. But the author must not make it too obvious. Cover their black and white in colorful clothing.

In Miracle on 34^th Street, Kris is caught between good—his role as Santa Claus—and evil—the lack of belief in the Spirit of Christmas, typified by the store psychologist. Kris’ need for acceptance leads to his demoralization as both Susan and Doris reject his claims. In the end, lawyer Fred wins the trial for Kris, Susan gets her wish, and Doris rekindles her childhood hopes for Christmas. They believe in Kris.

The main character, known as the protagonist, represents the forces of good and the antagonist, that character in your story who works against the protagonist, represents the forces of evil. A story cannot be written successfully without an antagonist to offset the protagonist.

In contemporary terms, the protagonist becomes the hero when he/she overcomes the external conflict and wins the battle of the internal conflict. The reader wants to see the protagonist succeed. Likewise, the reader has antipathy for whatever stands in the way of the hero’s success. This is the general rule. Even the variations are based on sympathy for the protagonist. It is possible to have the protagonist experience an internal conflict that, should he/she win, the result would be bad. There are always nuances and variations but the basic relationship remains—protagonist versus antagonist, good versus evil—and the reader wants the hero to succeed, whether that means he/she wins or fails in the quest.

Now let’s look at some detailed thoughts about the Protagonist and the Antagonist.

The Protagonist

The character of the protagonist is complex, an extension of the author, and also as complicated as the reader or the audience. The author should experience life through his main character’s eyes, feel the flaw, feel what drives him/her. This character needs to be defined.

Doran William Cannon in his “Write Like A Pro” class, lists 13 characteristics of the protagonist.

He or she is the main character of your story.
There is only one protagonist.
If the protagonist is portrayed as a woman, it is a plot point. As an emotional story point, however, the protagonist is a masculine role.
He/she must be an active character. He/she cannot be a passive victim. If he is victimized at first, then the audience must sense that within his character there is an active persona which will eventually take action to remedy the situation. If your character seems to be passive, but later turns that perception around and takes action to defeat the antagonist, then your character qualifies as having been active all along.
It is required that your story have a main character. There may be Three Musketeers but one of them will stand out as the protagonist. The character known as Algernon was the primary musketeer, and the other two were his sidekicks.
He must embrace a cause greater than himself. This cause could be as large as saving a city from a mad bomber, or as small as saving his own marriage. . .but if he were to save his own marriage, it would have to be for the sake of his child or some other cause greater than himself. At the outset of your story, the protagonist does not yet embrace this larger cause, but learns to do so as he works out his own inner conflict.
He will be driven by his inner conflict, revolving around his character flaw.
His or her inner conflict will be the key to the protagonist's character. His or her inner conflict is story. The inner conflict of any other character, even the antagonist's, must be considered to be plot. All other characters in the drama are attached to the protagonist's inner conflict. You, as author, and we, as audience must only feel for the other characters as they may be associated with the protagonist and his inner conflict.
His flaw is usually a fatal flaw, that flaw which can and will be overcome.
His inner conflict must be sympathetic to the audience. The audience must be able to root for him to prevail over the antagonist in the end. (The character of Hitler, for example, cannot be the protagonist of a story, unless you want Hitler to win in the end.)
The protagonist will appear at the very beginning of your story. Even if the protagonist does not appear at the very beginning of the story, the story will still be rooted in his Character. The other characters will establish themselves around his story, and if they are waiting for him to appear for too long a time, the audience will get restless. It is better, therefore, to introduce your protagonist at the very beginning.
There will be a character in the story who represents Good and who will help the protagonist see his own flaw so that he can defeat the antagonist. This character could be a best friend, a brother, or even a nemesis.
In every way, the protagonist will be the most complex character in your drama. Each of the other characters will be simple by comparison. That is because each of the other main characters will draw his or her persona from only one facet of the main character's persona. For example, the primary purpose of a best friend or sidekick of the protagonist could be to have conversations with the protagonist to reveal his thoughts to the audience, and to inspire him to do the "right thing."

A story cannot exist without the protagonist. Plot and Story revolve around him/her. All other characters are defined in terms of the protagonist and exist only in so far as they interact with that character. The role of protagonist, however, need not be one person; it can be two as in the Odd Couple. And consider the case where the protagonist’s worst enemy—the Antagonist—is himself.

The Antagonist

Nest to the Protagonist, the most important character is the antagonist, the one around whom the Protagonist’s life revolves. They are opposites in conflict. The antagonist does not exist in a vacuum; he exists to test and try the protagonist who, in turn, is seeking the “demise” of the antagonist.

Doran William Cannon in his “Write Like a Pro” class, lists 8 characteristics of the antagonist

He or she is a mirror of the protagonist.
He/she is active, not passive.
If the antagonist is a female, that will be the writer's choice as a plot point, but as a story point, she will be working off of a masculine base. The villain is always masculine in nature.
He represents the dark side of the protagonist. Whatever the protagonist does that is good, to resolve his/her inner conflict, the antagonist will try to do something bad to counteract it.
His flaw is a tragic flaw. That will be a test for you as a writer. If he does not have a tragic flaw, then he is not the antagonist. If he does have a tragic flaw, then he is the antagonist. Characters in your story other than the protagonist or the antagonist may have a flaw in their character, but their flaws should remain simple and two-dimensional. Only the flaw of the protagonist and the antagonist may be complex.
Often, a nemesis will act as a decoy, so as to further disguise the antagonist in the early part of the story. At first, it will appear that the nemesis is an agent for the antagonist. Yet, as early as the second act, the nemesis will show his or her true colors to be a friend of the protagonist, and the true antagonist will then be revealed. It is possible that this revelation will be made to the audience first. The audience will then be in suspense, rooting for the protagonist to find out the truth, until the truth is revealed to the protagonist in the story.
The antagonist will try to disguise himself and his true motives until he is ferreted out by the protagonist. Once known, he will be appear to be even more brave than the protagonist, but it will be the combination of his tragic flaw and the resolution of the protagonist's fatal flaw that will dictate his ultimate defeat at the hands of the protagonist.
Even though the antagonist is a mirror of the protagonist, he is not three-dimensional. A mirrored image is two-dimensional. The antagonist will always be an extension of the protagonist.

The Antagonist as a Great Character

To make the protagonist a strong, memorable character, the antagonist must not be easily overcome. The struggle should be difficult. The antagonists character must be strong and complex. This forces a stronger and more memorable protagonist.

In Silence of the Lambs, the evil and strength of Hannibal forces us to see Clarice as that much greater of a character as they take a psychological descent into the hell of madness. Without Lecter, what kind of character would there be in Clarice?

The key to a good story is the development of the inner conflicts in these two opposite characters and then the revealing of these conflicts in the plot. In the end, the protagonist wins because he/she overcomes the inner-conflict.

The antagonist may not always character. For example, in a love story, the object of the protagonist’s affection may at first appear to be the antagonist. But, in the end, it may be the forces ( a person, an idea, tradition, etc.) that keep them apart.

Both the protagonist and antagonist become real as they act and interact within the realm of the story. The story should build around this, revealing truths to the reader but keeping some from characters. The reader is looking into the world that is the story. A plot/story only has meaning as it is perceived by the reader. Therefore, the author should feel the story as it is written. That is also why it is important to get feedback from friends or critique groups as the story comes to life on paper. While it is important for the author to be part of the story, that very relationship may result in writing that assumes knowledge on the part of the reader that does not exist. Critiques by others will point that out.

Development of the protagonist and the antagonist and their relationship evolves over the timeline of the story. Some help is given in the layout of the basic scenes as given in the Scene Layout panel of the Work With the Scenes form.

But most stories contain more than just a Protagonist and Antagonist. These Characters should be somewhat defined early on.

Defining Characters

Character development is important. There are a wide variety choices concerning the depth to which characters are defined. Three are included here: Dramatica Pro, Character Background by Tracie Peterson (author and writer), and Character Background by Nancy Rue (author).

After considering how one defines a character, use the Menu Options for Defining Characters to actually assign archetypical roles to your characters. These roles are discussed beginning with the Protagonist.

Dramatica Pro

Dramatica Pro, another computerized aid for authors, provides a set of criteria to use when defining a character

Name:

Gender:

Form: Single

Description:

Role:

Extended Role:

Story Activities:

Physical Traits & Mannerisms:

Affiliations & Beliefs:

Skills & Occupations:

Interests:

Background & Family History:

Character Type: Protagonist, Antagonist, Skeptic, etc.

Characteristics:

Motivation: role in story. I.e. Disbelief; Oppose

Methodology: how does character operate? I.e. Induction; Nonacceptance

Evaluation: Non-Accurate; Process

Purpose: Chaos; Change

Character Background Sheet by Tracie Peterson

Tracie Peterson is Managing Editor for Barbour Books. She suggests the following list of 100 items for character definition. Some may be more important than others for any specific character.

Name?
Birthday and age?
Hair color?
Hair style?
Eye color?
Facial features?
Body type?
Distinguishing body features?
Type of clothes most often worn?
Pet peeves about appearance?
Body features that boost confidence?
Thing people generally notice first about appearance?
Location – where do they live?
Have they always lived here?
Do they lice this location?
Why?
If they don’t like the location – why?
What is the occupation?
Was this the occupation they’d always desired?
If not, what is their dream occupation/career?
What is the character’s educational background?
How did they do in school?
If they did really well – what were the ramifications?
If they did poorly – what were the ramifications?
Financial information – how is the character set financially?
What kind of spender are they?
Do they budget and account for every dime or do they just sort of squeak by month to month?
What kind of house to they live in?
What kind of furnishing do they have?
What kind of furnishings are important to them?
What are their hobbies?
Why do they gravitate toward their hobbies?
What are their personal goals?
What is the deepest unfulfilled desire of their heart?
What is the thing they are most proud of accomplishing?
What is the thing they are least proud of having done or been a part of?
What was their childhood upbringing like?
What is their relationship with their parents?
What are they looking for in their friendships?
What kind of friends do they have?
From what circle have they found their friends? Church – work – school – neighborhood, etc.?
How do their friends affect their life?
What personality traits are most evident in your character?
What one trait are they better known for than any other?
What kind of love life does the character have?
Have they ever been in love?
If so, how did that experience affect their life?
If not, how has that affected their life?
What do they want in a romantic relationship?
What are they looking for in a mate?
Do they even desire to marry?
Do they want a family?
If so, why?
If not, why?
If your character had one day to lice - how would they spend that day?
What is their idea of the ideal vacation site?
What is their idea of the perfect way to spend a quiet day?
Do the like to read?
What to they like to read?
Do they like to watch movies of television?
What do they like to watch?
What kind of music do they like = of do they like music?
Do they have siblings?
What kind of relationship do they have with their siblings?
Why?
How does this affect the story of does it affect the story?
What are their political interest?
How involved are they in current events?
How involved are they in their surrounding community needs?
What type of causes are they involved with?
What is their general health?
Have they ever had a close brush with death?
If so, how did it come about?
What kind of bearing does their health of body condition have on the story?
If they could change one thing about their body – what would it be?
Does this desire affect their relationships with others?
What kind of car to they drive?
What kind of recreational interests do they have?
Are they athletic?
What are their phobias?
What are their joys?
What type of temper do they have?
What motivates your character to do the things they do?
What kind of obstacles would most challenge they?
What is their spiritual walk with God?
Are they a Christian?
When did they become a Christian?
Are they faithful in attending church, reading the bible and fellowshipping?
Do they pray and what are their thoughts on prayer?
Do they actively seek god on a daily basis of only when they are in crisis?
Do they share their faith or are they less outspoken and more reserved in issues of faith?
If they aren’t saved or even interested in faith issues – why?
What will it take to bring this character to God?
How do they perceive God?
What is their initial feeling about church and fellowshipping?
What is the pivotal issue of faith that will draw them to God or draw them to a closer relationship?
How will their coming to God affect their relationship with other significant people in their lives?
Does this person have other gods in their life to deal with first?
What might those gods be?
Is this character real?

Nancy Rue, Author

Nancy Rue, author of The Lily series, Sophie’s World, and Pascal’s Wager, among other books, has boiled her list of character traits down to 8. Some authors may find a shorter list more helpful.

Name

Age

Gender

Unique physical characteristics

Personality traits that make him/her the best vehicle

Background

Most important relationships

His/her main objective in the story. What drives him or her.

The Menu

The form’s menu item, Define Characters, provides the ability to define characters. Before beginning the process of writing the story, define the key characters

Protagonist

The character of the protagonist is complex, almost as complicated as yourself, and also as complicated as the reader or the audience. As a character in your story, however, he/she must be defined in order for you to best structure your story. This character represents the qualities of Pursuit and Consider. He is charged with the responsibility of pursuing a solution to the story’s overall problem. The next character in the menu list is the Antagonist.

Antagonist

Your main character is the protagonist. And your protagonist's main character is his antagonist. Together, they represent the conflicting forces of the drama. The antagonist is in every way opposed to the protagonist; they are diametrically opposed. What the Protagonist pursues, the Antagonist seeks to avoid or prevent. Together they form a Dynamic Pair centered on the story’s goal. In order for one so succeed the other MUST fail. The next character in the menu list is the Sidekick.

Sidekick

This character represents the qualities of Faith and Support. The Sidekick is the absolutely faithful and supportive member of the character set. Although frequently attached to the Protagonist, the Sidekick is identified by what his qualities are, not by who he is working for. In fact, the Sidekick might be attached to the Antagonist or not attached at all. His function is to represent the qualities of faith and support, not specifically to be in service of any other character. However, if the Sidekick is bound to the Protagonist, he can be effectively used to mirror the Author’s feelings about the conduct of the Protagonist. Moving scenes can be created by a misguided Protagonist actually alienating the faithful, supportive Sidekick. Although the Sidekick would never turn against the Protagonist, he can turn away from him, leaving rather than being a party to something he finds immoral or disappointing. The next character in the menu list is the Nemesis or Contagonist.

Nemesis

This character represents the qualities of hinder and temptation. He is also known as the Contagonist. This character balances the Guardian. If Protagonist and Antagonist are thought of as “Good” vs “Evil,” the Nemesis is “Temptation” to the Guardian’s “Conscience.” Because the Nemesis has a negative affect upon the Protagonist’s quest, it is often mistakenly thought to be the Antagonist. In truth, the Nemesis only serves to hinder the Protagonist in his quest, throwing obstacles in front of him as an excuse to lure him away from the road he must take in order to achieve success. The Antagonist is a completely different character, diametrically opposed to the Protagonist’s successful achievement of the goal. H can be used by the writer to disguise the antagonist and maintain suspense until the antagonist is fully revealed later in the story. The nemesis perceives the inner conflict of the protagonist and teases him with that knowledge like a picador needling the bull before the toreador appears for the kill. Is the nemesis good or bad? Is the nemesis the agent of good or an agent of the antagonist? The answer is that he is an agent of both. He is the agent of the antagonist in that he acts like the antagonist, ferreting out the inner conflict of the protagonist. Yet, later, when the nemesis is satisfied that the protagonist is worth saving, he or she will switch sides, and root for the protagonist to defeat the antagonist. Ultimately, then, the nemesis represents good, and is testing the protagonist's character. In that sense, he is one of the agents of the author to move the story along. That's you. The next character in the menu list is the character of Reason.

Reason

The Reason character evaluates and acts solely on the basis of calm logic, never becoming enraged, passionate or emotionally involved in a decision. Although common is simple stories, the Reason character is hard to empathize with. As a result, it is one of the characters most often altered slightly from its archetypal arrangement to provide more potential for empathy from the audience. A frequent choice is to swap the trait of calm with the Emotional character’s trait of uncontrolled. The result is that both characters become more interesting, the Reason character being both logical and frenetic, the Emotional character being highly passionate yet in control. The next character in the menu list is the one that embodies Emotion.

Emotion

This character represents Feeling and Uncontrolled. He reacts passionately to turns of events without considering the consequences or best course to achieve his purpose. Frequently portrayed as a “screamer” or “big dumb ox” this character is really not stupid. He actually represents felling and frenzy. So his nature is to feel deeply about issues but be unable to focus that heartfelt intensity in any useful direction. Rather, he tends to go off the deep end and thrash out aimlessly, frequently to the detriment of himself and those around him. Such a character can prove to be a Trojan horse by Storytelling him into the enemy’s camp where he will almost certainly wreak havoc. The next character in the menu list is the Skeptic.

Skeptic

This character represents the qualities of disbelief and oppose. If a Sidekick is a cheer leader, a Skeptic is a heckler. The Skeptic still wants to see its team win, but doesn’t think it can and is sure this is because the team members are going about it all wrong. Therefore, the Skeptic exhibits disbelief and opposes all efforts. Of course, when the team really is misguided, the Skeptic is in fact right on track. The Skeptic applies his outlook to hero and villain alike. In other words, the qualities of disbelief and oppose describe the nature of the Skeptic – not just his opinion about a particular issue. So, the Skeptic also doubts the bad guys are as powerful or bad as they are said to be, and opposes them as well. One purpose of stories is to illustrate how well different personality types fare in the effort to solve a particular kind of problem. These characters represent the most broad categories into which personality types might be categorized. The Skeptic provides the opportunity to explore how well a doubter and naysayer does in resolving the story’s troubles. The next character in the menu list is the Guardian.

Guardian

This character represents Conscience and Help. He acts as teacher/helper to everyone including the Protagonist. As Conscience, he provides the audience with the story’s assessment of what is good and bad in the world it describes. In his Dynamic Pair relationship, the Guardian counterbalances the efforts of the Contagonist to hinder and tempt the Protagonist from the proper path. Since the Protagonist must ultimately face the Antagonist without assistance, both the Guardian and Contagonist must be dramatically nullified before the climax of the story so that they cannot interfere. This often occurs as a separate confrontation between them, just prior to the Protagonist meeting the Antagonist, or it may occur concurrently, but concludes before the actual climax of the story is reached. StoryPlanner also provides an “other” character if one of yours does not meat the criteria of the other characters.

Other

The author can use this character type to define a unique character. Consider his/her role the emotional function in the story. How will he/she affect the plot? There must be a reason for wanting another character that is not encompassed in the 8 the Story Planner defines. Quantify these characteristics here.

The 3-5 Page Story Outline

This is the goal of all that proceeds. The 3-5 page story outline can be shared with others for feedback. It will give insight into how well planned your work is. It is built upon the three act format, each act containing three initial decisions which may or may not map into scenes in the final work. It the sections to come, two aspects of a novel will be seen, the emotional and the physical. Emotion is also called story and the physical is called the plot. At first it may be confusing. A story will contain plot and story. At first it may seem confusing that the same word is used to represent two different things. However, when one considers that the success of any novel is dependent upon the emotion it portrays, a story is emotion first and then plot. So, referring to story and plot with a novel or a story, is not so confusing.

This story outline is basically the same, regardless of the story structure that is used to develop the manuscript. However, Story Planner provides minor variations depending upon the story structure that is chosen for the framework. There are four story structures from which the author must chose when a new story file is opened: The Three Act, Rollercoaster, Mythic, and Singleton.

Based on the structure chosen, scenes can be created, added to the novel's structure, removed from the structure, moved around, and edited until you feel you have defined the structure you want.

Each scene contains a note panel for the author’s notes, a text panel for writing the story, and various help panels.

Help is also provided for defining and developing the characters.

Its been claimed that all stories can be said to come from one of 36 possible Dramatic Situations. One web site that gives a good overview of these is:

http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article255.asp.

The Three Act Story Structure

A work is structured into Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. Act 1 is divided into Stimulus, Polaris, and Catalyst. Act 2 is divided into Crisis, Catharsis, and Epiphany. Act 3 is divided into Remedy, Climax, and Resolution.

Act One

Act One covers the initial steps in the story development. It includes the opening hook that captures the readers attention. Scenes in this act culminate in an event that propels the protagonist into a crisis and sets the stage for the remainder of the story. Therefore, early in this act, the protagonist must be defined.

Stimulus

The stimulus is an event that opens the story, using at least one element of the main character's past history, which will stimulate a new chapter in his life—the story.

Stimulus has a short, but important, set of rules:

Action, action, action! It may be physical action or it may be emotional action. But hook the reader! The sooner, the better. A common problem in writers is to put too much “stuff” in the first paragraphs and pages that could be left out, or at least included later. When the stimulus is complete, search it for where the action begins. Sometimes that may be 2 or 3 scenes later, or maybe even a chapter into the work. Consider throwing away these first pages. Your goal is to hook the reader.
While hooking the reader, introduce the main character. Something in his/her past has brought about the current situation. But don’t focus on backstory; involve the reader with what is happening to the protagonist at that moment.
A major part of the protagonist is his/her underlying flaw. Through the action, reveal that to the reader.
Action should involve dramatic tension amongst the characters. Develop this during stimulus to move the story to the next phase along the three act timeline.

"Mother died today." That's the first line of Albert Camus' 1952 novel, The Stranger. These three little words have power. They hook the reader and hold the potential to move the story in a number of ways.

Stimulus should, fist of all, contain an Opening Hook that makes the reader want to keep turning pages.

Opening Hook

A reader wants to be drawn into the story immediately. The first paragraphs should hook him. Action and emotion—these should be included as part of the hook. It can be a flashback or a flash forward. It can involve the protagonist, the antagonist, or another character. BUT is should be relevant to the protagonist’s story.

Note that there is a stimulus related problem that plagues beginning authors. Too much background information is paced up front. When you review the beginning of your manuscript, ask your self the question: “Is this information relevant? Can it be given later through flashbacks, as thoughts, or in some other way?” To provide a meaningful opening hook, it is often best to throw away the first pages of the manuscript—and, in some cases, the first chapters. Start with the emotional moment in the protagonist’s life that makes your story possible. Here or somewhere else in Stimulus, the Protagonist should be introduced.

Introduce Protagonist

If the protagonist is not introduced in the opening hook, it should be done soon after that. The manuscript tells her story. Don’t spend a lot of time in a peripheral environment that is not relevant to the heroine.

Polaris

Polaris occurs in that mid-section of Act One between the stimulus and the catalyst. Doran William Cannon calls it polaris to help us “understand that its function is active, not passive. In nuclear physics, when positive and negative are separated, it is called polarization. Still, when they are polarized, there is a vibrational, oscillating interplay between those forces. Such is the interchange between the stimulus and the catalyst when they are polarized in Act One.”

Polaris is the bridge between Stimulus and the last moments of Act 1. Use Polaris to set the stage for the emotional trauma that occurs next. Foreshadow the story to come. Perhaps use some backstory. Polaris, like every other piece of the work, needs to demonstrate emotion or move between events of emotion and tension. Action, wherever it occurs, should exist for a purpose. It exists within the confines of the plot but must hang on emotion, be driven by the story (emotion).

The end of Act 1 is Catalyst. Consider what dramatic event (involving the protagonist) will propel the story an plot into Act 2. Then build Polaris to move the reader into Catalyst. Polaris sets the stage. The story’s theme and the protagonist’s flaw should lead to the cause for the Crisis that begins Act 2, being propelled there from the Catalyst.

In the Miracle on 34^th Street, Polaris begins when Kris begins working in Macy’s. Tension builds around him as the Antagonist and his cronies plot and scheme to have him committed.

Catalyst

Doran William Cannon defines Catalyst as follows:

Catalyst is that powerful event at the end of Act One, which propels the protagonist into a crisis.
Catalyst is a moment of truth acting as the culmination of the dramatic tension produced at the beginning of Act One by the stimulus and further propelled by the polaris in the middle of the act.
Catalyst is much like a chemical response to the stimulus at the beginning of the act.
Catalyst is both the reaction of the events leading up to it, and that which propels the story out of Act One.
Catalyst is the very last moment of Act One.
Catalyst is like a stick of dynamite. All of the elements of Act One are stuffed into its shell, and then it is ignited by an agent for the antagonist. It could be ignited by the antagonist himself, but as an author, you would be introducing the antagonist too early.

In Catalyst, the Stakes should be Set.

Setting the Stakes

In Miracle on 34^th Street, what would happen if Kris remained in jail? Would Susan ever come to believe in Christmas? Would Doris ever believe again? And what if Kris really was Santa Claus? What can Fred do to rescue Kris? Would defending “Santa Clause” affect his career as a lawyer?

Set the Stakes somewhere in Act 1, no later than the end of Catalyst. Why is this struggle important? If there is nothing to be lost, then why is there a story?

Act Two

As Polaris is the bridge from Stimulus to Catalyst, Act 2 connects Acts 1 and 3. Act Two is the hardest act to write. Be aware of the connective relationships and develop them. Events, relationships—Plot Points—are carried into Act 2. Some get resolved, some are transformed, some explode. Likewise, there are plot points in Act 3 that bring the Story and Plot to completion. These must tie back into Act 2. Act 2, then must map these inputs from Act 1 to the outputs going to Act 3.

In Act 2, the Antagonist gains advantage over our hero. This is the Antagonist’s Act. The Protagonist is reacting as the Antagonist puts roadblocks in his way. A back and forth exchange takes place that drives the Protagonist to overcome greater and greater obstacles. Each of these can Raise the Stakes even more. At the end of this act, the Protagonist experiences a self-realization. In this Epiphany, he/she understands the hidden flaw and simultaneously sees the means to defeat the Antagonist.

As the hero suffers at the hands of his enemy, the author’s goal is to keep Story and Plot on track. A tendency to wander, or to throw in diversions that lead nowhere, must be avoided. Every event, every thought, every word must be there for a purpose. They must ultimately lead the Protagonist to Epiphany and the Antagonist to defeat. The author need not have a detailed outline (though some may work best with one), but Story and Plot must be going somewhere. This goal, and the direction taken to get there, must ever be in the author’s mind.

Act 2 begins with Crisis.

Crisis

Catalyst ended with an explosive event that propelled the story forward. Crisis finds the Protagonist in a personal emotional crisis as well as a physical crisis. The rest of the story grows from this situation. The Crisis of Miracle on 34^th Street finds Kris finds himself framed for being incompetent and mentally unstable. He is locked up and feels like a failure.

Doran William Cannon says the Crisis may be defined as including the following elements.

It is the very first moment of Act Two.
It is the moment of truth for you as an author.
It is the most critical moment in your entire story construction.
Crisis is a moment when impending doom is felt.
Crisis is a moment of reaction, not action.
Crisis is a universal feeling, felt by everyone.
Crisis is pure fear. It is an intense feeling of fear with no other complicating aspects.
It is a point of no return.
It is a frightening moment, a moment of fight or flight.
It is the stimulus that puts Act Two in motion.
It is that moment of fear which must project to become finally resolved emotionally at the epiphany.

Everything about the Structure of a story finds its core in the crisis of the protagonist.

At this point, Passion has led to Theme. Theme describes the Inner Conflict of the Protagonist. The Inner Conflict has driven the story in Act One. If this has led directly to Catalyst, then Crisis becomes the heart of the Story and Plot.

Doran William Cannon calls Crisis the key to the novel; it opens all the other doors. Act 1 takes the reader to the Crisis. From that point, Story and Plot evolve and develop.

Crisis involves the feeling of Impeding Doom. Real life will often vary from the world of the novel. Use dramatic license to ratchet up the danger and feeling of dread. Add plot points to magnify emotion. Make the reading exciting for the reader.

Crisis requires action. A line is crossed in reaction to the catalyst. There is no going back. The Story and Plot continue.

The reader must feel fear in Crisis. Story is emotion. The protagonist must feel fear. Plot is physical. The protagonist shows fear in some way. Instead of just saying the hero was afraid, the written word must show it. Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood is a great resource for learning how to show emotion.

Catharsis is the next step.

Catharsis

Act 2 begins with Crisis and ends with Epiphany, both short but important parts to Story and Plot. Catharsis is where most of Act 2 is spent. It begins with the protagonist’s reaction to his crisis; the journey has begins. Throughout Catharsis, obstacles are placed in his way. Somewhere in Catharsis, the Antagonist is introduced and there is an upping of the stakes. After Catharsis, comes the Epiphany.

Plot Complications

Plot complications are part of Catharsis. Story Planner includes one scene in the default outline for a plot complication. More should be added. The Protagonist must conquer these problems, none of which should be easy. The Antagonist should be deeply involved in the initial plot complication. However, the Antagonist may not be revealed as such at this point in the work. Consider raising the stakes with these complications. Consider how the emotional crisis is increased.

Introduce Antagonist

Revelation of the Antagonist is major event in the story. Plot and Story should be developed with that in mind. As Catharsis evolves, the Protagonist learns more and more about the Antagonist. This is leading to the eventual Epiphany. With each of the Antagonist’s roadblocks that the Protagonist overcomes, our hero becomes stronger and the feeling of doom is lessoned.

Up the Stakes

Because it is important to raise the stakes, Story Planner includes a default scene just for that purpose. Keep the audience in suspense by keeping the dramatic tension high. The Antagonist cause should clearly drive the story. And it should not be trivial. His actions should severely impact our hero. The author should FEEL the antagonis’s cause and write as if it were his own. This only makes our Protagonist stronger, both in the story and in the eyes of the reader. Keep him/her facing obstacles. But each overcoming is not yet a victory. The view of WIN should be kept for the Epiphany.

Epiphany

The Epiphany contains our hero’s realization of what went wrong. He finally understands his Inner Flaw. Understanding also leads to recognition of what must be done to correct the situation. This is his/her epiphany. Act two begins with a crisis and ends with its resolution in view. What is in between these two is the journey of the story.

Doran William Cannon says that the Epiphany consists of phases. “The first phase is the realization of what went wrong. The second phase is the joy of discovery, the relief from the misery of her dilemma. The third phase is the discovery of the remedy. The fourth phase is the resolve to use the remedy in order to save herself and the cause for which she stands.”

Epiphany and Crisis act in opposite roles. As the event of the Catalyst propelled the Protagonist into Crisis, one final event at the end of Act 2 hurls him/her into an epiphany. Finally, the crisis is coming to an end. Likewise, while Crisis is impending doom for the hero, Epiphany is one of pure joy. Crisis is the beginning of our hero’s trials, Epiphany foretells the end.

Very likely, the Antagonist causes the Protagonist’s Epiphany by some obstacle. It is not the final conflict. The emotional battle has been won but the physical battle remains for later.

Act Three

Excitement! This word describes Act 3. The Protagonist has been under attack by the Antagonist. He has faced obstacle after obstacle. He has been beaten down by his enemy. Finally, in Act 3, he successfully takes the offensive. While it is the shortest Act, it is the focal point to which all of Act 1 and 2 has pointed. Act three contains the Remedy, Climax, and Resolution.

Remedy

In the Epiphany, the Protagonist discovers the Remedy to his problems. In the beginning of Act 3, the Epiphany has ended ant the hero begins to take action. Remedy can be simply action, or it can be a prop like a weapon. It can be based on physical evidence or some object perhaps that is sought by all. Remedy is physical. It is Plot. The remedy could have been revealed to the reader earlier in the story, though it had remained a secret from the Protagonist until the Epiphany. The struggles through Act 2 have prepared the Protagonist to act on the remedy.

Climax

The Protagonist anticipates the final encounter. He now possesses the remedy to his problem. He at last understands his inner flaw and sees how to defeat the Antagonist. Climax the moment of his emotional and physical success.

The Antagonist loses. It may be his/her life or might be something else. Whatever it is, it is significant. The stakes for the Antagonist are both physical and emotional. Emotion and Plot have existed for this moment in time. Finally, Crisis is resolved. This should be the MOST exciting part of the story where Emotion and Story collide. The Antagonist’s suffering should be visible. Likewise, the elation of the Protagonist in his victory should be visible. Evil loses, good wins, the audience is satisfied.

Resolution

"And they lived happily ever after." Though not all stories end this way, this is the underlying principle of Resolution. The battle has ended and the emotional journey is over. Yet loose ends need to be tied up and strands of the story resolved. Then the work is complete.

The Rollercoaster Story Structure

The Rollercoaster Structure has parallels to the Three Act structure. There is a Barrier that, crossing, leads the protagonist into his story world. There is a goal that sets the stakes. Corresponding to Act Two, the protagonist faces failure two times, and two times he overcomes. As in Act Three, there is a major confrontation or climax, and the goal is reached.

The Rollercoaster structure is series of ups and downs. It consists of Set the Goal, First Barrier, Conquest, Minor Reversal, Dramatic Achievement, Major Reversal, Elevation, Failure, and Reach Goal.

Set Goal

Introduce the story with an opening hook that catches the reader’s interest. One of the first things to do is to introduce the protagonist. He faces a great loss which is described by setting the stakes associated with reaching the goal.

First Barrier

A barrier to the goal is placed in our protagonist’s way. This must be overcome through action and emotional trials. The prospect of failure propels him into the story.

Conquest

The First barrier is overcome. And the Protagonist begins her adventure to achieving the goal.

Minor Reversal

On her emotional journey toward the goal, the protagonist finds herself knocked down as part of both the story (emotional) and plot(physical). While called minor, this reversal is no little thing to her. The reversal is “minor” only in relation to the next reversal.

Dramatic Achievement

Against the odds, the protagonist overcomes the minor reversal. He experiences euphoria in success. Everything is going well.

Major Reversal

In the midst of promising success, our hero is knocked down to depths from which recovery seems impossible.

Elevation

But again, our heroine overcomes. Overcoming can be with other’s help or by her own means.

Failure

One final failure faces our protagonist before reaching the goal. This is the climax where he must defeat the antagonist by his own means—no one else can come to the rescue.

Reach Goal

In the end the goal is reached in a resolution to the story.

The Mythic Story Structure

The Mythic structure is commonly seen in books and movies. Consider The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy is taken from her ordinary world by a tornado. The White Witch calls her to an adventure. Reluctantly, she begins. Along the way, she meets tests, befriends allies, and faces enemies. She reaches the Inmost Cave in the form of the black witch’s castle. There, she faces a last ordeal and obtains the rewards of the ruby slippers. Through these, she returns to her ordinary world. The Mythic Structure begins in the Ordinary World and goes to Call To Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Mentor Encouragement, the Special World, Testing, Inmost Cave, Ordeal, Reward, Climax, and Return

Ordinary World

The protagonist faces a struggle in the opening hook. It threatens her existence in the ordinary world of her life.

Call To Adventure

As a result of the opening situation, the hero is called to some great adventure. But this promised journey is fraught with trials. She sees the good, but is overcome with the eveil prospects.

Refuse the Call

The adventure is so threatening that the heroine at first refuses the call. She can not bear to cross into this new world that awaits her.

Mentor Encourages

The hero meets someone who becomes his mentor. This person/thing encourages him to take up this adventure. Of his own volition, he steps into the special world of the adventure. The mentor may or may not join him on the quest.

Special World

This new world/life must be described. What is the emotional impact upon our heroine? How does she view herself? Does she have misgivings about this journey? Is she angry with her mentor?

Tests, Allied, Enemies

Along the way, the protagonist faces tests. These may be placed upon her by allies as well as enemies. She builds up a reserve of friends and an opposing cast of enemies. Usually, one enemy stands out as the antagonist. Others may be the antagonist’s henchmen.

Inmost Cave

The adventure takes out protagonist ever closer to the goal, to the Inmost Cave. Finally, it is in view and within her grasp.

Ordeal

Though the goal is now close, it seems ever out of reach especially when the hero is faced with another ordeal that must be overcome. This battle for the reward is not easy.

Reward

Over so many obstacles and against so many enemies, our heroine and her allies finally reach the reward. They have what they so desperately sought. All is well in the world.

Climax

With reward in hand and walking in the light of success, the protagonist is faced with one final battle. She must win the victory, this time by herself alone. She can win or lose, depending upon the kind of story that is being written.

Return

The hero returns to the ordinary world with the reward. There is great benefit to the hero and possibly for the whole world.

The Singleton Story Structure

The Singleton structure is provided for authors who find that their work will not fit into the Three Act, Rollercoaster, or Mythic structures. For example, a manuscript that will be sequence of unrelated events not part of a flowing storyline, would fit into this structure. There is no doubt some common thread among these scenes, but none that would conform to a more common story structure. Many of the same concepts, though, would still apply. An opening hook would be required. Emotion and action would still need to draw the reader into the events portrayed.

Scenes

After creating the 3 to 5 Page Outline, and even during creation of its necessary items, other scenes may be created. Other plot points may be identified. An expansion of the story’s tree, results in a tree with scenes for the basic three act structure as discussed above.

Scenes are inserted into this tree or scene pool and moved about in the tree by the menu options under Scenes. The Story Planner lets you insert a scene at whatever tree node you wish. Scenes can also be dragged between the pool and the tree.

The Rollercoaster structure has a scene layout as follows. Notice the up and downs in the storyline.

The Mythic structure has a scene layout as follows:

The Singleton Structure has a scene layout as follows:

For further discussion, the 3 Act structure is used. All comments pertain to all four structures.

Also included is a list of the involved characters and the Dramatic Elements, both of which are selectable. Scenes can also be created in the scene pool for insertion into the tree at a later point in time. Once created, the new scene can be moved to wherever you would like to see it on the tree. Use this feature to Storyboard.

A double click on a scene will open it for editing.

Anytime during the creation of scenes, a rich-text file can be created containing the work to that point. Use the Same as Story option or the menu bar Compile option.

Storyboarding

The toolbar buttons and the Scenes menu options give the ability to create scenes and move a scene up or down the tree.

Scenes can be created, edited, and moved about in the storyline. Drag scenes from the tree to the Scene Pool and back again. Drag them with in the tree. Use the buttons to place them exactly where desired.

The compilation of notes is part of storyboarding. This is done on the Scene Edit screen.

Save As Story

This selection will create a Rich text compilation of all the defined scenes. It can then be saved. The menu bar Compile function performs exactly the same operation.

Because spell checking is not yet included, any other word processing software can be used to do final spell checking. While scenes longer than 32767 rich text characters can be saved in the Story Planner files, it is possible to paste text larger than this into a scene. It can then be processed with the Scene Edit tools, cut, and re-pasted into another rich text document.

Compile

This menu bar option compiles the defined scenes into a single rich text document which can then be saved as a rich text file just as with the Save As Story option. Next to the Compile option is the Defaults selection.

Defaults

Defaults provides the ability to change user selectable options. Currently, only the Textual Analysis button colors and definitions are included here. There are 2 options available, one to change the definitions, and one to restore the original default definitions.

The Help option is the last on the menu.

Redefine

The Redefine menu option provides the means to change the defaults.

Clicking one of the colored buttons on the left fills the text boxes and buttons on the left with that buttons definitions. Clicking the Define Color button brings up a color pallet that can be used to change the button color. This is the color placed upon text that meets the criteria of the selected button when analyzing the text on the Scene Edit Form.

You can save your new definitions, delete the selected definition so that it no longer is displayed in the Edit Screen, or you can exit the form.

Create

Selecting the Create option merely reverts to an original image of the default file. When successful, the following screen is displayed.

Help

Pressing Help, brings up the complete Story Planner documentation in HTML format.

The Scene Edit Screen

This is the form where the writing work is done.

The upper left contains a list of Dramatic Elements and Characters.

Assign Dramatic Elements and Characters

As you write the story, note here what characters and dramatic elements are involved in the scene being written. As you enter this information, you can return to the “Work With The Scenes” form and click on a scene in the tree or the pool. The characters and dramatic elements and entered on the Scene Edit form are reflected on the Work With the Scenes form thus providing an overview of how your characters are deployed in your layout. Below this list is a button called Emotion.

Emotion

Since Emotion is so important in writing, this button will provide some help to the author. The information displayed is from Ann Hood’s book, Creating Character Emotions. All that is displayed is one sample from the book for each emotion. You should purchase that book for a more detailed description of emotions and how to use them. Getting help on an emotion is a two step process.

Right Click on the button to define the emotion for which you want help.
Press the button to see the help.

If you press the button without defining the emotion, the following screen appears.

When you right click, a list of 36 emotions is displayed. Select the one in which you are interested. The button displays that emotion. Then click on the button to display the help.

Below this button is the Textual Analysis panel.

Textual Analysis

After a scene is written, it is important to edit it. A number of problems can creep into any work as it is being written. These buttons will look for some of the most common. Hovering the mouse pointer over a button will display a description of what the button is looking for. By pressing a button, the text in the textbox will be searched for the associated type of problem. Text that meets the criteria will be given the color of the button. For example, pressing the Repetition button might result in the following display.

Some of the repetitions are OK, other were included on purpose, but others may be errors that need to be corrected.

Temporarily, for purposes of this edit session, the color of a button can be changed by right clicking the button.

Permanent changes can be made through the defaults menu option on the first form also known as the Building Process or Working screen.

On the right of the form are five buttons. The first is Save,

Save

Pressing Save will save the text to the Story File that is being edited. It will NOT save the Story File to disk. To save to disk, use the Save option from the File Menu on the “Work With the Scenes” form. Under Save is the Exit button.

Exit

This button will exit from this form. If changes have been made and the work not saved, an appropriate error message is displayed. Under Exit is the Help button.

Help

The Help button will bring up writer’s tips for this part of the story. Under Help is the button that brings up technical notes about construction of the type of scene being worked on.

Tech Notes

Clicking on the Tech Notes button lists a series of questions that are derived from 1) which basic scene (see 3 to 5 Page Menu options) is a parent to the inserted scene and 2) a set of general purpose questions.

Under the Tech Notes button is a button that brings up a form for entering User Notes.

User Notes

When researching a book, or even while writing, thoughts need to be noted and saved. Each scene has a user notes field associated with it. Enter and read such notes by pressing the User Notes button.

Under User Notes is a textbox that displays a character count

Character Count

Story Planner is created in Visual Basic. There is a string length restriction of 32767 characters when writing a data structure to a disk file. Therefore, scenes can be no larger than 32767 bytes. This text box displays a running count of bytes which should not exceed this limit.

The center of this form contains the Text Entry form field.

The Text Entry Form Field

The scene’s text can be entered as Rich Text. Six buttons are arranged across the top of this field. Five of them pertain to formatting of the text in the entry field. The last one, Blacken, is used to blacken text after the textual analysis buttons have flagged potential problem areas.

Font, Bullet, Left Indent, Right Indent, Hanging

An example of varying text types, hanging indent, and bullets is shown here.

Blacken

The blacken button blackens all text in the window. The textual analysis buttons change the color to flag problem. This button lets you blacken it all after the text has been fixed.

Writing Tips

Thoughts from Nancy Rue

Nancy Rue, author of The Lily series, Sophie’s World, and Pascal’s Wager, among other books, gives a Five-Minute Fiction Guideline.

1) Be sure you’ve chosen your best place to work (preferable one that is private and quiet), the time of day you have the most writing energy, whether you use a computer or write in longhand, (in which case you’ll need to have selected what kind of writing instrument and paper is most fun for you). And what “toys” inspire you.

2) Focus and center yourself so you can gather the energy you need. Take some deep breaths. Let go of everything that stands between you and your writing. It’s Okay to be a little nervous, though. Fear can be good energy for writing!

3) Start stupid. Don’t write with notions of how it’s supposed to turn out. Don’t take charge – just let it flow out, even if it’s only in a trickle. You’re an explorer setting out into unknown territory. You have no idea what you’re going to find! It will help to start writing the minute you get your topic. Set the timer and DON’T sit for a moment and think about what you’re going to say. Just start writing. Anything else is marking time.

4) Don’t listen to the voice in your head that says, “This is lame.” “You can’t spell that word – pock another one.” “Why are you even bothering?” You may not be able to stop that chatter in your mind, but you can learn not to listen to it. Decide that whatever you put on the page will be okay. Give yourself freedom. Allow yourself to write whatever comes up.

5) Keep in mind that in your short, short story, some change needs to take place, whether it’s a shift I the mind of the character or a new direction shown by physical action. It can be a realization, an epiphany, an understanding, or a decision.

6) The form can be an incident, an episode, a fable, a parable, a fantasy, a monologue, or even a “made-up” essay.

7) Get quickly to the core by revealing the essence of the situation or moment in a very few words and getting on with the story. Since you have so little time, you’ll need to start with the action already going on. You can always go back and fill in details later.

8) You’ll need all the elements any story has – characters, setting, mood, point of view, plot, style, voice – and a conclusion the reader will reach or an insight he or she will gain.

9) Use exact, precise words that nail your ideas and images.

10) Let there be urgency, intensity, so it doesn’t sound like a summary.

11) Write for five minutes. Don’t lift you pen or pencil (or stop stroking keys) until the time is up. If you run out of things to say, remember that that is probably just fear and fear gives you energy. Tell yourself nobody else is going to read this, and keep on writing. If you feel, however, that your story really is over before the five minutes are up, it’s okay to stop. If that becomes a pattern, maybe you are a three-minute writer! That’s okay, too.

12) Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

13) When you’re finished, read what you’ve written. If it feels like it isn’t quite finished, take a minute to finish.

14) As you evaluate what you’ve written, do so only to answer this question: Does it have energy? If it excites or interests you, it has energy. If it bores you, it doesn’t. Rate your interest or excitement on a scale of one to ten. The stories that rate 8 or 9 or 10, possibly keep working on those, revising them. The ones that get five or less, pitch.

15) Polishing your short, short stories:

· Start from where the story first excites you. Throw what’s before it away. Stop where it stops being interesting. Throw what follows away and pick up from there.

· Ask yourself – what happens in this story, where is the change, what is the main focus? Any parts that don’t relate to those answers can be tossed out.

· Read it out loud. Is there a rhythm to it, or do you stumble? Wherever you stumble, find words that feel better.

· Re-read. If you can’t see every image you’ve written, your descriptions probably need work.

· Ask yourself these questions:

a) Does your story feel true?

b) Does it make sense?

c) Are there any sentences that don’t carry the story a little farther toward its conclusion?

d) Does it have a logical sequence of events?

e) Does it give enough information?

f) Are thee words used precisely – or are there too many?

g) Will the reader be able to reach your conclusion and believe it?

h) Look for – a voice that feels forced, a slow opening, a shifting point of view, dialogue that doesn’t sound alive, things you’ve told instead of shown, weak ending.

More on Emotions

From Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood.

We read for feelings; we should write for feelings. Let your reader know what your characters are feeling. Yet that is often difficult to do. As with everything else in fiction, it is better to show than tell. A novel should take the reader through an emotional journey as well as a physical journey. The book by Ann Hood gives a number of good and bad examples of 36 emotions. When showing emotion, there are some general things to remember.

Don’t use clichés such as “He was mad as a hornet!” “A tear rolled down her cheek.” “His heart pounded in his chest.” Use fresh language and images to give a knew perspective of the emotion.
Show specific emotions. Know what your character should be feeling at various stages and then use words to create a picture for your reader.
Avoid ambiguity. What does the specific emotion really feel like? Don’t just label an emotion; feel it; explore it.
Make the characters real. People experience a variety of emotions and there is a journey between them.
Apply your own emotional timeline to your characters. The journey takes time.
You can use props to show an emotion. For example, a gun cocked and ready, smeared mascara, etc.
Do all this from your character’s point of view. Make the reader experience it as your character goes through it.
Avoid the predictable and the obvious. Look at new ways to show an emotion. What if your character laughed in response to grief?
A character may experience many emotions at the same time. Emotion is complex.

Notes on Technique

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain contains a wealth of knowledge for any would-be author.