Introduction-Training-Story Book Guild-Questions

Motto: We Help you to “Level-Up” Your Craft as a Writer

Levels of Writing

Beat-Trope-Scene-Sequence-20 Skeletal Scenes-Quadrant-Manuscript

Micro Level: Beat-Trope-Scene

Macro Level: Sequence-20 Skeletal Scenes-Quadrant-Manuscript

Writers and Editors Form a Team

Writers Drive, Editors in the Passenger Seat

We Promised to Teach

1.   How to Get Your Readers to Care: The One Way is to Get Your Readers to Connect to Your Protagonist, Which Makes Them Care What happens to Them

2.   The Story Relevance Filter: The Tool That will Ensure You Know What to Cut from Your Writing and What to Keep so Your Reader doesn’t Get Distracted or Bored

3.   The Importance of SAM: How to Get Extremely Clear on Who You are Telling Your Story To So the Reader will Connect to Your Writing

Story Grid Trinity Planes

On the Surface: Concrete Textual Events and Evidence

Above the Surface (in the Reader’s Mind): Information Processing and Experiential Simulation

Below the Surface: Universal Patterns and Archetypes (The Writer Uses as Suggestions without Being Obvious)

Beat Structure

Input → Output

Beats and the Five Commandments

Inciting Incident & Resolution are Inputs

Climax is Output

The Role of the Protagonist

Input ►Protagonist ► Output

Meet SAM

Protagonist ↔ SAM

SAM: Single Audient Member

One Imaginary Reader Who is the Writer Imagines as the Reader

The Single Person He’s Telling to Story to – as in Sharing Coffee with at a Coffee House

Narrative Device: The Double-Factor Problem

Definition: Double-Factor Problem – A Problem Whose Optimal Solution Depends on Context and is a Result of Weighing Competing Values

instead of the One-Best-Way to Achieve a Resolution

Author: Someone Who is Capable of and Wants to Tell

the POP Story to Shed Light on SAM’s Problem

SAM: Someone Who Shares a Double-Factor Problem Similar to the Protagonist

In Other Words: The Best Solution for Any One Person Depends on the Importance Each Gives to Competing Values

Which is Better for a Family:

More Time with the Kids with Mom at Home or

More Money with Both Working

It Depends on the Relative Value of Time versus Money for That Particular Family

There is No One-Size-Fits-All

A Double-Factor Problem is a

Dilemma Pulling the Protagonist in Two Different Ways at the Same Time

Put the Protagonist in the Problem of Relevance Filtering

Everyone in the Manuscript Context must Grapple with the Same Double-Factor Issue

Using Multiple Characters or Over Time

The Author must Explore the Entire Problem Space

The Author must Illustrate the Stakes of Different Options of the Space

Each Option must Show Context-Dependence

Story Grid Trinity Planes

On the Surface: Protagonist as the “Out-putter”

Above the Surface: SAM’s Problem

Below the Surface: Double-Factor Problem Space

Example: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Scene: Dad is Reading Book to Son at Bedtime

The Protagonist is Bilbo, the Hobbit

SAM is the Boy

The Double-Factor Problem:

Bilbo Wants His Comfortable Life in the Shire versus He also Wants Adventure

He will Continue to be Faced with Choices throughout the Novel