Difference between revisions of "Beating the Story by Robin D. Laws"
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==Mapping Your Story== | ==Mapping Your Story== | ||
| + | ===Your Opener=== | ||
| + | ====Weak Openings==== | ||
| + | ====Parallel Openings==== | ||
| + | ====Flourish Beats as Preludes==== | ||
| + | ====Case Studies: Classic Movie Openings==== | ||
| + | ====Stories are like Parties: Best Arrive Late==== | ||
| + | ====But Not Too Late==== | ||
| + | ====Your First Arrow==== | ||
| + | ===And Now For The Map Part=== | ||
| + | ===Building Incidents As You Map=== | ||
| + | ===Noting Transitions=== | ||
| + | ===Your Sequence of Events=== | ||
| + | ====Getting Through Stall-Outs==== | ||
| + | ====Using Key Elements to Overcome Stall-Outs==== | ||
| + | =====Core Question Example===== | ||
| + | =====Dramatic Poles Example===== | ||
| + | =====Transformative Arc Example===== | ||
| + | =====Iconic Ethos Example===== | ||
| + | =====Throughline Example===== | ||
| + | ===Placing Exposition=== | ||
| + | ====Punching Up Brief Beats==== | ||
| + | =====Quick and Flat vs Extended and Vivid===== | ||
| + | ====Procedural Pipe==== | ||
| + | ====Foreshadowing Dramatic Revelations==== | ||
| + | ====Reiterated Question Beats==== | ||
| + | ====Recaps==== | ||
| + | ====Climactic Reveals==== | ||
| + | ====Loose End Reveals==== | ||
| + | ====Combination Beats==== | ||
| + | ===Goal Shifts and Wavering Protagonists=== | ||
| + | ===Your Closer=== | ||
| + | ====Escalation Point==== | ||
| + | =====Justifying Dramatic Turns===== | ||
| + | =====Clearing Out Information Beats===== | ||
| + | =====Clearing Out Flourish Beats===== | ||
| + | =====Refining Transitions===== | ||
| + | ====Dramatic Resolution==== | ||
| + | =====Circular Conclusions===== | ||
| + | ====="What Next?" Codas===== | ||
| + | =====Open-Ended and Provisional Conclusions===== | ||
| + | =====When an Unresolved Ending is a Cheat===== | ||
| + | ====Transformative Resolution==== | ||
| + | ====Iconic Resolution==== | ||
| + | ====Denouement==== | ||
| + | ===Reviewing Your Completed Map=== | ||
| + | ====Trajectory==== | ||
| + | ====Testing for Aptness==== | ||
| + | ====Check Pacing Issues==== | ||
| + | =====Study Your Climax===== | ||
| + | =====Activate Your Introduction===== | ||
| + | ====Eliminating Repetition==== | ||
| + | =====Spotting and Fixing Dramatic Repetition===== | ||
| + | =====Spotting and Fixing Procedural Repetition===== | ||
| + | =====Other Repetitions===== | ||
| + | ====Character Tracking==== | ||
| + | ====Procedural Pitfalls==== | ||
| + | ====Predictable Moments==== | ||
| + | ====Apt but Unnecessary Passages==== | ||
| + | ===Thread Mapping=== | ||
| + | ====When to Thread Map==== | ||
| + | ===From Map to Prose Outline=== | ||
| + | |||
==First Draft== | ==First Draft== | ||
==Revision== | ==Revision== | ||
Revision as of 17:54, 29 January 2021
Contents
- 1 How to Pretend You've Read This Book (introduction)
- 2 Foreword
- 3 Prologue
- 4 Conceiving Your Story
- 4.1 The Random Actor Method: An Idea Springboard
- 4.2 Turning Inspiration into Premise
- 4.2.1 Throughline
- 4.2.2 Core Question
- 4.2.3 Protagonist Type
- 4.2.4 Procedural Heroes
- 4.2.5 Dramatic Characters
- 4.2.6 Supporting Characters
- 4.2.7 Transformational Supporting Characters
- 4.2.8 Thematic Opposition
- 4.2.9 Genre and Expectation
- 5 The Building Blocks of Narrative
- 6 Laying the Groundwork
- 7 Mapping Your Story
- 7.1 Your Opener
- 7.2 And Now For The Map Part
- 7.3 Building Incidents As You Map
- 7.4 Noting Transitions
- 7.5 Your Sequence of Events
- 7.6 Placing Exposition
- 7.7 Goal Shifts and Wavering Protagonists
- 7.8 Your Closer
- 7.9 Reviewing Your Completed Map
- 7.10 Thread Mapping
- 7.11 From Map to Prose Outline
- 8 First Draft
- 9 Revision
- 10 Editing and Giving Notes
- 11 Beat Analysis
- 12 Now, Over To You
- 13 Inspiration to Premise Worksheet
- 14 Beat Mapping Quick Reference