Wednesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

ACTION & REACTION

By: Maureen Fisher

This post is based on the concepts of Dwight Swain, author of Techniques of the Selling Writer.

Last week, I focused on the basic building blocks of a story: Scenes. This week, I take the Scene concept a step further to discuss the premise that a story should consist of a series of writing constructs called Action Scenes and Reaction Scenes (also known as Scene and Sequel). Simply stated, an author can use a series of alternating Action Scenes and Reaction Scenes to build an entire novel.

                      

(a) Action Scenes

As the title suggests, An Action Scene refers to a unit of conflict lived through by the character. This is where the  external or plot-related events (as opposed to internal or emotional changes) happen. Action Scenes consist of three components: Goal, Conflict, and Disaster.

Goal: This is the protagonist’s agenda at the beginning of an Action Scene, and should be specific and clearly definable, the more urgent the better. A goal makes the character proactive, willing to overcome obstacles. The protagonist should not be a passive player, waiting for life to overtake him. He should go after what he wants. A protagonist who wants something desperately is an interesting character, even if he has character flaws. The reader will identify with him, root for him, cheer him on to victory.

Conflict: This is the obstacle or impediment the protagonist faces in order to achieve the goal. To state the obvious, an Action Scene must contain conflict. A protagonist must suffer, or at least squirm. Lack of conflict is boring. A victory has more value if the protagonist struggles to achieve it.

Disaster: Protagonist’s failure to reach her goal. As difficult as it is, we writers must deny our protagonist her goal. Foil her easy success. When an Action Scene ends in victory, readers no longer feel the compulsion to turn the page. If things are going well, readers tend to close the book, roll over, and go to sleep. To prevent the unthinkable, we must end the scene with a disaster (or apparent disaster, or at least a surprise). Back the protagonist into a corner, surround her with peril, and readers will turn the page to see what happens next. This is called a ‘hook’.

(b) Reaction Scenes

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Read the full article HERE!

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Action & Reaction | Sassy Romance by Maureen Fisher http://ow.ly/w1ye2
2. What EVERY writer MUST tell EVERY Fan | Ninie Hammon http://ow.ly/w1FCB
3. Three Ways to Use Dialogue to NAIL Great Characters | Ninie Hammon http://ow.ly/w1FGq  
4. 5 Instagram Tools to Better Manage Your Marketing | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/w1FKg
5. How To: Customize HTML of New Getty Images for Your WordPress Blog : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/w1FMQ  
6. The 14 Keys to Writing Advertorials That Sell - Copyblogger http://ow.ly/w1FQ4  
7. The Myth of the Artist’s Creative Routine | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/w1FZt  
8. Fiction University (The Other Side of the Story): Are Your Characters Too Stupid To Live? http://ow.ly/w1G5i  
9. The Mindset of Successful Self-Publishers — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/w1G8H  
10. The novice's guide to writing - JF Gibson http://ow.ly/w1Gg8
11. How to make an audiobook using ACX | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/w1Gmg
12. Do Self-Published Book Authors Need A Literary Agent? - Writer's Relief, Inc. http://ow.ly/w1GrJ
13. How To Load Ebooks Onto A Kindle Or iPad | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/w1Gwy
14. An Easy Way for Authors to Sell Books Online - BLOG - Stories To Tell Books http://ow.ly/w1GSi
15. Should We Learn to Write Series? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/w31ON

Happy writing and running, Kathy