This seemingly counter-intuitive advice was given to me by my new editor. When you think about it, it makes sense.
What grips the reader from the start? It's not a slow build or descriptions of people and places. It's action, tension, drama. Of course there needs to be a reason to care, otherwise no amount of action will keep the reader interested. In fact, too much action too soon can leave the reader quickly feeling jaded. After all, if you threaten your protagonist with death in the first chapter, the reader will know you're not going to kill them off so soon, so they'll just want the action to end so the real story can begin.
So what do you do? Keep it simple. Kick things off in the middle of something important to your protagonist, but which can be brought to some form of resolution soon enough that the reader can be brought up to speed shortly. Ease the reader into the story from there, feeding them little bits at a time instead of either cramming it all down their throat at once or starving them for excitement by dragging things out.
Threaten the protagonist's values or goals, rather than the protagonist themselves. Give them an early setback to set up the later story. If the tension at the climax is a 10, open the book on a 4 and let it drop to 2 or 3 after the first chapter. That's when you can introduce the finer details of the setting and the goings-on of your world.
I had to learn this the hard way. When I first started editing Locked Within, the first 50 pages had to be cut because I started the story too soon, with not enough tension to keep the reader interested. It was that long before the real story began. I've made sure to correct this in anything I've written since, to make sure I don't have to lose editing time to that kind of work again.
For the writers, how do you like to start your stories?
For the readers, what are some of the bets openings you've read?
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Don't forget my Hero's Journey Challenge. Suggest me a movie, and I'll see if I can apply the Hero's Journey model to it in a blog post.
Apr 30, 2012
Start in the Middle
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 27, 2012
Hero's Journey Challenge
I've spoken a lot about the idea of the Monomyth, the Hero's Journey model which can be applied to pretty much any popular story. I'm planning to do a whole series of posts applying the Hero's Journey to different movies, but there's a catch.
I'm not going to choose the movies.
Starting today, I will be accepting requests from all of you to analyse whatever movie you want me to. If I've seen it, or I can readily get my hands on a copy to watch it, I'll see if I can apply the Hero's Journey to it and detail what elements appear and where.
So here's the deal. Name a movie, either in the comments here, on my Facebook, Twitter, or by e-mail to pashortt (at) gmail.com, between now and this time next Friday, May 4th, and I'll compile a list of the movies that I'll be examining. I'll publish the list in next Friday's blog post.
I reserve the right to turn down any suggestion that I just can't get my hands on, or if I'm aware of something about a particular movie that I find too distasteful or disturbing to watch (So I won't be doing Marathon Man (dentists...) or The Butterfly Effect (anyone who knows me and has seen this movie will know why), for example).
Let the challenge begin!
I'm not going to choose the movies.
Starting today, I will be accepting requests from all of you to analyse whatever movie you want me to. If I've seen it, or I can readily get my hands on a copy to watch it, I'll see if I can apply the Hero's Journey to it and detail what elements appear and where.
So here's the deal. Name a movie, either in the comments here, on my Facebook, Twitter, or by e-mail to pashortt (at) gmail.com, between now and this time next Friday, May 4th, and I'll compile a list of the movies that I'll be examining. I'll publish the list in next Friday's blog post.
I reserve the right to turn down any suggestion that I just can't get my hands on, or if I'm aware of something about a particular movie that I find too distasteful or disturbing to watch (So I won't be doing Marathon Man (dentists...) or The Butterfly Effect (anyone who knows me and has seen this movie will know why), for example).
Let the challenge begin!
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 25, 2012
RPGs For The Kids
I've just finished writing a roleplaying game for a charity project being organised by the Irish Games Association. The IGA is a voluntary group which promotes roleplaying games, board games and card games in Ireland. They're a good bunch and are responsible for running Gaelcon, the country's largest games convention, every year. I've been running games at Gaelcon for over ten years now.
Several regular game masters were asked to write some games that would be suitable for children, to be sent to a charitable organisation called The Meeting Place, based in Tramore. The Meeting Place offers after school care to children from disadvantages backgrounds, many of whom have suffered severe physical and emotional abuse. The goal of this project is to see if roleplaying games can be used to teach these children about teamwork and help boost their confidence.
Given the circumstances, the games had to be age-appropriate, which meant a lot of the more grown-up themes most gamers are used to went right out the window. We also had to keep violence to a minimum, or remove it entirely and focus on problem-solving. It was definitely a challenge to come up with ways to tell stories that would be exciting enough to keep the players' interest, but also avoid bringing up potentially painful memories.
I decided to write a game about teddy bears. In this game, the players take on the roles of stuffed toys who watch over children when they sleep. At night, the Bears guard their child against monsters who come to steal their laughter or give them nightmares. I hope that the game can show children that even scary things can be overcome if you've got friends with you.
If the game goes down well enough, and there's enough interest from others, I'll make it available publicly. I'm not sure in what format yet, but I think it's a fun idea and I'd love to share it.
Several regular game masters were asked to write some games that would be suitable for children, to be sent to a charitable organisation called The Meeting Place, based in Tramore. The Meeting Place offers after school care to children from disadvantages backgrounds, many of whom have suffered severe physical and emotional abuse. The goal of this project is to see if roleplaying games can be used to teach these children about teamwork and help boost their confidence.
Given the circumstances, the games had to be age-appropriate, which meant a lot of the more grown-up themes most gamers are used to went right out the window. We also had to keep violence to a minimum, or remove it entirely and focus on problem-solving. It was definitely a challenge to come up with ways to tell stories that would be exciting enough to keep the players' interest, but also avoid bringing up potentially painful memories.
I decided to write a game about teddy bears. In this game, the players take on the roles of stuffed toys who watch over children when they sleep. At night, the Bears guard their child against monsters who come to steal their laughter or give them nightmares. I hope that the game can show children that even scary things can be overcome if you've got friends with you.
If the game goes down well enough, and there's enough interest from others, I'll make it available publicly. I'm not sure in what format yet, but I think it's a fun idea and I'd love to share it.
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 23, 2012
Writing and Editing Update
It's been a while since I talked about how things are going, writing-wise. I've got a new editor at WiDo, and over the weekend I went over her notes on my ms. So far I think we're very much on the same wavelength. I love her comments and her advice is great. I still have a lot of work to do, but we're getting close to the last push.
I've got a new WIP in the works as well. Having finished writing the sequel to Locked Within I've decided to take a break from that series for a little while and write a YA superhero dystopian called Origin. I'm really enjoying this. I'm only about 5,000 words in but I have the story planned out. It'll hopefully be a standalone novel, assuming I can fit the plot into a reasonable length.
I'm aiming to be finished the first draft of Origin by July. My goal is to be able to query it around the same time as the sequel to Locked Within, which is changing title from Silent Oath to Amongst Wolves. With Locked Within due to come out in October or November, I want to do whatever I can to have another book out next year as well.
It's kind of scary to be at the start of both processes again. Writing with Origin and soon querying with Amongst Wolves. I know there's no guarantee of either one being accepted by my publisher, so I want to make sure they're both as good as possible before going ahead, which is why I'm taking my time.
How is everyone else? Whatcha reading and working on?
I've got a new WIP in the works as well. Having finished writing the sequel to Locked Within I've decided to take a break from that series for a little while and write a YA superhero dystopian called Origin. I'm really enjoying this. I'm only about 5,000 words in but I have the story planned out. It'll hopefully be a standalone novel, assuming I can fit the plot into a reasonable length.
I'm aiming to be finished the first draft of Origin by July. My goal is to be able to query it around the same time as the sequel to Locked Within, which is changing title from Silent Oath to Amongst Wolves. With Locked Within due to come out in October or November, I want to do whatever I can to have another book out next year as well.
It's kind of scary to be at the start of both processes again. Writing with Origin and soon querying with Amongst Wolves. I know there's no guarantee of either one being accepted by my publisher, so I want to make sure they're both as good as possible before going ahead, which is why I'm taking my time.
How is everyone else? Whatcha reading and working on?
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 20, 2012
Epic Music: Indiana Jones
How have I not made an Epic Music post about this yet?
One of the all-time greatest pieces of music by one of cinema's greatest composers:
One of the all-time greatest pieces of music by one of cinema's greatest composers:
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 18, 2012
Epic Music: Evolution
The 2001 film, Evolution is one of my favourite movies. To me it's one of the perfect "gamer" movies. If you ever want an idea of how most gamers roleplay during a game, this movie tells you almost everything you need to know.
It also has an excellent score, by John Powell. Here are two of my favourite tracks:
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 16, 2012
Pub Fires and Tornados
So Friday was the 13th, but here in Bray it was the morning of Saturday the 14th that had the crazy stuff happening.
First up, myself and my wife's favourite pub, the Vevay Inn, caught fire. It's believed that someone set fire to a wheelie bin at the back of the building, but there wasn't much the fire brigade could do other than keep the blaze from spreading. Pretty much all that's left are the outer walls:
We're really sorry to see the place go like this. We knew the staff well and liked them all. It's a really rough blow.
Later that same morning, the following happened down at the Bray beach:
That isn't fake. That's a small tornado drifting very close to the shore of the beach in Bray. Thankfully it died out before it touched down or caused any harm. Still though, that's pretty scary.
Anything else crazy happen this weekend?
First up, myself and my wife's favourite pub, the Vevay Inn, caught fire. It's believed that someone set fire to a wheelie bin at the back of the building, but there wasn't much the fire brigade could do other than keep the blaze from spreading. Pretty much all that's left are the outer walls:
We're really sorry to see the place go like this. We knew the staff well and liked them all. It's a really rough blow.
Later that same morning, the following happened down at the Bray beach:
That isn't fake. That's a small tornado drifting very close to the shore of the beach in Bray. Thankfully it died out before it touched down or caused any harm. Still though, that's pretty scary.
Anything else crazy happen this weekend?
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 13, 2012
Character Morals
Today I'm asking a tricky question. How strong should a protagonist's morals be?
The best stories show the hero forced to make hard decisions that challenge their existing world view. A detective has to work within the law and let a killer live despite the lives he's taken. A farmboy has to find the courage to oppose the empire that has killed his family.
Sometimes the hero's journey presents them with tempting chances to get revenge. Sometimes it makes sticking to a moral code difficult. If a character has sworn to never kill, are there any circumstances under which it's okay to break that oath? Is it forgiveable for a married man to sleep with another woman? What if his wife was unfaithful first? Is it permissible to sacrifice a million lives to save a billion, or should the hero try to find another way? These are the questions that can create defining moments in a story.
But here's the thing, should the hero be rewarded/punished for making certain choices? Authors have the power to enforce karma, should they wish. I like to see villainous characters get their comeuppance, and I like to see heroes receive some measure of a reward in the end. Something to show that their suffering was worthwhile. If a hero has achieved success through purely noble means, then we usually have no trouble accepting that they deserve their reward. But what if they let an innocent person die when they could have saved them? Do they still deserve it then? What if the villain has one redeeming moment, one good act in the end? Are they then forgiven for all they've done in the past?
There is, perhaps, no one definitive answer. Nor should there be. Perhaps if that innocent person had been saved, more people would have died. Perhaps the hero just wanted to achieve their goal and considered the innocent an acceptable loss. Maybe the villain has been fighting for redemption for years, or that heroic act was just a ploy to garner sympathy. Each story will be different.
I'm a fan of those moments where the hero is faced with an impossible choice and manages to find a third option that both preserves their moral code and achieves their goal. Nothing says "hero" to me like a character seeing through the chaos and knee-jerk responses to work out a solution that neither their allies nor their enemies predicted.
But for those moments to have meaning, sometimes the hero has to make the tough choice. And sometimes, I feel, that choice should be wrong. It shows that the hero can make mistakes and makes their eventual victory more satisfying. But in cases where the choice was the wrong one, I think the hero should be made to answer fot it, and either find a way to make amends, or suffer the consequences.
What about you? Are there times when you've wished a hero would suffer consequences for a choice you disagreed with?
The best stories show the hero forced to make hard decisions that challenge their existing world view. A detective has to work within the law and let a killer live despite the lives he's taken. A farmboy has to find the courage to oppose the empire that has killed his family.
Sometimes the hero's journey presents them with tempting chances to get revenge. Sometimes it makes sticking to a moral code difficult. If a character has sworn to never kill, are there any circumstances under which it's okay to break that oath? Is it forgiveable for a married man to sleep with another woman? What if his wife was unfaithful first? Is it permissible to sacrifice a million lives to save a billion, or should the hero try to find another way? These are the questions that can create defining moments in a story.
But here's the thing, should the hero be rewarded/punished for making certain choices? Authors have the power to enforce karma, should they wish. I like to see villainous characters get their comeuppance, and I like to see heroes receive some measure of a reward in the end. Something to show that their suffering was worthwhile. If a hero has achieved success through purely noble means, then we usually have no trouble accepting that they deserve their reward. But what if they let an innocent person die when they could have saved them? Do they still deserve it then? What if the villain has one redeeming moment, one good act in the end? Are they then forgiven for all they've done in the past?
There is, perhaps, no one definitive answer. Nor should there be. Perhaps if that innocent person had been saved, more people would have died. Perhaps the hero just wanted to achieve their goal and considered the innocent an acceptable loss. Maybe the villain has been fighting for redemption for years, or that heroic act was just a ploy to garner sympathy. Each story will be different.
I'm a fan of those moments where the hero is faced with an impossible choice and manages to find a third option that both preserves their moral code and achieves their goal. Nothing says "hero" to me like a character seeing through the chaos and knee-jerk responses to work out a solution that neither their allies nor their enemies predicted.
But for those moments to have meaning, sometimes the hero has to make the tough choice. And sometimes, I feel, that choice should be wrong. It shows that the hero can make mistakes and makes their eventual victory more satisfying. But in cases where the choice was the wrong one, I think the hero should be made to answer fot it, and either find a way to make amends, or suffer the consequences.
What about you? Are there times when you've wished a hero would suffer consequences for a choice you disagreed with?
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 11, 2012
Thoughts on Mass Effect 3
Last night I finished Mass Effect 3. I took the red ending, and I'm fairly happy with my choice, but I thought I'd share my feelings. Yep, the rest of this post is packed with spoilers...
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
Apr 9, 2012
When The Story Ends
Yep, endings are still on my mind.
I've been thinking about that point in a story where you realise that the end really is near. You're on the last book in a series and you see that you only have about thirty pages left. There are only three episodes left to go in your favourite tv show. It's not long before the end credits roll on that movie you were waiting so long to see.
Sometimes you don't want the story to end. The thought of the story being over hurts too much.
Is it strange to feel that way? That even though the end usually means good has triumphed, you just want the story to carry on? You'd rather see the characters you love go through all that hardship again just so you can still be with them.
Are there any endings that have made you feel this way?
I've been thinking about that point in a story where you realise that the end really is near. You're on the last book in a series and you see that you only have about thirty pages left. There are only three episodes left to go in your favourite tv show. It's not long before the end credits roll on that movie you were waiting so long to see.
Sometimes you don't want the story to end. The thought of the story being over hurts too much.
Is it strange to feel that way? That even though the end usually means good has triumphed, you just want the story to carry on? You'd rather see the characters you love go through all that hardship again just so you can still be with them.
Are there any endings that have made you feel this way?
Paul Anthony Shortt believes in magic and monsters. In ghosts and fairies. The creatures that lurk under the bed and inside the closet. The things that live in the dark, and the heroes who stand against them. Above all, he believes that stories have the power to change the world, and the most important stories are the ones which show that monsters can be beaten.
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