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The Universe has aligned to steer me in a direction. When the Universe calls, I answer.
The two events that have aligned are as follows: 1) I just finished reading our local library's January book club selection, and thoroughly enjoyed, The Current by Tim Johnston; and 2) I discovered a writing craft-centric reading challenge at one of my favorite writing resources, Gabriela Pereira's DIY MFA website.
As a dyed-in-the-wool autodidact, I purchased the DIY MFA book several years ago. One of its #protips, if you will, is absorbing information with intent. This means when you are consuming information, regardless of whether you are reading, or listening, or viewing, be aware not only of the surface entertainment value, but also the behind-the-scenes structure. What is the point of view? What archetype best describes this character? When does the story transition from the second act to the third? How is the author creating likability for the protagonist? and so forth.
I know what you're thinking. Doesn't this make reading/viewing/listening more like work? I suppose some may feel that way. But not me! Reading between the lines, peeking behind the curtain, enhances the experience for me.
If you are not of my tribe, this would be a good time to stop reading this post and move on to something more to your taste. No hard feelings.
But if you do enjoy improving your writing craft skills, and, as the old gum commercial used to say, doubling your pleasure and fun, the #WriterIgniter #ReadingChallenge might be for you.
I'll let Ms. Pereira explain how it works and direct you to her website at the above link for the details. Super easy to sign up. The gist is, you choose a book to read. Using the prompts she metes out to us, you analyze the book, reading with intent. The idea is to come away with an enhanced understanding of the craft by analyzing what other writers are doing.
Pereira also suggests keeping challenge notes. I've decided to use my blog, specifically this blog post, to track my progress on the challenge. I'll update it as necessary as we work through the various challenge prompts, and alert you to updates via my Twitter feed.
The first prompt in this challenge is to select a book. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I've chosen The Current by Tim Johnston. It's not exactly in my current genre. But before I knew about this challenge, I had already decided I wanted to go back through it for two very specific reasons.
- I loved what he did with point of view. I'm still writing from a single point of view in my current WIP, but in my next book, I want to put on some Big Girl Writing Panties and try multiple POV.
- I also want to up my description game. I felt Johnston did an admiral job of adding just the right amount of detail, in the appropriate voice of the character. What he chose to describe, and how he described it, impressed the heck outta me. Not a single cliche in the book.
If you're participating in this challenge, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Which book did you choose, and why? In the meantime, stay tuned for my next update here. The second prompt in this challenge is about analyzing the protagonist.
Prompt #2: The Protagonist
updated 01/20/2020
This prompt encourages us to not only determine which character is the protagonist, but to analyze their role and classify them as one of the above character types based on their wants and needs in the story. I encourage you to listen to the details on how to do this. It's very thought-provoking.
Let me digress for a moment to mention that the challenge-within-a-challenge here is to discuss the process without spoilers. So pardon me if I seem like I'm tap dancing in this segment. I really enjoyed this book, and I don't want to spoil anything for you if you decide to read it.
Anyway -
Identifying the protagonist in The Current was an interesting process. Often we assume the point of view character is the protagonist. But what if, as in this book, the author uses several POV characters? Uh-oh! I had several to choose from, but eventually went with the one the story started and ended with.
My choice of protagonist did not fit neatly into one of the four categories in the above graphic. They were definitely Ordinary Joes/Janes. But they didn't so much want to Preserve or Change their current status as wish away a horrific past event (and to make matters more complex, it wasn't even the same event for many of them!) and go back to happier times. I guess you could say several of them would like to Change their present circumstances in such a way that it would Preserve those happy times?
But because that is not one of my choices in said box above, I will go with Change. That results in identifying the protagonist as an Underdog.
UPDATE: I heard from Gabriela about this conundrum via Twitter, and she views a situation where a character wants things to go back to the way they were before as more of a Preserve situation. So that would put the protagonist I've identified in The Current as a Survivor rather than an Underdog.
Prompt #3: Five Promises
updated 01/21/2020
Good stories set up early. ideally, authors should make five promises to the reader very near the beginning of the story.
- Who are we meant to root for? This is a tough question for me because as I mentioned in Prompt 1, there are several different characters' points of view throughout, and I was rooting for all of them whenever it was their turn on stage. Because the plot intertwines two different story lines with two different protagonists, I am having a hard time choosing an answer here.
- What is the narrative voice? The narrative voices rotate among several different characters within the story, as opposed to having an omniscient narrator outside of the story. All are relateable and sympathetic, each in their own way.
- What world is the story set in? The setting is present day. Because it is a mystery, it's a combination of a procedural and rural upper Midwest. Think Fargo, without the wood chipper.
- What is the problem facing the protagonist? We have a relatively banal problem that kicks off the story and leads us to a life-changing problem soon afterward. Very Butterfly Effect.
- Where does the story begin, and why do you think the author chose to start it there? The story begins by showing us the evolution of a relationship between two college students. To be honest, I don't know why the author chose to start there. It would've been tempting to start with one of the more jolting events that occur later in the story. I need to go back and re-read this to see if I can come up with a better answer. I'm not saying I was bored by it, because it did hold my interest. But in contrast to the events that followed, it's pretty tame in comparison.
Prompt #4: Character Compass
updated 01/26/2020
The Character Compass is a handy visual analytic. It reminds me of the Story Grid spreadsheet; specifically, the value shift columns. When you learn how to use tools like these, they can show you very specifically and objectively how a sorta squishy, nebulous component of story can be quantified and analyzed. Gosh, my Left Brain loves this stuff!
Specifically, the Character Compass can show you if you're leaning on a particular tool or strategy to get your point across, when you could be using some different methods to keep things fresh. Using this charting method, you can indicate which of the four methods is being used to show us what's important to know about the POV character. Click on the Prompt #4 link above to hear the full explanation of the chart and how to use it.
In the true spirit of DIY, this is my hand-drawn Character Compass for two different scenes from The Current. #1 on the top is a scene from the sheriff character's POV. The second one is from a different character's POV, that of a widow. I've placed the dots to show that Action is relied upon to tell the reader what the sheriff is thinking in that particular scene. And in the widow's scene, there is very little dialog or action or description of her appearance. It's mostly her thoughts that clue us in.
It's obvious from the two very different shapes created by the placement of the dots on the axes that two different methods are being used by the author. THIS IS COOL, PEOPLE. Because I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts, if we charted every sheriff scene from The Current, it would look very similar to my #1 up there. And if we charted all the widow scenes, same. So what this means is, not only are we now able to read a story and say, Aha! i see what you did there! We also now have another clearly defined tool for differentiating multiple points of views in our own work.
Prompt #5: Inciting Incident
updated 01/27/2020
This prompt requires us to identify an event that sets the story in motion, and from which there is no turning back. It's hard to discuss this prompt without spoiling the book for you, but I'll try. The character I've identified as the main protagonist gets a ride home from college with a friend. Something happens during this journey that I consider the inciting incident, and I'll stop there to avoid spoilers.
We are asked to identify five of the various types of character archetypes if they are present in our story. They are as follows:
- The Villain - in a thriller like The Current, the villain is usually pretty easy to identify. No spoilers, but that is certainly the case here. In fact, I think there might be two antagonistic forces. One is human; the other is the Upper Midwest in winter. Brrrrr!!!
- The Love Interest - there is no love interest or romantic subplot, for the protagonist anyway, in this story.
- The Sidekick - there is a sidekick of sorts, although it is not in the traditional sense. If you've read The Current and would like to discuss further, please leave a comment so any spoilers won't be in the main body of this post.
- The Mentor - I don't think it will be spoiling much if I say I consider the protagonist's father as the Mentor archetype in this story.
- The Fool - This is a tough one. The challenge says this character serves to tell the protagonist information they need to hear, but perhaps don't want to hear. I'm tempted to say the same character I think of as the Sidekick sometimes serves as the Fool as well. I need to give this some more thought.
Prompt #7: The Midpoint
updated 01/28/2020
This is an interesting take on the midpoint. I'm more used to focusing on the so-called 'midpoint shift', where the protagonist transforms from reactive to proactive. This aligns with my strong interest in external action plots like thrillers. But the challenge is presenting this middle moment as more of an internal shift, where the character realizes they need to make some changes in their outlook as well as their behavior.
I think the midpoint shift in The Current is when something happens, I won't say what exactly to adhere to my No Spoilers policy, and the protagonist realizes they have to take matters into their own hands. I'm curious to check and see where this event lands physically within the book. I'll get back to you on that.
UPDATE: The event I've selected as the protagonist's realization happens in pages 130-140. The book is about 400 pages. So this even occurs a little before the mathematical middle of the book. However. At page 141, we have a new chapter with a different character's POV. We don't get back to the protagonist for some time, so that when they do start to show us their change in approach, it is closer to the literal midpoint of the book.
Prompt #8: Theme and Thematic Elements
updated 01/29/2020
This prompt is my favorite so far. It's a meaty and meaningful discourse on the role of theme, and how various thematic elements support the theme throughout the story.
The external arc of The Current is a whodunit, so for the external theme, I'm going with 'good triumphs over evil'. And yes, I'm aware some of you might consider that to be a spoiler. Apologies.
The challenge asks us to select one of the thematic elements and demonstrate how it supports the theme within the story. Two different thematic elements stand out in my mind. One is nature, since the story is set in the upper midwest in the winter. Another is the use of what you might call supernatural elements. Various characters describe, or are shown experiencing, hard-to-define, almost metaphysical events that allow them to think or perform beyond their natural abilities. I don't mean they turn into Superman or anything. It's more like when you are having trouble with a plot point, so you go for a walk or take a shower or brush your teeth and boom! the solution just comes to you in a light bulb moment.
It's hard to describe without spoiling anything.
But I think it ties in perfectly with the 'good triumphs over evil' theme, because these events only happen to the 'good' people in the story, and leads them toward various positive outcomes in both the internal and external arcs. One example: the protagonist recalls a key detail during one of their visions, if you will, that impacts the investigation. In another example, a secondary character (also 'good') follows their gut, seemingly without any other concrete information or motivation, and performs a simple act that has a very profound impact on the fate of the antagonist.
Prompt #9: The Ending
updated 2/1/2020
In this prompt, we are asked to focus on the ending and identify some key features. In The Current, the protagonist experiences a second life-threatening situation as they deal with two different antagonists.
The challenge also requires us to look deeper into the ending and describe the outcome and its effect on the protagonist using this handy chart.
This is very tricky for me because I feel what the protagonist wants changes as the story progresses. I consider the ending bittersweet. So I would add a category here, or rather, I will ask Gabriela where she thinks a bittersweet ending fits into the above grid. Perhaps in the 'careful what you wish for' block. But the protagonist doesn't regret what they 'wished for'. Like many other characters in this story, and like many of us in real life, we regret the negative events that effect us and often wish they never happened. Does that qualify as one of the above quadrants?
Prompt #10: Scene Analysis
updated 02//05/2020
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