That is not the case in Ten Candles, written by Stephen Dewey for Cavalry Games. Ten Candles is a tragic horror game set in a sunless post-apocalyptic world where a nameless threat lurks in the darkness and it differs from all other horror games I have played in one major respect: Everyone dies. 

While this may seem very sad, I think this game is best used as a tool to explore what it means to hope. The details of the world, the apocalypse, and even the enemy change every time you play this game which I think leaves storytelling groups with a joyful glut of possibilities.

The Setup of Ten Candles

To play you need a stack of index cards, a black marker for each person at the table, 10 six-sided dice of one color, a handful of six-sided dice of another color (one per player), a voice recorder, a fireproof bowl, and 10 tealight candles. Set the candles up in a circle around the bowl, pass 5 index cards and a marker out to each player, place the 10 six-sided dice of one color within reach of all players.

Characters are made up of Traits, a Moment, and a Brink. Traits are a one-word descriptor written on their own index card and each character has two—a virtue and a vice. Moments are an event that will happen during the game that will give your character a chance to find hope in the darkness. Brinks are hidden traits that are only available to the character once they’ve exhausted everything else—they are the desperate, secret, and dangerous parts of your character. 

These cards are arranged in stacks with Brinks flipped over face down on the bottom of the stack, and no more than one character’s Moment active on top. Whichever card is on top is active, but all aspects of the character should be roleplayed at all times, regardless of whether they are active or burned. Once the stacks are built they may not be changed.

Gameplay

When characters are built and all candles are lit, each character takes turns recording their last voice message for the world. This serves to set up the game and center the players on their character’s goal. 

The candles serve as ambiance, gameplay tool, timer, and light source (preferably the only light source) during the game. Candles may not be relit under any circumstances. 

Characters will encounter conflicts and will roll the available communal dice pool to resolve them. If the roll has even one six the result is a success, if any die shows a one that die is lost for the remainder of the scene. If the roll has no sixes, it is a failure and a candle is darkened. When a candle is darkened the group moves to the next scene. Using these conflict rolls narrative control is passed back and forth between the Game Master (GM) and the players. Whoever gains narrative control with each conflict roll will narrate the outcome of the conflict.

To reroll all ones, a character may burn their trait—literally burn it. The player sets the index card alight on one of the candle flames and places the card to burn in the fireproof bowl. If a trait is burned in a conflict, it must be a part of the narration of the conflict resolution. Once burned, that Trait is no longer available to the player to reroll, but must still be roleplayed as an aspect of the character. The process of burning reveals the next card in the stack which now becomes active.

When a Moment becomes active, the story steers toward that event and when it becomes a conflict, a roll is made. If the result is a success, then the character has found hope and gains a hope die, one of the handful of six-sided dice that is a different color from the communal pool. This die is not lost on ones, and can succeed on a five or six. When a Moment is lived, regardless of success or failure, it must be burned to reveal the next card in the stack.

A Brink may not be played until it is active, once all other things have been burned away. Then it may be burned to reroll ones in the same way that a Trait would be. If the conflict roll succeeds then the game proceeds as normal, if it fails then the character loses any hope die they had. 

Why It’s Useful

Ten Candles is a game where all the characters are doomed. Everything about the game works to create tension. The low light helps you feel the dread your characters would feel in a world with no light, where they lurk in the darkness. 

The fact that you cannot relight a candle once it out makes people careful and purposeful with their movements, lest they darken a candle by accident and limit the most precious resource they have—light. 

With each darkened candle a die transfers from the communal dice pool to the GM’s dice pool. This means that as a game goes on the players have a lower and lower chance of success and the GM has a higher and higher chance of gaining narrative control. The slow burn of this increased helplessness aids in creating a story in which characters cling to the smallest embers of hope that they can find. 

Establishing Truths

With each darkened candle you go through a ritual as a group called Establishing Truths. The GM starts by saying “These things are true. The world is dark.” Then the group goes around the table starting with whoever has narrative control at the time and establishes one small truth about the world for each lit candle. The final truth for the last candle is always said by the players in unison: “And, we are alive.” 

This ritual increases in solemnity and dread as each new candle is darkened. When only one candle remains the totality of the ritual consists of the GM saying “These things are true. The world is dark” and the players responding “And we are alive.”

Apply Ten Candles to Your Writing

The tension and desperation that Ten Candles is set up for helps when writing about tragedy, martyrdom, dread and hope. When playing, you find hope and heroism in the smallest most unassuming moments. The players know their characters will all die, but, even so, the characters struggle and fight against their doom. 

You will find when playing that the smallest victories are celebrated with fanfare usually reserved for world-saving events. Your characters will cling to strange hopes, argue over tiny choices, and die in ways you would never have imagined on your own. 

This game illustrates human desperation in new ways that allows for you to get close and examine the shape of it. Running the game helps guide you in how to best create tension and dread which gives you practice you can use in negotiating stakes and pacing your writing. 

It’s an excellent use of three hours that can change your perspective drastically, and I highly recommend it.

Tell us in the comments: Have you ever played Ten Candles?

Kris Hill is working on several genre fiction novels because she has difficulty sticking to writing one project at a time. In her daily life she attempts to navigate the corporate world as a data analyst. When Kris is not working, she can be found sprawled on a couch reading or running tabletop adventures for her friends. She lives in Canada’s capital city with her husband, her best friend, and three cats.

The post Doom, Hope, and Ten Candles appeared first on DIY MFA.

None of this descriptive prose advances the story one inch. 

A teacher once said to me, “Redge, if you decide to write a story about a bear….bring on the bear.”

1. Write, but write what?

Let’s back up a bit. The first thing to decide is what you’re going to write.

What am I good at? What gives me the most satisfaction? A poem, an essay, a short story, a novel, or some other literary form. 

This is not a trivial decision. While this might seem obvious, it is too often ignored. 

An honest evaluation of one’s talent and inclinations can be painful. Some people just can’t tell a joke, and yet they try. Some people say there’s a novel within them, but they have little imagination.   

2. Are you a storyteller or are you a singer of words?

Are you in love with the sound and choice of your words or do you want to tell a story that carries your reader on an exciting ride? 

Obviously, great storytellers can be purveyors of beautiful words, but the words shouldn’t get in the way of the story. Some might say to look at Faulkner versus Hemingway. One drew complex character and location descriptions into beautiful sagas. The other slapped a bear around in the first chapter and didn’t let go until the end. 

A current trend is to write short stories that begin and end without going anywhere, but arrive there via some beautiful prose.

3. Ordinary or erudite?

Prose is defined as “The ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.” 

Okay, now we have the dictionary version, but what constitutes “ordinary”? What is the ordinary form of spoken language and what difference does it make?

Faulkner once said,  “Hemingway has never been known to use a word that might cause a reader to check with a dictionary.” 

Hemingway replied, “Poor Faulkner, does he think big emotions come from big words?” 

Both men are recognized as brilliant authors, but they chose different paths. 

Let’s say you decide, as I did, that you want to tell stories, and that you want to tell stories about interesting, difficult, simple, complex, loving, hateful people. You want your reader to laugh at your jokes, cry when crying is called for, and think when thought is required. You want your reader to stay in the story, to relate to the people, and for me, that means limiting the time spent thumbing through a dictionary. The irony is that one of Faulkner’s best stories was called “The Bear.”

4. Where’s the meat?

So, what will make the reader become involved? Interesting people, of all types, plus a storyline that is both believable and unbelievable. 

No one really believes that Bond could survive hand to hand combat against twenty trained attackers, but what the hell, it’s a great story, which finally gets to the point of this essay—bring the reader along with you but don’t insult him or her with too much self-satisfying descriptive prose. 

The reason most people think that movies adapted from books are less enjoyable than reading the book, is that movies don’t leave anything up to the viewer’s imagination. Roger Moore ain’t James Bond! Tom Cruise ain’t Jack Reacher! That’s not what Goldfinger’s farm looks like!

5. Let’em find their Wonderland.

The world a good writer creates is not just their world, but their reader’s. A good story allows the reader in; it encourages the reader to create their own world because that world is the most realistic and exciting. The writer is the guide who points out areas of interest but lets the reader fill in the blanks. 

A teacher of mine once said, “It’s okay to feed your reader, but don’t chew for them.” Don’t tell them every detail about the protagonist, about the garden, about every aspect of the scenery. 

Don’t be a movie, be a book.

Tell us in the comments: How do you balance telling enough versus telling all?

Eldridge C. Hanes; Redge to his friends; was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia, and then from Duke University in 1967 with a BA in Economics. He graduated from the Army Combat Engineering Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir in June of 1968 and served three years of active duty, the last of which was in the Republic of Vietnam and earned him the Bronze Star. After the army, Redge worked seven years for Hanes Corporation and then left to start Xpres Corporation, which eventually became The Russ Companies, for whom Redge served as chairman for three years before retiring in 2011. In addition to his business interests, he has served on a number of boards in the education, environmental and arts fields. Redge has published two novels, Billy Bowater and Justice by Another Name, in addition to contributing essays and articles to various publications. His essay “Helen of Marion” appeared in the recent UNC Press anthology, Mothers and Strangers: Essays on Motherhood from the New South. Redge has been married for fifty years to Jane Grenley Hanes. They have a son, Philip, and a daughter, Lara, and are grandparents of five lively and beautiful grandchildren.

The post #5onFri: Five Ways to Tell Enough without Telling All appeared first on DIY MFA.

A while back, I hopped onto Instagram and asked for a few book recommendations to add to my TBR pile. But here’s a little secret: while I love writing, I am guilty of not being an avid reader. In fact, I binge read 3 to 4 books and then read nothing for a long while. 

However, as I started reading a few of those book recommendations, I realized they were some of the best (in my opinion) to appreciate the basic storytelling elements. And I couldn’t help but think how much I would love to share them with you all. 

Today, I have 4 book recommendations for you to binge on and get a better understanding of storytelling elements.

But first thing first, what are storytelling elements?

There are many definitions out there, but I consider the following three elements essential when telling a story. Miss out on one and your entire story falls apart:

1. The Characters: Who are you going to follow around in the story?

2. The World: Where does this story take place?

3. The Plot: What is happening in the story?

There’s a lot to explore about these storytelling elements in themselves, but our focus for today is to appreciate them in practice. To avoid any spoilers, I have included the blurb for you to read and what I liked in the novels.

Without further ado, here are my recommendations:

The Characters: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.”

I am a sucker for fantasy characters being the narrator and here we have Death narrating the story. That sold me. But the novel is filled with characters that you fall in love with, sometimes hate, and then end up falling in love with once again. Much like people in real life. And you cannot help but love them, even Death, because they are so unyielding in the face of something so dreadful as war and their relationships so heartwarming.

Beautifully written with a heartbreaking yet absolutely realistic ending that would leave you in tears and have a profound impact on you. However, as is the case with many novels, people have a divided opinion on this one. If complex reads and tragic endings aren’t your things, maybe steer clear of this one.

The World: The Goblin Emperor by Sarah Monette

“The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend…and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne—or his life.”

The strong world building was my key takeaway from this book besides the poignant characters. If you’ve ever read anything I’ve written, you know I love world building, and this novel had such detailed world building that I fell in love. You’ll find everything important about it here. The politics, mannerism, laws, interpersonal relationships, everything is mapped out so perfectly it is hard not to be in awe.

However, some parts are drawn out too long with descriptions and names that are hard to remember, but the coming-of-age trope is something I enjoy and saying this novel has done justice to it is an understatement.

The Plot: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

“The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.”

Some novels grip you the first time you read them. Then there are some that when you re-read them, you appreciate them on a whole new level. This one is a combination of both. 

There was so much foreshadowing and so many other nuances hidden in plain sight that re-reading it gave me a new sense of appreciation of just how spectacular this novel really is. You think you have uncovered all the layers of this novel, but end up finding another one right underneath. The plot is so skillfully crafted and detailed, anyone who appreciates high fantasy novels is bound to find this interesting.

Now, there’s a complaint that Jordan has borrowed many aspects from J. R. R. Tolkien’s work, but I argue there are so many pieces of literature out there and almost everything is inspired by something or the other. 

Jordan has included his own original magic and delivered us a story with growth and powerful allusions. But that’s my opinion and if long novels or series aren’t your cup of tea, we can find you another.

Complete Package: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

“What would you change if you could go back in time?

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.

In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-traveling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer’s, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .”

I am in love with this beautiful novel. Kawaguchi has touched upon the age-old question with his unique traces and it just warms your heart. With heart-rending characters and their stories that might leave you in tears, topped with such an interesting world building, it really makes you wonder what would I do if I could go back in time? 

The pacing is just as it should be and when you turn the last page, I promise you’ll learn the truth about past, present, and future that was right there on the surface of your head but it’ll hit you differently.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Novel is the debut novel of famous playwright Toshikazu Kawaguchi and you’ll find hints of his skills in the way the novel feels like a theatrical setup and it is in some ways. But that shortcoming is nothing compared to the way the novel will leave you feeling. Like a warm cup of coffee on a rainy day.

Tell us in the comments: Have you read any of these recommendations? What are some of your go-to novels that explore the basic storytelling elements?

The next time we meet, let’s create a world of wonder that can be, in equal measure, marvelous and intimidating. But we’ll take away the intimidating part with questions that can help you set on a path to create the perfect world for your characters.

Disha Walia is a lifelong storyteller and an enthusiastic writer and editor in love with the idea of exploring the creative world of words. While making her space in the world of non-fiction and fiction alike, Disha loves to spend even her free time daydreaming about what next to write. Connect with her on www.quillinary.com. You can also follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

The post Appreciate Storytelling Elements with these Book Recommendations appeared first on DIY MFA.

Khanh is the author of Flesh and The Demon Who Peddled Longing. 

He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, and The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize. 

He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, the Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, and The C&R Press Fiction Prize. 

His new novel, Mrs. Rossi’s Dream, was named Best New Book by Booklist and a 2019 Foreword Reviews INDIES Silver Winner and Bronze Winner

In this episode Khanh Ha and I discuss:

• How he writes death scenes in a way that is comfortable for him and powerful for the reader.
• The difference between style and voice and how writers can make both unique.
• Why writers need to stay faithful to their character when creating the POV of the narrative.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Khanh Ha

Khanh Ha is the author of Flesh and The Demon Who Peddled Longing. He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, and The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize. He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, the Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, and The C&R Press Fiction Prize. His new novel, Mrs. Rossi’s Dream, was named Best New Book by Booklist and a 2019 Foreword Reviews INDIES Silver Winner and Bronze Winner.

A Mother’s Tale

A tale of salvaging one’s soul from received and inherited war-related trauma. Within the titular beautiful story of a mother’s love for her son is the cruelty and senselessness of the Vietnam War, the poignant human connection, and a haunting narrative whose setting and atmosphere appear at times otherworldly through their landscape and inhabitants. Captured in the vivid descriptions of Vietnam’s country and culture are a host of characters, tortured and maimed and generous and still empathetic despite many obstacles, including a culture wrecked by losses. Somewhere in this chaos readers will find a tender link between the present-day survivors and those already gone. Rich and yet buoyant with a vision-like quality, this collection shares a common theme of love and loneliness, longing and compassion, where beauty is discovered in the moments of brutality, and agony is felt in ecstasy.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 382

(Right-click to download.)

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 382: Character, Setting, and Cinematic Storytelling in Short Stories – Interview with Khanh Ha appeared first on DIY MFA.

While the scope of available writing tools might have expanded and access to resources increased, the fundamental principles that make a good writer remain constant and evergreen. To this end, here are five crucial traits historically found among successful authors.

1. Passion for Literature

Perhaps the most critical attribute needed for anyone to succeed at any endeavour is passion. This quality sets you apart from the horde in ways no other trait does—it makes you genuinely original. True love for literature begins with a passion for reading.

When you genuinely enjoy gaining access into the minds and thoughts of others as you read through their words, you find out that your burning ideas begin to take on a form of overwhelming coherence. A passion for reading bestows you with the uncommon ability to enthral your target audience thoroughly. 

It is imperative to note that the passion coursing through your mind should be extremely vivid in your writing during character development and the description of emotional scenes. Always do your research properly to ensure you use the right words and phrases to transfer your passion and emotions from your mind to your readers.

2. Powerful Deductive Abilities

A spectacular author is not only able to appreciate the beauty of literature, they are also adept at spotting problems in it. Truly remarkable authors view other people’s writings like an art collector may view a painting—with an adoring, yet critical eye. As a great author, you must be able to appreciate the beauty of the piece you are reading while also being able to figure out the pitfalls in the text.

Pinpointing the problems in a piece of literature is not about detecting grammatical errors. It is about being able to view the storyline with a critical eye to figure out the point where the story begins to stray from its original theme. A great author must be able to honestly and constructively assess even the most exquisite pieces and find a way to make those stories a little better, at least from our own perspective. Identifying the perfect words and phrases to use is one of the critical abilities for writing a fantastic story.

3. Unique Imaginative Ability

The mind is like an arsenal to the prolific writer, and the deadliest weapon in that arsenal is your imagination. Some of the best stories the world has ever read have arisen from brilliant authors combining their personal experiences with their spectacular imaginations.

One particular story that comes to mind is Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The simplistic yet deeply satisfying narrative of this book was created out of the author’s childhood experiences and his superb ability to re-interpret that creatively.

We must remember that being genuinely imaginative involves evaluating our experiences and using the power of our mind to complement these experiences with description. A visionary mind can write a moving script that conveys a variety of emotions and feelings from calmness and tranquillity to fear and violence. This helps make a book genuinely exceptional.

4. Superb Expressivity 

It’s one thing to be imaginative, and another to be able to express your ideas to move your readers to feel the exact emotions you want them to. A prolific author is a master manipulator who can conveniently wield the reader’s emotions in any direction they want.

One of the defining characteristics of brilliant authors is, therefore, their ability to evoke needed emotions in people, such as fear, anger, joy, surprise, and even unadulterated terror. Superb expressivity lies in being able to make the reader feel every emotion. While writing your book, using the most suitable expressions for every context is vital to penetrating your reader’s mind completely.

5. Long-Term Discipline & Commitment 

As an author, it doesn’t matter how talented, imaginative, or intelligent you are. If you are not disciplined enough to set personal goals and stick religiously to them, you aren’t likely to succeed. To become a prolific author, you need to master your mindset.

Writers tend to procrastinate a lot because they are not “feeling creative enough.” However, to succeed as an author, we need to be able to get past our emotions and relentlessly pursue our goals. The truth is, there will always be times when we don’t feel so motivated. 

This is where the line between good authors and legendary ones is drawn. To be truly phenomenal, we need to feel a deep desire to carry out essential tasks such as reading necessary reference materials, typing up our manuscript, and proof-reading our work—all within specific time frames. Discipline and commitment would help us stand out as we reach for the best-seller list.

Conclusion

Writing is one of the purest forms of art. Creating an outstanding piece of art requires you to dig painstakingly into the deepest recesses of your soul. Before you write, be sure to be in your element and to write straight from your heart. With passion and consistency, there is a world of infinite opportunity for the budding writer.

Never forget that achieving excellence as a writer is all about putting these traits into practice. If we are diligent enough to keep trying, eventually, we’ll attain the peaks of creative perfection we dream of.

Rachael Cooper is the SEO & Publishing Manager for Jericho Writers, a writers services company based in the UK and US. Rachael has a Masters in eighteenth-century literature, and specialises in female sociability. In her free time she writes articles on her favourite eighteenth-century authors and, if all else fails, you can generally find her reading and drinking tea!

The post #5onFri: Five Common Traits of Successful Authors appeared first on DIY MFA.

When I became a Certified Story Grid Editor in 2019 (Story Grid is an editing methodology that provides practical tools and tips to help writers in the writing process), this understanding became crucial for my ability to:

1. Edit a client’s work with a sharp eye.
2. Communicate why certain elements in their scenes weren’t working.
3. Discuss how they could revise their scene by using Story Grid’s practical scene analysis template. 

Sharing Story Grid’s scene analysis template has also been invaluable in teaching my clients and students how to participate in deep discussions about their work on the scene level. For further study, we use the scene analysis template and Socratic Learning Method to explore what makes masterworks great. Note, reading with an analytical eye is also a HUGE pillar for DIY MFA’s philosophy, and the cornerstone of all the columns I contribute to DIY MFA.   

Being a Word Nerd, you know how important it is to Read With Purpose. That’s why I’ve decided to dedicate my next handful of articles to breaking down scenes using Story Grid’s Scene Analysis Template, so you can learn how to read like a writer instead of a reader. It’s my hope that by sharing this, you’ll get excited about studying scenes from masterworks and comparable titles from an analytical perspective—all while leveling up your writing craft by learning how to edit your scenes with intention and purpose. 

The Essentials of a Story Grid Scene Analysis

It’s important to understand what a scene analysis template consists of. There are four parts:

• A summary of the scene
• An analysis of the scene
• How the scene follows the Five Commandments of Storytelling
• Notes (anything additional you want to jot down) 

In this first article, I’ll take the time to explain exactly what these elements are and how you can apply them to your breakdown of a scene. In future articles, I’ll dive deep into specific scenes from beloved and current stories so that you can grow more confident in your ability to analyze published works (and revise your own!). 

Something Additionally Important to Remember: It’s vital to recognize that while a scene analysis can be explored with practical tools and principles, each analysis uses the Socratic Learning Method—a cooperative, argumentative dialogue between individuals who ask and answer questions to stimulate critical thinking and draw out underlying presumptions—to do this. 

This learning method is most successful when learners prepare by closely reading and researching first. Ultimately, it helps learners take subjective material and explore it with a critical eye, thus allowing them to share ideas based on trained and sophisticated perspectives rather than opinion alone—i.e. your opinions gain credibility because you can support them with a common language and system. 

Determining the Story Event

A Story Grid scene analysis identifies whether or not a scene makes sense (is it confusing or not) and if it works (does the scene show a change from beginning to end).

To do this, we need to determine the Story Event. This is an active change in a life value for one or more characters that happens as a result of conflict (one character’s desires clash with another’s). A “Working Scene” contains at least one Story Event.

To determine a scene’s Story Event, Story Grid encourages readers to answer these four questions.

1. What are the characters literally doing?
2. What is the essential action in the scene? (In other words, what does the POV character driving the scene want?)
3. What life value has changed for one or more of the characters in the scene? (Life values are determined by a change in the scene from positive to negative or vise versa. An action or revelation in the scene causes this turn because it forces the POV character to make a decision—they must do something in order to advance the plot and/or develop their character. Stasis = death.) 
4. Which life value should I highlight on my Story Grid Spreadsheet? (If you like to use Story Grid as the editing tool for your manuscript, this spreadsheet breaks down each scene with the most important elements to consider, including the value shift.)  

The Five Commandments of Storytelling 

After you identify the big picture of a scene, it’s important to take a look at the scene’s five commandments. Personally, I consider Story Grid’s Five Commandments the cornerstone of Story Grid’s resources. These five elements identify if a scene works (something to look for in your own scenes!). 

The five commandments are the following:   

Inciting Incident: The inciting incident is the disturbance or inciting event that sets your scene into action. In other words, what forces you character to move, but doesn’t necessarily cause them to do something that changes the scene from a positive to negative, or vice versa. Inciting Incidents are Causal (a person causes a disturbance) or Coincidental (a coincidence, like a hurricane, causes a disturbance).

Progressive Complication Turning Point: This is the most important commandment in the list of five because this is the Action or Revelation your POV character experiences, and that forces them to make a Crisis Decision about what to do next. 

To abbreviate this commandment, I like to call it the Turning Point. The first part–the progressive complication–is a conflict that causes a negative or positive obstacle for a POV character but doesn’t necessarily demand they do something about it. However, the Turning Point is the complication that can no longer be ignored because ignoring it causes inevitable consequences. The Turning Point is what ultimately causes the value shift. Without a Turning Point, the scene holds no purpose because it does not advance the plot and/or develop a character—i.e. it doesn’t work.    

Crisis: A Crisis Decision is the Best Bad Choice or Irreconcilable Goods decision a character must make because of the Turning Point. A character is forced to either make a decision that will result in negative outcomes for them regardless of what they decide to do next (Best Bad Choice), or it will benefit them but negatively impact others (Irreconcilable Goods–the inverse of a BBC). These decisions are subtle, but knowing that a character undergoes one raises the stakes and defines how a character changes the scene (and the outcome). Thus, the characters become active instead of passive.

Climax: This is the action the character takes as a direct result of their Crisis Decision. We see the character make their decision within the context of their actions, which changes the value shift that provides purpose for the scene.  

Resolution: The outcome of the climax—i.e. how has the scene changed? If you can’t identify a resolution that signifies change at the end of your scene, it probably lacks one or more of the five commandments, and will likely disengage the reader.   

Putting the Template Into Action 

Because today’s article focused on explaining how Story Grid’s scene analysis template worked, I’m going to use a movie clip to break down today’s scene. In my next articles, I will deliver full scene analysis templates—the summary, analysis, five commandments, and notes—for scenes from published works.

Before diving into my scene analysis template for today’s scene, give it a quick screen here: The Burning Bush Scene from The Prince of Egypt.

For a quick overview: In this scene, Moses (the Prince of Egypt) encounters a burning bush when tracking down one of his sheep. He investigates the bush and is introduced to the Voice of God, who calls Moses to lead his people out of Egypt.   

Prince of Egypt Scene Analysis  

To determine the scene’s Story Event, we’ll answer these four questions:

1. What are the characters literally doing? Moses watches his flock when one sheep wanders off. He leaves to collect the sheep and encounters the Voice of God. 
2. What is the essential action of what the characters are doing in the scene? Moses wants to retrieve his sheep. God wants Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, and Moses (initially) does not want this because he’s afraid.  
3. What life value has changed for one or more of the characters in the scene? Moses begins his day content and naïve, following through with the quiet and routine work of his new life. He’s learned about God at this point, but his understanding of his personal relationship with God is thrown for a loop when, after chasing a wandering sheep, he encounters a burning bush. Through the bush, God speaks to Moses and calls him to lead God’s people out of Egypt. Moses doesn’t want to do this, but is eventually comforted by God and persuaded that—with his faith—he can do this. 
4. Which life value should I highlight on my Story Grid Spreadsheet? Some words that could work as Value Shifts for this scene could include, but are not limited to: Naïve to Cognitive Dissonance, Alone to Spiritually Accompanied, Content to Afraid to Encouraged, Complacent to Enlightened (Notice how it’s not so important that you choose the perfect word to define your Value Shift, but rather you indicate how a Value Shift turns the scene from positive to negative, negative to positive—or in some cases like this scene, Positive (+) to Double Positive (++).)

The Five Commandments of Storytelling in the Prince of Egypt Scene

• Inciting Incident: Coincidental. One of Moses’ sheep wanders from the herd.   

• Turning Point: Action. God calls Moses to lead His people out of Egypt.

• Crisis: Best Bad Choice. Moses can reject God’s command and suffer supernatural and internal consequences, or he can accept God’s calling, which means facing his brother and the inevitable hardships ahead.   

• Climax: Moses rejects God’s calling but is quickly reprimanded for challenging God. Afraid, Moses is comforted by God, who encourages him that He will be with Moses when he faces pharaoh.   

• Resolution: Enlightened, Moses returns to camp and enthusiastically shares his experience and mission with his wife. 

The Big Takeaway

Understanding how to use Story Grid’s scene analysis template will strengthen your ability to dissect scenes so you can identify why and how a scene advances a plot and/or develops a character (i.e. why it “works”). Also, embracing the Socratic Learning Method encourages writer-readers to engage in discussions without fear of rejection of sounding “wrong.” Story Grid’s scene analysis exercise is not about creating arguments about “who analyzed the scene best,” but rather helping you understand how to read like a writer and editor–so you can become both for your own work! 

If you’d like to learn more about Story Grid’s scene analysis tools or continue this discussion, I’d love to hear from you! Visit my website at www.abigailkperry.com to connect. Until then, enjoy analyzing your favorite story scenes, and look for my next DIY MFA article, which will analyze the first scene in JoJo Moyes’ historical fiction release, The Giver of Stars.  

Happy reading and writing!

Abigail K. Perry is Teacher-Turned-Certified Story Grid Editor with literary agency, publishing, and production experience. With a B.S. in TV, Radio, and Film from Syracuse University (Newhouse) and a Master’s in Secondary Education from Endicott College, Abigail created and taught three creative writing and film courses at the high school level for several years, and she continues to teach writers at her local bookstore, her DIY MFA column, and her services and podcast, Story Effect (all found on her website, www.abigailkperry.com) 

Although trained in multiple genres, Abigail specializes in Scripts, Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Upmarket Fiction, Historical Fiction, General Fiction with Magical Realism, and YA Fantasy, many of which she reviewed (and loved!) as the editorial intern for P.S. Literary Agency’s VP and Senior Literary Agent, Carly Watters. She currently works at P.S. Literary as the Agency Relations Assistant.

The post Use the Story Grid Scene Analysis Template to Read With Purpose appeared first on DIY MFA.

Sam is the author of multiple books of fantasy, including the Bring Down Heaven trilogy, the Affinity for Steel trilogy and comics such as Brave Chef Brianna.

He currently lives in the United States with his two hounds and, at any given time, is probably yelling at something inanimate. Sam looks forward to being one of the sole providers of fantasy entertainment. Assuming no other authors are actually discovered in the next forty years.

His latest book, Seven Blades in Black, is the start of his new fantasy series The Grave of Empires and is now available.

No one can verify where he was on the night of October 17th, 2003.

So on that ominous note, listen in as Sam and I chat about his awesome new book and the secrets to getting your audience emotionally invested in your story.

In this episode Sam and I discuss:

• How to build a world that fits and impacts your characters.
• Leaving certain things in your world unexplained, or “The Kessel Run Principle” by Sam Sykes.
• The importance of creating a diversity of attitudes among your characters.
• Why escalation in your story is more important than balance.
• Trusting your readers to draw their own conclusions from your writing.

Plus, Sam’s #1 tip for writers.

About Sam Sykes

Sam Sykes is incredibly tall and has written multiple books, including the Bring Down Heaven trilogy, the Affinity for Steel trilogy and comics such as Brave Chef Brianna.

He currently lives in the United States with his two hounds and, at any given time, is probably yelling at something inanimate. Tome of the Undergates was his first book, but far from his last. Sam looks forward to being one of the sole providers of fantasy entertainment, assuming no other authors are actually discovered in the next forty years.

His latest book, Seven Blades in Black, is the start of his new fantasy series The Grave of Empires and is now available.

No one can verify where he was on the night of October 17th, 2003

To connect with Sam check out his website at www.samsykes.com.

Seven Blades in Black

A girl with a magic gun hunts down seven mages who owe her a debt of blood and sorrow.

Among humans, none have power like mages. And among mages, none have will like Sal the Cacophony. Once revered, now vagrant, she walks a wasteland scarred by generations of magical warfare.

The Scar, a land torn between powerful empires, is where rogue mages go to disappear, disgraced soldiers go to die and Sal went with a blade, a gun and a list of names she intended to use both on.

But vengeance is a flame swift extinguished. Betrayed by those she trusted most, her magic torn from her and awaiting execution, Sal the Cacophony has one last tale to tell before they take her head.

All she has left is her name, her story and the weapon she used to carved both.

Vengeance is its own reward.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 252: The Emotional Weight of Storytelling — Interview with Sam Sykes appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I am so excited to have Steven James on the show!

Steve is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of sixteen novels. Best known for his psychological thrillers, he has received more than a dozen honors and awards for his books, including 3 Christy Awards and being nominated as a finalist for an International Thriller Award.

He is also the author of the groundbreaking book on the craft of fiction, Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, which won a 2015 Storytelling World Award. He also hosts the podcast “The Story Blender,” where he interviews great storytellers from the world of cinema, oral performance, and writing about the craft of great storytelling (and where I’ve had the honor of being a guest!).

Steve’s most recent novel, Every Wicked Man, is another exhilarating installment of the Bowers Files featuring his iconic character FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers. I have to admit, this book kind of scared the living daylights out of me and had me frantically turning the virtual pages on my Kindle.

Listen in as we chat about this awesome suspense-filled story, and how to craft a novel that will keep your readers guessing until the very end.

In this episode Steven and I discuss:

• How to craft a dynamic relationship over the course of a series.
• Four questions to ask yourself to help shape your story.
• Why you shouldn’t plan out surprising twists before hand.
• Breaking down the four elements of the perfect plot twist.
• How to pivot your story to give readers what they want or something even better.

Plus, Steven’s #1 tip for writers.

About Steven James

Steven James is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of sixteen novels. He has a master’s degree in storytelling and is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest. Best known for his psychological thrillers, he has received more than a dozen honors and awards for his books, including three Christy Awards for best suspense. His book The Queen was also a finalist for an International Thriller Award.

His groundbreaking book on the craft of fiction, Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, won a 2015 Storytelling World Award, recognizing it as one of the year’s best resources for storytellers. He is also the author of Troubleshooting Your Novel, another Writer’s Digest title.

Steven is the host of the podcast “The Story Blender,” where he interviews great storytellers from the world of cinema, oral performance, and writing about the craft of great storytelling.

His latest suspense novel, Every Wicked Man, is now available.

To connect with Steven check out his website at www.stevenjames.net.

And don’t forget to check out the upcoming Character Writing Intensive Conference (discussed in this episode) featuring Steven James, David Corbett, and Susan May Warren on October 26-27, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.

This conference is designed to specifically help writers develop unforgettable characters that will emotionally resonate with your readers long after they’ve finished your story.

For more information about this awesome event visit www.characterconference.com. And if you use the coupon code ALUMNI you can save $25 off the cost of registration!

Every Wicked Man

A criminal mastermind’s chilling terrorist plot forces FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers to the brink…

When a senator’s son takes his own life and posts the video live online, Agent Bowers is drawn into a complex web of lies that begins to threaten the people he loves the most. As he races to unravel the mystery behind the suicide and a centuries-old code that might help shed light on the case, he finds a dark pathway laced with twists and deadly secrets that touch a little too close to home.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 216

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If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 216: Perfect Your Plot Twists — Interview with Steven James appeared first on DIY MFA.

But the section of Anna’s work that I’m most familiar with are her wonderful picture books: Once Upon a Masterpiece, where she tells the story behind a famous musical masterpiece, explains the meaning of the music.

In this episode Anna and I discuss:

• Looking for the gap on the shelf, for what is not there.
• The process of research and creating historical fiction that jumps off the page.
• How shifting point of view can enhance the story you are trying to tell.
• The impact of technology on music and publishing.
• Why it’s important to have a self-powered, targeted platform.

Plus, Anna’s #1 tip for writers.

Resources

Once Upon a Masterpiece

This series of picture books brings to life the stories behind famous pieces of music. I started playing the violin when I was four years old, and I love that I can share my passion of music with my kids through these stories. My four-year-old son was riveted when I read him the Haydn’s Farewell Symphony and he loved listening to a recording of the symphony afterward and identifying different parts of the music. I also learned a couple of new things about these pieces myself, even though I have listened to and loved these musical masterpieces for years.

Haydn’s Farewell Symphony and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition have been recently re-released in a new format and with great new online resources. Bach’s Goldberg Variations will be out later this year and is available for pre-order. If you decide to purchase these books, please consider doing so via the affiliate links above (where DIY MFA gets a small commission at no cost to you). Thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

About Anna Harwell Celenza

Anna Harwell Celenza is the Thomas E. Caestecker Professor of Music at Georgetown University and the author of several scholarly books, including Music as Cultural Mission: Explorations of Jesuit Practices in Italy and North America (2014) and Hans Christian Andersen and Music: The Nightingale Revealed (2005). Her work has also appeared in The Hopkins Review, Musical Quarterly, Nineteenth-Century Music, Notes, The Cambridge Companion to Liszt (2005), and Franz Liszt and His World (2006) and The Cambridge Companion to Duke Ellington (2014).

In addition to her scholarly work, she has authored a series of award-winning children’s books with Charlesbridge Publishing: The Farewell Symphony (2000), Pictures at an Exhibition (2003), The Heroic Symphony (2004), Bach’s Goldberg Variations (2005), Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (2006), Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite (2011), Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (2012), Saint-Saëns’s Danse macabre (2013) and a 14-part syndicated series on Louis Armstrong for the NC Press Foundation.

Her work has been featured on nationally syndicated radio and TV programs, including NPR’s “Todd Mundt Show”, BBC’s “Music Matters” and “Proms Broadcasts”, and C-Span’s “Book-TV.” Before coming to Georgetown she served as a writer and guest commentator for Michigan Public Radio and NPR’s “Performance Today.”

To learn more about Anna Harwell Celenza and her amazing books, visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

Link to Episode 90

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome.

The post Episode 90: Music and Storytelling – Interview with Anna Harwell Celenza appeared first on DIY MFA.