Question and Answer- Exercise 2

1. What is it about the lead character that captures you?
2. What is the lead trying to get or get away from?
3. Did the story kick into "high gear"?
4. What was the main opposition to the Lead's objective?
5. How did the ending make you feel? Did it work?
   

The Bell Jar

1. The lead character: Ester Greenwood- tortured, depressed, intelligent, naive.
2. Esther’s Goal: to be a writer/get a job in publishing after she returns from her internship
3. The story picks up when she starts to realize things as not what they seems: Buddy is a fake, Doreen is just a slut, the writing class she wanted to take has already passed for the summer and the Doctor doesn’t want to help her he just wants to use her as a guinea pig. All these blows to the character’s ego cause her to become depressed and eventually suicidal.
4. Ester’s opposition actually causes her to spiral down into a deep depression and she looses sight of her goal – ultimately resulting in her demise/admittance into the insane asylum after her attempted suicide..
5. The end works because after you experience all the depression and negativity that Ester faces it turns out there is a light at the tunnel… and even though she is not fully recovered you, the reader, are satisfied that she will live and flourish another day.

Exercise 3

Write a quick plot for your current idea.

My Lead is a ___________.
Their Objective is to ___________.
They are confronted by ___________ and this opposes them because __________.
The ending will be a knockout when _____________.


It is that simple! After filling out the blanks, you have the skeleton for your novel. The rest of the details will be fleshed out as you explore these goals.


* Exercise material from "Writing Great Fiction: plot & structure"
by: James Scott Bell

Exercise 2

Take some of your favorite novels off the shelf (or from your mind) and analyze them using the lock system.

LOCK System recap:
L: is for Lead (character) --> Have a compelling lead character that creates interest in the reader.
O: is for Objective --> What does the character want or desire and/or what threat occurs that makes the story interesting. (If the lead doesn't get what they want or get away from the threat, it should make their life different). Objective should be CRUCIAL.
C: is for Confrontation -->Opposition from other characters and outside forces brings the story to life.
K: is for Knockout --> Readers want to see a knockout ending; not a draw. Take the Lead through the journey toward their objective, then send the opposition to the mat. This could also be reversed, where the opposition wins. The range of ending options are endless.

So, examine your favorite novel(s) and use these questions below to see how the author sets up their plot.

• What is it about the lead character that captures you?
• What is the lead trying to get or get away from?
• Did the story kick into "high gear"?
• What was the main opposition to the Lead's objective?
• How did the ending make you feel? Did it work?

* Exercise material from "Writing Great Fiction: plot & structure"
by: James Scott Bell

Exercise 1

“When readers read my novels, I want them to feel ___________ at the end. That’s because to me, novels __________.”


“When readers read my novels, I want them to feel different/impacted (however large or small) at the end. That’s because to me, novels are a way to escape the presence of everyday life and/or the voice in my head.”

I want readers to feel like they have been invited to explore the psyche of another person, someone who they may or may not identify with, but somehow feel differently after having read about the feelings and the situations of the main character. Perhaps the novel may even affect the way they look at life. Every novel I have read has given me insight into a new world set with experiences- being joys or tragedies- that I might never have experienced on my own.

To me novels are supposed to educate you in some way either to teach you something about life, people or purely entertain you with ideas you have not experienced or thought of before on your own. A novel might teach you what it is like to live in Hawaii, explain why lovers do the things they do for love, or perhaps what it might feel like to be plagued with a tough decision or a debilitating phobia. In short, I want the reader to feel intrigued about something they may or may not have felt before- seeing events through a different pair of eyes because different experiences are what make up knowledge.



* Exercise material from "Writing Great Fiction: plot & structure"
by: James Scott Bell