Craft Book of the Month: April 2011--The Character Arc in Plot

This is our last week with James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure. But fear not, Bell has another brilliant book in this series, called Revision and Self-Editing, which we're all going to need sooner or later, right? Since he's my new hero and all, you could probably clean out a large casino by betting that I'll be featuring him as a Craft Book writer again soon.

So what is a character arc? Bell does the best job I've ever read of explaining it.

The character arc is a description of what happens to the inside of a character over the course of the story. He begins as one sort of person... things happen to and around him, gradually moving him in an "arc" that ends when the story is over.

Your lead character should be a different person at the other end of the arc.

The character Bell uses as an example is Ebeneezer Scrooge from Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Craft Book of the Month: James Scott Bell says you should be HIP to your scenes

In Chapter 7 of Plot and Structure, James Scott Bell describes an "unforgettable scene" as having "something surprising, and emotionally intense. It has characters we care about doing things that we must watch." He describes what he calls the "Four chords of a scene"--(they are action, reaction, set-up, and deepening."

And then he shows us how to get HIP to our scenes.

HIP stands for hook, intensity, and prompt. (And yes, I love acronyms!)

Craft Book of the Month: April 2011--Plot and Structure

Week 2: The Three Act Structure

Most writers probably have some inkling about Aristotle and three acts and the rule of three. (And the three musketeers, three little pigs, and three blind mice--I could go on.) What I like about James Scott Bell's take is the way he explains the three acts, and the pretty diagrams he uses to reinforce things.

Bell: "Say we are confronted with a problem. We react. That's Act I. We spend the greater part of our time figuring out how to solve the problem: Act II. After all of that wrestling, hopefully, we get the insight and answer--the resolution of Act III."

Bell goes on to explain, in his usual cogent fashion, what makes a beginning, middle, and end. (If you combine him with Nancy Kress, you have a winner!). He talks about mythic structure a la Joseph Campbell. But what seems purely Bellian is his talk of "a disturbance," (he prefers this term instead of plot point and inciting incident) "and two doorways."

Craft Book of the Month: April 2011--Plot and Structure

Guys, it's official. I have a new writing hero. James Scott Bell is pretty dang awesome and this book opened my eyes in many ways.

When an idea flashes into my mind, it's usually a character, a title, or a first line. Plot is the thing with feathers (sorry, Emily D.) that I struggle with.

See, I'm a bit of a "pantser," so I usually dive into a first draft with gusto (by the seat of my pants). I think I know what's going to happen, then Whoa! Swerve round that p(l)othole! and Yikes! Who saw that coming!? I think you get my drift.

Plot & Structure, part of the Write Great Fiction series from Writer's Digest Books, is going to put a stop to all this crazy driving. James Scott Bell has done a great job of simplifying things so that even a total right-brainer like me can get the hang of structure.

Bell starts his book with a "simple set of foundational principles called the LOCK system."