Teens Writing for Teens, the 5th

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CharacterInWhite

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Could someone please explain the three act structure and hero's journey structure and how they work, please?

Act One in a nutshell: Put your character in a compromising position. Chase them up a tree. "Incite conflict." These are all saying the same thing.

Act Two in a nutshell: Your character comes up with a solution to the problem and fails. Your character comes up with another solution and fails. Repeat until they come up with a solution that works. Long stories have more, short stories have fewer.

Alternatively: Character comes up with a solution and succeeds, but creates/finds a new problem. Rinse and repeat.

Act Three in a nutshell: The fallout of the solution. What changes? How do they change?

The heroes journey can be roughly equated to a change in mentality before and after "the story." Generally a character whose mentality remains the same before and after is an adventurer (character of an "adventure") as opposed to a hero (character of a "story").

This very, very approximate explanation of literary theory brought to you by CIW.
 

CharacterInWhite

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Fair warning about the heroic journey thing--it's a can of worms. Look up multiple scholarly opinions and find one you like. Mine is based off the definitions of James Frey and Nancy Ellen Dodd, but they disagree with some other literary theorists. I just find "change in mentality" to be the most useful explanation of the heroic journey.
 

amlptj

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wow its really dead here today. Anyone still on?

Wow, never knew that plotting stuff either. Funny how I've been plotting my own way this whole time and I end up following the same basic-ish outcomes. And i thought i was a weird plotter. Guess UZ falls under "change in mentality" MC's go from shy bullied outcasts, to masterminding murders and life ruiners.
 

amlptj

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Of course you are, your a ninja, its in your job description! Anyway, how are you today?
 

Parametric

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Indeed! Ninjas wait silently in the shadows. :D

I'm good thanks. Just editing a book. It's looking like I'll be paid again next week, which will be good. How are you?
 

amlptj

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It really is! Because i'm coming close to the chapter where my FMC sets her professors office on fire! (Dont worry he's not in the office at the time) It's just to get the computer burned and damaged, and to destroy any grade book that is in the room.

Then when the MMC is called to fix and retreve data on the computer (because he's really good with computers) he gets to screw around with the files, and change the FMC's grades.

Then they get him fired. I wonder where in the world i got that idea from :evil
 

MysteryRiter

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Ok. Going to bed soon. Well, I should have gone to bed by now but I really want to finish revising this chapter!
 

amlptj

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had a feeling she would publish something else, I'm just glad it doesnt seem to be like a Second Generation Harry Potter.
 

Horserider

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Thalia

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Ally- just so you know, she's explicitly stated that, although she could easily write more set in the Harry Potter universe, she wasn't going to write The Next Generation. I'm thrilled, 'cause I find next generations so clichéd most of the time.

Though, I'd really love a prequel about Tom Riddle...
 

amlptj

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Dont follow anything Harry Potter related.

On a second note. how many of you have been in creative writing workshops in college? this is my first one... and we have to crit other people's papers... I'm having a really hard time with it all. I usually really like to beta... but not short stories that have no beginning and no ending, I just dont know what to say. Anyone else have a problem like this?
 

amlptj

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I've read 3 of 6 and the first three had NO PURPOSE to them. I understand the assigment was "write something between 4-10 pages" but come on! Give me a beginning, give me names, decriptions, a cliff hanger, conflict, SOMETHING!!!

This forth one is clearly from a book (its titled chapter 1)and so far its the only one i like.

if this is the stuff i'm suppose to write for this class, random stories with random undescribed characters, i'm really screwed for this class i think.
 
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