So anyway, without further delay, here are the chapter two
prompts for all four tracks. You’ll note some overlap between some of the
prompts. I tried to keep them different enough that if you are, like me, going
to write all four and weave them into a single overarching narrative, you
should be able to follow the prompts and still have distinct, unique feeling
chapters. But yes, I repeated a few components that I thought were essential
and/or worth repeating. Feel free to modify, combine, or flat out ignore the
prompts. They’re just meant to jog you into motion. You gotta do what you gotta do.
Track
1, Step 3:
Write a chapter in which the
inciting incident of the overall story arc occurs. This chapter will serve to
set in motion the events that will create the arc of the entire novella.
Requirements:
1. The
chapter must be 10-20 pages long.
2. The
inciting incident in this chapter should be something small and seemingly
insignificant to everyone but the main character. Based on what has been
established about the character in the previous chapter, however, it should be
immediately obvious to the reader why this incident matters to the character.
3. The
incident should occur when the main character is in an environment in which his
or her reaction must be guarded (for example, in a public place, at work, with
a loved one who would not understand the reaction, etc.).
4. The
chapter must get across the character’s initial physical reaction to the change
a. What
is the first physical thing the
character does when he or she learns of the change?
5. The
chapter should hint at the character’s initial emotional reaction to the change
a. How
does this change affect the character’s perceived need?
b. How
might this change affect the character’s actual need?
Track
2, Step 3:
Write a chapter in which the
inciting incident of the overall story arc occurs. This chapter will serve to
set in motion the events that will create the arc of the entire novella.
Requirements:
1. The
chapter must be 10-20 pages long.
2. The
inciting incident should not appear until the end of the chapter.
3. The
chapter should consist of a series of small, escalating incidents that pave the
way for the larger incident that will set the rest of the story into motion.
4. The
chapter should detail the main character’s physical and emotional responses to
each escalating incident, but should leave the character’s reaction to the
final, inciting incident unstated (the rest of the novella will deal with this
reaction, so essentially we’re ending this chapter on a sort of cliffhanger).
Track
3, Step 3:
Write a chapter in which the
inciting incident of the overall story arc occurs. This chapter will serve to
set in motion the events that will create the arc of the entire novella.
Requirements:
6. The
chapter must be 10-20 pages long.
7. The
inciting incident must adhere to the following requirements:
a. It
should be out of the main character’s control
b. It
should be a large-scale change that affects many people
c. It
should have a particularly significant effect on the main character
(For example, my
inciting incident for this track is that a new law is passed that has a
particularly significant effect on my main character.)
8. The
character should learn of the change when he or she is in an environment in
which his or her reaction must be guarded (for example, in a public place, at
work, with a loved one who would not understand the reaction, etc.).
9. The
chapter must get across the character’s initial physical reaction to the change
a. What
is the first physical thing the
character does when he or she learns of the change?
10. The
chapter should hint at the character’s initial emotional reaction to the change
a. How
does this change affect the character’s perceived need?
b. How
might this change affect the character’s actual need?
Track
4, Step 3:
Write a chapter in which the
inciting incident of the overall story arc occurs. This chapter will serve to
set in motion the events that will create the arc of the entire novella.
Requirements:
1. The
chapter must be 10-20 pages long.
2. This
chapter should follow the rule of threes: three similar incidents should occur
throughout the chapter, but the first two should have a similar, fairly trivial
result. The third incident should have a largely unexpected, weighty result and
will set into motion the events of the rest of the story.
3. Each
of the three incidents should be set in motion by the main character. These
should not be external incidents out of the main character’s control, but
incidents that result from decisions that character has made.
4. Because
the first two incidents result in similar, inconsequential outcomes, the main
character should not yet appreciate the full implications of the final,
inciting incident at this point in the story. The reader, however, should be
able to tell by the end of this chapter that the final, inciting incident in
the series of three incidents will have enormous effects.
a. This
chapter, then, should make some use of foreshadowing (but with a very, very
light touch, please). The chapter should end with a very subtle nod to the
impending consequences of the inciting incident, but in a way that only the
reader, not the main character, notices.
No comments:
Post a Comment