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No matter the genre, the secret for fashioning
fiction that works is to make sure that in each and every scene,
the driving character has a clearly stated goal. Your protagonist
must express to the reader exactly what he wants to accomplish.
Don't expect the reader -- the most important person to your
story's success -- to read between the lines. There is no being
vague about this.
The reader may or may not want your protagonist to
accomplish his goal. He may even want him to fail, as in The
Pickled Dog Caper when Makepeace runs across two old
friends and they decide to engage in some skullduggery. In that
scene, the reader actually hopes Makepeace will fail so that he
will return to his path of improvement.
To have a scene, your driving character must have
a goal or a purpose in mind, and you need
conflict. Your driving character must face and overcome
obstacles or a negative force. For the scene to be effective, you
must let the reader in on what the
point of view character is thinking. And, as you fashion
each scene, you must strive for economy of
words so that you keep the reader's attention scene after
scene.
More
Articles
On Writing
Fashioning a Scene
Conflict
The
Character's Mind
Self-Editing
Roger's
Short Stories
Making Waves |
Roger Paulding, author of The
Pickled Dog Caper, scheduled for a Fall 2005 release by
Panther Creek Press
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