The ramblings of a designer turned writer turned computer geek turned writer turned designer with way too much time on his hands.
FFC #42 - I found the Midpoint
Posted December 28th, 2019 at 05:53 PM by TGRF
TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #42
It's been awhile since there was an update. That's because I've been studying character arcs a lot, and that led to extensive study of the 3-act structure, and specifically the 2nd act. I've never really had a good grasp on the 2nd act, so I thought now was as good a time as ever to see what I could learn. There are some issues, but I think I'm making progress.
Meanwhile, I haven't been writing. I originally wanted to jump right into Eternity, but as I studied character arcs, I decided I needed practice writing them first. So I switched gears to the Valkyrie prequels. But then as I started outlining those, I realized I needed more information on the 3-act structure. And once I started learning that, I decided I needed an even shorter story to test it out on. So I went to my Personal Challenge, where readers challenge me to write a story incorporating an HS character and a single random word. Even those were too long to just focus on the bare-bones of the 3-act structure, except for one: Zombie of Morindan/Buoy. So I have written that short story, and it is posted over on my Personal Challenge thread.
Point is: I've think I've hit bottom (or for you 3-act structure people, the Midpoint). I've finally gotten to a point where I can actually start testing and start building up in terms of length. I have a format which can yield a bare-bones structured story, which will allow me to focus on what I need to, without worrying about plugging in all of the other stuff I'm having trouble with and trying to write it all at the same time. This way I can plug pieces in one at a time as I test them, slowly building up.
Assuming that my plan holds, this is what the future currently looks like:
~TGRF.
It's been awhile since there was an update. That's because I've been studying character arcs a lot, and that led to extensive study of the 3-act structure, and specifically the 2nd act. I've never really had a good grasp on the 2nd act, so I thought now was as good a time as ever to see what I could learn. There are some issues, but I think I'm making progress.
Meanwhile, I haven't been writing. I originally wanted to jump right into Eternity, but as I studied character arcs, I decided I needed practice writing them first. So I switched gears to the Valkyrie prequels. But then as I started outlining those, I realized I needed more information on the 3-act structure. And once I started learning that, I decided I needed an even shorter story to test it out on. So I went to my Personal Challenge, where readers challenge me to write a story incorporating an HS character and a single random word. Even those were too long to just focus on the bare-bones of the 3-act structure, except for one: Zombie of Morindan/Buoy. So I have written that short story, and it is posted over on my Personal Challenge thread.
Point is: I've think I've hit bottom (or for you 3-act structure people, the Midpoint). I've finally gotten to a point where I can actually start testing and start building up in terms of length. I have a format which can yield a bare-bones structured story, which will allow me to focus on what I need to, without worrying about plugging in all of the other stuff I'm having trouble with and trying to write it all at the same time. This way I can plug pieces in one at a time as I test them, slowly building up.
Assuming that my plan holds, this is what the future currently looks like:
- More Personal Challenge submissions, probably increasing in length from ~1.5k words to ~6k words.
- Starting on the Valkyrie Prequels. Short fiction length. ~4-8 chapters.
- Beginning Eternity. Standard fiction length.
~TGRF.
Total Comments 0
Comments
Recent Blog Entries by TGRF
- Writing Update #4 - February (February 26th, 2024)
- Writing Update #3 - January (January 28th, 2024)
- Rhythm of War: Quintessential Sanderson (January 11th, 2024)
- Writing Update #2 - December (December 25th, 2023)
- Writing Update #1 - November (November 26th, 2023)