Putting Story on the Page by Melinda Curtis

Author:Melinda Curtis [Curtis, Melinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: easyepublish.com
Published: 2022-10-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Mixing it All Together (Creative Mixing Bowl)

Now, we’re going to take everything we’ve done so far—our story ingredients—and put them in one place—our Creative Mixing Bowl. You may have done this already. If so, go, you!

I write a lot of words every year, usually about 500,000. At this pace, I needed a way to remove the stress from story generation (blank pages…ugh) and keep myself productive. Going through this very basic creative process helped my brain start to see the story and become energized by the possibilities.

Here’s my confession. I don’t write a synopsis or story treatment unless I have to. If I don’t have to write a summary, I often write from my Creative Mixing Bowl. I also use this to write a product description.

If I have to write a synopsis, I write it from my Creative Mixing Bowl. And since it is often many months from the time I wrote the synopsis until I actually write the book for a traditional publisher, I often go back over my Creative Mixing Bowl before I write the book to refresh my memory.

Creative Mixing Bowl (your story ingredients):

PLOT:

…Character’s Active Story Goal (with a verb, no emotion!):

…Obstacle (a physical impediment, no emotion!):

…Motivation (why is the goal important and/or what are the stakes of failure):

CHARACTER:

…Relevant Backstory (one that supports the Belief/Value):

…Belief (one rooted in Relevant Backstory):

…Character Growth (what they need to learn to be happy/achieve Story Goal):

List your character’s physical WORLD and considerations:

List your character’s non-physical WORLD and considerations:

Does your story have a THEME? If so, what is it?

GENRE (if any):

What happens genre-wise in Act 1:

What happens genre-wise in Act 2:

What happens genre-wise in Act 3:

Elements of VOICE to Include (and possible How-To include):

Personal Experience you might draw on:

TROPES you might include:

Add anything else to this list that helps you. For example, maybe a book, TV show, or movie Plot or Character inspired you. Use that inspiration! Just don’t plagiarize someone else’s words. Ideas lead to page count!

If a story ingredient didn’t work for you—like Theme—leave it blank with my blessing.

Up to this point, nothing is carved in stone. You have ideas. And in Part Two of this book, we’re going to explore how to take those ideas and put your story on the page!

But first, I’m going to provide you with my Creative Mixing Bowl for a novella I wrote called Sealed with a Kiss. By now, you know that I like examples as they show me (and you) how to put a concept into action. In Part Two, we’ll be using Sealed with a Kiss, along with other film examples to give you an in-depth look at how to take your story ingredients and put your story on the page. I’m going to complete the Plot and Character pieces for both my hero and heroine in this example.

Notice that I’ve added “Additional Story Goals” to my Creative Mixing Bowl. Sometimes, your characters will have more than one Story Goal. And that’s great since it gives us more story to write

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