I have done enough research on my main character to be able to determine the storyline of the fictional part. I have an overview of blood relatives, I currently have more than forty documents in which Hendrik and/or his wife are mentioned and I have a chronological list of events.
I have decided to delve deeper into the theory of writing fictions, with the aim of increasing the quality of the fictional story. I try to write the fiction of my new book according to this theoretical approach.
– the theory –
The fictional story is divided into three acts. An act can contain multiple chapters.
The beginning (act 1) has the introduction of place, time and characters. Act 1 ends with plot point-1, an event that throws the normal daily life of the characters into disarray.
The middle (act 2) is the key of the story in which the confrontation (increasing tension/stake with trial and error) leads to plot point-2 (climax). Characteristic of this part is also that the protagonist goes from passive (acceptance) to active (fighting).
In act 2, the midpoint is also important, an event in the middle of the confrontation. Before the midpoint is pinch-1 that propels the action to the midpoint. After the midpoint is pinch-2 that leads to plot point-2 (climax).
I get the events they have to deal with from the facts of my research. In order to be able to write act-2, I also need to know the weak points of the main characters.
- What can the character not do?
- What emotion does the character have to deal with?
- What happened in the past that the character carries with him?
- What denial does the character show?
The ending (act 3) includes the denouement.
Back to practice. In my previous blog I talked about witness accounts of a fight between father and daughter. By applying the above theory, I discovered that Hendrik is not the main character in the story, but his daughter; Aaltje. Father Hendrik is the antagonist in this story.
I make an act overview and identify the plot points, midpoint and pinches from the chronological overview that I made during the research phase. The moment in which these points fall determines the story. This allows me to know what happens at the plot points, midpoint and pinches and I can also fill in the intermediate phases with events. I try to limit the number of chapters and to bundle events. An overview of bundled events that can form a chapter is created per act.
“I create an act overview and identify the plot points, midpoints and pinches from the chronological overview I created during the research phase.“
From the bundled events per chapter I try to determine the moment in which the chapter takes place. The more specific the season, month or date, the better. Events that will play a role in the future must be introduced in advance. With keywords or short sentences I name this in the chapter in which I think it fits.
Based on the plot I also determine which people play an important role in the story. I try to make character sketches of the main character (daughter Aaltje), the antagonist (father Hendrik) and the most important other characters in the story. I want to try to understand the events more deeply in terms of motivations and character traits of the characters. I will come back to this next time.