tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post1461129494534330344..comments2024-03-17T06:03:00.362-04:00Comments on Fiction University: Plotting for the Thrill: Making the Most of the Worst That Can HappenJanice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-43183963334982588622019-07-10T09:11:47.274-04:002019-07-10T09:11:47.274-04:00It would. Escalating the stakes at key pinch point...It would. Escalating the stakes at key pinch points helps increase tension and quickens the pace. It also gives that sense of things snowballing and getting worse and worse. A common reason manuscripts get rejected is because the stakes don't escalate. Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-22412092123010847052019-07-09T09:27:48.475-04:002019-07-09T09:27:48.475-04:00Having the antagonist make the mistake is fabulous...Having the antagonist make the mistake is fabulous. I also wonder if changing or adjusting that stakes, maybe as part of the story, would work too.G. J. Jollyhttps://ascriptedmaze.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-39225124400146990122019-07-09T07:27:35.356-04:002019-07-09T07:27:35.356-04:00Thanks! Great examples. I've always been a fan...Thanks! Great examples. I've always been a fan of smart and understandable villains, which would make this even easier. Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-39203094177076265812019-07-08T09:38:15.216-04:002019-07-08T09:38:15.216-04:00One of your better posts. Keeping suspense can be ...One of your better posts. Keeping suspense can be quite a paradox--<br /><br />But you're so right, the story's Worst Thing doesn't have to be the villain's goal, and in fact it probably shouldn't. A villain, or certainly an "antagonist", has his own reasons and he thinks he's the hero. Villains who want to blow up a block are cartoonish; ones that rob a bank but get careless with their explosives (just when the hero's mother and the busload of orphans drives up) make sense. That in itself makes the story about how crime is dangerous stuff and the specific ways it can escalate. That's a better story all around.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09968962355069414854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-45456584098462329132013-06-19T07:29:25.508-04:002013-06-19T07:29:25.508-04:00Sbibb, ooo that's a tough one. Like Sherlock H...Sbibb, ooo that's a tough one. Like Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty :) What if you gave your hero a blind spot? Something he's just bad at or doesn't see? And that's where the villain is really good?Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-86150566533289740682013-06-19T00:12:37.243-04:002013-06-19T00:12:37.243-04:00This is something I'm wondering about in my cu...This is something I'm wondering about in my current manuscript. My main character is supposed to be a super genius, but at the same time, the antagonist needs to be one step ahead. So I've been trying to give him some correct assumptions as well as false leads, so he's doing his best to stops what he thinks is the worst that can happen, all while the full problem isn't discovered until too late.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-77809214396001926312011-01-12T10:53:01.510-05:002011-01-12T10:53:01.510-05:00Angie: If your betas are saying it's working, ...Angie: If your betas are saying it's working, odds are it is. We see so much more in our own work than a reader who doesn't know it like we do.<br /><br />Girl Friday: Awesome!<br /><br />Cold As Heaven: I love bad guys, so this is always fun for me. Not that I've done it lately since I've been writing in first person! I need to do a third person book soon. One with a really great villain. <br /><br />Juliette: You and me both :)<br /><br />Chicory: Thanks!Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-39540762262072724882011-01-12T10:35:16.816-05:002011-01-12T10:35:16.816-05:00This is really brilliant. :) I'm going to hav...This is really brilliant. :) I'm going to have to add it to my bag of fox-tricks.Chicoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16504144663440678542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-32804482733878578592011-01-12T10:07:10.070-05:002011-01-12T10:07:10.070-05:00This is fun! I can't wait to see how it turns...This is fun! I can't wait to see how it turns out.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-23173980512488707432011-01-11T16:20:06.932-05:002011-01-11T16:20:06.932-05:00One of the funniest things to do (2nd funniest, af...One of the funniest things to do (2nd funniest, after writing dialog) is to write with antagonist POV, pretend you're in the bad guy's boots >:)<br /><br /><a href="http://cold-as-heaven.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Cold As Heaven </a>CA Heavenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07558100567878233142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-45083545734070534732011-01-11T15:08:24.053-05:002011-01-11T15:08:24.053-05:00'The "worst" is not the antagonist&#...'The "worst" is not the antagonist's end goal, but something that also goes wrong for them.' <br /><br />I heart you for this post! You've given me a great idea for my ending, thank you!Tatum Flynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00074228011847976820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-90119454053723598872011-01-11T15:03:00.944-05:002011-01-11T15:03:00.944-05:00Ooo this is a great post - I'll have to really...Ooo this is a great post - I'll have to really think about this one wrt my WIP. I kind of have the first situation going, I think. The reader knows what my protag has to do, but she doesn't know how she's going to do it and I tried to make that the driving force of the plot. I have it kind of set up that she's going to have to do the very thing that the male love interest is telling her not to do. I've asked my beta readers and they said that it's not obvious to them that it's going to turn out that way, but I don't know... so hard to tell. Haha, not sure if that made any sense. Anyway, I'll keep this in mind when I'm plotting my next WIP.Angiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12526875813399934443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-30562730118383396052011-01-11T10:31:58.685-05:002011-01-11T10:31:58.685-05:00Sylestehwriter: Thanks! Good to hear you're fo...Sylestehwriter: Thanks! Good to hear you're following along the same lines. <br /><br />Elizabeth: We got about 6 inches and the streets are all iced over. We spent several hours outside with the neighbors and the neighborhood kids playing in the snow. We have a good slope in our backyard that worked great for sledding :) I only came in because my face was so numb I was slurring my words! LOL. Snow is still new to me (Florida gal) so I'm loving every minute of it.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-88650371470199080712011-01-11T10:06:48.212-05:002011-01-11T10:06:48.212-05:00That's a great way of thinking about it. I had...That's a great way of thinking about it. I had already run into the problem of how to raise the stakes without letting the entire cat out of the bag, but I never thought to make it a mistake on the antagonist's part.<br /><br />At the moment I have something like that, only the antagonist has another plan that no one knows about. So when they think they've won, it turns out they've lost. :D <br /><br />Thanks for the great post!<br /><br />I live in GA too, and I was wondering if you were snowed in as well?Elizabeth Poolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03214706118828699708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-40120342449778137792011-01-11T08:20:30.211-05:002011-01-11T08:20:30.211-05:00I love this analysis. As I was reading it, I thoug...I love this analysis. As I was reading it, I thought about my antag, protag, and plot, comparing them to everything in your post. I found that a lot of my manuscript follows your ideas for the most part, but it varies here and there, which you mentioned near the end of your post. I'll be using this as a future guide for my next book as well.sylestehwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897671380838616789noreply@blogger.com