Floor 17 Intro

     Today I came across a very interesting tip on plot lines. You can check out this little treasure I discovered here. It will help your mind-set when thinking about how to drive a plot forward. Not having problems with the plot-line? Here is a great treasure on writing an epic conclusion. I wish I had some of this wisdom natively; however, I do not, and don't wish to copy and paste, so if you want this little jewel, go here.
     So, how was your day? That's good. Mine was pretty good, but busy, thank you for asking.  :D
     I decided to jump the tracks and start writing blog posts about my new project, Floor 17. Why? Because I do not have full rights to the other book, Rift in Reality.  My new book is fully mine, and I can reveal what I want to without giving too much away.  :D
     I have not been very consistent with writing my book. I'm not about to lay out my life story; however, I do have a better reason not to write than to write. Also, you are awesome. I don't like leaving you hanging. :D
     First, let me tell you about my book. My book is a venture into the world of spirit powers.          
     BORRRINNG!
     Actually, it's a stumble into a straight up beat-down between two wizards, both of which live in the 1600s. In 1684, these two battle, and their battle actually directly affects events in 2018. Our window begins there...
I am not finished with the outline yet, but I have been working on the basic plot line for this story. I plan to reveal more as I work on it.
Do you want to hear the inspiration for this story? Of course you do.
I was attending a fundraiser for one of my friend's charity organizations. It was a beautiful day, and the sun was smiling on the city below. The fundraiser was at the very top of a 22-story building. I met my friend, then decided to go down to the parking garage and retrieve my computer. I forgot what floor I was parked on (it was a multi-story garage), but other than that, I didn't have much trouble. I walked over, picked up my laptop bag, and got back in the elevator. I pushed the Floor 22 button, and waited. Eventually the elevator doors closed, and the elevator started moving upward. I impatiently stood still, eager to get back to the fundraiser.
Suddenly the elevator stops. Surprised, I look over. I'm on Floor 17.
I stand back as the doors open, thinking that perhaps there were office workers who wanted to go home.
It's Saturday.
As the doors fully open, they reveal an office corridor, pitch black. There are no lights on.
Feeling spooked now, I slowly peek my head out, wondering if the apocalypse had occurred.
There is not a soul in sight, at least not that was visible to the human eye.
Before I had two seconds to think, my imagination conjured up armies of demons racing down the hallway to fed on my flesh.
Alarmed now, imagination racing, I backed up quickly, and hit the Floor 22 button again. The doors close, too slowly for my feverish imagination, and slowly the elevator starts to rise again. Congratulating myself for surviving, I take several deep breaths, and once the elevator doors open, proceed to walk over to my friend and brother and tell them all about what happened.
So, that's my inspiration. Don't laugh; you weren't there.

The Villain

Sup writers?

In this post we will be covering the villain in your story.

Your villain (or antagonist, the proper label for this character) opposes the goal of the protagonist (hero), as you probably know.

1. You must establish motive, even if it isn't obvious at first to the reader. Motive can be anything, from a broken family to aliens wanting to conquer the earth. However, as one author once said (paraphrased), "The most scary villains are the ones that we agree with." If we can logically follow their train of thought, and they believe that they are right, then that freaks me out especially. They are not your 6-year-old evil "bad guy." They are a twisted version of innocence.
2. Why did the villain clash with the hero? What happened to set them against each other, Is the villain attacking the hero's homeland? Were the two once best friends? Food for thought...
3. Optional: Give the villain something distinctive. Make him memorable. He needs to be separate; not cliche. Please don't give him an eye-patch, UNLESS it flips up and fires a small missile out of the socket. That would be cool.
4. Again, Optional: The villain usually overpowers or outnumbers the hero at first. But, that is up to you. If the villain is easy to beat, then that's boring. 
5. How can the villain manipulate the hero's emotions? This does not mean that the villain steals the grandma of the hero; that's a LITTLE cliche. But what can the villain do to our hero to play with his emotions?

All of these are optional; some are more optional than others. However, most, if not all, are good, and proven to work.

Before we leave, I have a small update: A couple projects are in the works, among which are:

• A PDF of 100 Writing Prompts (Free)
• A new book, called Floor 17
• A Pinterest Board for our community! 
• A condensed PDF of my blog (that will come later) 
• Miscellaneous projects, including my online art store.

I can't wait to show you guys; it should be awesome! Good night, and Epic Writing!  XD

An Update for You...

Hey again.
This is an update for you, and why I haven't been posting recently...

• The first two weeks because of graduation, and
• The past week and this week because of miscellaneous reasons,

But now I am planning to update this blog more often. I thank you for your patience.  :D

Plot Lines - Part 2

     So I don't have any excuse. I should have posted. I'm sorry. I do have a life, but this time, I have no excuse. So anyway,
     Hello, writers!
     In the last post, we went over plot lines. However, I want to stress something that I didn't go over last time:

• Interconnecting plot lines

     Let me show you what I mean:

     This picture (taken from Google Images) is a small example of an interconnected story-line between two people. A story is SO much more lifelike if it is interconnected. If you think about it, your life is not a single trial of events. Your relationships are not single trails of events. Instead, they all affect each other. A few examples would be:

• Your life is not a trail of single, unconnected events. Example: You may not see your coworker or get groceries every day, but they are a recurring relationship or "event" in your life.
• Your relationships are all interconnected. For example, Princess Lexi doesn't want her mother, the queen, to know that Princess Lexi is in love with the lower-ranking knight, when her mother wants her to marry Prince Dumbperson. (don't judge me - he couldn't take a hint) 

Don't you just love it when the author shows clearly how one piece of the puzzle involving story-lines is connected with the last piece? Take Count of Monte Cristo. (The movie sucked when it came to the interconnected elements in the book, but it's a start) That leaves me satisfied, when I can read the last page, and the whole story comes together.  :)

Time for Introductions

     Time for Introductions. I gotta say, when music artists name their song after the first line in that song, seriously, it drives me crazy. I'm like, "You guys had literally no more imagination than that? It was a good song; it just had a sucky title. You are doing yourself a disservice!"
     Anyway, with that random thought, let's kick this off with an overly cliched statement about starting a project or event.
     Ok, so there are three major Introductions, all of which can be sub-divided. We are going to hit only the major styles of authoring introductions, though:

1. Action
2. Setting
3. Author's Introduction

     So we'll cover each of these types, and let me know if you find some beyond what I write down. 

• Action. This is where you, as the author, treat your reader to an introduction similar to a modern-day movie, where we are bombarded with action from the moment it starts. You give the reader a car that explodes, or a drug deal gone wrong, or whatever you want to. These kinds of introductions tend to instantly grab the readers attention. However, if too cliche or cheesy, your reader will become what I call "self-aware." (I shouldn't follow this rabbit-trail, but I must) 

     The best-case reader is a reader that is thoroughly engrossed in your story. In fact, he/she is SO engrossed, he/she is not even aware of a world beyond this book. You have convinced them, from the time they picked up the book and turned the first page, to the time that they closed the book with a sigh, that these characters are real. You have taken them deeper into themselves and the world, and they come away with a sense of empowerment, a deeper knowledge about themselves, and a slightly different way of looking at Earth and their relationships.

     Now, "self-aware," is a scary thing for your reader. This means mostly that your reader is thinking. NOT a good thing! Remember the last time you looked at a textbook, and the LAST THING you were thinking about is the stuff you were reading? You were like, "Man, I need to call X about YZ," or, "I wonder who just texted me?" or, "What's for dinner?" NOT GOOD, obviously. The LAST thing you want them to do is think. You want them so enamored ( I was going to say "distracted," but that insinuates things that we don't promote) with your book that if their cell phone is ringing they will never hear it. They are hypnotized by your skill; they can't help but turn the page. Of course, your book will be so higher-class above that textbook, there isn't even a comparison. But, making sure your reader is not self-aware is one of your goals while writing of your book.

     Back to the Intros:

• Setting. This is a common introduction for books, while the previous introduction is used a TON in movies. Easing gently into the scene, you show the reader the beautiful rolling hills, the giggling creek, the dark forest, and finally, your MC. This introduction is the exact opposite of your Action introduction, because in the Action category, the reader is thrown into confusion and chaos and is filled in on the background story later. In the Setting Introduction, your reader is softly put down on the grass while being filled in on all the background he or she needs to know in the story to move forward; in other words, there's no need to be "filled in" on the story later because they already know enough! 
• Author's Introduction. Think The Tale of Desperaux, the book. If you didn't read the book, then close this webpage,and every other webpage and go read the book, because the movie didn't go as deep, and you will understand this section better.  An Author's Introduction is you, the author, starting off the book, introducing yourself and oftentimes introducing your characters. I don't prefer this method; however, I have seen it well done, and it brings out the story if it is done well. Also, it doesn't have to be you, the author; it can be a person in your book that is telling a story. Doesn't that just bring to your mind an image of an old man, sitting on a barrel, smoking a pipe, and at his feet sits a young boy, waiting to hear tales of battles, of dragons, and of princesses? Then when he's almost done, the old man will lean back, his pipe all but forgotten, and conclude his story with a gleam in his eye, as if he inspired himself as well as his little listener. Can't you just see it? That would be an example of that style well done. (P.S., please don't interrupt your story to show what the old man or whoever is telling your story is saying, unless you feel that it runs well with the story. It's up to you. I would reccomend, if you do pursue that route, that you keep it light. You can always add more if you need it!  :) )

There, I've shown you a couple of ways to start off your book. Let me know about whatever inspired you; I'd love to hear it, and will try to write more toward that end.

As always, Happy Epic Writing! 

Plot Lines

     In the writing of this post, I was going to introduce you to the three main plot lines: Tragedy, Overcoming, and Uprising. These can be represented by three lines: an upwards-pointing arrow (Rags-to-Riches, or Overcoming), a slightly upwards arrow (Journey, and Overcoming), a slightly downwards-pointing arrow (I want to curse when I come across this, but also known as an obtaining-wisdom story), and a downwards-pointing arrow followed by a flat-line (tragedy).

     These (minus the Obtaining Wisdom plot line) were my first choice of writing story-lines, and I’ll get around to explaining them soon. However, when Googling story-lines, I found that they actually were NOT the only story-lines. I do consider those mentioned before the basics, but there are quite a few of sub-genres, as you can see:

1. Overcoming:

• A Threat: Your MC goes out and defeats an evil or other problem that encroaches upon his/her security, thereby restoring peace upon the land, and to your MC’s soul. I gotta say, this is the most used out of all the story-lines. 
• Example: Think of the standard hero-knight-destroys-dragon-and-rescues-princess-and-they-live-happily-ever-after story, ‘cept I prefer a little more detail, such as hero-knight-gets-beat-by-the-dragon-the-first-time-but-then-gets-upgraded-and-slays-the-mess-out-of-the-dragon-but-the-dragon-had-a-backup-plan-to-destroy-the-princess-and-the-knight-has-to-slay-the-mess-out-of-the-backup-plan-to-rescue-the-princess-then-rescues-the-princess-and-they-live-happily-ever-after-until-they-find-out-that-the-dragon-had-vengeful-kids…
• Circumstances: This tends to be an inspiring story-line about how a person beat their surroundings to become rich, emotionally balanced, and usually wins a TL in the process. 
• Example: The INSPIRATION section in your bookstore. Or, a street rapper becomes by strange chance an apprentice to a businessman, and is trained to become a sleek, well-mannered business owner, marrying the business owner’s beautiful daughter in the process.(This story-line is characterized by an upwards arrow)
• A Journey: This is where your MC (usually with friends or picking up friends along the way) journeys forward, seeking an object or something specific, and he/she has to overcome all the challenges therein. 
• Example: Your MC has to find a flower to keep his/her TL alive.
• A Journey with no Profit: Personally, I was kind of skeptical when I read this, but there is one of these storylines lying around. This is where your character takes a journey, but then COMES BACK WITH NOTHING! What?! Yeah, it’s real. I can't believe it either. Your MC comes back with greater experience, higher wisdom, and more balanced emotions, but nothing else. Please don’t write like this… I’ll read the last page, shout, “WHAT?!” throw the book on the floor, then start to blast you on my blog. Smiley face. :) 
• Example: uuhhh… Your MC goes out and kills a dragon, but loses the princess in the process. That would suck, but you know… now he knows how to kill the dragon and save the princess. I mean, hopefully...
• Themselves: This is where something is usually at stake, and your MC has to change his/her ways and become a better person. Sometimes a TL is involved, but that’s up to you! Example: Your MC is given 30 days to get off his crack addiction, or he will be forced to go into a rehab center by his uncle, losing his girlfriend in the process.

1. Comedy: This is often when there is a goal in the story (or not), and the confusion surrounding this adventure end up making you laugh until your face hurts. (this is generally characterized by static in the general shape of a horizontal line)
2. Tragedy: While not really in use anymore, it seems tragedy was slightly favored by Shakespeare to me. This is where your story-line follows the structure of a good country song: your MC loses EVERYTHING (or thinks he/she does) and usually ends up killing himself/herself. Yeah, please don’t write this either. I’ll read the last page, tears streaming down my face, and quietly ask myself, “Why?” then I’ll just curl up in my chair, and - in-between sobs – plot a way to defame everything you ever write after that book. So yeah, don’t write tragedy. (characterized by a downwards-pointing arrow)

• Example: Think Hamlet. I’m not writing an example for that trash.

If you need any more explaining, or if you want me to write about something specific, let me know. I know this is a lot of info, but I hope it helped you!

Happy Epic Writing!  :)