Developing a Crisis - by Lynn Tincher

Dennis G. Jerz descibes the differences between a crisis and conflict as this:

Summary: Good storytellers differentiate between a crisis (an emergency, such as a car crash or an illness) and conflict (a clash of wills, a difficult moral choice, or an internal mental struggle). Beginning authors often focus on the exciting crisis rather than the conflict that makes readers care about the characters enduring the crisis.

http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative/crisis-vs-conflict.htm

A crisis can be a small part of the over all conflict. Adding a small crisis or two within your story can help define your characters and how they react to the crisis. These will lead to the moral dilemmas or the clashes of wills described above. Everyone loves to see their characters overcome each crisis and you can control what they will endure and what the outcome will be.

The crisis can define your characters persona. They are that which develops personalities and strengths or weaknesses. Design your crisis carefully. They can help show what is happening instead of just telling.

Check out Mr. Jerz website above. There is a lot of good information that will help you in your story.

Copyright 2009 Lynn Tincher

Play Writing

I've never written a play longer than one scene, although I've helped produce several and performed in many. I majored in Drama in college so I've seen my fair share of them. My husband is a playwright and the screenplay for my first book is in the works. To sit down and write a play seems as foreign to me as speaking French or Italian.

While doing research for this article, it hit me. I've heard the roar of applause while on stage for a performance or for the production of one. I would love to hear it for one that I had written. It's not easy to take a great play and turn it into a great performance but to actually write the great play has to be a major accomplishment that I hope to one day experience.

How do I get started? What is the format? Here is a quick list from Playwriting101.com of what a play should include.

Title Page
Cast Page
Musical Numbers Page (musicals only)
Act/Scene Heading
At Rise Description
Character Name
Dialogue
Stage Directions
Transition

The first act is the Protasis, or exposition.
The second act is the Epitasis, or complication.
The final act is the Catastrophe, or resolution.

Do your research. Find software that can help you. I encourage all authors to take a swing at this. This is a great way to stretch your imagination. Try something new. You may just find your niche.

Listed below are a couple of websites that will help. Most importantly, have fun!

www.playwriting101.com/

http://www.stageaffair.com/

Copyright 2009 Lynn Tincher

Keeping a Positive Attitude - Lynn Tincher

You've heard me preach this before and you already know this to be true, but getting published is a very hard thing to accomplish. Anyone that has submitted a query letter to agents and publishers knows that the rejection letters will pour in. How do you keep a positive attitude through it all?

Being prepared can help. Knowing you will receive rejections will help you cope with them they roll in. Agents and publishers are very busy people. Don't take their rejections personally. Most of the time, they reject authors just because they don't have time to read their material. If any of you have seen their offices have probably seen the mounds of material begging for attention. I had several agents actually take to time to help me and offer advice. By keeping a positive attitude about it, I listened to their advice, plugged along, and learned as I went.

Believing in you is the key to survival in this world. You know how good your story is. You know how long you've worked on it. You've packaged it up with a great big read bow! Believe in it and believe in you. You did it. How many people have started their first novel and never finished it? I was one of those for a long time so I was really proud of what I had done when I finally finished it. You've poured your heart and soul into something you believe in. Others will believe in it too. You will find the right place and time to show it to the world.

You will run into others that are negative energies and will bring you down. If they offer good advice, take it, but don't let their negativity seep through to you. I know how hard it is to not let that happen. When it does, don't dwell on them. Seek out the good things. Reinforce what you've accomplished with yourself. It is some people's lot in life to be negative and it really has nothing to do with you anyway.

Find websites or subscribe to newsletters to help you keep up a positive attitude in your life as well. It's amazing how a holistic view of positive things in every aspect of your life can help you reach any of your goals. Good luck and let me know how it's going!

Most importantly, hang in there. Be positive. Don't ever give up.

Copyright 2009 Lynn Tincher