"How do I raise the stakes for my characters?" |
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2024
- Want to ask me question? Hit the "JOIN" button!
Or visit: / abbieemmons
Welcome back to #AskAbbie, where I answer YOUR writing questions and help you make your story matter! In this episode I'm answering some really good questions:
- What's the best way to raise the stakes for your characters?
- Do you NEED to follow the 3 act story structure?
- How do you write traumatic scenes without scarring your readers?
- How do you write thematic summaries for your story/scenes?
You don't want to miss my answers. :)
________________________________
✨T I M E S T A M P S✨
00:00 Introduction
01:11 How can I raise the stakes for my characters?
03:43 Do I need to follow a story structure?
07:14 How do I write traumatic scenes without scarring my readers?
09:32 What’s the best way to write thematic summaries?
12:11 Submit your questions for #AskAbbie!
________________________________
Subscribe for weekly episodes of #WritersLifeWednesdays! Make Your Story Matter™ and make your author dreams come true… new videos every Wednesday.
✨ V A L U A B L E R E S O U R C E S✨
❤️GET BONUS CONTENT + SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL: / abbieemmons
📚READ MY DEBUT NOVEL, 100 DAYS OF SUNLIGHT: amzn.to/2Et7fhS
✏️TAKE MY SCRIVENER MASTERCLASS: makeyourstorymatter.teachable...
📓GET MY FREE WRITING TEMPLATES: eepurl.com/gFYD8z
💻GET 20% OFF SCRIVENER - USE CODE "ABBIE" → a.paddle.com/v2/click/49535/1...
🎤LISTEN TO MY PODCAST WITH MY SISTER: anchor.fm/kate-and-abbie-show
🎥 MY GEAR + WRITING TOOLS: abbieemmonsauthor.com/my-gear
🎵WHERE I GET MY MUSIC: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
MORE VIDEOS YOU WOULD LIKE:
→ HOW TO USE SCENE CARDS
• How to use SCENE CARDS...
→ WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT WHEN YOU HAVE NO IDEAS
• What to Write About wh...
→ HOW DISNEY MOVIES MAKE YOU CARE IN 5 MINS
• How Disney movies hack...
→ STOP TRYING TO BE A GOOD WRITER
• STOP Trying to be a Go...
✨F O L L O W ✨
blog: bit.ly/2Kl21m8
facebook: bit.ly/2FS2Ikh
instagram: bit.ly/2Xr5hUI
patreon: / abbieemmons
Business inquiries: abbie@abbieemmonsauthor.com
✨ A B O U T ✨
My name is Abbie Emmons I teach writers how to make their stories matter by harnessing the power and psychology of storytelling, transforming their ideas into a masterpiece, and creating a lifestyle that makes their author dreams come true.
Story isn’t about “what happens” - it’s about how what happens affects and transforms the characters. I believe that there is an exact science (a recipe, if you will) behind a perfect story. And if you know what ingredients you need, you can create your own perfect story with ease and confidence. That’s what we talk about every week on this channel - and if it’s something you’re into, be sure to subscribe and join this community!
AHHHH the title of this video was the exact question I was asking myself lately, the timing is impeccable 😭😂✋🏻
Same!! I have been asking myself this for ages!
Foreal im working on my comic and was thinking about to make the character more meaningful to the audience and this popped up.
OMG YOU DID MY QUESTION!!! OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! YAAASSS OMG!!!! I ABSOLUTELY ADORE YOU!! I FEEL SO HONORED!!!
This was the question I didn’t even know I needed the answer to. Roughly 2 seconds after reading the title I realized higher stakes were exactly what I needed for my main character, thank you Abbie!
Isnt she amazng??!
@@albertross2456 really, before beginning to write my book I decided to go and watch tutorials on TH-cam, I can’t even begin to discuss how many mistakes I would’ve done if it weren’t for her.
I'm confused, how do you make what is already happening matter more to your characters?
@@HistorywithHannibal in this case that isn’t necessarily my issue, my character is lacking development and as of now the story feels a bit flat. I’m considering raising the stakes and/or re-writing.
Yay! More suffering for our charecters!
Literally, just when I was thinking about the stakes I want to raise for my characters, Abbie shows up with this. Brilliant.
"How can I make what's already happening matter more to my characters"--this is an excellent way to question your own writing and character motivations! Thank you for articulating it so clearly!
To add to what you said about stakes, many times the stakes are always life or death, just not physical.
For example, if a love interest is growing over the time of the story, they slowly become a greater risk to lose. Their life may not be on the line, but if they left, your main character's broken heart can be like an "emotional death".
I think Abbie already did a great job explaining stakes, but I thought I'd throw this out there. :)
Yes!
Abbie I just finished reading 100 Days Of Sunlight and I cannot tell you how much I LOVED it. Before I even finished the book, I knew it was going to be AWESOME and I've probably recommend it to my friends a billion times. No book has made me be sad so much and grin so much. Anyway l, just wanted to say it is an AMAZING book.
I FINALLY GOT TO READ 100 Days of Sunlight! I had been waiting all week and was SOOOO excited when it came! I read it in one sitting it was so good! When I went to school the next day I got my friend to read it too! It is one of my all time favorites!!! 😁😁😊
Does it have a lot of well, mature content, Becuase I’ve been wanting to read it but id rather not read that type of content. (Sorry for my improper grammar it’s 3AM 🥲
Hey Abbie! Do you happen to have an official pre-writing task list to share? I've developed most of my story, thanks to the help of your videos, but it's hard to keep track of all the things I need to plot, outline, and just figure out before writing the first draft in order to make the writing process easy and straightforward. A general "this is what you need to do before sitting down to write" type of list or template coming from you would be so helpful!
I think she talks about this in her Scrivener set up video (?) I'm not really sure. But she talks about everything she does before she actually starts writing. The video is called "How to use scrivener to write a novel". If you don't have Scrivener btw, you should totally get it. It saved me a lot of headaches and it's pretty great at keeping track of everything In your story.
@@kaokurosawa3872 Oh great thanks! I'll find that video and it'll probably help me out. Haha yes I just got Scrivener recently and you're so right! It's been a lifesaver for novel writing and keeping track of everything.
Hello, you can find templates and others ressources on her website
As an amateur writer myself, these videos helped me a lot. Thank you Abbie.
You are life saver abbie for aspiring writers like us
OMG thank you to all the people that asked these questions because these are the exact things I needed today! Thank you Abbie for another amazing #AskAbbie - you know I love you, Queen 👑💖
This is the exact video i needed omg! Thank you!! ✨💛
Thank you! I love how you phrase an explanation ... You make it crystal clear in my mind
Needed this. Thanks, Abbie. 💕
So much of the book I am writing I am excited about...but this video helped me to see that I need to figure out how to raise the stakes. Very useful advice for my exact situation right now! Thanks again, Abbie!
I just love the way she speaks. ❤️
Ahhh this was extremely helpful!!! Love how you always find the most perfect questions at the perfect times!❤
Ikr
I love the idea of scene cards and am planning to use them in the future.
Best One yet, Sweetie; This is The Key To a Great Story ~
You're The Best ~
Ah, the intro tho-
So inspiring and cool!
Love the advice thank you!
Just what I was looking forward today🤩🤘
Hi Abbie! Such a great video, I love your videos and your book, I'm a young teen writer and you've really helped get better at writing, thank you so much! ❤❤
I'm reminded of a powerful emotional movie scene...
Bridges of Madison County
Her pov in the cab of the truck.
The door handle.
The husband driving and without a clue.
Her suffering in silence.
The catharsis. The sacrifice.
The good guys win.
It is pointless to raise the stakes until the outcome matters to the reader.
Ty Abbie. My daughter and I enjoy listening and studying with you.
I need this! Thank you for your informative videos, it really helped me improve a lot as a young writer!
OMG Hi Abbie! I've watched some of your recent videos and let me tell you, I was so damn inspired girl! Thank you for creating such great content!
Please your tips are so helpful.
I haven't even started watching the whole video, but after watching so many of yours I expect it's gonna be great! Liked! (now I am actually gonna watch lol)
Love this!
I am writing a story about a man who finds his best friend's body after the best friend ends his life (almost identical to my own real life experience). Knowing how to include this in the story without causing my readers secondary trauma has been a HUGE obstacle. I want to portray exactly why this event sent my protagonist into a spiral, to show the pain he feels, but without making it seem as though I am using what happened as a shock factor. Your videos have been extremely helpful.. your explanations for the most part make the most sense. This is the 3rd novel I am working on outlining, and I have several more to do.
Hey Abbie, thank you for the help. I like how you put it. I need to trust myself as an author and understand that as I grow, so will how I write things. Also, I wanted to say thank you for pronouncing my name correctly, my other gets it wrong... :D
This a good video. Well done.
#AskAbbie Hi Abbie!
I've been looking at your videos for a while, and i'm really struggling with one particular aspect of my story - internal conflict. It's a fanfiction where the MC read all the books that were out, then discovered they were part of the 'special people' of the book world and the stories were real (book series is Percy Jackson).
She is a huge fan, but was forced to promise she wouldn't tell normal people about the book world being real and she wouldn't tell the 'special people' she's part of about the other 'special people' that exist in the books and the world, but are a different type. She knows the gods, who control her world, suck, and she knows that they're better than the alternatives (Titans, Giants & Primordials ruling), so they're stuck with the gods.
So far I have her mostly dealing with general issues - getting stuff for a god, helping other kids deal with being part of the 'special' group, etc. I'm a pantser with specific scenes in mind that I am definitely am going to include, so I have a bit of a plot.
As I said at the start, what are your suggestions for internal conflict?
I will comment her backstory, which I wrote in full, in the comments.
Thank you very much! - GG
Here's the backstory, from her POV:
My name is Laura Hill. I was born on September 9th 2003, to an aspiring author by the name of Tony Hill. He was a single dad, and the best guy ever, to my mind.
My life wasn’t fancy, or particularly unusual, it just was. Each day, I’d get up, have breakfast with Dad, he’d go to work while I played with my friends on our block or go to preschool or elementary school, depending on how old I was. At noon, I’d go home if I didn’t have school, eat my premade lunch, then go out to play again. At half-past five, Dad’d get home, he’d make dinner and then, depending on how old I was, read me a story, teach me to read, or I’d read him a story. Then I’d get ready for bed, and if I was lucky, he’d read me another story, often a snippet of one of the stories he was working on. After I went to bed, he’d spend another hour or two writing, then go to bed himself. Rinse and repeat.
I wanted to be just like him, and he always said reading lots was key to becoming an author, so I read often.
That all changed the day of the crash. I was nine years old and got immediately placed into an orphanage. It was strange and terrifying, and books only served to remind me that Dad was gone. He’d never read to me again. Then we had a class novel to read. Resigned to the fact that I’d have to read it, I picked it up one night after school, planning to just get up to chapter five, so I was up to date with the rest of the class. Someone shook my shoulder, and I looked up to see the matron tell me that it was dinner time. I was up to chapter 15. Then I read to escape from the pain of the world - the children teasing me about my hair and skin colour, the pain of not having Dad… Eventually the pain lessened, and so I then read just for the fun of it. By that time, I had left the orphanage and lived in a foster home. It was okay, but it wasn’t particularly enjoyable.
In year eight, we had to do some reading comprehension with some book chapters. One was about some kid dying and the nitty-gritty of heaven (I can’t remember the name of the book) and one was I Accidentally Vaporize My Maths Teacher. I was hooked, and wanted to find the book. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, so I read Heroes of Olympus. I knew as much as Jason or Percy did when I read them. Reading HOO first is probably why I got so attached to Jason (not sure if that’s a good or bad thing…. You know why). Anyway, when I found The Lightning Thief, I read it, but the funny thing was that it was almost like I hadn’t read Heroes of Olympus, ‘cause I didn’t remember the spoilers it had given me. Then I read all the books through in order. I got kinda obsessed, it’s the only series I bought rather than just borrowing it from the library whenever I wanted to read it and the only series I got merch for.
She also looks very unusual with Red hair, blue eyes & dark skin, but she's fine with it despite the weird looks she gets
Thanks!
Hello Abbie!
I like your videos so much, thanks for the good content!
Can you please make a video on what is essential for a good psychological thriller story?
#askAbbie so I’m currently worldbuilding for a Dark fantasy story, and I’m constantly struck with the feeling of wondering whether I’m worldbuilding to much, or at times wonder what I’m even supposed to world build? I love your videos and you’ve helped me understand the art of telling a story so much, thank you.
Your channel showed up in my recommendations.
Thank you!
Good advise.
Good job 😍😍😍😍😍😍
Anyone has tips on how to write two people meeting online? Slow-burn, preferably. Like how would they build their friendship/ relationship? especially if one of them is shy and introverted.
Hmm... then, do you have any internet friends that you have met online? (Just asking😂) maybe this can help. Identify what interest or your hobby matched with them. If not, then just focus on creating how they connected in online at first. Was it their bio or profile description that made them interested enough to follow and eventually connect together? (
@@spicychilly3636 Wow wow wow! Thank you so much for the response!
I've actually been lurking into apps that are meant for meeting strangers and becoming friends and have been noting my feelings/ reactions after calls/ text messages haha. It gave me lots of ideas and I've already started chapter two. I got stuck though on how they first "talk" (it's a call after a bit of messaging) since all the guys I talked to in those app wanted something more than a friendship, and the story I'm writing is about brotherhood.
Your ideas are great! I'll for sure use some of them in my story. Thanks a ton, and I wish you the same with whatever story you're writing.
@@kaokurosawa3872 I am so happy that my advice was helpful to you😊 I am proud you also did some research and experimented/experienced it yourself. Tbh, you're brave too that you went to message strangers and note down any reactions. I, on the other hand would be so shy that I wouldn't even dare make the first move lol I would easily get surprise if someone calls me after a few text exchange and stare at the call to end, then sigh out of relief😆😅
(That's just me and my overthinking lol)
I will give you credit for that!
And that's a good progress you have already done 2 chapters. Keep on writing! Sounds like a very good and interesting story you got there. About brotherhood, at that! Wow.
I have never read books or stories about this. (Maybe there are. But every plot, every stories are different from each other. It's about the feelings you invoke.) But I am sure your story will be both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and your readers will love it once you have fully written it!
Rock on🤘
Maybe have them talk for months and then have the main protagonist discover that they were catfished near the end
@@unicorntomboy9736 Hahaha that's actually one of the beats I've plotted! Thanks anyway!
From 6:16 to 6:30 there was a faint sound of a siren. It coincided with your talking about the climax of the story. Synchronus. Don't know if that's the right word? But of course, thanks for your writing tips.
Yay!!
Very good.
Will you do a video about how to format a book with Atticus?
8:53 It's funny how naturally I can write stuff like this. :]
Not descriptive at all and yet with less than five key words everyone knows EXACTLY what happened... In some instances, though, I would say this could also come off in a terrible way as well, since the openness of the situation is left almost entirely to the reader to a certain point. There are definitely little tricks you can use to keep your readers' heads out of the gutter, but I've found that for some of my most "horriffic" scenes, I barely said anything and yet everyone was traumatized... So, I gues all this is to say be sure to tread litely. :]
(I do :] smile because it makes me look evil. XD)
Hey Abbie (or anyone really) How to find the perfect editor and when should you start talking about your book? #askabbie
Hi, Abbie! As a writer, I'd love to know what i must read to improve my writing. Does have specifics books that could make me a better writer, or all the books that I read are a welcome to my writinng improvement?
I adore ur channel so much! Your videos taught me more about writinng that anything else in this world!
#AskAbbie
9:00 do you have examples or storys you know of that do this you can recommend??
I have a question for anyone that thinks they can answer. My story takes place over at least two books. In the first, my love interests meet, and get together in the end. In the second, their relationship is forbidden by the guys family (for wealth/social reasons). I don’t want this to come out of nowhere, but I don’t want it to be a perceived problem until the second book. Any suggestions on how to do this?
You could subtly hint at it in the first book but never make it the focus, just so the readers have it in the back of their minds come book 2. Maybe you could reference Romeo and Juliet (since they were in a similar situation) or any other classic work that has the same tones? Hope this helps! :)
@@kaokurosawa3872 thanks! That is helpful
What you're looking for is foreshadowing.
It can be as subtle as a member of his family saying something like "Oh, you're wearing *that*?" when talking to his love interest. You're just laying little subtle hints that his family are hostile, without it being openly acknowledged.
There's an old concept in writing called Chekov's Gun. That is the idea that if there’s a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, by the third act someone has to fire that gun. It's subtle foreshadowing of what is to come.
@@Kiki-cs8xv Wow your answer is way more eloquent than mine haha. Great example and attention to details, Kiki!
@@Anna-B Good luck, Anna!
I've noticed that with each passing chapter of my short story, the number of reads seem to get shorter. Should I be worried ?
Interesting
I’ve been writing a story with different events happening within the same period of time, how could I transition from one story to the next without simply pausing the main story and starting the other?
Hi Abbie can I make a video request?
Can you do a video where you write a scene based on a prompt and talk us through what you are writing.
There is a Vanity fair video where a Hollywood screenwriter does just this if you want an example
Hi ! How are you?
How to raise the stakes for your characters?
It isn't all about tightrope situations and high up drama.
Can't car chase, or shoot bazookas out of the helicopter to raise the stakes.
/\there isn't a mathematical formula similar to the macaroni & cheese process for raising the stakes for characters
Having the reader become more interested in the characters means adding more complexity to the book.
Adding more complexity requires more study and now everything becomes tremendously turbulent.
Take the art of paint. Hasn't paint been expressed to the maximum? There are an infinite amount of books that can be written, just as there are an infinite amount of pictures that can be painted. In the grand scheme is there a such thing as one painting being better than the other?
I would say no, and that if you want to raise the stakes for your characters you probably should implement new dillemas
My story doesn't give my protagonist any rest at all & he's facing extremely powerful beings, yet they still don't seem quite high enough
I can’t join bc I don’t have Facebook bc I’m a young story writer but I have a question! How do you get into the story or find a flow or just not think deeply of how I’m going to write the story and think more of what do I want the story line or meaning to be? I’m finding it really hard to think of the story line or meaning to be bc I can’t clear my mind or just go with the flow !!
abbie has a great three act plot structure PDF available on her website.
it asks all types of questions to help you plsn your book
@@chlorophyll1209 tyyy
I have watched several of your videos with lots of movie examples which are helpful however we are writers. I would love to see actual written examples from real stories. Show me the words! :-)
Abbie tells us how to literally destroy made up people.
Me with this new knowledge: *The power of the sun in the palm of my hand*
What do you think about Encanto, I dislike it because Mirabelle is perfect and static.
3rd
i don't have Patreon but i do have a question: how do I make my readers care about my character and not be shallow or cliche?
Internal conflict. What the character likes or dislikes or what food they love to eat when it rains doesn’t matter until the internal conflict does. Show it as soon as possible - preferably, in the very first chapter.
And if you’re worried they’re come across as cliche or shallow, try to add your own touch into their inner conflict. Give it a unique source. Make the “why” behind their inner conflict original.
@@kaokurosawa3872 this will definitely help, thank you so much!
@@grim.sleeper Good luck!
@@kaokurosawa3872 thank you!
Let me say this as a quick preface. While I read a ton I only write for fun so take what I have to say with a grain of salt.
On writing about trauma what is your goal? To write a compelling story, or be palpable to a large audience? These concepts can be mutually exclusive.
For me, the less detail there is about the events that transpire shows what kind of hold it has. A great example is something I’m dealing with even as I write this PTSD. Some people go through things and they block a lot or even all of it out so they may only remember fragments or emotions. It doesn’t mean it hasn’t had an effect but it definitely lessens the impact for the reader. However when people like me have what is known as a flashback, we relive the experience, the details matter, they make the moment vivid for both the characters and the reader. Will some people be put off by the smells, tastes, sounds, visions, emotions, I describe? Yeah. That’s the point. You’re not supposed to feel comfortable.
One last point. Think about character flaws. It’s ok to have a character who glorifies (x bad thing) and have them be relatable and otherwise a good person. It’s a reflection of reality. An example might be a Viking who relishes battle, pillaging, and plundering, and all the evil that goes with it but brings it all back to take care of the his tribe. Nurturing both young and old and valiantly standing up for them.
Some things to consider anyway.
I guess the TLDR of everything I said is: “Show, don’t tell.”
I was thinking about writing a sequel story to my Monster Hunter fanfiction piece. How do I differentiate it from the first story?
What’s the first fic about?
@@kaokurosawa3872 It's about my protagonist, a Hunter called Isla, who is on a hunt against a large monster called a Tobi Kadachi in the Flooded Forest. (It's a short story btw, so around 2000 words)
If you know anything at all about Monster Hunter, there is a ton of worldbuilding regarding ecology and biology.
Do you post online? I could read the first one and give you feedback and maybe nee ideas for the sequel? I unfortunately don’t know anything about it that’s why 😅
@@kaokurosawa3872 I don't post them online, sorry
@@unicorntomboy9736 That's ok. Well, I guess all I could say is, since it's a sequel, create a new inner conflict for the MC that follows up on the first one. Random example but, if your protagonist was scared of commitment and he crushed that misbelief in the first fic, make his inner conflict about his fear of losing whoever is by his side. Again, this is just a random example since I know nothing about it.
Cassandra's question reminds me of a video by Ellen Brock on the four types of writers (methodological plotter, methodological pantser, intuitive plotter, intuitive pantser). Cassandra, maybe you're an intuitive type! I'd highly recommend looking up that video.
th-cam.com/video/eryQEZImm6Y/w-d-xo.html
Abbie: you could watch a movie or read a book where literally nothing perilous or life or death happens to the characters but you care so much about what the stakes mean to them that it’s way more exciting
Me: #AbbiePredictedEncanto
If someone has an owned voice story to tell about trauma, that's one thing. The issue and why writers are advised not to write it is because they don't have the experience that would make their writing have meaning. Writing about abuse or trauma is serious and should be treated with nuance and respect, not to raise story stakes or for the hero to kickstart his revenge quest.
Wow, way too early... that's new
💜⚡
when your story is about.... *sigh* exploding space ships ... 😞
I don't write fiction so please believe me when I say you are remarkably pretty and should capitalize on that somehow.
heh. Capitalise! (You See what I did there:))
#askabbie could you promote the book " my life a key to meaningful life" that I had published in amazon yesterday 🙂
ill prefer watching the world burn then this channel being burned
Thanks!