Driving, plotting, managing!

by Diana Orgain

Driving – Ah- I do love it. I remember when I first learned to drive. The feeling of getting into a vehicle and actually being able to take myself anywhere I wanted. To be able to drive down the road, to get onto the freeway and zoom. Unbelievable freedom.

These days, I don’t commute to a job, as I work from home – which lucky for me the way gas prices are going –  but, on occasion I do love to just get into my car and drive. I find the thoughts flow to me. I enjoy watching the scenery go by – like you’re on the inside of a movie. I usually don’t listen to music when I drive.  I like the sound of the car’s engine, a sort of white noise to me, which allows my thoughts flow. Many plots have been birthed in my car.

My latest novel, FORMULA FOR MURDER, actually starts off with a hit and run! Which takes the word “drive” to an entirely different level. The idea of action driving a plot.

 

I notice when I have this conversation with writers that some are confused by the term “action” (too many bad Hollywood movies with car chase scene) – not that there’s anything wrong with enjoying that, mind you  – however, a car chase is not the only way to create dramatic action or tension in a scene.

Dramatic action is created when the basic internal conflict of a character or the plot is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist's attempt to reach his goal.  In other words, a protagonist can’t be allowed reach his goal immediately, otherwise there is no story. Therefore, the storyteller must create suitable obstacles to block the objective.  Simply put; objective vs. obstacle = tension.

And this dramatic tension or action is what drives the plot. And plot or the “Dramatic Structure”  consists of five components; Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and the Denouement (or Resolution or Catastrophe) according to your story.

So there you go – from on the driving on the road to a break-down of dramatic structure – all in one blog post! Whew! Now, I must go feed my children and pick out some new kitchen lights with my hubby in time for our kitchen remodel which begins on Monday (and in which I’ll be “driving” or managing the project – ah – yet another definition of the word “drive”)!

Comments

[Mysti]

Wow, that was a great summary. People paying McKee hundreds of dollars should just read this post :)

One of my screenwriting profs, Kirk Ellis, talks about suspense vs. anticipation--we want to KNOW that something is bound to happen (anticipation), but NOT KNOW *what* exactly it is (tension? suspense?)...so in every sequence we're trying to fool the reader a little bit, and clue them in a little bit, and hope and pray that the clue doesn't spoil the foolin'...

Thanks for getting my brain into DRIVE !!!!!

[Ann]

Ideas also come to me while driving...A dangerous time, because grabbing a gas receipt and trying to scribble something on it while still in motion is, well, you get the point.

[Diana Orgain]

Mysti - great tip - thanks for sharing. Ann - scary! You need a voice recorder to talk into! I used to work with a lady that would actually fill notebooks while she drove - frightening!