driving to work..........

looking southwestward, from east larned street and I-75, at the GM Building (formerly the Detroit Renaissance Center)

Constructing Plot

The Elements of Plot Development

If an author writes, "The king died and then the queen died," there is no plot for a story. But by writing, "The king died and then the queen died of grief," the writer has provided a plot line for a story.

A plot is a causal sequence of events, the "why" for the things that happen in the story. The plot draws the reader into the character's lives and helps the reader understand the choices that the characters make.

A plot's structure is the way in which the story elements are arranged. Writers vary structure depending on the needs of the story. For example, in a mystery, the author will withhold plot exposition until later in the story. In William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" it is only at the end of the story that we learn what Miss Emily has been up to all those years while locked away in her Southern mansion.

What Goes into a Plot?

Narrative tradition calls for developing stories with particular pieces--plot elements--in place.

Exposition is the information needed to understand a story.

Complication is the catalyst that begins the major conflict.

Climax is the turning point in the story that occurs when characters try to resolve the complication.

Resolution is the set of events that bring the story to a close.

It's not always a straight line from the beginning to the end of a short story. In Ernest Hemingway's story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," the action shifts from past to present. This shifting of time is the way we learn what happened and why, and it keeps us interested in the story. But good stories always have all the plot elements in them.

Ask yourself the following questions regarding "A Jury of Her Peers," -- "Why did the author arrange the story elements the way she did? How does she control our emotional response and prepare us for reversals or surprises?"

Point of View

An automobile accident occurs. Two drivers are involved. Witnesses include four sidewalk spectators, a policeman, a man with a video camera who happened to be shooting the scene, and the pilot of a helicopter that was flying overhead. Here we have nine different points of view and, most likely, nine different descriptions of the accident.

In short fiction, who tells the story and how it is told are critical issues for an author to decide. The tone and feel of the story, and even its meaning, can change radically depending on who is telling the story.

Remember, someone is always between the reader and the action of the story. That someone is telling the story from his or her own point of view. This angle of vision, the point of view from which the people, events, and details of a story are viewed, is important to consider when reading a story.

What is the point of view in "A Jury of Her Peers?" Is it fixed or does it change? Does it stay the same distance from the events of the story, or like a camera lens does it zoom in and zoom out, like a camera lens? Who is telling the story?

Types of Point of View

Objective Point of View

With the objective point of view, the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.

Third Person Point of View

Here the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.

First Person Point of View

In the first person point of view, the narrator does participate in the action of the story. When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.

Omniscient and Limited Omniscient Points of View

A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient.
A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.

As you read a piece of fiction think about these things:

How does the point of view affect your responses to the characters? How is your response influenced by how much the narrator knows and how objective he or she is? First person narrators are not always trustworthy. It is up to you to determine what is the truth and what is not.

Think about the ways that point of view is used to help you solve the murder in "A Jury of Her Peers."

Taken from http://www.learner.org/exhibits/literature/read/plot1.html

Draft Scene - Period Draper - A work in progress

“Delia stood in front of the doorway and shook as she began to realize the danger approaching. I called out to her, at the top of my lungs, to run. But her gaze was transfixed, unbreakable. As the vortex closed around me, I could not think of one other thing but the fear and helplessness that seemed to consume her as she watched me being wisked away. My survival was no longer an issue, my existence became meaningless. Delia was all that mattered. And no longer would we be together. The very last image of my one true universal soulmate would forever haunt me. I swore at that moment that somehow, someday I would find my way back to that very moment in time. This became my purpose.”

Guy removed a buckle from a canvass rig he was working on and placed it in the collection of items he’d retrieved so far from the wrecked ship. He continued with conviction.

“I’m not telling you I won’t help you Dingel, I’m just saying that as soon as we can get back to Rigel, my interests will be refocused on traversing the Bridge. Business is business; we have to get this shipment to our buyer. That we will do. But Rigel has the only Period Draper in this sector. I’ve got to use it before the Ganae reach the Stodium cluster and delete the old solar generations from the Logs.”

The goddamn Ganae, Dingel thought, lousy somesabitches. Their timing couldn’t be worse. He realised a synaptic operation initiating in the his subconsious, at levels 9 through 14, and re-directed awareness to that area. The logic processors in his virtual mind began analyzing the potential threat to the next mission the moment Rishard pronounced the words “Period Draper”. In the space of a nanosecond, 156 probable outcomes to the Meer project had been calculated excluding Guy Rishard’s presence. Each were very discouraging.

Rom Dingel renewed his concentration to the immediate task of repairing the Light Guide. In the midst of timing the ignition sequence, an optical alert signified an incoming page on the heads up display integrated to his test headset. Silently, he requested an identification of the calling party. The word “Custodian” appeared on his display. A mental command completed the call.

“This is Rom”. Rom transferred the activity of troubleshooting the ignition sequence from his conscious mind to that of the virtual processing units that augmented his physical brain. The male voice of the caller boomed into his head. He mentally adjusted the volume to a comfortable level. He glanced over at Guy to see him still busy inventorying the salvageable components from the Tutta Forza. As far as Guy could tell, Rom’s body was slumped over the main engine compartment of the small cruiser they acquired during their last project, his hands and eyes busy connecting test leads to the Light Guide in an attempt to restart its nuclear reactor. In actuality, Rom was completely consumed with what might the Custodian wanted by calling him directly. The last time he’d spoken directly to the Custodian was for an ass-chewing over the Treatise. He was sure there had been no mishaps in retrieving the Forza.

“Chabiaa here; how long will it be before the Forza is processed?

Rom waited for the transmit indicator turned green. Curious as to why the Custodian was speaking to him in the language of a remote area of a different universe, he hesitated for a moment. He immediately dismissed it as the Custodian’s prerogative. He continued in his native tongue.

“Awr redougj. Nectair sheit somm stech hormog”. The indicator change back to red.

“Good. That’s about 12 hours Minic Enise. Were there any survivors?

Still uncertain about the nature of contact, and why he was using english, Rom figured the Custodian might appreciate a bit of imitation.

“Six sir; two in pretty bad shape though. They were rescued an instant before their ship past through the Nod. We escorted the other twelve to the Prescence. But it was completely by the book sir. No significant abnormalities were recorded.”

“Don’t worry so much Rom, my information indicates you and Guy did one helluva job on this one. Matter of fact, your record since the Treatise has been excellent. Almost like you guys have something to prove. Six hundred recoveries have all been without any deviation from procedure. Learned a little from those miscalculations, did we?

Rom relaxed a little, relieved that the possibility of investigation might elude him. “Yes sir. The Treatise taught us a lot.”

“Good to hear. You’re probably curious as to why I’m speaking to you in English. Had your fill of recoveries yet?”

“Definitely sir.”

“That’s all I needed to hear. I’m sending you a new file as we speak. Wrap up what you’re doing and go over it in detail with Guy. I’ll see you here in 24 hours Minic Enise. We’ll discuss any concerns at that time. And Rom, if you’re not up to it I will understand. I won’t hold it against you one way or another. But I know how much you wanted this opportunity.

“Thank you sir. Ale speach ti nezrone.”

Rom’s HUD indicated ‘com path terminated’.

“What the hell am I in for now,” Rom’s thought electrified the HUD in a psychedelic color display usually reserved for activities of a sensual nature.

Welcome!

Welcome to o octave acima, 'the octave higher' as it is refered to in Portuguese, sister-blog to 'tutta forza', which was my first, off the cuff, tongue in cheek excursion into blogdom. I got to thank my bud Jim for getting me interested in this little endeavor. It is pretty cool and I think I can do it justice in the long haul. Thanks Jimmay!

I think this blog will be dedicated more to the art of writing and story telling. Short stories, story ideas, cool motivations and the like will abound on this little electronic canvas. And any and all things Brazilian.

Looking north on Throckmorton Street toward West 7th, Fort Worth, Texas.