Work "You can write a good story" - Share

I have been sorting out a video these past two days. The theme is travel. According to the client’s request, it should be a purely scenic video, but I actually think it’s inappropriate. If it only has scenery, it may not be able to support the entire video. Purely Scenery means fighting for photography, equipment, equipment, and airplanes. These are impossible to support in our budget, so I decided to take another route, hoping to take the main line through a simple story of a character, and at the same time bring scenery. . So the question arises, what is the story of this character? I have to say that our reading club is like a magic weapon coming down to earth to publish this book at this moment. I was really touched after reading it, and now I would like to share some of the points that impressed me here.

Before writing: Here is the martial arts mentality and premise of all stories. If you do not follow the following principles (unless you are a very advanced kind), the direction may be biased.

The story must have changes - no one wants to read the running accounts. The story is defined in the book this way: the inner changes that occur after the protagonist goes through a series of plots. The process and results of this change are story. Indeed, looking back at all the wonderful movies, stories, and novels I have watched, they all conform to this logic. Therefore, the protagonist is very important. If there is no protagonist, it will be a scenic film. If there is a protagonist without these changes, then maybe It's just a commercial. If it really records the protagonist, it might be a documentary. Whether it's good or not depends on the actual development. And if we create our own stories, knowing this major premise, we will have the direction to turn the words we write into a story. (I think this should be taught in primary school Chinese in China)

The moral premise of the story - condensed? I understand it as the meaning of the story, what kind of truth is told to us through this story, the ingenious moral premise It can also add a lot of points to the story itself. It sounds mysterious, but it's actually very simple. Three parts:

1. The protagonist keeps making mistakes, violating moral premises and suffering from it

2. The moment of grace ( This is particularly important. Now this part of my own story is missing, and I am thinking about how to remedy it.) The protagonist received God's guidance and woke up.

3. The protagonist finally abides by the moral premise, walks on the right path, and shows everyone the glorious image of the moral premise, which is extremely correct, awesome and touching.

Official writing: Various methods are mentioned in the book here, I excerpt them as follows

1. What should the first page contain? - Don’t be stingy, grab your attention as soon as possible, you only have one chance!

From the first sentence, the reader has to want to know what will happen next, so the first sentence should give the reader a sense that something is going to change (either for good or for bad). direction), it’s better if it’s unexpected.

For example: In my back garden, you can see two trees outside the wall, one is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree. (Lu Xun's "Autumn Night")

Who is the protagonist? The sooner the protagonist appears, the better. If the protagonist is intentionally arranged to appear later, then everything from the first page should be arranged around the protagonist's appearance. (Remember to eliminate all meaningless redundant events and scenes!)

For example: Joel Campbell, who was eleven years old at the time, became a murderer because of riding a bus. (Elizabeth George, "Dangerous Liaisons")

Something is happening. At the beginning of the story, authors are asked to lead readers directly to an ongoing event, and this event foreshadows the direction of the entire story (explaining the external problems that the protagonist of the entire story needs to solve).

For example: The opening chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions" explains the fate of the characters in the entire story.

Something is at stake.

What is pending? Where is the conflict?

When the breadcrumbs hidden in the first sentence lead the readers deep into the forest, the readers’ brains quickly enter the exploration mode. They are eager to find out the contradictions faced by the protagonist, the goals pursued, and things. What's the progress?

For example: On the first page of Jin Yong's "The Eight Parts of the Dragon", it is written that Duan Yu went to Wuliang Mountain to watch the Wuliang Sword and the East and West sects competing. Unexpectedly, this day happened to be the day when the Shennong Gang was instructed by the Tianshan Child Mother of the Lingjiu Palace. They came to occupy the Jianhu Palace of the Wuliang Sword Sect. The two sides were about to meet each other with swords. Duan Yu, who did not know any martial arts at all, appeared at this gate. People were worried about the dispute between the two sects, and Duan Yu, who did not know the heights of the world, was worried. Worry.

Conveys a feeling of "not everything is as it seems"

For example: The beginning of Gu Long's "Border Town Prodigal Son" describes a shop for people to enjoy. , where everyone eats and drinks together, it seems peaceful and peaceful, but there are many details to remind us that this place is not that simple as it seems. (For example, the strange layout in the store, the strange store owner sitting on the stairs just playing dominoes, etc.)

2. Always remember to highlight the focus - don’t just write details and forget the main line. After going into the details, The focus is gone, and no one remembers what you are going to say in the end, and others can only feel that it is a bad story.

The lack of focus causes the reader's brain to fall into a state of confusion and inability to move forward. Unless they force themselves to concentrate on reading, the story will be forgotten. For example, the following situation:

We don’t know who the protagonist is; (a mess of people with no priority)

We know who the protagonist is but he seems to have no goal; (I don’t know what he wants to do) Why)

We know what the protagonist’s goal is, but the goal is superficial and boring; (boring)

The protagonist’s goal changes inexplicably, or the protagonist dies and is replaced; (Slap yourself in the mouth)

The storyline has nothing to do with the protagonist's goal; (Two Skins)

The storyline seems to have little influence on the protagonist or the causal relationship is not obvious. (Too far-fetched)

So what is the focus? The focus is composed of the three elements of the protagonist's inner problem, theme, and plot. Focus can tell readers the theme of the story. They can discuss the story and predict the story. Prediction is very important for readers to participate. They can see the possibility of the future, but they are not sure, and this is what the brain likes to do!

The best way to stay focused is to write your story in a concise paragraph and remind yourself not to stray off track.

3. Show, don’t tell - an advanced approach, don’t tell everything, use actions, scenes, and props to let the audience feel for themselves (the audience is much smarter than imagined)

British writer Evelyn Waugh said: "All literary works contain implicit moral principles and criticisms. The less clear the better." Many classic stories can reveal a lot of truth after being interpreted by different people. . For example, in the story of looking at bayberry to quench thirst, some people saw Cao Cao's cunning; some said it was about leadership and boosting morale; some said there was a physiological truth in it, and people salivated when they heard bayberry. The implicit truth will stimulate the brain to think, refine, and reason about the truth. This is one of the things the brain likes to do.

4. How to make readers self-immerse - Use inner drama to draw readers into the protagonist's body, allowing readers to think about the issues he wants to think about from the protagonist's perspective.

The author believes that emotion is our human version of a binary computer. Its working principle is to ask 0 or 1: Is this thing harmful to me or beneficial to me? Therefore, our way to capture readers' emotions is to convey "experiences that are beneficial to my survival" to readers through stories. The method is to let readers know how the protagonist reacts to everything that happens deep down when something happens.

We have three ways to express this inner reaction:

Through external expression: Fred is late; Sue is pacing nervously. Stepping forward, I accidentally stubbed my toe. My toes hurt. She cursed and hopped on one foot, hoping she hadn't smeared the ruby ??red nail polish that Fred was so fond of.

Through reader intuition: We know that Sue is in love with Fred, so when we find out that he is late because he is with Sue's best friend Joan, we immediately feel Sue's impending pain, Although at this point she didn't even know Fred knew Joan.

Through the protagonist's inner thoughts: When Sue introduced Fred to Joan, she immediately felt acutely that there was something unusual between them. Seeing them pretending not to know each other, Su began to plan the details of their untimely deaths.

5. How to use body language correctly - it is used to express emotions. Some do not need to be said, as long as a small movement is enough to make a show!

A good story should show, not tell. People's rich body language will covertly reveal many key details to the brain, which is often the part that the brain is most willing to capture. But one mistake we often make is to show readers what the brain already knows. For example, if we describe someone as being sad, there is no need to write about him crying. You can write about him shaking, shaking, or one of his habitual reactions. . Therefore, a good approach is to give the reader hints through body language so that he can understand what may happen. When you arrange for this to happen or not happen, the reader will smile knowingly or feel that this is the case.

For example: Chapter 84 of "Dream of Red Mansions", Jia Zheng wanted to test Baoyu's knowledge. When Baoyu heard this, he was "another thunderstorm. He had to see Jia Mu and returned to the garden." Eat. After finishing the meal in three mouthfuls, he hurriedly rinsed his mouth and came to Jia Zheng's side." The three or two actions clearly showed that Baoyu was very afraid of his father's homework. The reader saw that he was in a panic. He was so nervous that he couldn't help but think that he might have to be punished again.

6. Do not make subjective comments - you only need to explain it objectively, otherwise it is easy for readers (such as me) to pay attention and judge the good or bad in advance and lose interest in the subsequent plot.

Authors should remember their responsibilities and should not add their own voice to the story. Here's a counterexample:

"I don't think I can marry you, Sam." Emily said, with the condescension that women who think they are superior to men seem to have. arrogant attitude.

The author can speak through the character's perspective, but that only represents the character's point of view. The author's point of view should be hidden in the story, and readers will make their own judgments based on the characters' respective performances.

7. Intrinsic goals and external goals - Come on, to serve the moral premise, the external goal must be a goal that seems important but will actually lead the protagonist into a ditch. After the moment of grace, the protagonist Finally, I discovered my inner goal, worked hard to achieve it, and completed the transformation.

When we create a story, our protagonist will have an external goal. All his actions are based on his own specific situation (life experience, personality, intelligence, etc.), and his response to the external goal Take reasonable pursuit action.

The external goals are subordinate to the character's inner problems - internal problems often trigger the protagonist's desire for external goals. This is where the two clues, internal and external, are connected. Readers always realize this earlier than the characters. This is the goal of readers. They look forward to seeing when and why the characters will realize the inner problem and choose how to solve it.

Generally speaking, before the story, there is an event that happened in the distant past, which laid the foundation for the protagonist's inner problem, which needs to be solved by the development of the entire story. And that distant moment may not appear in front of readers until long after the story unfolds, or it may never even appear frontally. This is a line of inner purpose.

At the same time, at the beginning of the story text, something is happening that will push the protagonist to pursue his external goals, and on his way forward, the events that occur are It is driven, with a "have to" nature that makes the protagonist run around. This is a line of external goals. The achievement or failure to achieve external goals will eventually lead the protagonist to turn to internal goals.

Towards the end of the story, after the protagonist achieves his inner goal, he will immediately return to his external goal. At this time, the protagonist will often have a sudden realization and finally become consistent with the reader's inner goal. Here is a brief analysis using the example of Sister Xianglin’s donation threshold:

Sister Xianglin’s external goal: work hard to save enough money to donate the threshold

Sister Xianglin’s inner goal: pursue A little bit of equality

Inspired by Mrs. Liu, she thought that donating a threshold to the Earth Temple would bring equality, so she spent all her salary for a year donating the threshold, and her sins would be atonement. But when she became a little happier and worked hard again, she found that things were not as she imagined. The master still disliked her and refused to let her help with the sacrifice. So she completely collapsed, with sunken eyes and poor spirits. She was kicked out by her master and became a beggar. Finally, she died of hunger and cold.

To the readers, Mrs. Xianglin’s idea was too naive, and they foresaw the impossibility of doing so earlier than Mrs. Xianglin.

8. What about details?

Details are extremely important to the story. The lack of details often prevents the story from being projected into the reader's mind with an accurate picture. Here are some places where "specific details" are often missing:

Specific reasons why a character does something: It feels baffling if there is no reason;

Metaphors are not clarified: Obscure things need to be explained to the reader Explain it, otherwise it will confuse everyone;

A specific situation that evokes a certain memory in the protagonist's heart: If you don't tell it, no one will know what it means.

Character’s specific reaction to a major event: I spent a lot of time writing about it, but in the end it ended inexplicably.

Lack of explanation of the character’s thinking process: Ignoring the thinking process makes it difficult to explain the character’s psychological changes;

The specific reasons behind the character’s change of heart: Many changes will be inexplicable without explanation, and it is simply a change of heart. into the behavior of another person.

9. Use suspense to create conflict - easy to understand

In the field of brain neuroscience, research through magnetic resonance imaging technology shows that a strong sense of social rejection activates the brain Areas consistent with those activated by physical pain. The brain’s message is: Conflict causes pain. So we will try to resolve the conflict as quickly as possible. Accumulating experience allows you to resolve conflicts more accurately and quickly. And given the brain’s intense response to conflict, what literature has to do is seize on conflicts and use them to create suspense. So how do we turn impending conflict into ongoing suspense? Let's look at the case:

The protagonist Rita is restlessly waiting for the return of her lover Marco, who promised to break up with his wife after she returns from seeing her sick mother.

As readers, we have a better analysis and judgment on the possibility of whether Marco, the playboy, will break up with his wife as promised: probably not.

We watched Rita choose her wedding dress, but knew that she might never have the opportunity to wear this dress and receive blessings from everyone beside Marco. However, Rita did not understand at this time, and our tension was born from this. There are countless layers of conflict that go into Rita's story:

External Level Conflict: What Rita wants: Marco to marry her vs. what Rita has: Marco's promise

< p> Internal conflict: What Rita believes: Marco only loves her VS the truth: Marco is a despicable guy

Main conflict: What Rita expects: Marco has nothing to do with her Impure love VS what others expect of her: Marco expects her to turn a blind eye to his deception

Self-conflict: What Rita believes: Marco's true love for her VS Rita's doubts: Some of Marco's behavior, and the fact that Rita's friends think Marco is unreliable, causes Rita to question whether what she believes is correct

Fundamental Conflict: Rita's true goal: to have a true heart The Man Who Loves Her VS Rita's Fear: If she is true to her goals she should avoid Marco, even if it means she has to be alone

Support Conflict: Rita's Opponent: Marco VS Mercy: You need a moment or two where the reader thinks: Hey, Marco isn't that bad after all. Maybe Marco will finally change?

Through this analysis and construction, you will know how to construct suspense.

10. For the final "big reveal", please don't be stingy with hints - only hints will make you feel. In the end, the audience will feel happy after seeing the ending and discovering that their previous guesses were correct. The story adds a lot of points!

Many authors will hide all key information along the way in order to prepare for the final "big reveal" of the story, fearing that they will reveal too much - but the truth is often that they hide it so deeply that the reader cannot follow along. Finding clues, there is no expectation or thinking. When turning to the last page and the author reveals the secret that has hidden the entire story, they often just feel baffled. Therefore, authors, when you write a story, you must remember your identity as the creator, not the characters in the story who must keep secrets. Remember to leave clues for the readers at all times, so that the readers can be alert to what is happening in their sight. Something else happened.

For example, in the best-selling Disney blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean I", at the beginning, the heroine Elizabeth fell into the sea wearing a cursed gold coin. Before she was rescued ashore, we saw that the gold coins followed the Falling into the water, there is a description of the water waves slowly shaking out. Although we follow the story and see Elizabeth being successfully rescued in the next second, we know that this coin falling into the water will definitely trigger some distant event. ——Later, sure enough, the crew of the ghost pirate ship who were looking for the coin collectively came to the city where Elizabeth lived...

11. Be cruel to your characters - it’s a bit cruel, but it can be unfair in the story< /p>

The significance of stories is to provide us with life experiences - lessons that can be learned and the experiences of others who have gone through hardships. Therefore, authors, we must be ruthless to the protagonists, otherwise they are not enough to teach people experience. They cannot grow without experiencing suffering. Think about why "The Ordinary World" is so touching.

The author provides us with eleven practical principles of destruction in the book:

Don't let the characters in the story admit something without being forced.

Always let your protagonist have secrets—but don’t keep them from the reader.

Make sure that all remedial actions taken by the protagonist will only make the situation worse.

Make sure that everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

Make sure your protagonist starts out betting only a dollar and ends up betting on a farm.

Don’t forget there is no such thing as a free lunch.

The protagonist must lie.

Be sure to introduce a clear, present, and deepening danger.

Make sure the villain in your story also has a good side.

Be sure to expose the character’s shortcomings, evil thoughts, and insecurities.

Be sure to expose your own evil thoughts.

12. Subplot: A way to make the story complex and full - suitable for long stories, but not suitable for short films. Short films should be simple and straightforward.

A story without subplots is undoubtedly monotonous and reads more like a running account recording the protagonist's activities. So we need subplots to give readers a breathing space. After the conflicts of the main plot are over, it's the perfect time to insert subplots. For example, in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the battle between Wei, Shu and Wu will be mixed with many smaller battles and changes in characters.

A subplot is not an insignificant plot, so the author lists three levels of testing for the role of a subplot:

The information provided affects what is happening in the main plot< /p>

Make the protagonist’s pursuit more difficult

Tell us something and deepen our understanding of the protagonist

After completion: the core is to keep showing it to others, Revise and revise.

OK, in summary, this is the core content of this book. It really helped me a lot. If I had read this book in elementary school, my composition scores would have been extremely high.

In the end, my feeling is: this book should be included in the nine-year compulsory education primary school textbooks! !