Tuesday, June 23, 2009

"The Book Coach"--June 23rd, 2009


"The Book Coach"--June 23rd, 2009



When drafting a realistic fictional story, you must incorporate real scenarios, feelings, emotions, struggles and accomplishments, in the life and journey of your character--or hero--in order for your audience to easily relate to them and identify with them. This is the critical aspect of hooking an audience and keeping a reader's attention.

Part of my work as a "book coach" is assisting authors and offering them insight into the common pattern of struggle all humans undergo in order to bring about change. Your story--and the journey of your hero in your story--must undergo some form of change over the course of the story--or you essentially, have no story to follow. Every epic tale, mythological story and classic work of fiction encompasses certain aspects of the human struggle that makes it easy to readily identify with an audience. Because we all relate to emotions and feelings of love, hate, anger, joy, release and feelings of capture (among countless others), when your character shares these types of emotions and states of being, then you make it easier for an audience to either like or despise your hero. It doesn't matter what the reader feels in the opening of a story, so long as they feel something that can relate to the character. As your story progresses, so too should the hero's internal and external character. If your hero is bitter and hateful towards the world, and you bring about a journey that forces them to learn a new perspective, see life through a different point-of-view, etc., then you would have accomplished the primary focus of reading or following a story to begin with. This is one scenario and there are countless others you could incorporate into your tale. The objective is however, for you as the artist to use your creativity to identify a problem that forces the hero and story into motion, create common feelings towards accepting the call, and then ensure they undergo challenges, setbacks and adversity in which they must overcome.

You should ask yourself these types of questions when creating you protagonist:

What is it they love and treasure the most? What do they despise the most about their surroundings? What is troubling them? What inner torment do they carry in their heart? What has brought them to the place where we meet them? What force (internal or external) forces them out of their comfort zone and into the unknown world?

You should ask yourself the who, what, when, where, why and how in relation to building backdrop and future endeavors for your hero. You should then pose conflict (internal or external) that will force the hero to undergo change...good or bad...right or wrong. If you can add this drama to your storyline, you are then on your way to creating effective, realistic struggle and accomplishment for your hero. And that is how you begin working to draft a realistic fictional tale and characters.

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If your book is in need of help--either in storyline, plot structure or character development--contact me to learn more about my book coach services. My rates vary depending upon the job depth and type of work you are creating. You can learn more about sending an email inquiry HERE.

...supporting the independent arts...

~Bobby Ozuna Author | Ghost-Writer | Book Coach | Internet Radio Talk Show Host | Press Release Services
OZUNA PUBLICATIONS


1 comment:

Jessie O. said...

Hey Bobby...
I am just now getting around t catching up on my Drawing Stories...blog read and this one was great. I have been jotting down ideas for my stories and this just gave me some more to play with. Thanks! Keep on keepin' on, man!
Your friend,
J

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