Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Plot Structure -- Preludes and Aftermaths

Following on from last week's post about how you need a turning point in your story to bring about change, I've been thinking about preludes and aftermaths and that you shouldn't neglect either of these in your eagerness to concentrate on the main event. In a love affair, the first touch of a hand, or the first kiss, can be more potent and intoxicating than anything else, and often the end of relationship is so excruciating that it can obliterate everything which has gone before.

Perhaps it is worth spending some time working out how you can maximise the impact of the buildup to the climax of your story.  Can you play with anticipation, or does the moment of crisis come out of a clear blue sky?  What emotions are at play -- fear, longing -- or even denial? Similarly, with the aftermath: is the fallout from what has happened predictable, or does the aftershock move in mysterious ways?  How long and deep are the shadows cast? Do the good get punished as well as the bad?  Does anyone emerge untouched by what has occurred?

A few thoughts to mull over, or to file the way for a rainy day...

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