Someone on here mentioned to read a book Save the Cat!
I started reading it. It's written well, although I'm usually not into forcing my book into a structure, but what do I know. I still have yet to finish my novel.
Anyways the book speaks of your main character and how they MUST have an internal story going on while there is an external main story.
The internal struggle. And this internal struggle must be fixed by the end so the character can fix the external problems.
The character will go on a spiritual journey and learn some sort of lesson by getting what they need not necessarily what they want.
I tried thinking of books with this. While there are some, I do not think all books have this, so I cannot see why it's a MUST.
The Wizard of Oz has one:
"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with… There's no place like home!"
Most Disney movies have a sort of internal struggle and lesson. Hercules sings about finding the place where he belongs. He learns that while he wants to go to olympus, his true place is down here where he is needed.
However most books I have read don't have massive internal struggles taking place across the book as a main theme. Harry Potter struggles to fit in and constantly needs to be brave, but he doesn't learn any major lesson and most of his struggles seem external. The major themes include Harry being brave and living up the "chosen one" name he has been given. I don't know that there is a lesson to learn though...
In the third book I cant even recall any internal struggle other than facing the dementors, but isn't that external?
Luke Skywalker wants to leave his boring homeworld. He does. And he saves a princess and learns to use the force pretty easily. He does not seem to have an internal struggle.
While I agree there must be conflict I don't know that it must be internal and that it must teach the character some sort of lesson that transforms them. There are definitely themes going on, but they aren't always internal struggles.
The way I have been writing my book is by figuring out the ending and reversing the beginning. If my character uses magic at the end to defeat the evil wizard, than at the beginning he knows nothing of magic. If my character needs to hack a bomb at the end, then maybe there is a struggle in the beginning where he fails to do so.
I guess i could create an internal struggle where he failed because he is nervous and has anxiety. Maybe. Maybe not.
This "reverse the beginning" is what I have focused on in creating my stories. Do you think it is important to include and teach some sort of lesson, or have an internal struggle that runs throughout the book?
Thoughts?
I started reading it. It's written well, although I'm usually not into forcing my book into a structure, but what do I know. I still have yet to finish my novel.
Anyways the book speaks of your main character and how they MUST have an internal story going on while there is an external main story.
The internal struggle. And this internal struggle must be fixed by the end so the character can fix the external problems.
The character will go on a spiritual journey and learn some sort of lesson by getting what they need not necessarily what they want.
I tried thinking of books with this. While there are some, I do not think all books have this, so I cannot see why it's a MUST.
The Wizard of Oz has one:
"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with… There's no place like home!"
Most Disney movies have a sort of internal struggle and lesson. Hercules sings about finding the place where he belongs. He learns that while he wants to go to olympus, his true place is down here where he is needed.
However most books I have read don't have massive internal struggles taking place across the book as a main theme. Harry Potter struggles to fit in and constantly needs to be brave, but he doesn't learn any major lesson and most of his struggles seem external. The major themes include Harry being brave and living up the "chosen one" name he has been given. I don't know that there is a lesson to learn though...
In the third book I cant even recall any internal struggle other than facing the dementors, but isn't that external?
Luke Skywalker wants to leave his boring homeworld. He does. And he saves a princess and learns to use the force pretty easily. He does not seem to have an internal struggle.
While I agree there must be conflict I don't know that it must be internal and that it must teach the character some sort of lesson that transforms them. There are definitely themes going on, but they aren't always internal struggles.
The way I have been writing my book is by figuring out the ending and reversing the beginning. If my character uses magic at the end to defeat the evil wizard, than at the beginning he knows nothing of magic. If my character needs to hack a bomb at the end, then maybe there is a struggle in the beginning where he fails to do so.
I guess i could create an internal struggle where he failed because he is nervous and has anxiety. Maybe. Maybe not.
This "reverse the beginning" is what I have focused on in creating my stories. Do you think it is important to include and teach some sort of lesson, or have an internal struggle that runs throughout the book?
Thoughts?