{"id":23841,"date":"2020-12-29T03:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T11:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=23841"},"modified":"2020-12-28T06:39:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T14:39:53","slug":"finding-the-heart-of-your-story-by-kay-keppler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/29\/finding-the-heart-of-your-story-by-kay-keppler\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the Heart of Your Story by Kay Keppler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Finding-the-Heart-of-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-23842 size-full\" title=\"Finding the Heart of Your Story by Kay Keppler\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Finding-the-Heart-of-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler.png\" alt=\"Finding the Heart of Your Story by Kay Keppler\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Finding-the-Heart-of-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Finding-the-Heart-of-Your-Story-by-Kay-Keppler-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist, <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s=kay+keppler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kay Keppler<\/a>, as she shares with us \u201cFinding the Heart of Your Story.&#8221; <em>Enjoy! <\/em><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>I was recently asked to critique a manuscript<\/strong>, a book by an aspiring novelist. I brewed a cup of my favorite tea, carried it to my favorite rocker, settled in, cracked the pages, and a few minutes later\u2026 fell asleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In my defense, I was warm, I was cozy, and I was comfortable. However\u2014and you can trust me on this\u2014you do not want a reader who is determined to read your book fall asleep while they\u2019re still in the first chapter. What happened here?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>When I woke up and finished that tea and subsequently<\/strong>, the book, I saw that the aspiring novelist had created situations but not drama. She had quit revising too soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Expose the Heart of Your Story<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting a solid grip on the story is a fairly common problem, even for experienced writers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you find that kernel of truth? And how do you present it?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you launch it?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>You\u2019ve been over the manuscript a bunch of times<\/strong>. Your writing is tight. Your descriptions are lush. Your characters are tormented. Yet, your editor says it\u2019s not enough. What can you do?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes the problem is that there\u2019s not enough story to begin with. You have beautiful writing but insufficient conflict to build an entire book around. Maybe you spent too much time and space on world building, leaving you plotless. Perhaps the story lacks arc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Focus on the Action: The Heart of Your Story<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A novel needs to have dramatic <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">action<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, not just dramatic <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">situations<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And to get readers to have emotional responses to that dramatic action, writers need to show how the characters respond emotionally to the narrative events.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about newspaper headlines.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cGas Explosion Kills Eight\u201d is a dramatic situation, something that might trigger a novel. But to use this event in a way that will sustain a novel, you need a protagonist to take action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think of that headline as \u201cGas Explosion Victim Vows Revenge\u201d or \u201cWhistleblower Fights Corporate Interests in Gas Explosion Case.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s your story.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>The dramatic situation must create a world for the protagonist that is personal and inevitable.<\/b> <b>It must force the protagonist to take dramatic action.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><b>Try the \u201cIn a World\u2026\u201d Test to Find the Heart of Your Story\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve all heard the movie trailers:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a world\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong>These three words launch the protagonist\u2019s dramatic situation.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the movies, this is even a high-danger, high-stakes scenario. But your story doesn\u2019t have to be high-danger to the outside world\u2014just to your characters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One man\u2026 <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[or woman, non-binary person, or non-gendered being]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s the protagonist.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Must\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s where my aspiring author went off the rails. Your protagonist must take a dramatic action, whatever it is. They <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">must <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do it. Their personality <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">demands<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it. That\u2019s what your readers will identify with. That\u2019s why they will root for him\/her\/they.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>For novelists,<\/strong> the \u201cIn a World\u2026\u201d moment should be in the first chapter, maybe even in the first paragraph. This is what one writing teacher calls \u201cthe invitation to the party.\u201d You\u2019re letting readers know what they can expect from the rest of the book.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Here\u2019s what the \u201cIn a World\u2026\u201d test looks like for a couple of well-known stories:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a world\u2026where marriage is a woman\u2019s only path to financial security\u2026one young woman must navigate social norms to marry a man she loves <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Pride and Prejudice)<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a world\u2026where everyone\u2019s too busy for you\u2026one girl must overcome dangerous obstacles to discover that there\u2019s no place like home.<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Wizard of Oz)\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Reveal the Stakes to Uncover the Heart of the Story<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure that readers bond with your characters, show them right away what will happen if your protagonist fails in their efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How will their life be changed if they don\u2019t succeed?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>You can adapt your<\/strong> \u201cIn a World\u2026\u201d test to make sure that your stakes are clear and obvious:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a world\u2026 where marriage is a woman\u2019s only path to financial security\u2026 one young woman must navigate social norms to marry a man she loves or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">face a lifetime of misery and unhappiness<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Pride and Prejudice)<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a world\u2026 where everyone\u2019s too busy for you\u2026 one girl must <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">risk her life<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to overcome dangerous obstacles and discover that there\u2019s no place like home.<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Wizard of Oz)\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Find the Answer<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>\u201cIn a World\u2026\u201d test <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can help you fully and succinctly answer the question that readers often ask: <\/span><b>what\u2019s it about?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See if it helps you zero in on the story you want to tell so you can uncover the heart of your story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">***<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to read more articles like this one Writer\u2019s Fun Zone? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/contact-beth\/#signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subscribe here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h2>ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2PBcm2U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-22367\" title=\"On a Wing and a Prayer: A gargoyle novella by Kay Keppler\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/On-a-Wing-and-a-Prayer-A-gargoyle-novella-by-Kay-Keppler-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"On a Wing and a Prayer: A gargoyle novella by Kay Keppler\" width=\"150\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/On-a-Wing-and-a-Prayer-A-gargoyle-novella-by-Kay-Keppler-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/On-a-Wing-and-a-Prayer-A-gargoyle-novella-by-Kay-Keppler.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><a title=\"Kay Keppler\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kaykeppler.com\/\">Kay Keppler<\/a> is an author <em><a title=\"Zero Gravity Outcasts\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1rqW2wW\">Zero Gravity Outcasts<\/a><\/em>, <em><a title=\"Betting on Hope\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1l42nc4\">Betting on Hope<\/a><\/em>, <em><a title=\"Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1pEPjjq\">Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas<\/a><\/em>, and editor of fiction and nonfiction \u2013<em><a title=\"Angel\u2019s Kiss\" href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1nylmgE\">Angel\u2019s Kiss<\/a><\/em> and <em>Outsource It<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>She lives in northern California. Contact her here at Writer\u2019s Fun Zone in the comments below, or at <a title=\"kaykeppler@yahoo.com\" href=\"mailto:kaykeppler@yahoo.com\">kaykeppler@yahoo.com<\/a> to ask questions, suggest topics, or if you prefer, complain.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>More popular articles by Kay Keppler on Writer&#8217;s Fun Zone:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/12\/developing-your-voice-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Developing Your Voice<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/18\/lift-your-story-with-character-archetypes-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lift Your Story with Character Archetypes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/16\/revealing-backstory-through-nonverbal-communication-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Revealing Backstory through Nonverbal Communication<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/14\/make-em-laugh-by-kay-keppler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Make \u2019Em Laugh<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You do not want a reader who is determined to read your book to fall asleep while they\u2019re still in the first chapter because you stopped revising too soon. When you find the heart of your story and reveal that to the reader, you\u2019ll keep them engaged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":23842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[4547,4349,1340,4546],"class_list":["post-23841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-tips","tag-dramatic-action","tag-fiction-editing","tag-kay-keppler","tag-manuscript-critique"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Finding the Heart of Your Story by Kay Keppler &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You do not want a reader who is determined to read your book to fall asleep while they\u2019re still in the first chapter because you stopped revising too soon. 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