When Does Story Structure Become Predictable?

I've recently been reading the Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo. I've always had a soft spot for fantasy. I previously read the Six of Crows duology that takes place in the same universe, which I absolutely loved. I'm a sucker for really strong characters, and those books were chock full of them. While I preferred Six of Crows, I am still enjoying Shadow and Bone, and I'm definitely going to watch the upcoming Netflix series. But I digress...

While reading the first book in the series, Shadow and Bone, something occurred to me. I was around page 300 of 356, and while things weren't great for the main characters, there was a brief moment of hope. That's when it hit me: 

Something bad is about to happen. 

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder calls it the "All Is Lost" point. I can't tell you how many movies and books I've notice this moment in since reading Save the Cat. This is the point story where it seems like the hero has been defeated, that all hope is lost, only to lead of the climax of the story that eventually results in the hero's triumph. 

Just as I get this feeling, sure enough, the bad guy shows up, the thing the main character has most feared actually happens, and it feels like all is lost. That's when a question entered my mind: have I learned so much about story structure as a writer that nothing can surprise me as a reader? 

Which led me to another question: does every story have to follow this basic story structure? 

I guess it's not a 100% yes or no answer. Not every story is going to follow the story structure (such as outlined in Save the Cat) with every moment of its plot. But on the other hand, keeping to this story structure is often expected of writers if they want to have a compelling story. 

I think about story structure a lot, actually, especially when I'm trying to figure out all those missing pieces in Uneven Lines. The part that has always vexed me is the third act. I've gutted it and rewritten it and rethought it more times than I can count, but I still feel like I'm missing something. And whenever I've read anything about story structure, the first two thirds of UL follow it perfectly. I even have an "all is lost moment" in Chapter 18. But rather than wrapping up a few chapters later, the story keeps going for about ten more chapters. So, obviously, it doesn't follow that story structure that we've come to expect. But is that a bad thing? 

Of course, I'm not saying my book is the perfect example to break story structure. Maybe it will be when I actually figure it out. I just wonder how much creativity and freedom we can actually have as writers if every single story is supposed to follow the same basic structure.

In the end, I think there's a middle ground. Does UL have to follow that perfect Save the Cat structure? Maybe not. But will learning about it help me figure out what's really necessary, and to trim down my long third act? Maybe. It can't hurt to learn. But I just have to keep brainstorming and rethinking while I learn, too. And maybe at some point it will all click. 

Chrys Fey's A Fighting Chance Playlist

Today, I'm very happy to welcome Chrys Fey, who's here to talk about the playlist for her new release in the Disaster Crimes series, A Fighting Chance. I love to create playlists for my books, too, and I'm actually working on one for Book 2 right now, so I love this topic! 

Sarah’s Question: What music did you listen to while writing A Fighting Chance?

Chrys Fey’s Answer: I love to listen to music when I write. Most of the time, I look for songs that fit the scenes I’m writing or the theme of the story. Or I hunt for an artist with the vibe I am going for, like I’ll listen to Evanescence while writing paranormal.

On Spotify, I now have playlists for each book in the Disaster Crimes series, as well as my current works-in-progress. There are even four playlists for what I lovingly call my Secret Book Baby Series…books that I view as my life’s work.

While I wrote A Fighting Chance, I kept track of the songs I listened to for scenes and that reminded me of my characters.

 

Here they are:

Face Down – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Bruises – Lewis Capaldi

Skyscraper – Demi Lovato

Crawling – J2, I AM WILLOW

What About Now – Daughtry

Waiting for Superman – Daughtry

The Sound of Silence – Disturbed

Hurricane Girl – Alexz Johnson

Creep – Daniela Andrade

Every Breath You Take – Denmark + Winter

One Way or Another – Until the Ribbon Breaks

Halo – J2, I AM WILLOW

Feels like Tonight – Daughtry

Love Me Like You Do – Ellie Goulding

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me – Denmark + Winter

Warrior – Demi Lovato

Blown Away – Carrie Underwood

 

Take a listen to the playlist on Spotify. CLICK HERE.

Pages: 154

Genre: Romantic-Suspense

Heat Rating: Hot

 

BLURB:

*A FIGHTING CHANCE is Book 6 in the Disaster Crimes series, but it’s a spin-off featuring a new couple, so it can be read as a standalone.*

Thorn has loved Amanda from afar, giving her whatever she needs as a survivor of abuse—space, protection, and stability. He yearns to give her more, though, to share his feelings, kiss her, love her, but he's worried the truth will frighten her away.

And Amanda is afraid. She’s scared of her attraction for Thorn. Most of all, she’s terrified of her ex-boyfriend, who is lurking nearby where no one can find him. When she grows closer to Thorn, Damon retaliates, jeopardizing their happy ending.

Up against an abusive ex and Mother Nature, do Thorn and Amanda have a fighting chance?

 

Book Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes

 

EXCERPT:

Amanda looked up from the current list of up-to-date payments for classes. A movement outside the glass storefront caught her eye. She tilted her head to see a man coming up the sidewalk from the side where the picnic bench sat. Through the vertical blinds, she glimpsed a square face—a short, rugged beard and long, dark hair pulled into a man bun. Her breath fled from her lungs. Her body went from icy cold to flaming hot in the span of a millisecond. She dropped to the floor and slid under the counter, beneath the ledge where they put their purses and cell phones.

“What—” Beth peeked at the windows. Then she snapped her fingers at April and pointed at the stools.

April jumped into action. She pushed the stools in so they blocked Amanda. The bell attached to the door jingled as April removed the jacket she wore and draped it across the stools, creating a curtain to shield Amanda.

From a crack, Amanda watched Beth move to stand in front of the twins, who were in their walkers playing peacefully. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to be closing.”

“I don’t give a shit. I’m here for Amanda.”

The sound of Damon’s voice had her heart beating even harder. That voice had haunted her nightmares, had come back to life in her memories.

Beth cocked her head to the side. “Who? There’s no one by that name here.”

“Don’t bullshit me. I know she works here.”

His voice was closer now.

 

 

***FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME***

THE DISASTER CURSE

Book Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes

Author’s Note: I wrote The Disaster Curse to answer a few lingering questions readers may have after reading A Fighting Chance, and to tie the whole series together with a neat, shiny, perfect little bow. Plus, there was one disaster that I hadn’t written about yet. *wink*

 

The Disaster Crimes Series:

*The Crime Before the Storm (prequel)

Hurricane Crimes (novella, #1)

Seismic Crimes (#2)

Lightning Crimes (free short, #2.5)

Tsunami Crimes (#3)

Flaming Crimes (#4)

Frozen Crimes (#5)

A Fighting Chance (spin-off, #6)

The Disaster Curse (short story, #7)

*Free exclusive story to newsletter subscribers.

 

 

***LAUNCHING A WEBSITE***

TheFightingChance.org is a website dedicated to domestic violence and sexual assault awareness. Inspired by the Disaster Crimes series.

 

 

***GIVEAWAY***

Prizes: Hurricane Crimes (Disaster Crimes 1) and Seismic Crimes (Disaster Crimes 2) eBooks (mobi or epub), Hurricane Crimes Playing Cards, Girl Boss Sign, and a Volcanic Blast Scented Candle

Link: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/23d974a92670/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Chrys Fey is author of the Disaster Crimes Series, a unique concept that blends disasters, crimes, and romance. She runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Book Club on Goodreads and edits for Dancing Lemur Press. https://www.chrysfey.com

Author Links:

 Newsletter / Website / Facebook Group /Blog / BookBub

Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Amazon

Another New Year, Another New Planner

What's going on here? I'm posting on a non-IWSG day?? As you probably guessed, one of my goals for the new year is to blog more! Hence the...blogging...

So, if you remember the beginning of last year, I got a fancy new planner to log all of my writing and non-writing goals. It was a great idea to help me be productive and motivated. And then somewhere around...oh, let's say, March...we were hit with a....let's call it a PANDEMIC...where everyone's goals and plans went straight into the garbage. Seriously, one of my goals was to go to the gym five days a week, and guess what?? The gym closed!!! And you'd think with all this time staying at home I'd get lots of writing done? Lol you thought! I work in a hospital, which on one hand is great, because I kept my full time job the whole time, but on the other hand, is SUPER STRESSFULL during aforementioned PANDEMIC. 

Anyhoo...it's a new year, I'm two weeks away from getting my second dose of the vaccine, and I have a NEWER, FANCIER planner. 

BEHOLD (no I will not stop using the caps lock...)

I got the new planner for Christmas, along with an extra set of stickers to make the planning more fun. It's actually much bigger than last years planner, with more detailed spots for goals and planning. And since I didn't think that was enough, I bought MORE STICKERS!!!

So, how does this help me? Well, on top of my daily goals (gym, cleaning, etc.), it also allows me to create weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. I'm trying to work slowly into my writing related goals since I've avoided writing for about two months. But like I said in my last post, I'm focusing more on specific tasks for each week, rather than trying to write every day. 

I'm the kind of person who likes to make lists and track things (this is why Weight Watchers really works for me when I actually commit to it...all the tracking!), so I think something like this will help a lot. I've been doing really well with my daily goals, so I think I just need to figure out when and how to work in writing to my schedule. I did accomplish a lot in the first week with my planner, but not so much when it comes to writing. Then hopefully, I'll start to feel motivated again. 

Do you use a planner? How do you stay motivated? 

Where's My Motivation?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

Well, it's a new year (finally! so long 2020! you won't be missed!), and with a new year usually comes a new surge of motivation. I've got a brand new fancy planner, even bigger and fancier than last year's. I do certainly feel motivated about certain things--continuing to eat healthy and lose weight (I gained two pounds over Christmas and New Year's, but that's not too bad, right?), getting back into productive habits, like cleaning every day, drinking lots of water, READING MORE (I only read 18 books last year). 

But do you know where I still have zero motivation? Writing. 

I don't know what it is. For the past couple months, I have just completely lost my desire to write. I don't even want to think about any of my stories. I realized recently that I used to always fall asleep thinking about one scene or another, but lately I haven't found anything that piques my interest. I've scanned over every story idea, every sequel, every self-indulgent never actually going to write it moment that I could possibly think of and...nope. Don't want to think about it anymore. 

I obviously don't want to be done with writing, but I also don't know how to get that motivation back. I've really always struggled with motivation, but there was always a tiny glimmer of that desire to write underneath whatever else was holding me back. Now, I don't even feel that. 

Maybe I've just been avoiding writing too much? Real life has certainly been stressful and exhausting for a while. Maybe if I just try to work on writing, eventually I'll begin to feel that spark again. 

I'm planning on trying a new tactic. For a while, I was trying to work on writing (or editing, brainstorming, etc.) for thirty minutes every day. I don't know if I responded well to that kind of pressure. If I couldn't think of anything to focus on, or if I just had too many other tasks, it was usually the one goal of my day that was incomplete. So I've decided instead to pick a few specific writing tasks that I want to get done each week. Most of them relate to UL, but I'll try to throw in a different story idea or a sequel to keep things interesting, and hopefully spark some motivation. This way, I can choose what time is best for getting a task done, and if I go a day or two without writing, I won't have to feel guilty about it.

How do you find motivation? Do you write every day?

Is It Next Year Yet?

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

Can you believe it's December already? I'm sure everyone is excited for the year to be over. I think we can't help but hope that next year will be better. I mean, how could it possibly get any worse (knock on wood)??

For me, I really think I need some kind of a reboot. I'm stuck in a rut. I don't even have the desire to work on writing. Every once in a while I'll try to get into it, or at least try to get organized and make a plan, but I never follow through. I think the start of a new year could really help motivate me. I asked for a new planner for Christmas (and if I don't get it, I'll just buy it myself lol), one that's even fancier than the one I used this year. And more stickers! I want to be extra organized and really make plans for working on writing and other goals I want to accomplish. 

Part of why I haven't been writing is that I've been focused on other things, which I don't really feel bad about. I started back on Weight Watchers on September 21, and I've lost 25 pounds since then. I've been going to the gym five days a week, too, and it's all really paying off. But it definitely leaves me even more exhausted than I was just working my day job (and that already leaves me feeling pretty exhausted!). But, again, I think getting more organized and planning my weeks ahead of time will help me balance everything. 

I've also already finished my Christmas shopping! I was very determined to finish before December began, and I made my last online purchase on November 30. I knew the longer I waited, the longer it was going to take to have things shipped, so I just wanted it over with. I just have to wait for a couple more shipments and then I'll just have to put everything together. I've always been into making gift baskets and I got a lot of good ideas this year so I'm excited to put them together. 

So, that's about it. I'm focusing on losing weight and getting myself organized for next year. Then when January hits, I hope I'll have a better writing schedule figured out.

Are you ready for this year to end? Have you started your holiday shopping? 

Making a List

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

I don't know if you knew this, but sometimes writing is hard. Editing is hard, too. Rewriting is REALLY hard. When you're trying to polish a manuscript and make it as perfect as you possibly can, thinking about all of the things you still have to do can be overwhelming. Sometimes I feel like I don't know where to start. 

Luckily for me, I love making to-do lists. I rarely have a day off where I don't make a long list of tasks that I want to get done. So, when it comes to editing/rewriting, I decided I needed a list. When I was reading through UL to try to get my head back into the idea of writing, there were certain parts I knew needed big changes, others smaller ones. An awkwardly written sentence here or there can be easy to fix, but when there are entire scenes that I want to rethink, sometimes I just avoid working on them at all. 

So to ease into the process, I made a new list. I went through every chapter, noting particular moments that needed bigger rewrites than just a sentence or two. So instead of opening my manuscript and staring into the abyss, I can pinpoint where I need to start working. I know some scenes will be easier to fix than others. Some will need some extensive thinking to figure out what the story actually needs. Instead of getting overwhelmed by how much I need to get done, I can take it one step at a time, focusing on whichever part I feel I can accomplish when I sit down to write. 

I know I still have a lot to do, and I actually haven't even finished this list yet. Some of the later chapters need a lot of work. But some of the chapters don't need any work at all! I've also decided that Chapter 21 is getting the ax! There are a few moments in it that I can probably sneak into other chapters if necessary, but I like the idea of cutting down the length, especially in the third act (it's waaaaaaaaaaaay too long).

Eventually I'm hoping that every single list I could possibly create will be completed, and the story will be done. Then I suppose it will be time for new lists...publishing related lists, perhaps? I can dream...

Not Enough Hours in the Day

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the posting day for the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Click here to learn more and sign up!

Do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in the day? I certainly do. I work full time from 6-2:30, then after work my husband and I go straight to the gym most days, since we're really focusing on losing weight and eating healthier right now. Then I like to do at least a half hour of reading, and do a little cleaning, and DISHES so many dishes why are there so many there's only two of us??? And now it's October so hubby and I try to cram in as many horror movies as we can all month (I like to watch ones I've never seen, he just wants to rewatch the classics...guess I do have time to do those dishes...). 

Anyhoo, what does this have to do with writing? Well, basically, that I'm not. At all. I'm not even trying. I'm not even thinking about trying, because I don't know what the next step is. For a while I was rereading chapters 1-26 of UL (not 27, because 27 is a trash fire...wait, have I said that before?), doing some editing as I went and leaving notes where I wanted to change things but couldn't figure it out on the spot. Which was great! It gave me something to do. Like reading, my goal is to just spend 30 minutes every day on something writing related. 

But then I finished my readthrough, and was left wondering, "now what?" Now, if I really sit down and think about it, there are plenty of things I could tackle. I recently decided that I'm most likely cutting Chapter 21, taking any really important bits and fitting them in other parts of the story. There are plenty of editing comments throughout the Word document that I will eventually have to tackle. I want to completely rewrite Chapter 27. And then I still have to write the last two or three chapters. 

I think my problem is that I just feel overwhelmed. I don't feel like I have a lot of time to write, and since nothing I need to do is easy, I'm not able to pick anything at all. When I have a specific task in mind, it's easy to devote 30 minutes to it. But when I've reached the end of a long, demanding day, and I have to actually choose something difficult to work on? I just don't want to do it. 

I think I need a new system. The 30 minutes a day is great, but I think I need to plan way in advance what I'll be working on so that I'm not deciding in the moment. Maybe I should even spend one day a week working on a different project (one of the Sexy Fluffs, perhaps??) so that I can have something new and exciting to motivate me and keep the drive to write going. 

How do you find the time/motivation to write? Any horror movie recommendations??