2X4 Writing Tip #2

Forward
As a plumber that is on job sites without paper most of the day most of my writing inspirations are written down on cut up 2 X 4’s, ripped up cardboard, or whatever else I can find.  As you can tell from some of my publications and writings, I will never be giving you advice on spelling or grammar for your writings. It’s just not me and in fact I stink at it. But I can however, give to you helpful hints on how to keep your stories emotionally touching. By doing this, you will keep the readers bound to your story and connected to you as a writer. I am also a business person so I use a lot of diagrams and charts to get my point across. So forgive the grammar mistakes and focus on the content and you might learn something.  

Adding The Right Slope To Your Writing #2

Hi everybody hope you enjoyed the last 2X4 tip. Sorry to have left you hanging but I wanted to have you back. Trust me there will be more good stuff to come. I will not bore you though I am only going to do one of these every three or four months, so sign up for my blog so I can alert you when I post them.
Okay, to continue the last 2X4 writing tip discussion. If you do not remember or have not read the first yet find the link on my blog and read it. We are on 5# and #6 of
  
#5 Adding the right curves!     
For the perfect plotted story that has the right slope to keep the reader hooked and emotionally attached to the story, and gaining an attachment to the characters and the author. The best way to do this is to give a small but in-depth bit of character and story building in the first chapters. Then move on to a small but significant emotional part to get readers to connect with characters. You can do a couple of these if needed.  Do not forget to keep adding to characters during the lead ups and follow throughs throughout the story. The small emotional or action part you put in are in a way a lead up to a bigger emotional, action pact climax of the story.
After you have spent more time adding to characters and priming the reader for the big hit of the book, its time.  Give it your all!  Make them cry, jump, tense up, head spins, or fall in love. Whatever you where trying to accomplish do it now!
Now don’t leave them hanging unless it is a series and you want them wanting more for the next book but I will discuss that in #6. Follow throughs are great hear is where the reader gets to know what the characters, and authors are made of. Describe the thoughts and feelings and aftermath the characters are going through because of the big scene that just happened. Add some emotional action parts again to keep them feeling connected. Remember they do not have to be as big, in fact they should not. And finally wrap it up! Leave them feeling like they need to go tell everybody they know about your book.  

The diagram should look like this although I am centering this one to make my point you can skew the big emotional part to the right, or the end of the book if you want to. If you do this though, you have to make sure you can keep the reader’s attention.
                                                  

You can see the balance and the emotional connection that readers will feel during the story. I love it it’s a work of art. I’ll bet if you went back through your favorite books you will find a similar pattern to this.

#6 Leave them hanging!
If you are planning on making it into a series then the diagram changes a little bit with the first books but the last book should look the exact same as the example #5.  In a series the concepts are still the same, but you need to leave the reader wanting more, which means you need to drop off after a climactic scene rapidly, without wrapping up, leaving the story open for the next book. Don’t forget to do at least one follow up emotional part to seal the readers love for the characters. Remember in a series book you still have to do the character building and story building and even a review of the other books, at the first even if it is book #2, #3, #4. Why? Just in case someone has forgotten what the last book had in it or if someone starts the series out of order. 
Diagram, for the first and middle books. The last book should look like the example #5
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
You can skew the Main event to the end and drop off right after that if you want but you better make sure the next book is coming out soon because if you don’t people are going to hate you not love you. I feel it is better to do some follow ups and have at least one other emotional scene as shown in the diagram above. The reason being that you need to show how the characters will react to what happened giving the reader more opportunities to connect with them and you as an author. The best examples I can give of this pattern as book series is #1 Harry Potter Go Ron! #2 The Twilight books. Go Team Jacob!   Thanks for reading.

Copy write 7/13/2011 Clint G Cox