Character Development - 5 Stages of Grief

In 1969, based on her years of working with terminal cancer patients, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced what became known as the “five stages of grief.”

While these stages represented the feelings of people who were themselves facing death, many people now apply them to experiencing other negative life changes (a break-up, loss of a job) and to people facing death or experiencing the death of loved ones.

Kübler-Ross proposed these Five Stages of Grief:

Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”
Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”
Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.”
Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”
Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what is going to happen/has happened.”


Prior to the cycle, you have a normal-functioning person… Then, something happens that throws their world out of whack… They now begin the cycle:

Stage 1: Shock and Denial

• Avoidance


• Confusion


• Fear


• Numbness


• Blame

Stage 2: Anger

• Frustration


• Anxiety


• Irritation


• Embarrassment


• Shame

Stage 3: Depression and Detachment

• Overwhelmed


• Blahs


• Lack of energy


• Helplessness

Stage 4: Dialogue and Bargaining

• Reaching out to others


• Desire to tell one’s story


• Struggle to find meaning for what has happened

Stage 5: Acceptance

• Exploring options


• A new plan in place

With the cycle now complete, this person returns to a meaningful life having been TRANSFORMED and experiences the following:

• Empowerment


• Security


• Self-esteem


• Meaning
  

However, Kübler-Ross herself never intended for these stages to be a rigid framework that applies to everyone who mourns.

In her last book before her death in 2004, she said of the five stages, “They were never meant to help tuck messy emotions into neat packages. They are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not a typical response to loss, as there is no typical loss. Our grieving is as individual as our lives.”

You could ALMOST structure an entire story based on these 5 stages and while I’m not advocating exactly that, I’m almost positive that by learning just a little more about this model, you’ll go a long way toward creating believable characters and have your Protagonist TRANSFORMED by the end of your story…

Could be an interesting way to look at the character's journey.

Where you get your Ideas from

How about this handy little gizmo -

http://www.tdbspecialprojects.com/

Just spin the dials aka ‘Da Vinci Code’ and lo, a special premise line shall appear.

Here are 3 fun ideas it has just generated for me:

* Erotic Coffee Cafe [ perfect waitress opportunity, undercover?]

* Dramatic Nuclear Restaurant [ what do nuclear power scientists talk about over their pizza and fries in the nuclear power plant staff canteen? ]

* Jewel-encrusted Modular Furniture [ Ikea should not have all the fun ]

Go here and create some for yourself.
If nothing else it will make you smile. Or kick start the little grey cells. Or both.

Sophie Kinsella

The weather here in Hampshire is so appalling, I am pleased that I do not have to venture far from home today, so best of luck to anyone who is out driving!

In the meantime, back at the slave pit, Sophie Kinsella has created a series of Podcasts [ she calls them VodCasts] about the creation of the 'Shop' books

http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/kinsella/vodcast/#002637

Here is one about her writing process -

http://a1018.g.akamai.net/f/1018/19022/1d/randomhouse1.download.akamai.com/19022/video/kinsella/kinsellapodcast_episode3.m4v

I think we can all relate to the concept that we are 'acting' out the part when we visualise the action and transfer it to the page.

What's playing on my YouTube right now? A gorgeous italian ad, for the water "Levissima".Song: How Long by Roberto Cacciapaglia, extract from his record "Incontri con l'anima" .

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=94H91cDV-gQ&feature=related

Now why don’t we have adverts like this in the UK?

Playing the Numbers Game

Using Screenplay Outlines to help Edit your Story.

Is YOUR story hitting the beats?

Most writers create broad outlines for their work at the Story Development Stage.

Or second draft stage if they write blind and sculpt a story backwards.

Screenwriters would have you believe that they track the Action Line for a story much more rigorously.

There any SO many examples of how a story should track - from a Basic 3 Act to a 22 point revelation sequence and everything in between.

Blake Snyder has summarised the key stages in a typical Hollywood movie in a useful flow chart in his book ‘Save the Cat’ - which is available here: http://www.blakesnyder.com/tools

It goes something like this: there are 15 steps in the screenplay format and each one corresponds to approx. position in the manuscript, so that the entire story is completed in 110 pages = 110 minutes on the screen for a movie.

THE BLAKE SNYDER BEAT SHEET

1. Opening Image (1):

2. Theme Stated (5):

3. Set-Up (1-10):

4. Catalyst (12):

5. Debate (12-25):

6. Break into Two (25)

7. B Story (30):

8. Fun and Games (30-55):

9. Midpoint (55):

10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75):

11. All Is Lost (75):

12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85):

13. Break into Three (85):

14. Finale (85-110):

15. Final Image (110):

This is a classical 4 Act structure- Turning points at about 25% and 50% and 75% of the script with the Black Moment in the last act. But having been through a few examples with recent films, I have to say that this basic structure is still valid.

Somewhere for your treasures/stash

Julie Cohen* has been blogging recently about the capacity of available storage space and her rapidly expanding collection of precious books.

Otherwise known in this house as 'The Stash.'


Could this be a possible answer?

To paraphrase Gollum - I wants them, I needs them. My precious.

*http://www.julie-cohen.com/blog

How to write a Great Query Letter

'How to Write a Great Query Letter' is available as a Free E-book from the lit agent author Noah Lukeman.

Go here to download it...http://www.lukeman.com/greatquery/download.htm

There are so many resources out there on how to submit, but for the US market, many agents only ask for an inital Query letter= which can be sent by E-mail, so this is could be the only chance you might have to demonstrate your work.

No pressure at all then.

Things we Learnt at the Movies

‘THE EVIL OVERLORD DEVISES A PLOT’

Has several lists of key features which should be observed when creating a compelling plot.

For example:

1. If you try hard enough, you can outrun an explosion.

2. Women staying in a haunted house should investigate any strange noises while wearing their most revealing underwear.

3. Women's skin and hair can't be damaged by natural disasters, though their clothing can be shredded -- except for the bits required for minimal decency, which are made from completely indestructible fabric.

4. If a man and a woman are exposed to the same conditions and the same environment, the man will need to wear more clothing than the woman.

5. If a man and a woman meet under circumstances under which any two normal people would instantly hate each other, they will marry before the picture is over.

6. Deadly reptiles will always attack a woman first, even if she's in the presence of thirty men.

7. Women are immortal unless they take off their shirts or they're ugly.

8. If a woman takes a bath, bubbles will cover the naughty bits. If she takes a shower and reveals her naughty bits, she will die.

9. If a blonde and a brunette are in equal peril, the brunette will die.

10. High class strippers with a heart of gold can will, if the plot demands it, turn out to have specialized technical skills and abilities.

For lots, lots more go here: http://www.sff.net/paradise/movies.html and prepare to snigger.

What's playing on my YouTube Right now? Duffy. Mercy. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KE2orthS3TQ&feature=related