Good news! The second critique of my novel was just as positive as the first one! My classmates reviewed the next section of my book \u2013 five pages that introduce the antagonist and describe a battle scene.\u00a0 Overall the comments complimented the scene setting and character descriptions as well as expressed enjoyment of the pacing and momentum of the scene. As challenging as the revisionary process is, it is always made easier with positive comments from peers.<\/p>\n
In class we discussed the concept known as \u201cirrevocable commitment\u201d, especially in regards to the protagonist. \u201cIrrevocable commitment\u201d is the point in the story where the protagonist recognizes that there is no turning back. In order to strengthen that moment, we made lists of reasons why and places in the story where the protagonist could or would walk away from the main story line.<\/p>\n
There are two ways to deal with situations of \u201cirrevocable commitment\u201d. One way is to bring the reader\u2019s attention to the situation, allowing the reader opportunity to ponder the opening in the storyline. Another way is to weave reasons into the story line pragmatically addressing the impracticability of the protagonist leaving the main story arc. Examples of the second technique include a caved in tunnel trapping the protagonist, a secondary character requiring the protagonist\u2019s help, or the detainment of the protagonist.<\/p>\n
We also discussed the concept of an \u201cobligatory\u201d or climax scene. This scene involves the final struggle to achieve the main plot goal. Whether or not this goal is ultimately achieved, the scene must still be written so that the reader is not left hanging. The \u201cobligatory\u201d or climax scene is also a valuable tool for every writer. If the protagonist fails to develop between the novel\u2019s first chapter and the climax chapter, then there is a problem. Change is critical for a protagonist. If your character does not change, your story is likely very dull.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Good news! The second critique of my novel was just as positive as the first one! My classmates reviewed the next section of my book \u2013 five pages that introduce the antagonist and describe a battle scene.\u00a0 Overall the comments complimented the scene setting and character descriptions as well as expressed enjoyment of the pacing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59,"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56\/revisions\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelkenway.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}