WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.150 --> 00:00:01.050 Correct. 2 00:00:02.730 --> 00:00:13.210 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: There we go. So that works. And we should. Yeah, there we go, those people awesome. I'll just open the chat so that I can see that as well. 3 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:31.549 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: And while we're waiting for a few people to come and join us, I'm Sarah from for writing aid. So thank you for joining us today. I already see someone in the chat who I saw in the previous session. So that's great. But if you can see and hear me, please drop your name and location in the chat. 4 00:00:31.890 --> 00:00:35.270 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: We'd love to know where you're calling from today. 5 00:00:35.440 --> 00:00:39.160 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: So we got Edwin from California, Tony from Canada. 6 00:00:39.983 --> 00:00:44.020 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: We? Oh, wow! The chat is completely taken off. Now. 7 00:00:44.980 --> 00:00:57.030 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Nebraska riot from Nebraska. There we go. It's usually a little bit of a delay, and then, all of a sudden everybody rushes it. So that's all sounding good. Let me start off with some housekeeping items. 8 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:20.109 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: So 1st you can access your horror. Writers 1st replays. By going to the Hub page, you can find the replays along with other session materials posted within the session listings. The time it takes for this can vary due to processing times with Zoom and Youtube, but they will be added as soon as possible. We usually try to do it on the same day. But worst case scenario will be tomorrow. Probably 9 00:01:20.320 --> 00:01:25.760 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: they will also be posted to our community page for all members to view. By November 1st 10 00:01:26.660 --> 00:01:51.250 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: all horror writers, fest participants will be receiving early access to our upcoming black Friday sale, which will get you 50% off premium and premium pro plans for both yearly and lifetime, you'll automatically receive an email with more information close to the sale. But if you do not receive anything by November 16, th please reach out to us at hello@prowritingaid.com, and we'll be happy to help. 11 00:01:52.490 --> 00:02:18.480 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: And then, if you'd like to keep the horror writing conversation going, we'd love to have you in our private online writing community joining is easy. You simply click the link below and I'll drop the links again in the chat just a second, and then you can log in with your prowritingaid account. Info. You can then hop over to the live event, chat or talk to other attendees on our spaces. 12 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:41.839 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: We'd appreciate it if you could provide your feedback on horror. Writers fest in the typeform survey that I will link in the chat, and it's also on the hub as well. We love hosting the events like this, and your feedback plays a pivotal role in our future planning. So you can tell us what you loved, what you think could be improved for next time, and what you'd like to see as a future 13 00:02:42.190 --> 00:02:51.659 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: events, I'm just going to drop the links in the chat. I can see people requesting them. So I'm gonna stop myself very quickly to drop these. 14 00:02:52.230 --> 00:02:59.770 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: There you go, perfect Okie Dokie, right? Where was I? There we go. So 15 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:24.409 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: yeah, if you can just share your feedback, I've dropped that link for you, and then we also have a fun brand new writing challenge coming up, called 5 K. In 5 days, where participants in our community will write 5,000 words or more. Between November 4th to the 8.th We'll have daily teachings, writing prompts, discussion, forums, and even live write-ins that you can take part in. It's going to be a whole. 16 00:03:24.410 --> 00:03:44.250 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: It's free to sign up, and we'd love to see you there. The sign up link should also be in the chat. I will again drop it. Now there we go. And it's also on the hub. I'm taking part in this. So I'd love to see you guys coming on board and competing in this really friendly, competitive challenge. 17 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:55.809 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: and then some reminders for today. If you have a question for our speaker, please, can you use the Q&A box? You should be able to find that button in the center of your zoom screen. 18 00:03:56.060 --> 00:04:12.810 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: If you'd like to chat with other viewers, please use the chat and be sure to select everyone in the drop down, menu to make them visible to all viewers. Otherwise your messages will just come to me and Kerry, and I'm sure, if you want to talk to other people, you'd probably be better off clicking everyone 19 00:04:12.950 --> 00:04:30.720 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: so links to your offers and from prowritingaid, and our speakers will also be available on the horror writers fest hub. So with that being said, I think we are ready to dive in. Let me just do that, and then 20 00:04:31.280 --> 00:04:50.459 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: alt tab. There we go. Ok. So today we are joined by Kerry Savage. So a voracious reader of all kinds of fiction and sometimes memoir and nonfiction. Kerry Savage. She her is an author, accelerator, certified book coach, who works with novelists from the planning stages through revision. 21 00:04:50.460 --> 00:05:08.269 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: She is the co-founder of shadows and secrets, the writing retreat for mystery, thriller and horror. Authors sounds amazing. She's also A. J. School grad and former project manager, as well as being hard at work on her second novel. 22 00:05:08.689 --> 00:05:13.719 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: She serves as a volunteer mentor for the Women's Fiction Writers, Association. 23 00:05:13.960 --> 00:05:15.880 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: and sisters in crime. 24 00:05:15.940 --> 00:05:22.620 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: She also loves good wine, cheese and trying to keep her succulents alive. Oh, I know that one. 25 00:05:23.690 --> 00:05:26.039 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Thank you for joining us, Carrie. 26 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:55.159 Kerry Savage: Thank you so much, Sarah. Welcome, everybody. Thank you all for joining me this morning, joining us this morning, especially those of you on the West Coast. I saw a bunch of California folks, and I know it's pretty darn early there, so appreciate you getting up and starting your morning with me. Yes, as Sarah mentioned. Hi, I'm Kerry. I am a certified book coach. I'm a writer. I'm a co-founder with Samantha Scal, who, I believe you will meet tomorrow. Please be sure not to mess her presentation. It's 27 00:05:55.160 --> 00:06:04.839 Kerry Savage: fantastic of shadows and secrets, which is the writing retreat for mystery, thriller and horror authors! I didn't have it in here, but we just had our inaugural retreat. 28 00:06:04.840 --> 00:06:20.980 Kerry Savage: and we did have 2 horror writers, and it was amazing, so horror! Writers very much welcome at shadows. And I'm a recovering project manager. So I like all my systems and things and just trying to figure out ways to make this whole writing thing go a little bit easier for all of us. 29 00:06:21.130 --> 00:06:45.830 Kerry Savage: But today we are here to talk about inciting incidents. The thing that gets us all started right? So more specifically, what I'm going to be talking about today are first, st we're going to look at sort of the anatomy of an inciting incident. So we're going to sort of break down the elements of what goes into it. Give you a little bit of a checklist sort of mentally and 30 00:06:45.940 --> 00:07:03.239 Kerry Savage: and physically. Actually, we're going to talk about creating tension and stakes in the inciting incident. We're going to connect the inciting incident to your subgenre, just like every genre of fiction. Horror has some subgenres, and there are going to be some boxes that you want to be sure that you're ticking 31 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:12.479 Kerry Savage: with your inciting incident, and throughout your entire manuscript, too. So you want to be sure that you're being mindful of that, and I will certainly talk more about that when we get there 32 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:37.460 Kerry Savage: and then. Ultimately, we're talking about escalating the horror. So I'm going to stray a little bit from the inciting incident in talking about that, but always connecting it back to how you've kicked us off on this journey that you're taking us on this horror journey. So my goal for you all today is to understand how to craft an inciting incident that is going to hook your reader. That's going to meet all of the genre expectations, perhaps play with those genre expectations. 33 00:07:37.460 --> 00:07:58.710 Kerry Savage: but definitely be present there. So they're not disappointed, or throwing your book across the room and making sure that you're setting up the horror that you're about to inflict on your lovely readers. Just a note, too, that we are going to be doing a few writing exercises. So be sure that you have something to write on. You have a paper and pen, or you have access to your work in progress. 34 00:07:58.710 --> 00:08:18.820 Kerry Savage: or I know that the link to the workbook that I've sharing with y'all, that is totally free, which has a breakdown of how to craft an inciting incident into in it, as well as a lot of the information that I'm going to be going over today. That link has been thrown in the chat so you can go ahead and feel free to download that if you want to work in that. 35 00:08:18.820 --> 00:08:22.040 Kerry Savage: But a paper and pen will do you just fine, too. 36 00:08:22.340 --> 00:08:23.390 Kerry Savage: So 37 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:48.060 Kerry Savage: with all of that introduction, let's get into the meat of the thing. So what actually is an inciting incident? Right? An inciting incident is an event that occurs at or near the start of the story, usually at or near the start of the story that sets the main character on the journey of the story. Right? It's that point of no return. It's this thing that happens that they react to. 38 00:08:48.060 --> 00:08:56.109 Kerry Savage: and it forces some choices upon them that even if they don't realize it at the time, and they probably don't ever realize it at the time. 39 00:08:56.110 --> 00:09:13.680 Kerry Savage: They're not going to be able to go back from. They're not going to be able to return to the status quo of the life that they have had before this thing happens to them. And I want to talk a little bit about what the timing of that looks like right. Because when we meet people, when we open up a book and we're starting to read. 40 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:41.070 Kerry Savage: they've had a whole life off page off screen that we, as readers know nothing about as writers, we should know some things about what that status quo looks like, even if all of that information doesn't make it to the page, and it often doesn't. And that's fine. But we need to understand a lot about that status quo, because we that are then going to disrupt it. And we can't 41 00:09:41.755 --> 00:09:51.000 Kerry Savage: manipulate that disruption the way we need to. If we don't understand what that disruption is, why it is a disruption what it means 42 00:09:51.010 --> 00:10:07.970 Kerry Savage: to our protagonist that we've just put them into right. So the book starts. Something happens that they can't come back from the trend, for that is for that to happen, sort of asap right, especially in mystery, thriller and sort of horror as as tucked into that whole group. 43 00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:31.869 Kerry Savage: I think the trend that you'll and the recommendation that you'll hear from a lot of people is like, as soon as you possibly can make that happen you should, and I'm not here to disagree with that per se. But I do want to push back on it just a little bit because of that status quo thing that I've been emphasizing a little bit. If we're dropped into the middle of a situation where all hell is breaking loose 44 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:51.460 Kerry Savage: like as an action movie or an action adventure kind of thing that's great. But the thing about a lack of context is that we don't have any way of making meaning of it. Right? So I am a big fan of just like giving people some contextual information, giving your readers some contextual information so that they can understand 45 00:10:51.460 --> 00:11:16.540 Kerry Savage: what it is that is happening in terms of the character's life, so that we know, oh, okay, like, they were just kind of toodling along. And now this thing happens, and like oh, crap! Now I can't go back. Well, why? Why is it important? What does it mean to them? They may not entirely know what it means yet. Right? That's what's going to happen in the unfolding of the whole book. But we need to have some sense as writers of like what all of that is. 46 00:11:17.310 --> 00:11:38.939 Kerry Savage: Very rarely the inciting incident can happen off screen before the story starts. A great example of this. It's not horror. But it's just such a great example that you just see it used everywhere, or at least I have in all of my writing classes in life is everything I never told you by Celeste Deng. The opening lines of that book are literally Lydia is dead, but they don't know this yet. 47 00:11:39.270 --> 00:11:57.600 Kerry Savage: And so Lydia's dying. Lydia's death is the inciting incident of the book. It has happened off screen before the book's opening pages, and what we see in the 1st chapters is them, realizing that she's missing and everything that starts to fall apart because of that missingness. 48 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:18.840 Kerry Savage: So it can happen off Page. But then you are doing a little bit of work, not backwards, but more establishing work. Then, along the way to be like, Oh, okay. Well, again, making meaning of it. What does that mean that it's happened? So? I am a fan of giving readers a little bit of context before you 49 00:12:18.850 --> 00:12:23.490 Kerry Savage: dive in? It's not the only way to do it. Obviously, as we've just discussed 50 00:12:24.660 --> 00:12:36.760 Kerry Savage: and I think the the flip side of that is that sometimes we, as writers, tend to do a lot of throat clearing. Right? We, we write our way into our books, and so we may have 51 00:12:36.760 --> 00:12:54.509 Kerry Savage: a place that we think we have an inciting incident. But actually, our inciting incident is happening on page 45 or page 80. And when that happens, you want to be sure that, like, okay, all that chunk of writing. If this is important contextual information, it probably shouldn't come here. It's probably not the right place 52 00:12:54.510 --> 00:13:12.910 Kerry Savage: for that information. I can feed that in as backstory somewhere else, and also probably a lot of it you don't actually need. It's you needed it as the writer to write your way into the story, but the reader doesn't need it in order for all of that maximum impact, that meaning can be doled out later, or just cut 53 00:13:15.180 --> 00:13:16.380 Kerry Savage: So 54 00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:27.309 Kerry Savage: what are some key elements of an effective, inciting incident, you can tell. I already got a little bit tired of typing, inciting incident over and over again. So I I you'll see that throughout. That's what that means. 55 00:13:27.705 --> 00:13:31.060 Kerry Savage: So the key element is that no matter what happens. 56 00:13:31.330 --> 00:13:43.200 Kerry Savage: there is a disruption of the ordinary world of the protagonist. Right? They're coming along. They're doing their thing. And then something happens that is just going to like turn the world upside down for them right. 57 00:13:43.420 --> 00:13:46.210 Kerry Savage: It introduces danger or a threat. 58 00:13:46.460 --> 00:14:08.320 Kerry Savage: and that danger or threat can be psychological, supernatural, or physical, or any, a combination of all of those depending on where your book is going and what kind of book you're writing. I would also argue that if there's any kind of threat or danger, there's always a psychological element to it, because something is going to be messing with your protagonist. Right? Something is going to be in their heads. They're not going to know 59 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:25.789 Kerry Savage: maybe fully what what meaning to make of it yet. But is someone gaslighting them? Are they doubting themselves? Are they paranoid like? There's all kinds of juicy stuff that's going to start going on in terms of their interiority and their psychological fitness or lack thereof. So you can start playing with that immediately. 60 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:36.259 Kerry Savage: And speaking of immediate this, as I keep emphasizing whatever it is that happens, it has an immediate impact on their life. They cannot go back, they cannot ignore it. 61 00:14:36.260 --> 00:14:56.579 Kerry Savage: I think I say this elsewhere in the presentation this is the type of event that, like it can't have been an email. It had to be a meeting. It's not something that can be resolved with a phone call or a conversation, or something like that. It has to force them into action, even though they're not going to necessarily realize the full impact as I mentioned. 62 00:14:56.580 --> 00:15:04.649 Kerry Savage: that's something that's probably going to spool itself out over the course of the entire novel, but it can't let them go back right. 63 00:15:04.650 --> 00:15:21.889 Kerry Savage: It's also ideally going to point to the story outcome. So your reader isn't going to necessarily see this when they're reading the inciting incident. They're just excited about what's happening and the adventure that you're launching them into, or the horror that you're about to take them through. 64 00:15:21.890 --> 00:15:37.299 Kerry Savage: But when they get to the end an astute reader can and will look back on the course of the book and say, Oh, yeah, I see what they did there with that inciting into. They were pointing me there this whole time, and I didn't know it at the time, because 65 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:51.189 Kerry Savage: it's not supposed to be obvious, but it is. It does sort of nudge you towards the outcome. You're actually, even when you're writing it and doing discovery, writing as a process. Setting this up, you're pointing yourself towards an outcome, even if you don't quite realize it yet. 66 00:15:52.740 --> 00:15:58.100 Kerry Savage: So let's talk a little bit specifically about inciting incidents in horror. 67 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:23.819 Kerry Savage: There are certain expectations that you want to try to meet, and that by meeting those I don't mean that you have to like, just align with every single trope very neatly. You can absolutely play with expectations. You can have fun, you can turn them on their head, but you have to know what they are. The same thing as any rule in writing right? You have to know what it is before you play with subverting it or twisting it or doing your own sort of putting your own spin on it. 68 00:16:24.030 --> 00:16:47.459 Kerry Savage: So some specific expectations for the horror genre, are that emotional intensity right? We read horror to be scared. We know what we're getting ourselves into when we pick up a Stephen King novel, right? We know there's going to be some really scary stuff that's going to happen, and we're here for it. That's why we picked up the book right? So there needs to be that fear. There needs to be dread. 69 00:16:47.460 --> 00:17:15.959 Kerry Savage: There's questions about survival, and also things that might be worse than survival. Maybe in the end death is going to be, or would be a welcome thing, because everything is just so freaking bad, and you don't know how to get out of it. We want there to be tension in the atmosphere almost immediately. Right? You can use some foreshadowing. You can use this to drop hints about what's to come like pointing towards like. Here's where I'm going to be taking you 70 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:33.090 Kerry Savage: really lean on tone and setting elements. They do a lot of work in this genre, and I was thinking about this as I was sort of gearing up for this presentation, and I reread the beginning of the dark half by Stephen King, just to sort of get me in the mood. 71 00:17:33.090 --> 00:17:47.010 Kerry Savage: and he does this in a really interesting way. In the 1st part of this book is actually the inciting incident is that he knocks off his. His protagonist is a writer who has just killed 72 00:17:47.080 --> 00:18:12.749 Kerry Savage: the protagonist of his best-selling series. Right? And there's this obituary and People magazine that shows him like at the grave of George Stark. Who is this protagonist? And the atmosphere is actually quite like lovely because he's with his wife. He's with his babies that he's just twin babies that they've just had. They're making jokes. It's very lighthearted. And 73 00:18:12.840 --> 00:18:42.549 Kerry Savage: you think like, Oh, okay, this sunny moment. It's not what you would expect right. You expect sort of doom and gloom right off the bat. But what happens in this sunny moment that he's provided us? This sort of lovely family tableau is that we know the clock is ticking because we didn't pick up a nice contemporary romance or anything like that. We know everything is going to go to hell very soon, so that even heightens that creates tension by setting us up 74 00:18:42.550 --> 00:19:02.380 Kerry Savage: to know like, here's this lovely situation. It's all going to fall apart. Oh, my gosh! He's got a wife! He's got these 2 babies. Bad things are going to happen. What are they? Oh, my God! This is not going to be good. Right? So you that's a way of twisting that expectation of like we're starting up here, and everything is wonderful. And then how is it going to fall off the cliff because we know that it is 75 00:19:02.510 --> 00:19:13.889 Kerry Savage: and escalation? So we we know just by default, because it's just it's what's kicking us off. This is just the start things are going to snowball, and they are going to get so much worse. 76 00:19:13.970 --> 00:19:21.520 Kerry Savage: It's going to multiply. It's going to get way more insidious. It's going to just get way more painful. So 77 00:19:21.650 --> 00:19:30.169 Kerry Savage: those are the kinds of things that readers expect going into it. And those are the kinds of things that you want to be thinking about as you're crafting this right? 78 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:34.670 Kerry Savage: So how exactly do you create those tension and those stakes. 79 00:19:34.770 --> 00:20:03.650 Kerry Savage: As I mentioned, you want to use tone and atmosphere. So using setting and sensory details to create unease. And as again, as I just mentioned, you can do that by setting up a perfectly sunny day where there's a picnic in the park, and everything is wonderful. You can also do that by going a slightly more expected route. It doesn't make it any less effective, right? I think. Sometimes people go oh, well, it's trope, and I don't want to use it, or I don't want to do that like 80 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:16.090 Kerry Savage: that, stepping on a branch in the woods, creating that cracking noise that. But everybody is scared of that, or or most of us are. Many of us are. I probably shouldn't say everybody, because there are people out there who we all have different fears. 81 00:20:17.370 --> 00:20:27.459 Kerry Savage: but those are classics for a reason, and you can employ them to good use in creating these tension and stakes like we. Again, your audience knows what it's getting itself into. So 82 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:45.310 Kerry Savage: the key thing is that you're you're building at. You're deliberately taking those elements and turning them up as much as you possibly can, and squeezing all the juice out of them. Right? So think about setting and sensory details, because especially around things, I think, like smell and taste. 83 00:20:45.310 --> 00:20:58.169 Kerry Savage: Those are ones that we don't often see. And yes, you'd want to use them judiciously. But we see in here, but sort of by default on the page, right. We don't necessarily smell or taste. 84 00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:11.539 Kerry Savage: or even necessarily touch things by default. So any way that you can use those kinds of sensory details to create unease or set up something that like, I know, I'm making it super comfortable now, because it's about to get really really uncomfortable. 85 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.130 Kerry Savage: That's fantastic. 86 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:43.099 Kerry Savage: You also obviously referencing the cracking of the wood in the forest, someone stepping out out and like not in your sight line. You want to leverage the unknown to evoke fear right? So our brains are geared to, or are set to make meaning of things. So if we can't see things, but we hear a noise, we don't know what it is, so we can't associate that like. Oh, I heard the branch cracking. It was just it was falling, a branch falling from a tree, that's all. It was. No, no. 87 00:21:43.100 --> 00:21:54.329 Kerry Savage: I'm immediately, because I'm scared of the woods in the dark like a sane person. I'm immediately going to think. Oh, no, there's someone coming through the woods to come and get me. 88 00:21:54.330 --> 00:22:14.140 Kerry Savage: So use that that innate ability of our brains to want to make meaning to want to do pattern recognition, to want to assign things and create the tension and the fear around that using like, oh, well, you think it's this, but it actually isn't. Or you know those kind of jump scare moments. 89 00:22:15.446 --> 00:22:17.880 Kerry Savage: The stakes for our protagonist. 90 00:22:18.010 --> 00:22:28.639 Kerry Savage: So think about what is at risk for the main character. Right? Are they going to lose a relationship? Are they going to lose a loved one? What's motivating them? Are they losing their minds? 91 00:22:28.690 --> 00:22:45.099 Kerry Savage: Are they really losing their minds? Or is someone trying to manipulate them? To think that they are losing their minds, their physical safety up to and including death, is always a classic for a reason, and, as I mentioned before, is there a fate that they would consider worse than death? 92 00:22:45.180 --> 00:23:09.709 Kerry Savage: There's, you know, I can think of a couple of books now, where the protagonist, you know, actually sort of wanted to die for whatever reason they were in a really bad place mentally, and then realized that pulling through for some other reason, it wasn't even necessarily for them. It was like, in one case, this person wanted to save their dog, which you know you've got me every time like don't hurt the dog people. Anything can happen to the people but don't hurt the dogs. 93 00:23:10.071 --> 00:23:20.180 Kerry Savage: That they're going to put themselves at risk to save the dog. They don't really care what happens to them, right? But they're motivated by something outside themselves. 94 00:23:20.530 --> 00:23:41.480 Kerry Savage: And then how does that threat escalate into something the protagonist can't ignore. Right. That is the key thing, as I keep saying over and over again, because it is the crucial thing. It can't be a phone call. It can't get resolved with a conversation. It has to launch them on a journey of discovery and distress. In this particular case. 95 00:23:41.738 --> 00:23:46.950 Kerry Savage: That is going to just basically put them through hell for the next 250 to 300 pages. 96 00:23:47.250 --> 00:24:14.960 Kerry Savage: Think about how they're going to react to this thing right? That immediately. They're probably going to be scared. They're probably going to be confused. There might be a healthy dose of denial involved there. The longer term things that you can play with is like, is there a fight or flight going on? What does their survival instinct look like, how does that kick in? And what actions do they take because of these reactions? 97 00:24:15.490 --> 00:24:42.350 Kerry Savage: All right. So we have come to the moment of our 1st exercise. So we're going to either craft a new inciting incident. We're going to take 5 min, and we're going to brainstorm and do a little bit of writing about an inciting incident for a new story, or if you have a work in progress that you're dealing with, you can by all means pull that up and sort of put your put what you have on the page sort of through its paces through the ringer, so to speak. 98 00:24:42.794 --> 00:24:49.010 Kerry Savage: Think about what the incident entails. Think about what the threat or the disruption is. 99 00:24:49.070 --> 00:25:06.229 Kerry Savage: what's at risk for the protagonist? Why can't they just ignore it? Why can't they pick up the phone and get someone to come over and help them and make it go away. What their reactions are again leaning on all of those 5 senses. What are they feeling? What are they seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling? 100 00:25:06.230 --> 00:25:30.729 Kerry Savage: If they're alone? What are they thinking? Get in their heads and make us see all the things that they're going through, all the questions that they're asking of themselves. If there was somebody else or a group of others, what are those people saying to each other, are they questioning things? Is someone trying to calm everybody down, somebody else trying to escalate things? Is anybody gaslighting anybody else? 101 00:25:30.730 --> 00:25:58.079 Kerry Savage: All of these things. You can think about these dynamics. And then the final question, which I think is maybe the hardest one to be honest, how does the inciting incident point towards the resolution of your story, and you don't need to know that it's totally fine, especially if you're just starting out and crafting. I'd rather you focus on the stuff up at the top and just get some juicy ideas down on the page. But if you do know what 102 00:25:58.460 --> 00:26:23.840 Kerry Savage: what your inciting incident is, but you are not sure about how it points to the resolution of your story like that's totally cool. I think this is a great opportunity to brainstorm some possible outcomes, because there may be a few different ways that you can take it. And then, once you sort of game them out a little bit, you will realize like, Oh, yes, this is the juicy one. This is the one that I want. This is going to allow me to have the most fun with my poor protagonist, and really put them through the ringer. 103 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:41.150 Kerry Savage: So I'm going to stop talking right now. I'm going to put 5 min on my timer, and I will go off camera, so I'm not staring into the void. I will give you a 1 min warning when we're just about up, and then we'll come back and and do some more. 104 00:26:41.350 --> 00:26:43.070 Kerry Savage: All right. Have fun. 105 00:30:58.260 --> 00:31:00.210 Kerry Savage: Okay, I've got about 1 min. 106 00:32:01.260 --> 00:32:03.320 Kerry Savage: Okay. 107 00:32:03.670 --> 00:32:09.880 Kerry Savage: give everybody a couple of minutes to or not a couple of minutes a few seconds to wrap up. 108 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:25.939 Kerry Savage: I hope that was fun, especially if you were crafting something new, or even if you weren't, if you were working on something that you already had, and 109 00:32:25.990 --> 00:32:34.620 Kerry Savage: maybe if it gave you a new fun detail to add, or you just twisted the knife, so to speak, a little bit more. 110 00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:37.160 Kerry Savage: Oh, good! I'm just looking. 111 00:32:37.250 --> 00:32:39.799 Kerry Savage: I see, very helpful. I love that 112 00:32:40.541 --> 00:32:48.310 Kerry Savage: very, very glad to hear it. All right. So let's talk a little bit about connecting to subgenre. 113 00:32:48.400 --> 00:33:16.599 Kerry Savage: So if you haven't thought about exactly what subgenre you're working in, I think now is a perfect time to think a little bit about what? Exactly where, exactly, what pond you're playing in, and the reason that this is important, I mean knowing that you're writing. Horror is a great start, because there are specific expectations that come along with that that you're probably aware of. If you're writing horror 114 00:33:16.850 --> 00:33:19.349 Kerry Savage: identifying your subgenre 115 00:33:19.490 --> 00:33:40.609 Kerry Savage: can help you even further identify some of those audience expectations. It's also really helpful when you are getting ready to query or publish, because you'll know sort of who you want to target in terms of agents and or editors, and if you're self-publishing, knowing which of those buckets in which to to put your work 116 00:33:40.610 --> 00:34:10.530 Kerry Savage: can really help with finding it. But that's taking a step ahead a little bit. Let's take a step back and say so. I've listed here just some of the subgenres in the horror, in the overarching horror category. You can always just Google like horror subgenre. It'll give you a whole list and or multiple lists. Honestly, so you can kind of sort through and see what the commonalities are, and some of them are geared more towards screenplays than novels, but I think that they can still be useful. 117 00:34:10.570 --> 00:34:26.389 Kerry Savage: There's definitely a lot of shared DNA between those things, but just some of them psychological, supernatural, paranormal Gothic, dark fantasy, Apocalyptic Slasher Body Comedy, etc. As I said, there's a whole whole bunch. 118 00:34:27.540 --> 00:34:51.720 Kerry Savage: And some of those subgenres have different expectations shocking. I'm sure, because it's just like genre. Right? So, for example, if you say that you're writing a supernatural horror, make sure that there's something otherworldly. And this is when I say, make sure there's something otherworldly. Obviously you need that in your novel. But I would say, make sure it's in your inciting incident, or you're giving a hint of what is to come 119 00:34:51.719 --> 00:35:15.649 Kerry Savage: right up front. If you start whipping out the ghosts at like 60% of the way through, I think people are probably going to be confused. I can actually think of a very prolific writer, very famous writer, who I will not name because I have not actually read the book. But a friend complained to me about like, Yeah, all of a sudden, I was 70% of the way through the book, and there was a ghost all of a sudden, like. 120 00:35:15.650 --> 00:35:27.670 Kerry Savage: where the hell did that come from? And she felt cheated and did not appreciate it at all. There are other instances I can think of, too, where it does work. 121 00:35:27.700 --> 00:35:37.880 Kerry Savage: But those people, again have are probably, you know, 1520 books in. I would not recommend doing this, especially when you're just starting out. 122 00:35:38.280 --> 00:35:56.750 Kerry Savage: The rules are there for a reason, to a certain extent, and I am a rule breaker, not a rule follower myself, but you need to know them in order to be able to break them effectively. And that's the key thing you can break whatever rule you want. So when I'm saying, you know, put that supernatural something right up front, please do 123 00:35:57.011 --> 00:36:20.829 Kerry Savage: but if you don't make sure that there's a good reason that you're not doing it. Make sure it's connected to like the best twist you've ever written. And it's not the kind of twist that's gonna a writer's gonna be like, that's not a twist. They're just cheating because they didn't have a better way to explain this thing that happened other than like it was a ghost, or if it was an evil twin, try to stay away from evil twins, too. It's just kind of been overdone. 124 00:36:22.420 --> 00:36:27.909 Kerry Savage: but you could write the best evil twin ever. And then that would be amazing. So yeah. 125 00:36:27.950 --> 00:36:29.869 Kerry Savage: break all the rules if you want to. 126 00:36:30.210 --> 00:36:59.690 Kerry Savage: Sorry gotten off track so supernatural. Make sure that there's something otherworldly that happens. I say the sooner the better. But if you don't just know that there should be a good reason for it. Psychological stuff, I mean, so much of the horror, genre and thriller. And all of that stuff comes back to psychology like, does the protagonist doubt themselves. Does someone else gaslight them? Are they paranoid? How can you add, as the author, how can you add something insidious to an event that might feel mundane 127 00:36:59.690 --> 00:37:17.559 Kerry Savage: on its face. So maybe it's a little bit ho! Hum! But there's some detail or something that is hinting at that signals to the reader. Hey, yeah, this person has no clue. But I'm telling you, because you're an astute reader, and you're paying attention like, yeah, get a load of this. This is what they have coming to them. 128 00:37:17.560 --> 00:37:32.989 Kerry Savage: It's not the easiest thing to do, but we also, as readers, are cued immediately because of the genre and subgenre expectations to be looking for certain things. So we will make meaning out of those details where we tend to be pretty smart readers. 129 00:37:33.375 --> 00:37:41.010 Kerry Savage: Not always. And if someone's going to quibble with you about certain silly things. Then I will say, no, that's not so smart. But 130 00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:50.730 Kerry Savage: we will make meaning of stuff. So if you're putting details in there, we expect that you're doing that with a reason, and we're going to make meaning of them. So take advantage of that where you can. 131 00:37:51.010 --> 00:38:13.649 Kerry Savage: speaking, circling back to genre subgenre expectations like with body horror, start your physical change in the inciting incident, right hint, or at least hint towards that, the start of that physical change, or the contamination that is going to escalate thinking back to the dark half. 132 00:38:13.680 --> 00:38:28.780 Kerry Savage: It's not entirely in the inciting incident. It's actually in the prologue, but he gives us a bit of that body horror in the prologue, which is, like, you know, very closely connected to the inciting incident where and this is not a spoiler, because it's in the 1st 10 pages of the book. 133 00:38:28.780 --> 00:38:45.220 Kerry Savage: Our protagonist is a teenager. He's had a seizure. He's having brain surgery because they've found a tumor as a result of the seizure, and his tumor is actually whatever that syndrome is, where a twin eats another twin in utero, and what they find in his brain 134 00:38:45.220 --> 00:39:02.980 Kerry Savage: is an eyeball. Among other things, there's teeth in there. I think there's a nose or part of a nose do, but he shows like a nurse fainting. And the anesthesiologist throws up. And it's really, you know, this eyeball just sitting in the brain blinking. And I mean, if that's not just a perfect little moment, a little horror moment. I don't know what is. 135 00:39:02.990 --> 00:39:26.309 Kerry Savage: but that is the hint that right there of like this. This thing that they have just found in his brain. This twin that has been subsumed is going to be causing some problems right. And because we're reading horror, we know that like, oh, no, this isn't just there to gross us out or shock us, or anything, even though it does all of those things. But like it's pointing towards like, it's the big neon sign of like this is important. This is what has 136 00:39:26.430 --> 00:39:28.709 Kerry Savage: has everything to do with what's to come 137 00:39:30.126 --> 00:39:45.519 Kerry Savage: introducing some other story. Elements, too. So horror obviously doesn't just scare us right? I mean, it does a really good job of doing that. And that's ultimately why we read it, because we love to be scared, and we want to be uncomfortable and icked out, and all of those things. 138 00:39:45.570 --> 00:40:02.680 Kerry Savage: but it really reflects some deep fears, some common, deep things, that we all have going on as humans, those anxieties that we have on both a personal and a societal level. So you can think about what themes are you exploring in your novel, and then 139 00:40:02.680 --> 00:40:20.779 Kerry Savage: of those themes, theme or themes that you're exploring, and I think ideally, I would recommend that you pick one overarching one. It's what my mentor, Jenny Nash, likes to call the golden thread, which sounds very innocuous for horror, but it is this sort of like the thing that gets woven through the entire narrative. 140 00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:38.440 Kerry Savage: But you can certainly have sub themes, so it doesn't only just ever have to be one thing. And then think about, how do those sort of themes get introduced in the inciting incident? And if they're not, how can you plant some seeds? How can you go back and look at like? If my. 141 00:40:38.630 --> 00:40:39.856 Kerry Savage: if my 142 00:40:40.950 --> 00:40:47.659 Kerry Savage: The theme is something to do with. Oh, my gosh! Now I'm gonna have a hard time coming up with one. 143 00:40:47.860 --> 00:40:49.840 Kerry Savage: That is. 144 00:40:50.850 --> 00:41:12.309 Kerry Savage: I'm just coming to autocracy. So we're not going to go any deeper on exploring that at all. But, like, how do you hint at what that horror might look like? How do you hint at that control? How do you hint at that gaslighting in the inciting incident so that you can bring forward those themes, and it's naturally if you get it in there. If you plant those seeds, then 145 00:41:12.310 --> 00:41:35.959 Kerry Savage: you've actually made your job a little bit easier, because those seeds can take root and then start to bear fruit as you work your way through. Oh, I've set this in motion here, you know, at 50%. Now, I'm thinking about what's this next thing to happen. You can refer back to your inciting incident and go. Oh, well, this is a natural outcome of that. I've introduced this idea. Let's play with that here. Let's see where that's going. 146 00:41:36.020 --> 00:41:50.909 Kerry Savage: So think about what the unknown is. Think about all the fears that come around. All of those unknowns. Think about societal concerns and anxieties and think about personal traumas. And this does not mean that you need to mind your own personal trauma 147 00:41:50.910 --> 00:42:11.349 Kerry Savage: for your work. You can certainly, and you know a lot of us do in memoir and in fiction as well. You don't have to, but you certainly can. So those are just some things to get you thinking about like the bigger picture kind of things that are going to bring some universal elements into your very specific story. 148 00:42:12.129 --> 00:42:15.729 Kerry Savage: I also wanted to touch on the antagonist. 149 00:42:15.780 --> 00:42:45.540 Kerry Savage: We're also at the point where, I confess, Canva started throwing some really interesting images at me, and when I searched for antagonist it gave me this cat picture, which I just thought was so funny that I'm going to include it. And there are a couple more delightfully camp photos for you to enjoy coming up, because Canva was just having a day, apparently, but specifically talking about the antagonist. So how much, if anything, is revealed about the antagonist in the inciting incident. Right? I mean. 150 00:42:45.700 --> 00:43:12.060 Kerry Savage: perhaps in an ideal world you would introduce them. But maybe they're not known to be the antagonist. Maybe they're just another face in the crowd. Or maybe your antagonist is more of a power or an entity or a thing that hasn't yet been embodied. Maybe they're introduced that way. As to, are they embodied? Are they a person, or are they something else? Are they a mysterious force depends on what kind of horror. You're writing right. 151 00:43:12.060 --> 00:43:31.460 Kerry Savage: What does your protagonist learn about them, or sorry? What does your protagonist know about them at the start of the inciting incident? Maybe they don't know anything. Maybe your incident is introducing this antagonistic force, or maybe this antagonist has existed in their status quo. And what's happened is that the antagonist. 152 00:43:31.460 --> 00:43:43.160 Kerry Savage: Whether your protagonist knows it or not, your antagonist has come in and been the disruptor deliberately, not deliberately, deliberately, is frankly more fun. 153 00:43:43.440 --> 00:44:04.669 Kerry Savage: So. These are all these possibilities that you can lean on, and then think about, what does your protagonist actually learn during the inciting incident? Do they actually learn anything? Do they think they've learned something, and now they're this wiser person. But really, what they've done is like, oh, no, you know this beautiful misdirection where they're like making meaning of it, but their meaning is completely wrong. 154 00:44:04.670 --> 00:44:21.260 Kerry Savage: If there's information, where does that misinformation come from? Is it because the antagonist is lying to them? Or is the protagonist making assumptions that are wrong, which is then setting up that misdirection and setting up twists that you can pull out later on? 155 00:44:21.620 --> 00:44:28.130 Kerry Savage: So lots of little levers that you can in dial levers. You can adjust dials, you can twist 156 00:44:28.150 --> 00:44:31.379 Kerry Savage: to sort of introduce all of this kind of stuff. 157 00:44:33.040 --> 00:44:47.510 Kerry Savage: so talking about escalating the horror right? So the aftermath of your inciting incident is you're going to take that moment, and you're just going to gradually, and maybe not so gradually, sometimes make it worse. Right? But think about 158 00:44:47.510 --> 00:45:05.889 Kerry Savage: how the protagonist worldview has just been shattered by what happened to them. And again, I know, I sound like a broken record. But these things are important. So that's why I repeat them a lot like maybe they don't fully understand what has happened to them yet. Right? They're thinking like, Okay, well, I definitely can't go back. Status quo is over. That's done. 159 00:45:05.890 --> 00:45:24.849 Kerry Savage: But maybe it's not as bad as I think it is right like I can. Just maybe if I make this choice over here that'll get things back to normal. Of course, you know, as the writer like absolutely not. It's going to get so much worse for you. But your protagonist can 100% just be trying to work their way back 160 00:45:24.910 --> 00:45:54.830 Kerry Savage: to status quo, and just making every terrible possible bad decision. What kind of things do they want to desperately protect? Or what kind of things do they want to avoid. So what kind of decisions are they going to make in order to protect these things or avoid these other things happening? And how can what has happened to them directly attack those fears, those things that they want to protect? How can that make them feel unsafe, or make these things precious to them, feel unsafe. 161 00:45:54.920 --> 00:46:04.249 Kerry Savage: Think about what you're using to create the terror? Are you using psychological suspense? Are you putting them in physical danger? Are you using supernatural elements? 162 00:46:04.300 --> 00:46:20.320 Kerry Savage: Is there manipulation, gaslighting going on? And how do you continually ratchet up those elements or strategically dial them back, which actually leads me into my next slide, which is about pacing. So 163 00:46:20.400 --> 00:46:38.810 Kerry Savage: there's no right or wrong answer to this. You can have a slow burn that's completely legitimate, as is like putting your protagonist over and over again into imminent danger. So it just depends on the kind of story that you want to write. But as with everything I want you to be deliberate with this choice. 164 00:46:38.810 --> 00:46:57.959 Kerry Savage: Right? So some kinds of stories are going to thrive on that slow burn where your tension is mounting gradually where I think, like, there's definitely a lot of psychological stuff you can do here right with the paranoia and misdirection and gaslighting and all those kinds of things. Other kinds of stories are delivering those immediate threats sort of 165 00:46:58.080 --> 00:47:02.769 Kerry Savage: one after another. Things are constantly just getting worse and worse and worse and worse and worse. 166 00:47:02.820 --> 00:47:22.429 Kerry Savage: Just think about which type of story you're writing, and just be mindful about why you chose that approach again. No right or wrong answer here the right answer is the one that works for the story and for you. Feeling like, well, I did this. I made this choice, and here's why, as long as you can articulate the choice, and then why you chose that approach. I say you're you're on the right track. 167 00:47:22.620 --> 00:47:47.549 Kerry Savage: and the other thing is just. Don't forget that even the most tightly paced and plotted thriller horror. Whatever we're looking at here all of those stories, every story needs a few moments of pause right? They need. Your protagonist always needs moments to take a beat and process what has happened to them? Because, as readers, we need those moments, too, if there's constant nonstop threat. 168 00:47:47.550 --> 00:47:56.219 Kerry Savage: anxiety, anxiousness that is just constantly getting worse and worse and worse and worse, I mean ultimately. Yes, I have been telling you to do that, and I'm not lying, I promise. 169 00:47:56.250 --> 00:48:09.369 Kerry Savage: But if you don't have those moments where you've dialed it back a little bit and given us a chance to breathe. Then it takes the sting out of all of the things that are happening right? Because we don't have the contrast. It's the contrast that really helps 170 00:48:09.520 --> 00:48:39.040 Kerry Savage: highlight and put the spotlight on. How bad things are when there is that moment to step back. If it's constant, anything, we just get used to it. Right? And so by the end, continual. It's like, Oh, well, okay, like, yeah, that was a lot. But okay, fine. Whereas if you have those moments of pause, where everything seems like it's okay. And then there's something, you know, terrible happens. We've taken a breath and we're like, Oh, okay. And then, oh, no, you know, like the impact, is that much greater? There can't be any hills without valleys. 171 00:48:40.528 --> 00:48:43.880 Kerry Savage: So couple of pitfalls and no-nos. 172 00:48:43.930 --> 00:49:02.209 Kerry Savage: and then I might skip the last exercise, because I see I want to have plenty of time for questions, because I think there were some questions, but so just a few things to make sure that you avoid. You don't want an inciting incident that's too small, or that suffers from vagueness, as I said, does it pass the phone call or this should have been an email test. 173 00:49:02.320 --> 00:49:19.400 Kerry Savage: Please make sure that the stakes are crystal clear, because if there is no impact on your protagonist. Your reader won't care, and they'll just think you're sort of meandering off into nowhere, and that is, that's like they'll put the book down, and we absolutely don't want them to put the book down until they've hit the very end right. 174 00:49:19.400 --> 00:49:46.470 Kerry Savage: Don't want them putting the book down at page 10 or 15 or 20 not following through on the suspense or the threat that you've just set in motion. Right? You don't want it to get a chance to dissipate, and that doesn't mean again, like there's pacing concerns that you want to be thinking about. But even in those valley moments we still want to the protagonist to be aware that there is a threat. We still want them to be 175 00:49:46.470 --> 00:50:15.290 Kerry Savage: thinking about it. We still want them to be processing it. It's just those Valley moments are moments of reflection. They can be moments of more considered decision making rather than a snap decision, reaction to something that's happening immediately in front of them, and sorry. This is another set of those silly photographs that I found this one. I think I put in pitfalls or something. And then all of these things came up. And I thought, Wow, there's a lot of different ways for people to be warned to not fall off cliffs. 176 00:50:15.410 --> 00:50:35.950 Kerry Savage: So yeah, thought I'd share, and then another, the final no-no, that I want to call out. Sorry, Adhd, brain are the stakes not being personal enough, right? Horror hits hardest when it's tapping into a protagonist's deepest fears and personal vulnerabilities. Because we, as readers, relate to those fears 177 00:50:35.950 --> 00:51:01.819 Kerry Savage: and personal vulnerabilities, even if we don't share them chances are that you're going to have hit on some universal things that are absolutely like. Even if I don't specifically share your fear of heights or spiders or something. You can make me feel what your protagonist is feeling, and I am going to empathize with them, and therefore feel that same dread horror, fear that they are feeling, even if it's not my particular thing, but 178 00:51:02.380 --> 00:51:12.199 Kerry Savage: that also. That means you have to be evoking that emotion. If the reader, if the sorry if the protagonist doesn't care, neither do we, as readers, if it's just like, you know this. 179 00:51:12.430 --> 00:51:23.020 Kerry Savage: Alright, I'm gonna go there. Sorry it's early in the morning still, even here, but like there's a spider crawling up your arm. If the if the protagonist is just like, and just flicks it off. 180 00:51:23.090 --> 00:51:47.719 Kerry Savage: Those of us who have a fear of spiders might be a little icked out by that. But it's still not going to register with us the same way as like if that's happening. And it's like your protagonist's worst nightmare, and they're just going into like, where did it come from? There has to be more right. Oh, now, there's going to be spiders in my bed, all of the things that the irrational things that we spin out on when we confront this kind of stuff. 181 00:51:49.700 --> 00:51:52.779 Kerry Savage: so this 182 00:51:52.820 --> 00:52:17.989 Kerry Savage: exercise is just all about escalation and jotting down some more options like I said, I'm going to skip it, but it is in that workbook that you have. So all of the content from the slides is all sort of distilled into that workbook, and is there I don't know where my picture went here, but this is just another link to that free workbook, and it's got all the exercises to walk you through, and more details. 183 00:52:17.990 --> 00:52:22.970 Kerry Savage: And then here's just some information about me that I'll keep up while we do questions. 184 00:52:23.040 --> 00:52:29.150 Kerry Savage: So there's me, and there's shadows, too, and and if you're interested in shadows. Please sign up and go to that website as well. 185 00:52:30.700 --> 00:52:50.699 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Thank you so much, Kerry. That was amazing. I really enjoyed the activity that you hosted. I thought that was really cool, and we got a lot of love in the chat for that as well. So that was awesome. I'm also really enjoying everyone talking about the cat. 186 00:52:51.890 --> 00:53:02.280 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: It as well. My cat came in and was like, like just demanding attention, basically disrupting the meeting. So I had to shut him up. But like. 187 00:53:02.280 --> 00:53:05.901 Kerry Savage: He's up to something, though. Does don't you think he's probably up to something. 188 00:53:06.160 --> 00:53:06.780 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Exactly. 189 00:53:06.780 --> 00:53:07.420 Kerry Savage: Back, out. 190 00:53:08.560 --> 00:53:19.770 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Brilliant stuff. Okay? So we have a few questions to get started with. I'm also just going to drop the links in the chat as well while we answer some questions. Okay? 191 00:53:20.010 --> 00:53:22.870 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: So Shelby asked. 192 00:53:23.337 --> 00:53:31.869 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: For a detective novel. Would the inciting incident be the 1st murder, or could it be something more character related, or both. 193 00:53:33.170 --> 00:53:57.600 Kerry Savage: Gosh! That's a great question. I think in general, my 1st reaction would be. Yes, it probably is, because, you know, in a mystery we want to have a body, you know, if not on the 1st page in the 1st chapter, and that usually is like, because the whole, the story question behind a mystery is, who killed this person? And why then it is that body dropping that sets that that's the world disruptor 194 00:53:57.600 --> 00:54:07.900 Kerry Savage: there. So yes, that doesn't mean to say that you can't have that other element included as well. It's just sort of how, probably, how you've set up 195 00:54:07.900 --> 00:54:11.370 Kerry Savage: who your protagonist is. Their relationship. 196 00:54:11.370 --> 00:54:34.579 Kerry Savage: if any, to the murder victim. And what sort of journey you're setting them on like in terms of what this investigation is going to mean for them. So I think you can have both. But like, as a general rule, in a mystery, yeah, it's that first, st that 1st body that that sets us off, because the whole idea behind it is the investigation. 197 00:54:34.940 --> 00:54:36.120 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Perfect, awesome 198 00:54:36.380 --> 00:54:46.619 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: okey dokey. And then we've got Adam, said. Hi, Carrie, do you have any examples of inciting incidents that point to the resolution of the story? 199 00:54:49.890 --> 00:55:19.050 Kerry Savage: Not off the top of my head, but I am. I am now. I'm writing that down, and it's going to be the subject of my next newsletter and blog post, so I don't want to be this like shameless plug for me. I really don't, I promise. But if you want to subscribe, and then you can unsubscribe after I answer the question. That's totally fine. No, no, will not be offended, that's a great question, and I should have come prepared, and I didn't. But I will get an answer for you. I promise that point. 200 00:55:19.050 --> 00:55:24.430 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Adam sign up for the newsletter because it sounds like that. One's going to be directed specific. 201 00:55:25.260 --> 00:55:26.090 Kerry Savage: Sorry. 202 00:55:26.090 --> 00:55:48.220 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: So then I think it's Trina I want to say that, you know. Tell me in the chat, if I'm wrong from the incident, can you skip from moments after 2 weeks, slash months down the line to where it seems like things are quite normal. But then the antagonist returns and shakes it all up, you know, makes it worse. 203 00:55:48.780 --> 00:55:52.730 Kerry Savage: Yes, in fact, it sounds like I probably if there's. 204 00:55:54.150 --> 00:56:22.530 Kerry Savage: I guess I would ask you as a coach, my question to you would be. Why do you need that big gap of time? Why can't it just be like the inciting incident happens? And then we're we're into the next thing like. But if there's a good story, reason for it to be like that, there needs to be this break in time, and you're not. You're doing the wise thing as a writer by not like giving us 3 chapters of exposition that we don't care about. I mean, like where your mind is at with thinking like, yes, I'm going to skip ahead several months 205 00:56:22.870 --> 00:56:35.950 Kerry Savage: if that's the next time that, like the action really gets going. Yes, absolutely. I think just my question would be, would to you would be, why do? Why do you have that gap in there? And if there's a good reason for it great, then you're all set. 206 00:56:36.700 --> 00:56:37.990 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Cool Okie Dokie. 207 00:56:38.550 --> 00:56:59.480 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: So Shelby asked another question. So they said about mixing genres so such as horror detective works. Obviously this was the person who asked the detective question before, how do you balance between living up to both expectations of providing enough satisfaction of expectations for the horror, reader and the mystery? Reader. 208 00:56:59.650 --> 00:57:15.259 Kerry Savage: That's a really good question. That is a really good question. Well, I think primarily, what you're going to want to do is you're going to want to decide for yourself? Am I writing a mystery with horror elements? Or am I writing a horror with mystery elements 209 00:57:15.270 --> 00:57:32.480 Kerry Savage: and the thing the reason that I think that that question is, or that answer to that question is important is, those are going to be sort of the rules, the tropes, the expectations that you're going to make sure that you satisfy, because if you are, say like, Oh, I'm writing a mystery. 210 00:57:33.810 --> 00:57:56.750 Kerry Savage: But as you were writing, you're leaning into the horror of it, and you leave some mystery questions or some mystery expectations out the way your book would be marketed and sold is to mystery writers. It's not like they would ignore the horror elements of that. But then you're going to have really upset mystery writers because you didn't answer some fundamental question, or you didn't meet a fundamental expectation. 211 00:57:56.750 --> 00:58:14.349 Kerry Savage: whereas a horror, reader, isn't necessarily that like, yeah, they'll be sort of interested in the mystery, I would imagine. But if you skipped some of that mystery stuff like the horror writer isn't necessarily there for, or the horror, reader, I should say, isn't there for that. They're going to be mad if you miss some of the horror expectations. 212 00:58:14.350 --> 00:58:41.439 Kerry Savage: So that's where I would just find like it's like, you know, I say, with romance and everything, because lots of books have romance as subplots. If you're not writing a romance, you don't need to necessarily hit those romance tropes because your book is not going to be marketed to an audience of romance readers. It's just an element in this other type of book that you are writing. So I think, knowing, being very, very clear about which primary set of expectations you need to satisfy is the most important way that you want to start 213 00:58:42.140 --> 00:58:43.010 Kerry Savage: perfect. 214 00:58:43.010 --> 00:58:52.649 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Ok? And then I think it's Maya asked, how would you adapt or change things for children's horror, or wouldn't you. 215 00:58:53.640 --> 00:59:20.460 Kerry Savage: Oh, my gosh! I have to confess I am not a children. Well, I know nothing. I am childless by choice, so I don't have to satisfy those for little ones in my own life, and I don't know honestly, that's a great question. I mean, obviously, I think there's a lot of like stuff that's probably off the table body wise in particular, like, just because the gore factor, I would imagine, for small children should be ratcheted way down. 216 00:59:20.460 --> 00:59:48.320 Kerry Savage: But I don't have a good answer for that question, just because it's so far out of my realm of expertise. The only thing I can add is like. I was reading petcematary when I was like 11, which may or may not have been a great idea, but I survived, and here I am. So then again, I don't know but children is even younger than that, I would imagine. So I would really look for someone who specifically specializes in that kind of thing and ask that question there! 217 00:59:48.557 --> 00:59:51.250 Kerry Savage: So I don't. I'm sorry I don't have a good answer for you. 218 00:59:51.250 --> 01:00:07.829 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: No, that's fair. Okay? And then I think we've got time for a couple more. So Andrew asked if we could elaborate on the how does the instant point towards the resolution so obviously we had? We asked for examples for it. But, like. 219 01:00:07.840 --> 01:00:09.249 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: could you elaborate. 220 01:00:09.250 --> 01:00:31.020 Kerry Savage: I can speak to it a little. I hope I can. I'm going to try my best. So basically what it is is, I think you know when you, when you've read a book and you're at the ending, and they do that thing that they do which may or may not be super obvious, but it almost always means that you've come full circle. So whatever you've set in motion right, you've set with the inciting incident. You've set a story question and an emotional sort of 221 01:00:31.020 --> 01:00:48.320 Kerry Savage: character arc question in motion with whatever happens there, and the ending is supposed to be the resolution to that. It's the. It's the ending of the journey. So we want to have turned back around and said, whatever issues, questions, all the things that have been opened up 222 01:00:48.320 --> 01:00:51.180 Kerry Savage: by the inciting incident have now been resolved. 223 01:00:51.180 --> 01:01:19.979 Kerry Savage: And the caveat that I'm going to throw out there with horror in particular, is, that is not necessarily actually a genre expectation of horror we like, and it's not that you can't wrap things up in a horror novel, but they do have a tendency in cases to leave things more open-ended. So like you don't entirely know, like the story question has been resolved. But you don't entirely know that it's been resolved. So it's not over. It's like, well, the thing could come back. The power still exists. 224 01:01:20.020 --> 01:01:32.129 Kerry Savage: The nightmare is still out there. But what kind of form is it going to take? We don't know. Use your imagination because the book's over, whereas in mystery, like you need to wrap up that story. That question right? You know who's 225 01:01:32.130 --> 01:01:53.440 Kerry Savage: killed the victim and why they did it. So that story has been wrapped up neatly. Horror doesn't have quite that same thing. But but what I mean by it is that you're opening up possibilities with the inciting incident, and that you're closing them in a way that nods back to like. Yes, I know. I opened these story questions. I know I indicated I was going to 226 01:01:53.440 --> 01:01:57.469 Kerry Savage: write about these issues, and this is me resolving them now 227 01:01:57.900 --> 01:02:04.520 Kerry Savage: like, I said hopefully, with some examples that will become a little bit more clear is is a bit of an abstract construct concept. I know. 228 01:02:04.520 --> 01:02:07.620 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Well, it just means that we've all got to sign up for your. 229 01:02:07.890 --> 01:02:09.280 Kerry Savage: That's right like I said. 230 01:02:09.446 --> 01:02:09.779 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: You know. 231 01:02:09.780 --> 01:02:12.890 Kerry Savage: You can unsubscribe after I answer it. No, I won't be offended. 232 01:02:13.195 --> 01:02:26.339 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Awesome. Okay? I think that's probably all we have time for today. Is. And we've got we did have a few questions left over, Kerry, do you have anywhere that people could drop like a line? Just ask questions to you. 233 01:02:26.340 --> 01:02:42.766 Kerry Savage: Yeah. So my email address, carrie@carriesavage.com. Please feel free to email me there. Or if you do sign up for my list. You can always just reply to one of the my newsletters, and that goes straight into my inbox as well. So please send me questions. I I would love to answer them. 234 01:02:43.050 --> 01:03:03.460 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Awesome. All right. There you go, guys. So sorry if we didn't get to your question. But you can always email Kerry directly. So thank you guys for joining us. This has been amazing. I've been learning quite a lot myself, and it's been great having you here, Kerry, thank you for joining us. 235 01:03:03.980 --> 01:03:09.640 Kerry Savage: Thank you for having me. Thank you, everybody. It's been fun. Have fun writing your nightmares. 236 01:03:09.640 --> 01:03:20.989 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Brilliant stuff. Awesome. All right. Thanks, guys. We hope to see you in the rest of the horror writers fest and obviously at some Samantha scowls. 237 01:03:20.990 --> 01:03:21.859 Kerry Savage: Let me go see Sam. 238 01:03:21.860 --> 01:03:22.310 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: 1st of all. 239 01:03:22.310 --> 01:03:24.010 Kerry Savage: I've seen it. It's great. 240 01:03:24.010 --> 01:03:29.689 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Brilliant stuff. Awesome, all right. Thank you, guys, and we'll talk to you again soon. 241 01:03:30.370 --> 01:03:31.590 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Bye.