WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:08.340 Joe Sidery: Okay. 2 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:22.060 Joe Sidery: Oh, if you guys are joining and you can see my screen, I'd love to 3 00:00:22.528 --> 00:00:28.469 Joe Sidery: here where you guys are joining from, and just to double check that you can all see. My see my screen clearly 4 00:00:31.360 --> 00:00:32.409 Joe Sidery: fantastic. 5 00:00:33.360 --> 00:00:34.730 Joe Sidery: Ohio. 6 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:37.790 Joe Sidery: Michigan, Denver, Indianapolis. 7 00:00:38.070 --> 00:00:39.020 Joe Sidery: Greece. 8 00:00:39.150 --> 00:00:40.510 Joe Sidery: Colorado, Texas. 9 00:00:41.430 --> 00:00:42.600 Joe Sidery: the UK. 10 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:44.720 Joe Sidery: Wow! This is great. 11 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:49.120 Joe Sidery: higher again. 12 00:00:49.900 --> 00:00:51.340 Joe Sidery: Knoxville, Tennessee. 13 00:00:51.410 --> 00:00:54.970 Joe Sidery: Washington, Washington State, Monterey, Leicester, UK. 14 00:00:55.180 --> 00:00:57.780 Joe Sidery: It's close to where I'm from. I'm from Nottingham in the UK. 15 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:05.180 Joe Sidery: See your screen. Fine, great Amsterdam. 16 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:14.519 Joe Sidery: Alabama. Fantastic! I'm just gonna give it one more minute everyone, just to make sure everyone joins, and then I'll just kick off with some housekeeping very quickly. 17 00:01:17.880 --> 00:01:19.870 Joe Sidery: Miami, Toronto. 18 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:23.890 Joe Sidery: Alberta, Anaheim. Oh, Robin Hood! Really? Yes. 19 00:01:23.900 --> 00:01:25.640 Joe Sidery: Robin Hood, indeed! 20 00:01:26.360 --> 00:01:29.790 Joe Sidery: Devin Uk! Am IA sheriff? Not yet. 21 00:01:31.595 --> 00:01:32.060 Lewis Jordstad: Someday. 22 00:01:32.260 --> 00:01:34.428 Joe Sidery: I'm not actually there 23 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:41.979 Joe Sidery: warmer from Washington. 24 00:01:42.570 --> 00:01:45.630 Lewis Jordstad: I see some familiar names in the chat. Hello, Hello, friends! 25 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.023 Joe Sidery: More of a merry man. I'll take that, you know. 26 00:01:52.130 --> 00:01:53.990 Joe Sidery: Hello! From Tokyo. Wow! 27 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:55.060 Joe Sidery: Just 28 00:01:56.250 --> 00:02:05.150 Joe Sidery: okay, right. I will kick off, guys. So Hello, everyone my name is Joe from prioritigate, and thanks so much for joining us today. 29 00:02:05.513 --> 00:02:10.210 Joe Sidery: Before we get started. I would just like to go through a few housekeeping items 30 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:15.470 Joe Sidery: so welcome to folks. Fancy writers write the writers. Week 2024. 31 00:02:16.970 --> 00:02:31.370 Joe Sidery: So how to access your replays so replays will be added to the Hub page once they are done being processed by zoom this does take a little bit of time, and it can vary, so please don't worry, it will be added as soon as possible. 32 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:38.900 Joe Sidery: and replays will be available on the priorating a community page for all members to view by May the third. 33 00:02:42.010 --> 00:02:48.310 Joe Sidery: So a few details on our premium day. So Monday to Thursday. Sessions are free for everyone to attend. 34 00:02:49.290 --> 00:02:57.889 Joe Sidery: Friday sessions are limited to premium and premium pro users. Free users can upgrade their accounts by Friday morning to get access 35 00:02:57.970 --> 00:03:07.290 Joe Sidery: and premium and premium pro users will receive an email Friday morning with instructions for attending the live sessions and viewing the replays. 36 00:03:08.220 --> 00:03:16.410 Joe Sidery: So your offer. So we are currently offering 25% off on yearly premium and premium pro licenses 37 00:03:16.490 --> 00:03:37.640 Joe Sidery: at pre patching premium or premium pro license. One unlock tools such as our rephrase and our AI sparks and critique report features you can get reports on unlimited workouts, author suggestions, full integrations for Scribner word, and much, much more. And this offer ends on May tenth, and, as always, you can find out more information on the Hub. 38 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:44.309 Joe Sidery: And if you'd like to keep talking, fancy you can join our online writing community using your priority aid login 39 00:03:44.594 --> 00:03:55.369 Joe Sidery: here, you can keep talking with other fancy fans and keep up to date with more of our writing events, and I will be posting these links in the chat as we go, so don't worry if you miss it this time around folks. 40 00:03:56.450 --> 00:04:00.339 Joe Sidery: So just a few reminders for this session. Please use the Q&A box. 41 00:04:00.690 --> 00:04:07.369 Joe Sidery: If you have questions for our speaker or for myself. If you'd like to chat with other viewers, please use the chat box 42 00:04:07.410 --> 00:04:16.559 Joe Sidery: links to your offers, and from our speakers will be available on the fancy writers. Week hub and in our participants guide 43 00:04:16.610 --> 00:04:17.630 Joe Sidery: as well. 44 00:04:18.550 --> 00:04:22.360 Joe Sidery: So thank you so much for joining us today. 45 00:04:23.090 --> 00:04:24.939 Joe Sidery: I will now introduce 46 00:04:24.950 --> 00:04:26.180 Joe Sidery: our speaker. 47 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:30.989 Joe Sidery: So today we are joined by 48 00:04:31.330 --> 00:04:38.440 Joe Sidery: Lewis Jousted. Lewis is a book, coach and editor who helps passionate fiction writers master their craft 49 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:51.310 Joe Sidery: and find their readers at the novel smithy. When he isn't helping students or writing books of his own. You can find him babying his house plants and baking far too many homemade bagels. That sounds lovely. 50 00:04:51.530 --> 00:04:56.829 Joe Sidery: so I will now hand over to Lewis, for I'm sure will be a fantastic session. Thank you so much. 51 00:04:58.330 --> 00:05:19.310 Lewis Jordstad: Thanks for the introduction, Joe. That was great. Hello, everybody! I see again. I see some familiar names in the chat. I see people I've never met before. It's great to to see all of you here. I'm gonna take a second to just get set up, get everything sort of in position. As Joe mentioned. If you have questions throughout the the workshop. 52 00:05:19.807 --> 00:05:32.850 Lewis Jordstad: I would recommend putting them in the the Q. And a box. I'm not going to be able to monitor the chat because there's just too much going on, and I want to be able to teach you all instead of sort of distractedly, looking to the side of my screen. But let me take a second to get 53 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:34.660 Lewis Jordstad: set up 54 00:05:37.190 --> 00:05:38.180 Lewis Jordstad: all right. 55 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:40.480 Lewis Jordstad: I will actually have in the chat 56 00:05:40.590 --> 00:05:44.300 Lewis Jordstad: thumbs up. If you can see everything fine, if everything looks good. 57 00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:46.420 Lewis Jordstad: and then we'll dive into things 58 00:05:51.900 --> 00:05:52.830 Lewis Jordstad: awesome. 59 00:05:53.260 --> 00:05:55.249 Lewis Jordstad: seeing lots of thumbs up sweet. 60 00:05:55.530 --> 00:05:56.550 Lewis Jordstad: Okay. 61 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:58.180 Lewis Jordstad: let me. 62 00:06:01.780 --> 00:06:02.990 Lewis Jordstad: All right. 63 00:06:03.150 --> 00:06:04.659 Lewis Jordstad: Well, Hello, everyone. 64 00:06:04.880 --> 00:06:14.709 Lewis Jordstad: So again, thanks to Joe for the introduction, I am here today for fantasy writers week to chat with you all about 65 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:22.269 Lewis Jordstad: how to write crossroads in your novel. We're going to explain sort of what that means and what that looks like in just a moment, but 66 00:06:22.640 --> 00:06:27.540 Lewis Jordstad: sort of the short and sweet version. The the preview of what's to come 67 00:06:27.880 --> 00:06:29.060 Lewis Jordstad: is that 68 00:06:29.330 --> 00:06:33.889 Lewis Jordstad: in today's workshop we're going to be talking about how to write 69 00:06:34.320 --> 00:06:41.950 Lewis Jordstad: the 4 big turning points of your story sort of the pivotal scenes, the big set pieces of your novel that 70 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:54.519 Lewis Jordstad: leave a really major impact on your readers that are what your readers are going to remember when they put down your story that are gonna shape. You know their experience of your novel and their feelings about your novel. 71 00:06:55.190 --> 00:06:58.779 Lewis Jordstad: And what we're gonna be doing today is talking about. 72 00:06:58.810 --> 00:07:04.629 Lewis Jordstad: how can you start to plan those key pieces? How can you start to plan those pivotal moments. 73 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:06.449 Lewis Jordstad: but with a bit of a twist. 74 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:08.319 Lewis Jordstad: How can you 75 00:07:08.460 --> 00:07:10.710 Lewis Jordstad: write them in such a way that they 76 00:07:10.780 --> 00:07:21.919 Lewis Jordstad: carry the kind of impact you need to be memorable for your readers, and to have a reason to exist in your story, because that's not always a given, you know, an exciting moment in your plot 77 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:35.029 Lewis Jordstad: might not necessarily always be something that actually connects with your readers on that deeper, more memorable level. And so we're going to talk about the difference and how you can actually achieve that in your stories. 78 00:07:36.610 --> 00:07:37.680 Lewis Jordstad: Now. 79 00:07:37.940 --> 00:07:42.589 Lewis Jordstad: to sort of give you the big idea up front. The reason that we're talking about this 80 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:47.459 Lewis Jordstad: is that your plot needs to be more than just a string of cause and effect. 81 00:07:47.830 --> 00:07:53.920 Lewis Jordstad: no matter how interesting those effects may be, or how interesting all of the different scenes in your novel may be. 82 00:07:54.310 --> 00:07:55.380 Lewis Jordstad: And 83 00:07:55.390 --> 00:07:58.160 Lewis Jordstad: the reason, I say that is that 84 00:07:58.340 --> 00:08:06.689 Lewis Jordstad: over the years, working as an editor, working, you know, as a writer myself working as a book coach. I'll introduce myself more in just a moment. 85 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:08.420 Lewis Jordstad: But 86 00:08:08.570 --> 00:08:12.460 Lewis Jordstad: I have seen so many stories that work on paper. 87 00:08:12.670 --> 00:08:18.000 Lewis Jordstad: The plot is interesting on paper. There are no major plot holes on paper. 88 00:08:18.130 --> 00:08:22.930 Lewis Jordstad: There are no red flags of like. Oh, this plot has serious problems. 89 00:08:24.030 --> 00:08:26.060 Lewis Jordstad: But despite that. 90 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:30.130 Lewis Jordstad: I found it really hard to care about those plots 91 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:40.009 Lewis Jordstad: and the feedback those writers were often getting was also from Beta. Readers, from agents from reviews from various places was also that. 92 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:51.380 Lewis Jordstad: yeah, the plot is interesting and it makes sense. But I just don't care. I'm not invested in the story. I don't really feel the need to keep flipping pages and to keep moving deeper into the novel. 93 00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:52.929 Lewis Jordstad: And so 94 00:08:54.120 --> 00:09:00.230 Lewis Jordstad: yes, the plot worked on the surface. But there was a key ingredient that was missing that 95 00:09:00.350 --> 00:09:10.060 Lewis Jordstad: needed to be sort of interjected into all of this, so that readers could develop that more emotional, deeper connection to the story. 96 00:09:11.140 --> 00:09:15.149 Lewis Jordstad: And the way I like to illustrate this is 97 00:09:15.190 --> 00:09:20.210 Lewis Jordstad: with this idea that if a tree falls in the forest, but it doesn't hit anyone 98 00:09:20.230 --> 00:09:21.650 Lewis Jordstad: who really cares. 99 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:28.070 Lewis Jordstad: Yes, there are going to be some arborists in the chat who are like I care about the tree, and I am here for you, and I agree with you. 100 00:09:28.230 --> 00:09:31.070 Lewis Jordstad: But in the context of your novel 101 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:35.410 Lewis Jordstad: I think this point is something to keep in mind. 102 00:09:35.590 --> 00:09:44.070 Lewis Jordstad: you know. Yes, you can be having car chases and explosions and arguments. And you know all of this drama, all of this action, all of this plot. 103 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:46.460 Lewis Jordstad: But why do your readers care. 104 00:09:46.930 --> 00:10:01.279 Lewis Jordstad: And fundamentally, what makes our readers care about a story is a story that has stakes. Things are at risk. Things could go wrong. A story that has impact and consequences. There is 105 00:10:01.300 --> 00:10:08.800 Lewis Jordstad: meaning in terms of what these events mean for other characters in your novel, for the world of your novel. 106 00:10:08.810 --> 00:10:12.139 Lewis Jordstad: for for the protagonist of your novel. 107 00:10:12.900 --> 00:10:13.910 Lewis Jordstad: and 108 00:10:14.010 --> 00:10:17.650 Lewis Jordstad: most importantly sort of at the top of that list. 109 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:39.789 Lewis Jordstad: Your plot needs a catalyst. It needs some force in the story that is kicking the plot into action that is moving the plot forward and where it doesn't just feel like, oh, I'm reading this plot, but I can see the author just sort of moving the pieces on the board, you know, saying like, Well, this is how I wanted to write the story. So this is what's going to happen. 110 00:10:39.940 --> 00:10:44.020 Lewis Jordstad: You need something within your story itself to act as that 111 00:10:44.130 --> 00:10:47.579 Lewis Jordstad: driving force, that catalyst for the story 112 00:10:47.750 --> 00:10:49.470 Lewis Jordstad: that can give it that 113 00:10:49.510 --> 00:10:56.339 Lewis Jordstad: sense of stakes and impact that feels genuine and really realistic and believable for your readers. 114 00:10:57.780 --> 00:10:58.720 Lewis Jordstad: So 115 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:02.620 Lewis Jordstad: in this workshop, they're gonna be 3 big things. We're gonna talk about. 116 00:11:02.810 --> 00:11:09.440 Lewis Jordstad: The first of these is we're going to start looking at how you can build a plot that your readers can really care about 117 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:14.719 Lewis Jordstad: with one simple mindset shift, thinking about your story from a slightly different angle. 118 00:11:15.520 --> 00:11:19.519 Lewis Jordstad: To make sure readers can get invested in the novel. 119 00:11:19.990 --> 00:11:32.850 Lewis Jordstad: We're also gonna be planning the 4 big decisions that define your protagonist story. We're gonna be looking at how you can select those decisions, how you can make sure those decisions have the amount of weight that they need. 120 00:11:33.040 --> 00:11:36.199 Lewis Jordstad: and at the very end I am going to 121 00:11:36.260 --> 00:11:40.700 Lewis Jordstad: toss a little bit of homework your way. I'm going to be the mean teacher that assigns homework. 122 00:11:40.900 --> 00:11:45.969 Lewis Jordstad: But we're going to do a quick brainstorming exercise where I'm going to introduce a quick brainstorming exercise 123 00:11:46.070 --> 00:12:02.150 Lewis Jordstad: to help you jump, start this process to help you. Start to figure out how you can make some of these changes in your own story or troubleshoot sections of your story that you maybe realize aren't pulling their weight the way that you want them to. 124 00:12:04.050 --> 00:12:05.320 Lewis Jordstad: With that said 125 00:12:05.790 --> 00:12:14.880 Lewis Jordstad: enough introduction real quick for those of you who don't know me. I know Joe introduced me briefly, and I know some of you here are familiar with me. You've met me from around the Web. 126 00:12:14.970 --> 00:12:23.269 Lewis Jordstad: but I am Lewis Torstead. I'm the founder of the novel Smithy, where I help passionate fiction writers master their craft and find their readers. 127 00:12:23.580 --> 00:12:40.499 Lewis Jordstad: and I have been sort of in this space for a while. Now, which is kind of interesting to say. We are approaching year 7 of being an editor. I've been a developmental editor for just about 7 years. Now. I'm the author of 7 Writing Craft Guides on everything from 128 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:45.470 Lewis Jordstad: series, structure to character development to outlining to editing. 129 00:12:46.030 --> 00:12:47.559 Lewis Jordstad: And I am a 130 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:51.039 Lewis Jordstad: really big story. Nerd. I am 131 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:53.910 Lewis Jordstad: deeply passionate about how we can 132 00:12:54.100 --> 00:13:02.260 Lewis Jordstad: use different tricks and frameworks and ways of approaching our novels in order to tell the best story possible, and a story that 133 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:09.380 Lewis Jordstad: really resonates with our readers while still feeling very true to us, still feeling like our story and our voice. 134 00:13:09.490 --> 00:13:14.699 Lewis Jordstad: but telling it to the best of our ability, so that our readers want to come along for the ride. 135 00:13:15.520 --> 00:13:23.529 Lewis Jordstad: And since this is fantasy writer's Week. I feel like it's appropriate to say that I'm also a dark fantasy writer in my own sort of personal writing life. 136 00:13:24.006 --> 00:13:35.110 Lewis Jordstad: I struggle not to dabble with other genres. I'm actually working on a cyberpunk novel at the moment, but probably my biggest love in terms of my own writing is definitely dark fantasy. 137 00:13:36.610 --> 00:13:38.370 Lewis Jordstad: More importantly, though 138 00:13:38.430 --> 00:13:42.770 Lewis Jordstad: in terms of tonight's or today's workshop, depending on where you are in the world. 139 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:47.599 Lewis Jordstad: Part of why I care about this topic. So much 140 00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:48.570 Lewis Jordstad: is 141 00:13:49.090 --> 00:13:53.170 Lewis Jordstad: how what we're gonna be talking about these crossroads that I'm gonna teach you 142 00:13:53.260 --> 00:13:56.080 Lewis Jordstad: help simplify plot 143 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:57.849 Lewis Jordstad: sort of in a broad sense. 144 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:13.689 Lewis Jordstad: Because I find a lot of us. You know, we're trying to juggle a story structure. We're trying to juggle. Maybe multiple character arcs. We have to think about the relationships of our characters. And how are we foreshadowing things? And you know, where are we adding world building? And what's the pacing of our story like, and 145 00:14:14.250 --> 00:14:20.379 Lewis Jordstad: that's a lot to kind of hold in our brain all at once, and it can feel very overwhelming and very stressful. 146 00:14:20.450 --> 00:14:25.739 Lewis Jordstad: And part of why I love these crossroads that I'm going to teach you about is that 147 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:33.220 Lewis Jordstad: they take your plots and they take your character development and they squish them together into one really cohesive story. 148 00:14:33.260 --> 00:14:48.260 Lewis Jordstad: and in doing so they simplify things. You're not juggling a plot and a character arc and foreshadowing and pacing. You're just juggling these 4 big turning points, and they pull a lot of that weight for you and do a lot of that work for you 149 00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:50.480 Lewis Jordstad: so that you can focus on 150 00:14:50.520 --> 00:14:55.849 Lewis Jordstad: telling your story and figuring out where you want your novel to go, rather than feeling 151 00:14:55.940 --> 00:14:58.690 Lewis Jordstad: overwhelmed and locked up, trying to figure out. 152 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:03.469 Lewis Jordstad: how can I balance all of these different things that are expected of me as a writer? 153 00:15:05.010 --> 00:15:05.900 Lewis Jordstad: So 154 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:07.590 Lewis Jordstad: the 155 00:15:07.730 --> 00:15:12.409 Lewis Jordstad: big takeaway here, where I want to start for this workshop 156 00:15:12.550 --> 00:15:15.059 Lewis Jordstad: is this idea, and that is that 157 00:15:15.330 --> 00:15:19.550 Lewis Jordstad: your protagonist's decisions are what drives your plot 158 00:15:20.030 --> 00:15:23.890 Lewis Jordstad: because they are your central character, because they are the main character of your novel. 159 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:32.930 Lewis Jordstad: Their choices are going to define every beat of your story, and that is especially true. In the key moments of your story. 160 00:15:33.090 --> 00:15:37.339 Lewis Jordstad: those big turning points. I mentioned those big set pieces, the exciting 161 00:15:38.090 --> 00:15:44.170 Lewis Jordstad: scenes, or, you know, action moments, where everything changes and everything is intense and dramatic. 162 00:15:44.870 --> 00:15:48.000 Lewis Jordstad: The reason that those scenes carry that weight 163 00:15:48.250 --> 00:15:54.309 Lewis Jordstad: is because your protagonists' choices and decisions have led us to that moment. 164 00:15:55.350 --> 00:16:01.049 Lewis Jordstad: And this is something that I believe in theory, but also really in practice. 165 00:16:01.160 --> 00:16:02.250 Lewis Jordstad: And so 166 00:16:02.390 --> 00:16:09.150 Lewis Jordstad: there's a couple reasons why I think it's really valuable to think about your plot in terms of your protagonist decisions 167 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:11.940 Lewis Jordstad: before you start to think about your plot in terms of 168 00:16:12.010 --> 00:16:16.120 Lewis Jordstad: just cause and effect. You know this scene, and then this scene, and then this scene 169 00:16:16.460 --> 00:16:17.670 Lewis Jordstad: zooming back 170 00:16:17.750 --> 00:16:23.219 Lewis Jordstad: and building your story around a couple really key choices that your protagonist makes 171 00:16:23.260 --> 00:16:25.690 Lewis Jordstad: allows you to do 4 major things. 172 00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:33.909 Lewis Jordstad: It gives your protagonist agency and control in the story. So they aren't just being drugged around by their ear. They're not just being sort of 173 00:16:34.040 --> 00:16:44.260 Lewis Jordstad: forced through your plot against their will. Yes, they can definitely be put in situations they don't want to be in. They can definitely be sort of backed into a corner. 174 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:50.569 Lewis Jordstad: But how they respond to those events is within their control. They're making those choices. 175 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:59.909 Lewis Jordstad: and that makes them a more engaging character, but it also makes them a bigger player in your story. It lets them earn that role as your central character. 176 00:17:00.750 --> 00:17:13.409 Lewis Jordstad: This also, as I mentioned a moment ago, helps link your plot and your character development. So again, rather than thinking. Like, I have to juggle this big, complicated story structure. And I have to juggle all these complicated character arcs. 177 00:17:13.869 --> 00:17:28.539 Lewis Jordstad: You can say I need to focus on 4 decisions. I need to focus on a few key choices. My protagonist is going to make to do 80% of that work. And then the other 20%. You can go in and sort of tinker and adjust. 178 00:17:28.840 --> 00:17:32.119 Lewis Jordstad: But it does so much of the heavy lifting for you. 179 00:17:33.030 --> 00:17:42.209 Lewis Jordstad: This also helps you create stakes. Again, a key part of creating a plot that your readers care about is to have stakes and have the very real risk of failure. 180 00:17:42.320 --> 00:17:45.850 Lewis Jordstad: Because if your protagonist is making choices in your story. 181 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:57.989 Lewis Jordstad: it's always possible that they're going to make the wrong choice at different parts of your novel, and, in fact, I'm going to encourage you to have your protagonist make the wrong decision at different points of your story 182 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:08.919 Lewis Jordstad: that creates stakes. It creates risk. It creates reward, and it creates that effect of a page. Turner, where your readers want to see, you know. Are they going to get this right? Are they going to be able to figure this out? 183 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.199 Lewis Jordstad: And finally. 184 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:18.410 Lewis Jordstad: these key decisions are going to help you show how your protagonist is changing as a person. 185 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:24.770 Lewis Jordstad: So I've mentioned character arcs a few times, and for any of you who are maybe familiar with character arcs. 186 00:18:24.800 --> 00:18:26.350 Lewis Jordstad: you know that 187 00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:28.859 Lewis Jordstad: one of the hardest parts of 188 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:30.689 Lewis Jordstad: writing a character arc 189 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:42.679 Lewis Jordstad: is making it feel believable because you're trying to make your character change over time. You know you're taking them from point A to point B, and you're trying to make that transformation feel really natural. 190 00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:47.109 Lewis Jordstad: But that can be really hard to do on a scene by scene level. 191 00:18:47.210 --> 00:18:53.730 Lewis Jordstad: And so what these decisions we're going to talk about in this workshop will let you do is start to 192 00:18:53.990 --> 00:19:10.239 Lewis Jordstad: build in some of that change in a more slow and steady way, so that by the time you get to the end of your story, leaders are fully bought in to this you know evolution of your character to the growth that they've gone through, because they've seen it happen 193 00:19:10.320 --> 00:19:13.890 Lewis Jordstad: a little bit at a time, in a way that makes a lot of 194 00:19:14.040 --> 00:19:17.689 Lewis Jordstad: logical and emotional sense for them as readers 195 00:19:19.080 --> 00:19:21.969 Lewis Jordstad: most importantly, sort of above all else. 196 00:19:22.190 --> 00:19:25.070 Lewis Jordstad: this gives your readers a reason to care about your story. 197 00:19:25.170 --> 00:19:28.409 Lewis Jordstad: This is how we create that impact that I talked about 198 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:29.730 Lewis Jordstad: because. 199 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:39.789 Lewis Jordstad: like it or not, you know in every genre, whether you're in a character focused genre, whether you're writing, you know, a really sweet like cozy romance, or you're writing a super intense. 200 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:48.429 Lewis Jordstad: you know, spy, thriller or horror, or you're writing, you know, fantasy or fantasy with any flavor of any other genre. 201 00:19:49.580 --> 00:19:53.720 Lewis Jordstad: We, as readers, care about stories that have a human element. 202 00:19:54.100 --> 00:19:58.879 Lewis Jordstad: we can identify with your characters. We can relate to your characters. 203 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:02.769 Lewis Jordstad: We can step into their shoes for a little while and understand 204 00:20:02.850 --> 00:20:10.450 Lewis Jordstad: how they're feeling and how they're experiencing your story and use that to create the emotions in us as readers 205 00:20:10.520 --> 00:20:12.789 Lewis Jordstad: that make that story feel 206 00:20:13.110 --> 00:20:16.159 Lewis Jordstad: like it has an impact like it has a meaning for us. 207 00:20:16.520 --> 00:20:18.329 Lewis Jordstad: and it also gives 208 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:23.730 Lewis Jordstad: an answer to the question of Why is this story happening the way that it is 209 00:20:23.950 --> 00:20:32.679 Lewis Jordstad: rather than feeling like it's a little bit contrived, like you, as the author again, are sort of floating above it, pulling all the the puppet strings in your novel. 210 00:20:33.110 --> 00:20:35.779 Lewis Jordstad: having your protagonist driving the ship 211 00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:46.339 Lewis Jordstad: makes it really easy for readers to suspend their disbelief and say, this is why this is happening, because this character made these decisions that have led to these consequences and to these outcomes. 212 00:20:46.490 --> 00:20:48.150 Lewis Jordstad: and they can start to 213 00:20:48.210 --> 00:20:49.370 Lewis Jordstad: really 214 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:56.439 Lewis Jordstad: get, you know, fully engaged with the story, because they're not sitting there thinking like, well, clearly, the author is the one who made this choice. 215 00:20:58.370 --> 00:20:59.270 Lewis Jordstad: So 216 00:20:59.530 --> 00:21:16.940 Lewis Jordstad: before we get into deeper into maybe the the actual pieces of this system of sort of what you need to do at each of these decisions, how they're going to fit into your novel actually want to pull back and give you an example so that you can see when I'm talking about decisions. What does this look like? 217 00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:29.679 Lewis Jordstad: So for any of you who are familiar with me, who have seen any worksheet I've taught. You'll know that I almost always use Milan as an example. It's one of my favorite movies, but it's also a really great example of a lot of these concepts. 218 00:21:30.060 --> 00:21:32.830 Lewis Jordstad: And so, if you are at all familiar with this movie. 219 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:39.169 Lewis Jordstad: there are 4 major decisions that Mulan makes throughout that story. 220 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:47.060 Lewis Jordstad: The first of these is to sneak into the army rather than see her father get killed. So at the start of her story, you know she is 221 00:21:47.544 --> 00:21:54.650 Lewis Jordstad: feeling sort of isolated sort of beat down. She is not valued by the people around her very much. 222 00:21:54.980 --> 00:22:01.200 Lewis Jordstad: and that's very hurtful and very frustrating, and you know the conflict arrives in her life. 223 00:22:01.210 --> 00:22:10.039 Lewis Jordstad: When a you know messenger from the Emperor arrives and delivers a draft notice to her family. You know your father's been called to war, or the Huns are invading China. 224 00:22:10.300 --> 00:22:19.059 Lewis Jordstad: and she has to sort of wrestle with the reality that her father is almost definitely going to die. He's an old man. He's already been wounded in past battles. 225 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:21.600 Lewis Jordstad: He's not going to come home if he leaves. 226 00:22:21.790 --> 00:22:24.710 Lewis Jordstad: and so she ends up making the decision 227 00:22:25.090 --> 00:22:27.979 Lewis Jordstad: to sneak into the army in his place 228 00:22:28.340 --> 00:22:36.790 Lewis Jordstad: rather than let that happen to him, because this is her way of being useful. It's her way of stepping up and feeling like 229 00:22:36.810 --> 00:22:39.179 Lewis Jordstad: she has a role to play in this family 230 00:22:40.150 --> 00:22:43.359 Lewis Jordstad: that eventually leads her into a variety of other decisions. 231 00:22:43.370 --> 00:22:49.720 Lewis Jordstad: She during Boot camp. She's really struggling. She has no friends, no one really likes her. She's having a really hard time keeping up. 232 00:22:50.010 --> 00:22:55.309 Lewis Jordstad: She makes the decision to prove herself as a soldier rather than go home in disgrace. 233 00:22:55.490 --> 00:23:01.559 Lewis Jordstad: Later in the story she makes the decision to apologize for who she is when it's discovered that 234 00:23:01.580 --> 00:23:06.769 Lewis Jordstad: she's not really a soldier. She's not her father's son, she's her father's daughter. 235 00:23:06.850 --> 00:23:21.769 Lewis Jordstad: and rather than stand up for herself she makes a kind of negative decision, and she apologizes for who she is, and she backs down rather than you know. Fight for the fact that she's just as good as anyone else there. 236 00:23:22.510 --> 00:23:28.799 Lewis Jordstad: And finally, toward the end of her story she makes the decision to embrace her talents and to embrace herself. 237 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:32.330 Lewis Jordstad: You know, as a leader, as someone that she doesn't need to be ashamed of 238 00:23:32.390 --> 00:23:35.529 Lewis Jordstad: rather than trying to pretend to be someone that she's not. 239 00:23:36.860 --> 00:23:40.239 Lewis Jordstad: So I show you this to help you start to see 240 00:23:40.290 --> 00:23:47.150 Lewis Jordstad: what these decisions are, and maybe what I'm talking about when I talk about them, but also because I want you to start thinking. 241 00:23:47.750 --> 00:23:54.809 Lewis Jordstad: What are some of the decisions that your own protagonist is making in your story. What are some of these really big. 242 00:23:54.970 --> 00:23:59.970 Lewis Jordstad: weighty choices that they're making in your novel when they're presented with 243 00:24:00.090 --> 00:24:06.570 Lewis Jordstad: these options, you know. Do I do something, or do I do nothing? Do I, you know, you know, face this 244 00:24:06.830 --> 00:24:11.709 Lewis Jordstad: challenge or this obstacle, or this person that I'm really intimidated by, or do I back down? 245 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:15.499 Lewis Jordstad: How are those decisions playing out in your own novel? 246 00:24:16.600 --> 00:24:22.009 Lewis Jordstad: Now, the result of this of placing these decisions before your plot 247 00:24:22.260 --> 00:24:26.689 Lewis Jordstad: is that you anchor your story's most powerful moments 248 00:24:26.890 --> 00:24:30.789 Lewis Jordstad: around the choices of your protagonist, and in doing so 249 00:24:30.950 --> 00:24:35.790 Lewis Jordstad: again you show how they're changing over time in real concrete ways. 250 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.490 Lewis Jordstad: So if you think about that example, we just looked at 251 00:24:38.840 --> 00:24:47.990 Lewis Jordstad: the first major decision Mulan makes in her story, and certainly she makes smaller decisions here and there, but the first big pivotal decision she makes 252 00:24:48.390 --> 00:24:55.520 Lewis Jordstad: is to disguise herself as someone that she's not because she doesn't have the ability to enact change 253 00:24:55.590 --> 00:24:56.740 Lewis Jordstad: as herself. 254 00:24:56.790 --> 00:25:01.149 Lewis Jordstad: both because of her society, but also because of her beliefs about herself. 255 00:25:02.060 --> 00:25:10.000 Lewis Jordstad: By the end of the story, though, she makes the decision to fully stand up as this is who I am. 256 00:25:10.030 --> 00:25:11.050 Lewis Jordstad: and. 257 00:25:11.310 --> 00:25:16.309 Lewis Jordstad: you know, face the challenges of her story, not as someone else, but as herself. 258 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:36.370 Lewis Jordstad: and we remember the actions these characters take more than what they think about or say they want to do or say they feel when those are reflected through the actions that they take, it becomes much more real and much more concrete and impactful. And so that's what this helps you start to do. 259 00:25:36.520 --> 00:25:39.959 Lewis Jordstad: But at the same time it also helps you start to 260 00:25:40.370 --> 00:25:43.470 Lewis Jordstad: create shifts in your plots that feel earned. 261 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:47.620 Lewis Jordstad: So you'll notice in all of those examples that there were 2 paths 262 00:25:48.270 --> 00:25:54.709 Lewis Jordstad: you can decide to do x rather than y, where you can decide to do y rather than x. 263 00:25:54.860 --> 00:25:56.580 Lewis Jordstad: At each of those points 264 00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:01.760 Lewis Jordstad: there was a fork in the road where the character could go in multiple different directions. 265 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:04.230 Lewis Jordstad: And this makes 266 00:26:04.430 --> 00:26:06.830 Lewis Jordstad: readers start to wonder of 267 00:26:07.690 --> 00:26:11.449 Lewis Jordstad: what would have happened if that character made a different choice. 268 00:26:11.610 --> 00:26:15.099 Lewis Jordstad: what would the consequences have been? What would the impact have been? 269 00:26:15.470 --> 00:26:16.480 Lewis Jordstad: And 270 00:26:16.770 --> 00:26:21.479 Lewis Jordstad: again, that helps create that sense, that these events aren't just being made up 271 00:26:21.780 --> 00:26:26.920 Lewis Jordstad: for the plot to happen, you know, to make sure that the the plot is moving where the author wants. 272 00:26:27.550 --> 00:26:35.800 Lewis Jordstad: Instead, it is a clear path that the character has chosen, and that makes it feel real and weighty and earned for your readers. 273 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:38.120 Lewis Jordstad: So 274 00:26:38.800 --> 00:26:53.559 Lewis Jordstad: let's get into how you can actually start applying this. That was all the theory sort of the big idea behind this method. But the method to the madness, the method to actually achieving. This is what I like to call the 4 crossroads method. 275 00:26:54.020 --> 00:27:03.539 Lewis Jordstad: And this method basically states. Again, it was no accident that there were 4 decisions in that example, because this method states that there are 4 turning points in your plot. 276 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:06.369 Lewis Jordstad: and that these scenes need to mark 277 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:14.230 Lewis Jordstad: key decisions on the part of your hero that tell readers who they are at that point in the story while pushing your plot forward. 278 00:27:14.590 --> 00:27:20.919 Lewis Jordstad: So everything that we've talked about so far sort of summed up in an actual process for achieving this. 279 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:22.740 Lewis Jordstad: and 280 00:27:23.030 --> 00:27:28.110 Lewis Jordstad: this method is sort of interesting, and that it kind of straddles the line between. 281 00:27:28.330 --> 00:27:36.130 Lewis Jordstad: you know, story structure or plot structure and character development. It kind of exists in both spaces, and this is very much on purpose. 282 00:27:36.600 --> 00:27:37.660 Lewis Jordstad: because. 283 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:42.510 Lewis Jordstad: unlike a lot of traditional story structures that you might be familiar with 284 00:27:42.600 --> 00:27:46.429 Lewis Jordstad: the 3 acts structure, the 4 acts structure, the hero's journey. 285 00:27:46.970 --> 00:27:55.299 Lewis Jordstad: All of those structures are really plot. First, they focus on what is happening in your plot. When is it happening in your plot? And that's really valuable. 286 00:27:55.600 --> 00:28:00.869 Lewis Jordstad: But the benefit of the 4 crossroads is that this method puts your protagonist first. 287 00:28:01.190 --> 00:28:03.879 Lewis Jordstad: Your plot is not happening to them. 288 00:28:04.110 --> 00:28:07.870 Lewis Jordstad: Instead, their decisions are defining your plot. 289 00:28:08.970 --> 00:28:09.790 Lewis Jordstad: Now. 290 00:28:10.070 --> 00:28:24.190 Lewis Jordstad: again, don't get me wrong. They are going to struggle. They are going to be forced into situations that they don't wanna be in. In fact, you're almost certainly going to have to force them into situations. They don't wanna be in to get them to make these difficult decisions. 291 00:28:24.890 --> 00:28:28.019 Lewis Jordstad: But at all of the major events of your story it's 292 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:31.639 Lewis Jordstad: how they choose to respond. That is really 293 00:28:32.030 --> 00:28:37.869 Lewis Jordstad: shaping, shaping your plot that is really driving your plot forward rather than the other way around. 294 00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:52.080 Lewis Jordstad: And so again, there are 4 crossroads, and each of these crossroads serves a purpose in your story. You'll notice on the slide. There's plot development, and there's character development. Because again, each of these crossroads connects the 2 295 00:28:52.463 --> 00:29:01.090 Lewis Jordstad: and each of them has a role to play in your novel. So we're going to run through all 4 sort of high level, real quick. And then I'm going to show you how they connect together. 296 00:29:01.910 --> 00:29:10.639 Lewis Jordstad: So this first crossroad, the first sort of major pivotal decision in your story I like to think of as the decision to engage 297 00:29:11.300 --> 00:29:15.209 Lewis Jordstad: this is when your protagonist makes the choice to 298 00:29:15.600 --> 00:29:23.150 Lewis Jordstad: get involved in your plot. In the conflict of your story, and whatever is happening in your novel. 299 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:26.859 Lewis Jordstad: and so on the plot side of things. Up until now 300 00:29:26.900 --> 00:29:38.310 Lewis Jordstad: your core conflict has kind of upended their normal life. It is charged onto the scene. Everyone, you know, things are different. Things are changing. There are problems. Suddenly the piece has been disturbed 301 00:29:38.690 --> 00:29:42.029 Lewis Jordstad: and your protagonist is given a choice. 302 00:29:42.370 --> 00:29:45.569 Lewis Jordstad: They can either engage with that plot 303 00:29:45.870 --> 00:29:51.020 Lewis Jordstad: or they can do nothing, and they can just back away. And you have no story. 304 00:29:51.180 --> 00:30:09.879 Lewis Jordstad: So at this first crossroad, what you're really pushing your protagonists to do is to make a decision that ultimately embroils them in the plot of your story, and in doing so you kind of end act one of your novel act. One is all about setting things up sort of getting all of the pieces in place for the rest of your story. 305 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:14.463 Lewis Jordstad: and so for you all as fantasy writers. This is the really 306 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:17.260 Lewis Jordstad: classic, like leaving home. Scene. 307 00:30:17.290 --> 00:30:21.194 Lewis Jordstad: Your character does not have to leave home as the first crossroad 308 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:26.250 Lewis Jordstad: Their world can change, even if they're in the same place the whole time, because 309 00:30:26.450 --> 00:30:42.169 Lewis Jordstad: people. You know, the situation has changed or their relationships have changed. But oftentimes in a lot of fantasy. This is the moment where they leave their known world. They make the decision to venture out on, you know, on this quest or this journey, to venture into the unknown. 310 00:30:42.310 --> 00:30:44.280 Lewis Jordstad: Thus kind of beginning 311 00:30:44.430 --> 00:30:46.060 Lewis Jordstad: the plot of your story 312 00:30:46.960 --> 00:31:05.279 Lewis Jordstad: on the character development side. This is also a chance for your protagonist again, to show who they are at that point in the story, and more specifically what they value most. So we're sort of setting up a baseline for your readers. And we're saying, you know, this is the first big decision they've made. Now, who are they 313 00:31:05.320 --> 00:31:12.159 Lewis Jordstad: at this point in the story? And readers will measure their growth based on the scene for the rest of your novel. 314 00:31:12.850 --> 00:31:19.240 Lewis Jordstad: At this point your protagonist is still going to be very firmly entrenched in what is called their harmful belief. 315 00:31:19.690 --> 00:31:25.479 Lewis Jordstad: Now, I don't expect you all to know necessarily what that means. We're going to go deep into the harmful belief 316 00:31:25.600 --> 00:31:27.059 Lewis Jordstad: in just a little bit. 317 00:31:27.330 --> 00:31:32.809 Lewis Jordstad: But to give you sort of the broad overview, because it's a term that's gonna come up often is 318 00:31:33.230 --> 00:31:35.049 Lewis Jordstad: the harmful belief is 319 00:31:35.540 --> 00:31:36.960 Lewis Jordstad: what is holding back 320 00:31:37.010 --> 00:31:39.220 Lewis Jordstad: your protagonist. It is something 321 00:31:39.340 --> 00:31:49.319 Lewis Jordstad: quite literally in the name. It is a belief they hold that is destructive or harmful to them, that is, preventing them from moving forward and making the decisions that they need to make. 322 00:31:49.630 --> 00:31:50.770 Lewis Jordstad: And so 323 00:31:50.800 --> 00:32:03.719 Lewis Jordstad: at this first crossroad, the decision that they make is based in whatever that belief is that is going to be limiting them in the story, and that we're going to be trying to help them grow past over the course of your novel. 324 00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:09.950 Lewis Jordstad: Next up we have the second crossroad, the next big decision of your story. 325 00:32:10.280 --> 00:32:12.649 Lewis Jordstad: and this is the decision to learn 326 00:32:13.060 --> 00:32:18.715 Lewis Jordstad: within your plot. Your hero has been struggling up until now. 327 00:32:19.570 --> 00:32:23.470 Lewis Jordstad: act 2 of most stories is when your hero is. 328 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:40.160 Lewis Jordstad: you know, they're in this new situation. They're sort of trying to get their feet under them. They're trying to learn, you know, how do I handle these new people, these new relationships? What do I do about this conflict? They're gonna be making a lot of mistakes. They're gonna be falling flat on their face, probably quite often. 329 00:32:40.590 --> 00:32:49.299 Lewis Jordstad: But along the way they started to learn they started to make friends. They started to gain skills or tools or abilities. 330 00:32:49.970 --> 00:32:53.079 Lewis Jordstad: And so the second crossroad within the realm of your plot 331 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:55.430 Lewis Jordstad: is a chance for them to 332 00:32:55.500 --> 00:33:02.470 Lewis Jordstad: sort of show off a little bit. This is going to be the culmination of all of the tests and the obstacles that they've faced 333 00:33:02.550 --> 00:33:04.489 Lewis Jordstad: so far in your story. 334 00:33:04.750 --> 00:33:13.240 Lewis Jordstad: and this is a chance for them to use everything that they've learned to overcome that trial, to succeed at that point in the story. 335 00:33:14.270 --> 00:33:20.559 Lewis Jordstad: Meanwhile, in your character development, what allows them to succeed is the fact that they've started to learn a lesson. 336 00:33:20.690 --> 00:33:25.129 Lewis Jordstad: So we mentioned that harmful belief there they believe something. They have some 337 00:33:25.280 --> 00:33:30.170 Lewis Jordstad: wound or flaw, or something going on inside of them that is preventing them from. 338 00:33:30.330 --> 00:33:35.089 Lewis Jordstad: you know, moving forward, preventing them from making the decisions they need to make. 339 00:33:35.260 --> 00:33:39.209 Lewis Jordstad: And throughout your story. You started to put them in situations 340 00:33:39.230 --> 00:33:42.929 Lewis Jordstad: where they start to see another path. They start to learn. 341 00:33:43.110 --> 00:33:48.940 Lewis Jordstad: Maybe it isn't this way. Maybe it doesn't have to be this way. Maybe there are other beliefs that I could hold 342 00:33:48.950 --> 00:33:50.580 Lewis Jordstad: that would serve me better. 343 00:33:51.290 --> 00:33:52.160 Lewis Jordstad: But 344 00:33:52.350 --> 00:33:55.959 Lewis Jordstad: it's not quite that easy. So at this point in the story. They still 345 00:33:56.190 --> 00:33:57.770 Lewis Jordstad: have that harmful belief. 346 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:01.999 Lewis Jordstad: But they're starting to recognize this lesson that they need to learn. 347 00:34:02.120 --> 00:34:06.149 Lewis Jordstad: And so the second crossword is kind of a hinge within your story, where 348 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:08.219 Lewis Jordstad: now they're holding both 349 00:34:08.260 --> 00:34:09.740 Lewis Jordstad: beliefs at once. 350 00:34:09.830 --> 00:34:15.160 Lewis Jordstad: But that's obviously very uncomfortable. And so they're gonna be struggling to reconcile the 2 and 351 00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:20.729 Lewis Jordstad: kind of are stuck somewhere in the middle, and we're gonna start moving them forward to try to get them past 352 00:34:20.830 --> 00:34:23.669 Lewis Jordstad: that stuck point throughout the rest of the story 353 00:34:24.760 --> 00:34:28.270 Lewis Jordstad: from there. The third crossroad is the decision to regress. 354 00:34:28.340 --> 00:34:43.709 Lewis Jordstad: This is a dark moment for your protagonists. This is a difficult point in your story within your plot. This is where all of their past mistakes, their past failings, old enemies, you know, betrayals, whatever it may be. 355 00:34:43.909 --> 00:34:45.320 Lewis Jordstad: This is where 356 00:34:45.460 --> 00:34:52.160 Lewis Jordstad: all of the things they didn't notice or the things they messed up on earlier in your novel come back to haunt them. 357 00:34:52.310 --> 00:35:01.950 Lewis Jordstad: And the rug is basically ripped out from under their feet all of their plans kind of fall apart. This is often something of a false climax in your story, where 358 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:12.720 Lewis Jordstad: they think that they're about to solve the problem. They think they're about to solve your conflict, and then everything goes to hell in a hand basket. Everything falls apart, and 359 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:15.280 Lewis Jordstad: they suffer a really crippling defeat 360 00:35:16.300 --> 00:35:30.859 Lewis Jordstad: in terms of your character development, though we're not doing this just mean to your character like, yes, you know difficult scenes. Dramatic scenes can be fun to write, but we're really not doing it just to be like the mean author, you know, making our characters suffer. 361 00:35:30.890 --> 00:35:32.799 Lewis Jordstad: We're doing this because 362 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:37.940 Lewis Jordstad: this is a chance to force them to face that harmful belief. 363 00:35:38.030 --> 00:35:44.739 Lewis Jordstad: So they're going to be sort of barreling towards this big challenge, this big, you know, test that they're about to face. 364 00:35:45.190 --> 00:35:56.189 Lewis Jordstad: and when push comes to shove when it comes down to it, they're going to make the wrong decision. They are going to make a decision that pulls them backwards back into that harmful belief 365 00:35:56.340 --> 00:36:02.560 Lewis Jordstad: that they kind of started their story with. But they looked like they were growing past. But at this point they're going to 366 00:36:02.670 --> 00:36:05.909 Lewis Jordstad: reject the lesson that they've been learning. 367 00:36:05.970 --> 00:36:10.180 Lewis Jordstad: because it's difficult, or scary, or hard, or whatever it may be. 368 00:36:10.860 --> 00:36:13.410 Lewis Jordstad: and in doing so they make the wrong choice. 369 00:36:13.490 --> 00:36:18.479 Lewis Jordstad: and your story punishes them them for it. They fail because of a decision they made. 370 00:36:18.580 --> 00:36:23.940 Lewis Jordstad: and that forces them to enter a period of deep reflection. 371 00:36:23.990 --> 00:36:27.319 Lewis Jordstad: Where now they have to step back and say. 372 00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:28.530 Lewis Jordstad: Okay. 373 00:36:28.540 --> 00:36:29.709 Lewis Jordstad: I messed up 374 00:36:30.450 --> 00:36:36.320 Lewis Jordstad: what happened? You know? How did I get here? You know, what has this journey been about so far? 375 00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:40.089 Lewis Jordstad: This is, it's almost like a hibernation that they go into. 376 00:36:40.210 --> 00:36:44.090 Lewis Jordstad: And this is what starts to really force them to face that belief 377 00:36:44.450 --> 00:36:46.370 Lewis Jordstad: fully, and start to 378 00:36:46.540 --> 00:36:55.109 Lewis Jordstad: recognize how it might be harming them, and start to embrace their lesson by choice rather than just sort of by circumstance. 379 00:36:55.940 --> 00:36:59.030 Lewis Jordstad: And finally, the fourth crossroad, the big 380 00:36:59.210 --> 00:37:04.609 Lewis Jordstad: turning point, the big finale of your novel is ultimately the decision to change. 381 00:37:04.870 --> 00:37:23.899 Lewis Jordstad: So again within your plot, this is your finale. This is where you know, after that big defeat, you're gonna rally the troops. You're gonna bring everyone together, and you're gonna have one last faceoff against your villain, your antagonist, the big, bad the conflict of your story, whatever it may be for your specific novel. 382 00:37:24.570 --> 00:37:40.979 Lewis Jordstad: And this is where your protagonist is going to call on everything they've gained throughout your story. Allies, lessons, skills, artifacts, you know, eldritch beings, whatever it may be to help them resolve the plot of your story. 383 00:37:41.580 --> 00:37:48.230 Lewis Jordstad: But, again, what is allowing them to do so is not just your plot, and all the things that have happened in your plot. 384 00:37:48.260 --> 00:37:49.949 Lewis Jordstad: but a decision they make. 385 00:37:50.020 --> 00:37:58.249 Lewis Jordstad: So again, at this finale, they're going to face another test where they are going to be forced to make a decision this time 386 00:37:58.470 --> 00:38:05.720 Lewis Jordstad: decision. That proves they've learned their lesson. That has proved that they have changed as a person from the beginning of your story. 387 00:38:05.940 --> 00:38:09.140 Lewis Jordstad: and ultimately they make the right choice here. 388 00:38:09.160 --> 00:38:17.670 Lewis Jordstad: They, you know, sometimes we'll have to sacrifice something, but not necessarily. Sometimes. This decision is just 389 00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:19.309 Lewis Jordstad: the act of 390 00:38:19.570 --> 00:38:32.669 Lewis Jordstad: making themselves uncomfortable, or fighting for their new belief, or fighting for people that maybe previously they wouldn't have making some decision that they could not have made without the journey, they just went on. 391 00:38:33.830 --> 00:38:34.840 Lewis Jordstad: And 392 00:38:35.110 --> 00:38:38.689 Lewis Jordstad: what I want you to really take away from this even more 393 00:38:38.700 --> 00:38:42.559 Lewis Jordstad: so than necessarily the individual crossroads, although those are important. 394 00:38:42.900 --> 00:38:44.659 Lewis Jordstad: is that each of these 395 00:38:44.890 --> 00:38:49.119 Lewis Jordstad: is meant to represent one pivotal scene in your story. 396 00:38:49.280 --> 00:38:53.410 Lewis Jordstad: And again, I keep hammering this home because it is so important. 397 00:38:53.710 --> 00:38:57.570 Lewis Jordstad: They focus on an active decision that your protagonist is making. 398 00:38:57.650 --> 00:39:02.139 Lewis Jordstad: Your protagonist is not being pulled through this without any say in what happens. 399 00:39:02.290 --> 00:39:11.680 Lewis Jordstad: Even choosing to do nothing is still a choice. And so they're making choices actively in your story that is affecting the direction your novel goes in 400 00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:18.630 Lewis Jordstad: again, even if they feel forced into that decision, they have to own the consequences of whatever that decision was. 401 00:39:20.200 --> 00:39:28.289 Lewis Jordstad: To return to Milan. I talked about those 4 decisions that she makes in her story. 402 00:39:28.340 --> 00:39:31.960 Lewis Jordstad: and those decisions were her crossroads. 403 00:39:32.090 --> 00:39:36.990 Lewis Jordstad: So if you think about, you know, sort of zoom out and look at that whole story. 404 00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:44.109 Lewis Jordstad: Her first crossroad is deciding to sneak into the army rather than let her father be killed. 405 00:39:44.350 --> 00:39:50.680 Lewis Jordstad: and that decision is what sort of drags her into the plot of the whole story. If she never made that decision 406 00:39:50.750 --> 00:39:52.800 Lewis Jordstad: we wouldn't really have a story. 407 00:39:53.770 --> 00:39:57.379 Lewis Jordstad: Her second crossroad is the decision to 408 00:39:57.530 --> 00:40:19.230 Lewis Jordstad: pass the test that her commander has sort of given to everyone in Boot camp. So far she has been struggling in Boot Camp again. Act 2. The character is having a hard time. Usually they are making mistakes. They are oftentimes overwhelmed or confused. No one really likes her in Boot Camp. She's having a really hard time. 409 00:40:19.510 --> 00:40:24.500 Lewis Jordstad: but by making this decision to not just walk away and give up. 410 00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:26.050 Lewis Jordstad: she 411 00:40:26.470 --> 00:40:33.769 Lewis Jordstad: earns the respect of all of her fellow soldiers. She earns the respect of her commander. She sort of finds her place 412 00:40:33.790 --> 00:40:47.239 Lewis Jordstad: in this community that allows us to swing over into Act 3, where now they're pursuing this conflict. They are, you know, working to. Okay. How can we stop this invasion that we've been called to defend against? 413 00:40:47.870 --> 00:40:57.959 Lewis Jordstad: And her third crossword, that big defeat is when it's revealed that she's in disguise. It's revealed that she's her father's daughter, not her father's son. 414 00:40:58.240 --> 00:41:04.110 Lewis Jordstad: That is a big no-no in her society, that you know, women don't have a lot of value in her society. And so. 415 00:41:04.730 --> 00:41:08.829 Lewis Jordstad: rather though, than embracing this lesson that she's learned of. 416 00:41:09.020 --> 00:41:15.320 Lewis Jordstad: she's just as good as all these other soldiers she can keep up. She can be a part of this crew. 417 00:41:15.410 --> 00:41:21.950 Lewis Jordstad: She apologizes, she retreats back into where she started, where she felt like she had to hide who she is. 418 00:41:22.660 --> 00:41:39.500 Lewis Jordstad: that triggers, that period of deep reflection, and it leads us into the finale of her story and her fourth crossroad, where she stands up and fights as herself rather than feeling feeling like she has to hide who she is, or hide behind other people. 419 00:41:39.570 --> 00:41:44.059 Lewis Jordstad: uses what she's good at. She uses her cleverness, she uses her 420 00:41:44.444 --> 00:41:45.900 Lewis Jordstad: her sort of wit 421 00:41:45.940 --> 00:41:48.010 Lewis Jordstad: to defeat 422 00:41:48.240 --> 00:41:55.200 Lewis Jordstad: the leader of the Huns to sort of end this invasion and to ultimately save herself and her friends and her country. 423 00:41:55.970 --> 00:42:12.789 Lewis Jordstad: Basically, when you look at this, if you're familiar with this story, these are the biggest moments of the story. These are the set pieces, those big, impactful turning points that stick in our minds. As sort of audience members of this movie. 424 00:42:14.300 --> 00:42:18.190 Lewis Jordstad: Now I think it's important to say that while this 425 00:42:18.840 --> 00:42:20.050 Lewis Jordstad: method 426 00:42:20.450 --> 00:42:23.040 Lewis Jordstad: is a little bit different than 427 00:42:23.050 --> 00:42:27.939 Lewis Jordstad: a lot of story structures you might be familiar with, it does play nicely with the rest of your plot. 428 00:42:29.260 --> 00:42:45.430 Lewis Jordstad: you may recognize if you're familiar with the 3 x structure or the 4 x structure which you'll see is the one that I typically use when I'm teaching most of my students for a variety of reasons. But if you're familiar with any of those structures. You might recognize some of these crossroads by a variety of names. 429 00:42:45.740 --> 00:42:52.929 Lewis Jordstad: the midpoint, the dark night of the soul crossing the threshold, the climax, the first plot point. 430 00:42:54.080 --> 00:43:00.640 Lewis Jordstad: The reason, though, that I like to refer to them as crossroads rather than as your midpoint 431 00:43:00.980 --> 00:43:02.020 Lewis Jordstad: is that 432 00:43:02.380 --> 00:43:16.130 Lewis Jordstad: crossroads again imply that decision. There are multiple paths. We have reached quite literally a crossroad in the story where your protagonist could make one decision and go in this direction or make another decision and go in this direction. 433 00:43:16.250 --> 00:43:20.550 Lewis Jordstad: And so it gives them agency in the story. Again, those decisions were. 434 00:43:20.570 --> 00:43:23.920 Lewis Jordstad: you know, the character does X rather than Y, 435 00:43:24.690 --> 00:43:33.639 Lewis Jordstad: whereas the midpoint I find a lot of writers think of. It's just a part of your plot. It's just things have to happen in the story at this point in the story. 436 00:43:33.720 --> 00:43:45.070 Lewis Jordstad: But the 4 crossroads come in to answer a little bit of why? Why does this have to happen at this point? Why is this so important? And the answer is the decisions your protagonist is making. 437 00:43:46.480 --> 00:43:53.829 Lewis Jordstad: Now, I have not been ignoring the Q. And A. Box. I have seen you all drop some questions. So I know that was a lot 438 00:43:54.083 --> 00:43:58.519 Lewis Jordstad: a lot of sort of big ideas and terms and things to think about. So I want to check 439 00:43:58.620 --> 00:44:05.380 Lewis Jordstad: for some big questions in the Q. And a real quick. I apologize. I'm probably not going to be able to answer everyone's question just because we do have 440 00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:11.809 Lewis Jordstad: limited amount of time, and still a little bit that we're going to chat about in just a moment. But I'm going to try to tackle a couple big ones. 441 00:44:14.440 --> 00:44:17.979 Lewis Jordstad: Bria asks, how does this work when you have a multiple point of view story? 442 00:44:18.240 --> 00:44:19.850 Lewis Jordstad: That is an excellent question. 443 00:44:19.980 --> 00:44:27.820 Lewis Jordstad: So typically, if you have a multi pov story, usually it's because you have multiple protagonists. So 444 00:44:28.150 --> 00:44:32.539 Lewis Jordstad: that's a bit of a generalization. There are certainly circumstances where that's not the case. But 445 00:44:32.600 --> 00:44:34.869 Lewis Jordstad: I would say most stories with 446 00:44:35.020 --> 00:44:43.569 Lewis Jordstad: 2, 3 points of view is because each of those points of view are different protagonists within the story. And so they're all taking that central role. 447 00:44:43.790 --> 00:44:46.350 Lewis Jordstad: And so what you end up with is 448 00:44:47.870 --> 00:44:50.179 Lewis Jordstad: you basically end up with sort of 449 00:44:50.680 --> 00:44:54.470 Lewis Jordstad: like multiplying situation where each of those 450 00:44:54.480 --> 00:45:04.250 Lewis Jordstad: points of view each of those protagonists is going to have their own 4 crossroads. They are all going to be making these 4 big decisions in the story. 451 00:45:04.960 --> 00:45:07.789 Lewis Jordstad: and that can start to get complicated. But the 452 00:45:07.890 --> 00:45:10.660 Lewis Jordstad: the way I like to approach it is. 453 00:45:11.470 --> 00:45:18.749 Lewis Jordstad: how can you put those characters in situations where their crossroads are happening pretty close together. 454 00:45:18.950 --> 00:45:33.000 Lewis Jordstad: So I like to use I know it's not so, not necessarily a fantasy example. But v for vendetta. If anyone is familiar with that movie is an excellent example, an excellent example of how to juggle multiple points of view. 455 00:45:33.110 --> 00:45:39.359 Lewis Jordstad: And if you look at that story with a slightly critical eye. You'll see that the 3 protagonists 456 00:45:40.220 --> 00:45:42.670 Lewis Jordstad: all face their crossroads. 457 00:45:42.870 --> 00:45:45.899 Lewis Jordstad: usually in one to 2 scenes of each other. 458 00:45:46.160 --> 00:45:47.185 Lewis Jordstad: So 459 00:45:48.370 --> 00:45:54.940 Lewis Jordstad: I'm trying to pull out a specific crossroad if I can. So the first crossroad of that movie is 460 00:45:55.442 --> 00:45:58.040 Lewis Jordstad: the sort of the the terraced 461 00:45:58.450 --> 00:46:09.459 Lewis Jordstad: character within the story goes to blow up a telecom center that the other one of the other protagonists works at, while the third protagonist is a detective who is trying to catch 462 00:46:09.500 --> 00:46:12.410 Lewis Jordstad: V, and they all kind of converge in one spot. 463 00:46:12.580 --> 00:46:14.830 Lewis Jordstad: And what happens is. 464 00:46:16.780 --> 00:46:22.420 Lewis Jordstad: The sort of every man character that kind of represents the sort of normal people in society. 465 00:46:23.350 --> 00:46:29.339 Lewis Jordstad: Basically mace a detective to save the life of the terrorist, which is a little bit complicated. 466 00:46:29.770 --> 00:46:35.619 Lewis Jordstad: ultimately gets knocked out, but ends up saving the terrorists' life prevents them from getting captured. 467 00:46:35.810 --> 00:46:39.789 Lewis Jordstad: She makes the decision to save someone that should be her enemy. 468 00:46:39.990 --> 00:46:45.739 Lewis Jordstad: V. Makes the decision to save her, and the detective makes the decision to let them go. 469 00:46:45.840 --> 00:46:47.899 Lewis Jordstad: And all 3 of those decisions 470 00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:53.820 Lewis Jordstad: rocket these characters into the plot of the story and tell us a lot about who they are as people. 471 00:46:54.570 --> 00:47:04.719 Lewis Jordstad: So obviously, that's sort of a simplified version of it. But if you're juggling multiple points of view, finding ways to have those crossroads converge 472 00:47:04.790 --> 00:47:11.230 Lewis Jordstad: within one to 2 scenes of each other. It doesn't necessarily have to all be at the same time, but the closer you can get them 473 00:47:11.550 --> 00:47:19.579 Lewis Jordstad: the more impact you have, and the more it feels. Like all of those points of view, are part of the same story rather than separate stories. 474 00:47:21.270 --> 00:47:22.370 Lewis Jordstad: So. 475 00:47:24.090 --> 00:47:26.770 Lewis Jordstad: starting to look through a couple more questions. 476 00:47:27.380 --> 00:47:36.200 Lewis Jordstad: Jess says, how can we get sensitive to identifying these decisions as we read read and watch other stories and movies. 477 00:47:36.810 --> 00:47:54.749 Lewis Jordstad: That is actually an excellent question. We're gonna talk about that a little bit later in the workshop, because I have a kind of a brainstorming exercise for you to help. You start to identify these and both identify these in your stories, but also more broadly start to get a sense of where these are happening. 478 00:47:55.120 --> 00:47:58.089 Lewis Jordstad: In other stories you might be reading or watching. 479 00:47:58.340 --> 00:48:02.160 Lewis Jordstad: so hang tight hopefully. That will help you 480 00:48:02.180 --> 00:48:03.260 Lewis Jordstad: in a moment. 481 00:48:04.800 --> 00:48:05.840 Lewis Jordstad: Let's see. 482 00:48:09.886 --> 00:48:31.129 Lewis Jordstad: Mary asks, can you adapt this to a shorter work like a novella? Yes, absolutely so in a full length novel. You basically just have more time between these different crossroads. You have more space for additional scenes. The characters take a more like winding route to get to their next crossroad, whereas in a shorter work, where you have less space to work with 483 00:48:31.300 --> 00:48:41.509 Lewis Jordstad: that winding route, just sort of straightens out a little bit because you have less time to go sort of off on tangents and wander. You just end up being a little bit more focused. 484 00:48:46.950 --> 00:48:50.979 Lewis Jordstad: and then I think the last question I'm gonna tackle for now, before we keep going. 485 00:48:51.805 --> 00:48:52.550 Lewis Jordstad: Is 486 00:48:52.970 --> 00:48:58.830 Lewis Jordstad: Nancy asks, can these 4 crosswords be applied to a flat arc? And if so, how so? Yes, so 487 00:48:58.950 --> 00:49:09.299 Lewis Jordstad: for just the sake of simplicity, I've been focused primarily on positive character arcs. So you'll notice the character starts with that harmful belief and sort of grows and ultimately overcomes that belief. 488 00:49:09.510 --> 00:49:13.980 Lewis Jordstad: For a negative arc, you basically invert that. They start with a harmful belief. 489 00:49:14.010 --> 00:49:31.039 Lewis Jordstad: And as they learn their lesson, they reject that lesson. So they start to. They're presented with, you know, hey? Maybe this is a better way, and they're like Nope. They run backwards, and they they cling to their harmful belief even harder than they did at the beginning of the story. 490 00:49:31.400 --> 00:49:32.959 Lewis Jordstad: For a flat arc. 491 00:49:33.930 --> 00:49:36.180 Lewis Jordstad: the key to a flat arc is that 492 00:49:36.460 --> 00:49:38.529 Lewis Jordstad: the story is about 493 00:49:39.200 --> 00:49:44.719 Lewis Jordstad: is about the development of the people around the character rather than the character themselves. 494 00:49:44.840 --> 00:49:46.950 Lewis Jordstad: So a flat arc protagonist 495 00:49:47.390 --> 00:50:02.450 Lewis Jordstad: their story is about. They already know the lesson, so their first crossroad. They know that lesson, but the people around them do not. The people around them are rejecting it. And so if you think about these 4 crossroads for a flat arc. 496 00:50:03.140 --> 00:50:16.349 Lewis Jordstad: think about the decisions being made by your character's world rather than your character themselves. They still need to be making decisions, but they're usually making decisions in response to the choices of 497 00:50:16.892 --> 00:50:25.269 Lewis Jordstad: The people around them and the choices of the people around them are sort of growing and changing as you go through each of these crossroads. 498 00:50:25.540 --> 00:50:30.370 Lewis Jordstad: Flat ars are a little bit tricky, but I hope that starts to give you maybe a sense of how you could approach this. 499 00:50:32.200 --> 00:50:33.440 Lewis Jordstad: So 500 00:50:33.730 --> 00:50:38.649 Lewis Jordstad: I am going to continue on for the sake of time. We have a couple more things to chat about, and I have a prompt for you all 501 00:50:39.460 --> 00:50:40.430 Lewis Jordstad: the 502 00:50:41.090 --> 00:50:45.500 Lewis Jordstad: sort of next big idea of what I want to talk about before we wrap up. 503 00:50:45.680 --> 00:50:47.350 Lewis Jordstad: Is this idea that 504 00:50:47.420 --> 00:50:51.300 Lewis Jordstad: your crossroads show how your protagonist is changing as a person. 505 00:50:51.640 --> 00:50:52.590 Lewis Jordstad: But 506 00:50:52.980 --> 00:50:57.650 Lewis Jordstad: you need to start to get a sense of what belief are they changing from? 507 00:50:57.810 --> 00:51:01.540 Lewis Jordstad: What is their starting point? What is their ending point? 508 00:51:01.630 --> 00:51:10.839 Lewis Jordstad: And the better you have a sense of those 2 pieces the easier it starts to be to map their journey. How they're actually going to move through this story. 509 00:51:11.990 --> 00:51:15.970 Lewis Jordstad: So we have mentioned a couple terms. Now the harmful belief and the lesson. 510 00:51:16.380 --> 00:51:18.930 Lewis Jordstad: And I want to get into those a little bit more deeply. 511 00:51:19.260 --> 00:51:25.350 Lewis Jordstad: These are the 2 opposing beliefs that your protagonist is going to hold. 512 00:51:25.630 --> 00:51:29.259 Lewis Jordstad: and the reason I like to talk about them as beliefs is that 513 00:51:29.910 --> 00:51:42.329 Lewis Jordstad: we don't like to change our beliefs like as human beings changing what we fundamentally believe about ourselves and the world is uncomfortable. It feels weird, it feels threatening 514 00:51:42.470 --> 00:51:44.999 Lewis Jordstad: and so changing. Your protagonist's belief 515 00:51:45.140 --> 00:51:47.490 Lewis Jordstad: is going to naturally be really difficult. 516 00:51:47.630 --> 00:51:50.400 Lewis Jordstad: but that also makes it really rewarding. 517 00:51:50.470 --> 00:52:01.850 Lewis Jordstad: And it also means that you know again what we believe about the world shapes all of our actions. It shapes how we interact with other people, the choices that we make, the way we respond to events. 518 00:52:02.240 --> 00:52:03.840 Lewis Jordstad: And so, thinking about 519 00:52:03.930 --> 00:52:10.070 Lewis Jordstad: your protagonist character arc, how they're going to develop throughout these crossroads in terms of what they believe 520 00:52:10.260 --> 00:52:15.779 Lewis Jordstad: becomes really powerful because it gives you a really strong starting point to start to build. 521 00:52:15.820 --> 00:52:17.570 Lewis Jordstad: build out their journey. 522 00:52:18.430 --> 00:52:24.990 Lewis Jordstad: So we've already talked about these briefly. But just to sort of give a really clear definition when we're talking about your character's harmful belief. 523 00:52:25.370 --> 00:52:31.290 Lewis Jordstad: This is the flawed belief that is preventing them from making the right decisions in your story. 524 00:52:31.720 --> 00:52:36.229 Lewis Jordstad: This basically creates a barrier between them and what they desire. 525 00:52:36.410 --> 00:52:37.630 Lewis Jordstad: So 526 00:52:37.820 --> 00:52:41.009 Lewis Jordstad: just to sort of pull an example out of my head. 527 00:52:41.670 --> 00:52:54.539 Lewis Jordstad: for a story like how to train your dragon. Speaking of fantasy for anyone familiar with how to train your dragon. That first movie hiccup's harmful belief is that it's wrong to be different. That being different is shameful. 528 00:52:54.920 --> 00:52:59.149 Lewis Jordstad: and that influences all of his choices, and how he interacts with his world. 529 00:52:59.230 --> 00:53:13.740 Lewis Jordstad: He is constantly trying to be, like all of the other people in his community, to earn their respect, to be loved by them, to feel worthwhile, and when he falls short of that, and he doesn't manage to 530 00:53:13.780 --> 00:53:19.859 Lewis Jordstad: live up to those expectations. He feels deeply ashamed and deeply. 531 00:53:20.250 --> 00:53:24.859 Lewis Jordstad: He feels a lot of self-loathing about who he is as a person because he is different 532 00:53:25.790 --> 00:53:43.350 Lewis Jordstad: on the flip side. Your character's lesson is the truth or mental shift or new belief that they need to learn in order to succeed in your story, to find happiness to heal as a person, you know, whatever are the specifics of your story. 533 00:53:43.670 --> 00:53:48.660 Lewis Jordstad: and again, to pick on how to train your dragon hiccups. Lesson is that 534 00:53:49.200 --> 00:53:51.349 Lewis Jordstad: differences are what make us 535 00:53:51.850 --> 00:53:56.150 Lewis Jordstad: better people. The things that we can bring to the table that are unique and different 536 00:53:56.210 --> 00:54:01.306 Lewis Jordstad: is how we support each other and how we make the world a better place, and how we 537 00:54:01.660 --> 00:54:05.380 Lewis Jordstad: you know how we support the other people we care about. 538 00:54:05.550 --> 00:54:18.829 Lewis Jordstad: and that's a big change for him to go through, and the only way he goes through it is by experiencing these 4 crossroads, where he is pushed into a corner and has to make a decision and slowly starts to change the decisions he's making. 539 00:54:19.990 --> 00:54:28.220 Lewis Jordstad: So to give another quick example again, to pick on Boulan, we've talked about her for crossroads. We have a sense of how her story unfolds. 540 00:54:28.460 --> 00:54:31.700 Lewis Jordstad: but the beliefs that are kind of underneath the surface 541 00:54:32.210 --> 00:54:33.260 Lewis Jordstad: are that 542 00:54:33.450 --> 00:54:38.700 Lewis Jordstad: at the beginning of the story. She believes that a daughter will always be less valuable than a son. 543 00:54:39.080 --> 00:54:45.849 Lewis Jordstad: She disguises herself as her father's son because she doesn't feel like she can do anything or have any value 544 00:54:46.010 --> 00:54:47.659 Lewis Jordstad: as his daughter. 545 00:54:48.650 --> 00:54:49.530 Lewis Jordstad: She 546 00:54:49.990 --> 00:54:51.949 Lewis Jordstad: has a lot of 547 00:54:52.590 --> 00:54:54.359 Lewis Jordstad: a lot of her own sort of 548 00:54:54.440 --> 00:55:04.930 Lewis Jordstad: self-loathing and shame around who she is and how she feels. She's failing her family because she deeply believes that she is less valuable because she is a woman. 549 00:55:05.070 --> 00:55:15.399 Lewis Jordstad: Now that belief is put on her by her society. She didn't come up with it out of nowhere, but that doesn't make it any less real, and it influences all of her choices at the beginning of the story. 550 00:55:15.830 --> 00:55:20.030 Lewis Jordstad: but that starts to change as her story unfolds. 551 00:55:20.070 --> 00:55:29.619 Lewis Jordstad: and she starts to realize that she is no different and no less worthy than anyone else that she deserves to be respected, that she deserves to be seen for 552 00:55:29.640 --> 00:55:33.540 Lewis Jordstad: what she's good at. She doesn't have to be a man to be 553 00:55:33.660 --> 00:55:45.540 Lewis Jordstad: loved and respected. She can be clever, she can be, you know. Kind of a smart ass like she doesn't have to be this one rigid ideal to be valuable as a person. 554 00:55:46.310 --> 00:55:53.769 Lewis Jordstad: And again, the value of those crossroads are that they show how her beliefs are changing slowly over time 555 00:55:53.860 --> 00:56:04.320 Lewis Jordstad: we don't jump from just one to the other. We have multiple points in the story where she has this major experience, this major test that she has to face. 556 00:56:04.860 --> 00:56:08.650 Lewis Jordstad: and she makes slightly different decisions at each one. 557 00:56:08.760 --> 00:56:15.860 Lewis Jordstad: allowing that journey, that growth for her as a character to feel really believable and organic and natural 558 00:56:16.640 --> 00:56:22.789 Lewis Jordstad: for those of you who are asking about other types of character arcs. This exact process applies for a negative arc, except for 559 00:56:22.930 --> 00:56:38.930 Lewis Jordstad: they start out with their harmful belief, and they end with an even worse, you know, more destructive belief by the end, because they reject their lesson. They're shown this lesson, and they, you know, dig their heels in, and they put their shields up, and they refuse to listen. 560 00:56:39.160 --> 00:56:40.989 Lewis Jordstad: and for a flat arc character 561 00:56:41.480 --> 00:56:49.330 Lewis Jordstad: their world starts out with this destructive, harmful belief, and their world ends. The story, having started to learn this lesson 562 00:56:50.770 --> 00:56:51.940 Lewis Jordstad: ultimately. 563 00:56:51.990 --> 00:56:53.890 Lewis Jordstad: good stories are about change. 564 00:56:54.050 --> 00:57:06.399 Lewis Jordstad: change creates mistakes, it creates risk and consequences, but it also gives again a reason for your readers to care about your plot, a reason for readers to care about all the things happening in your story beyond. 565 00:57:06.420 --> 00:57:07.750 Lewis Jordstad: It's interesting 566 00:57:08.020 --> 00:57:11.250 Lewis Jordstad: because they want to see your hero succeed. And 567 00:57:11.380 --> 00:57:15.009 Lewis Jordstad: if change is required for that, if your hero has to 568 00:57:15.030 --> 00:57:19.450 Lewis Jordstad: learn difficult lessons, and change as a person how they show up in the world. 569 00:57:19.600 --> 00:57:29.919 Lewis Jordstad: all the better. That means the stakes are higher and the consequences are bigger, and the journey is going to be difficult, and so by the end of it, it will feel so rewarding for having made it there. 570 00:57:30.960 --> 00:57:31.860 Lewis Jordstad: So 571 00:57:32.040 --> 00:57:35.520 Lewis Jordstad: we have just a couple minutes left. I'm going to try to get through this quickly. 572 00:57:35.750 --> 00:57:38.310 Lewis Jordstad: How can you do this for your own protagonist? 573 00:57:38.950 --> 00:57:47.690 Lewis Jordstad: In all likelihood you might know a couple of these crossroads by instinct. You might have gone through this and said, Oh, I I already have a sense of these. 574 00:57:47.850 --> 00:57:51.940 Lewis Jordstad: because these are typically going to be the biggest set pieces of your story. 575 00:57:52.220 --> 00:57:59.770 Lewis Jordstad: So someone asked in the Q. And a, you know, well, how do we start to get a sense of these in other stories or in our own stories. 576 00:58:00.060 --> 00:58:01.710 Lewis Jordstad: and oftentimes 577 00:58:01.770 --> 00:58:20.979 Lewis Jordstad: I usually recommend starting by looking to those big moments, you know, looking to the moment Mullan runs away from home and joins the army, because man like talk about it to a point of no return. It's made very clear that she'll probably be killed if she tries to come home because she's broken this really big law. 578 00:58:21.300 --> 00:58:29.000 Lewis Jordstad: like they can't reveal what she's done and go and find her. She has crossed a threshold in the story. 579 00:58:29.780 --> 00:58:40.559 Lewis Jordstad: I also find it helpful, you know, if you've already started to try to apply story structure to your plot, and you have a sense of, you know. Oh, well, this is my midpoint, or this is my climax. 580 00:58:40.880 --> 00:58:47.629 Lewis Jordstad: Look for the decision that your protagonist is making in those scenes? Do they make a key decision? And if they don't. 581 00:58:48.010 --> 00:58:49.930 Lewis Jordstad: how could you start to 582 00:58:50.350 --> 00:59:01.419 Lewis Jordstad: put a little bit more agency into their hands. What what is the crossroad that they're facing where they could do? X or they could do y. And how does the decision they make move the story forward. 583 00:59:02.230 --> 00:59:03.540 Lewis Jordstad: But if 584 00:59:03.930 --> 00:59:07.499 Lewis Jordstad: you're struggling with that, still, if you're still not quite sure how to move forward. 585 00:59:07.560 --> 00:59:13.979 Lewis Jordstad: I like to ask, what decisions does your protagonist believe they could never make, or so they think 586 00:59:14.070 --> 00:59:15.520 Lewis Jordstad: at the start of the story. 587 00:59:16.060 --> 00:59:20.190 Lewis Jordstad: and that is pretty much your homework for this workshop. The I could never prompt. 588 00:59:20.480 --> 00:59:25.549 Lewis Jordstad: Once you have started to get a sense of your protagonist harmful belief and lesson. I recommend you. Start there. 589 00:59:26.020 --> 00:59:27.589 Lewis Jordstad: set a timer for 590 00:59:27.620 --> 00:59:31.220 Lewis Jordstad: 30 min for an hour for 15 min, if that's all you have. 591 00:59:31.440 --> 00:59:36.430 Lewis Jordstad: and really focus your mind and brainstorm, everything you could think of 592 00:59:36.560 --> 00:59:42.779 Lewis Jordstad: where your protagonist believes they could never do X at the start of the story. 593 00:59:43.610 --> 00:59:48.939 Lewis Jordstad: Most of those may not make it into your novel, and that's okay. But this will start to get your brain thinking about. 594 00:59:49.130 --> 00:59:53.490 Lewis Jordstad: you know. Oh, my! My protagonist could never, you know, defeat 595 00:59:53.600 --> 01:00:02.730 Lewis Jordstad: a foreign invasion. My protagonist could never survive army boot Camp, you know my protagonist could never ride on the back of a dragon, whatever it is. 596 01:00:03.110 --> 01:00:08.429 Lewis Jordstad: and then you can use these as jumping off points to start to build out their 4 crossroads. 597 01:00:08.450 --> 01:00:17.070 Lewis Jordstad: How can you then force them into situations where they have to do those things? They have to make the decision that actually, yes, I can do this. 598 01:00:17.110 --> 01:00:20.660 Lewis Jordstad: And what are they learning along the way that's going to help them get there? 599 01:00:21.760 --> 01:00:22.660 Lewis Jordstad: So 600 01:00:23.260 --> 01:00:41.250 Lewis Jordstad: right on time. That was our our workshop for today. I so appreciate you all being here. I so appreciate you all hanging out with me. Real quick. If you have any desire to stay in touch. I know I shared this with the pro writing Aid team, so I'm sure there's going to be links in various places. 601 01:00:41.260 --> 01:00:46.900 Lewis Jordstad: But I have a free character interview workbook called 50 questions to ask your protagonist 602 01:00:47.020 --> 01:00:54.229 Lewis Jordstad: for any of you who are sitting here thinking like, I'm having a really hard time figuring out this harmful belief in this lesson, like what decisions could they make? 603 01:00:54.300 --> 01:00:58.289 Lewis Jordstad: That guide will help you think about your character, and a lot of 604 01:00:58.370 --> 01:01:02.759 Lewis Jordstad: really fresh and sort of new ways to hopefully help you get a sense of that. 605 01:01:03.090 --> 01:01:08.419 Lewis Jordstad: You can get it at the novel. smithy.com slash 50 dash questions if you're interested. 606 01:01:08.710 --> 01:01:09.790 Lewis Jordstad: and 607 01:01:10.110 --> 01:01:12.609 Lewis Jordstad: Joe just to check on time. 608 01:01:12.966 --> 01:01:17.989 Lewis Jordstad: Do we need to wrap up since we're at the top of the hour? Or do you think I have time to answer a couple more questions? 609 01:01:19.052 --> 01:01:21.469 Joe Sidery: I think. Can you hear me? Okay, Liz. 610 01:01:21.610 --> 01:01:22.380 Lewis Jordstad: Yes. Yeah. 611 01:01:22.590 --> 01:01:32.000 Joe Sidery: Okay, I think we could probably go for another few minutes. But we we do only have a few minutes left. I would say, probably go till about 5 min past the hour. 612 01:01:32.180 --> 01:01:35.989 Lewis Jordstad: Okay. Well, I'll try to speed around. I'll try to get at least like 2 questions real fast. 613 01:01:35.990 --> 01:01:37.250 Joe Sidery: Okay. No worries. 614 01:01:37.540 --> 01:01:41.509 Lewis Jordstad: I am going to just scroll through through real quick. 615 01:01:44.670 --> 01:01:55.630 Lewis Jordstad: Ben asks, do you recommend doing something like this for your antagonist as well, yes and no. I don't think you need to build in these crossroads with quite the same amount of focus for your antagonist. 616 01:01:55.770 --> 01:01:58.020 Lewis Jordstad: because they're not. 617 01:01:58.220 --> 01:02:00.469 Lewis Jordstad: They're not quite the same level of 618 01:02:00.680 --> 01:02:09.999 Lewis Jordstad: like focal point in your story, and they also aren't necessarily changing in the same way. Your protagonist is you're not necessarily taking them on this full character. 619 01:02:10.230 --> 01:02:11.280 Lewis Jordstad: However. 620 01:02:11.390 --> 01:02:16.079 Lewis Jordstad: it can be helpful to think about the decisions they're making at different points in your story. 621 01:02:16.100 --> 01:02:17.230 Lewis Jordstad: because 622 01:02:17.370 --> 01:02:19.360 Lewis Jordstad: you can think of of it as 623 01:02:19.780 --> 01:02:21.870 Lewis Jordstad: how are their decisions 624 01:02:22.300 --> 01:02:39.709 Lewis Jordstad: at odds with the decisions your protagonist is making? How are the decisions that your antagonist is making, pushing your protagonist into uncomfortable situations, and into these situations where they experience these crossroads that can be really helpful. But you don't necessarily need to sit down and like 625 01:02:39.780 --> 01:02:41.500 Lewis Jordstad: plot this whole thing out 626 01:02:41.660 --> 01:02:54.429 Lewis Jordstad: for your protagonist as well as your hero, unless you really find that that's helping you. Think through how your protagonist is showing up in the story, or how your antagonist is showing up in the story? 627 01:02:56.255 --> 01:03:00.990 Lewis Jordstad: Deborah asks, can they have multiple beliefs? Or should there just be one central one. 628 01:03:01.400 --> 01:03:06.310 Lewis Jordstad: I would really encourage you to drill down and find one central, harmful belief. 629 01:03:06.550 --> 01:03:13.630 Lewis Jordstad: They can certainly believe many things that influence their story, but in terms of 630 01:03:13.700 --> 01:03:31.800 Lewis Jordstad: shaping their crossroads. Their crossroads really need to be anchored around one clear, harmful belief, because that not only helps you simplify things, you know. Why make things more complicated than we need to? But it also helps readers follow along with their journey a little bit more easily, because 631 01:03:31.810 --> 01:03:35.770 Lewis Jordstad: the journey that they're going on is a lot clearer when you're focused on 632 01:03:35.920 --> 01:03:37.990 Lewis Jordstad: one main thing. 633 01:03:38.020 --> 01:03:42.440 Lewis Jordstad: even if smaller beliefs might be shaping their actions at different points in the story. 634 01:03:43.790 --> 01:03:46.060 Lewis Jordstad: and let's see one last quick one. 635 01:03:47.010 --> 01:03:50.974 Lewis Jordstad: Andrea, do you have a book on this? Yes, I actually do. 636 01:03:51.420 --> 01:04:05.190 Lewis Jordstad: I wrote a book. I actually wrote 2 books, write your hero and mastering character arcs. You can find links to them on my website, the novelsmithy Com. You can find them on Amazon. They go through this concept in tremendous depth. 637 01:04:05.350 --> 01:04:11.830 Lewis Jordstad: and for those of you who are were saying like, Well, I'm writing a flat arc, or I'm writing a negative arc or any other arc. 638 01:04:12.260 --> 01:04:18.200 Lewis Jordstad: Those books go into a lot more detail on the nuances of how that works 639 01:04:18.250 --> 01:04:22.066 Lewis Jordstad: for every different sort of primer and character. Arc 640 01:04:22.520 --> 01:04:31.190 Lewis Jordstad: So if you do want to dig deeper into that I would highly recommend those. I think they're. You know. They're a pretty good starting place to really get deeper into this topic. 641 01:04:34.260 --> 01:04:35.460 Lewis Jordstad: and I think 642 01:04:35.480 --> 01:04:43.249 Lewis Jordstad: I think I'm going to hold it there. So we have time to wrap up. Thank you for letting me run a little bit long as you can tell. I am a chatty person. 643 01:04:43.890 --> 01:05:06.289 Joe Sidery: That's okay. I think, Mike, I don't know if you guys can see me. But I think my camera has decided to stop working, but I hope you can still hear me. I just wanted to say that was such a brilliant session. I I got so much out of that personally, and I'm I'm sure everyone attending did. So a big big thank you to Lewis for generously spending your your time with us. Really do appreciate it. 644 01:05:06.550 --> 01:05:16.759 Joe Sidery: And having seen all the kind of Mulan chat in the chat going on, I for my for my money reflection and make a man out of you are 2 of the best dizzy songs ever made. I think. 645 01:05:17.268 --> 01:05:18.791 Joe Sidery: So. Thanks. Yeah. 646 01:05:19.300 --> 01:05:20.340 Lewis Jordstad: So validated. 647 01:05:20.903 --> 01:05:41.200 Joe Sidery: Yeah, thanks. Thanks again so much. It's been fantastic. As always, guys, you can find the replace this session and all the other sessions, and the fantasy rises week. Hub the links are in the chat. And thank you again, Louis. We we hope, all of the chat. And all of you guys who tend to can join us for our next session. And yeah, thanks again. 648 01:05:41.880 --> 01:05:42.800 Lewis Jordstad: Hi, everyone. Thanks so much. 649 01:05:42.800 --> 01:05:45.110 Joe Sidery: Brilliant. Thanks. Guys. See you later.