How to tell a story using five plot points

I have always said, start a story in the middle of the action. So, to continue the story of the killer dolphin, I am writing the sequel to the first one by introducing a new police chief, Chief Whitevader.

Plot Point One: Chief Whitevader is driving his car, until he is stopped by a group of party-goers playing their instruments to celebrate the 4th of July.

"Hoi, you kids...get out of the way...."

Plot Point Two: Chief Whitevader learns it is carnival day at his island; and that there has been another dolphin attack on an unsuspecting member of the public. He decides he has to do something about it.

But his actions are thwarted by the Lord Mayor.

"Listen here, Chief Whitevader. I am the Mayor of this little island. If the public wants a carnival, then they will have a carnival. Don't go giving them scare stories about drunken dolphins roaming the streets attacking people..."

"We got a drunken dolphin problem. What was it the politicians said? Yeah, that's right...casinos and bars are not addictive. I am telling you, they couldn't be more wrong."

"Think of the economy. Think of me with my drum. I got an ulcer. Listen, Chief Whitevader...don't make me tell you again or I'll take away your badge...."

Plot Point Three: This is where business gets sticky: Chief Whitevader decides to sweep the issue under the carpet until he stumbles across CCTV evidence of a member of the public disappearing and mauled by the drunken dolphin. He has a problem: he can't ignore it. 

Plot Point Four: The story gets nastier: Chief Whitevader is confronted by a member of the public. She slaps his face. "How could you do this?" she says. "This dolphin ate my husband like a shish kebab. Now I'm all alone."

The Lord Mayor looks on. 

"Bet that slap hurt like something special, hey Chief Whitevader? You okay?"

"Well, I'm wearing a helmet, so I guess I'm okay. Poor woman, though."

Plot Point Five: The Conclusion. This is where the character (Chief Whitevader) has to take action to wind up the story.

Chief Whitevader finds the Dolphin in the casino flirting with a stripper. But the Dolphin, in a drunken rage, turns on Chief Whitevader; and in his defence, finds and crams a fire extinguisher in the Dolphin's mouth, which causes an explosion in the stripper's changing room.

She screams: but as the Dolphin blows, the problem is solved....and Chief Whitevader can go and enjoy the carnival.

Maxims

Never have lunch with your boss. It can only mean trouble. Always lunch by yourself.

Location:Rydal Rd,London,United Kingdom

One Important Thing

Make sure you're not wearing your Star Wars Stormtrooper outfit while working at home....






...after all, you might have to attend a video conference with your boss at a moment's notice.

How to Make Amazing Cards

Why not make someone smile by creating a card like this one?





Just plonk a toy in someone's flowerpot, preferably one that has colourful flowers. Take a picture.

Save it either on your computer or your iPhone. Then send it to your friend.

Simple. A two-minute job, I assure you.

Location:Penrhyn Ave,,United Kingdom

Make Your Presence Felt

It's always important to create work that makes you react (in this instance, smile) so the onlooker can also experience the same thing you felt, without having to explain the message to them.





If you sent a loved one a picture such as this (to make her day), I am sure she will also smile and show this to her friends, who will also smile. This is the spark of realisation, the moment where everything comes together.

Show them the message, rather than tell it to them.

Amaze them. This is what creativity is about.

Take Charge of Your Life

It is very important that you take responsibility for yourself.






"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much."
Jim Rohn

The Best Way To Begin a Story

The best way to begin a story is to...




...start in the middle of the action.

This is best because you don't need to do a 'build-up'--the story is simply THERE.

Action creates drama. Drama brings conflict. Without conflict we don't have a story.

In the photo above, we have the owner of a shiny new car. He is taking it for a spin for the first time when he is interrupted by some musicians crossing the road.

How does he react? Does he get angry? How does that anger manifest itself? Why is he in a hurry?

Is he late for work? Is he late for Stormtrooper duties? Maybe he is looking for two droids that are on the run. If he doesn't arrive to work on time, maybe he might not meet the other characters in the story, Obi Won and Luke in the hovercraft uttering the infamous words, "these are not the droids you are looking for."

More importantly, his boss might frown on his lateness.

But since when have bosses been sympathetic? Hehe.

To recap, you have a story in front of you: hunting two droids, as told from the Stormtrooper's point of view.

What do his mates think of his new car...? Etc etc...

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Location:Ramsden Rd,London,United Kingdom

Improve your writing in five minutes: mixing other stories to create a story.

If you are stuck for ideas for your new story, why not use this approach?

Take character(s) from one STORY and take character(s) from another STORY and use these to create a new STORY. This is a two-minute job.

For example, STORY 1= The Wizard of Oz and STORY 2= Sleeping Beauty. Using CHARACTERS= The Wicked Witch of the West and The Evil Queen.

What if each, in their quest for power, teamed up to become even more powerful. How would you create the story? How do they meet in the first place? Well, they need a reason to meet. 

Better to make your characters more human using modern-day ISSUES THAT AFFECT US such as loneliness, sadness, boredom etc

And how do you meet others? By going out to new places, events, clubs and so on.

Using these modern day issues give your NEW STORY a starting point. This is called momentum. At some stage their paths will have to cross.

Let's say each character had a hobby, and wanted to meet new people. Each ventures out into the community and joins a book club, which leads to coffee and a chat and eventually friendship.

What do they have in common? Do they have more in common than they thought? At this stage we MIX two characters together in their quest to become more powerful (THEME).

How does their friendship unfold? Does it work out? If it didn't/doesn't...why not? Were their efforts hindered by ISSUES THAT AFFECT US (such as administrative errors, resources issues, politics, greed in the workplace...)?

There...you have created a five minute STORY. You have created a five-minute skeleton plot: you have created a rough plot in five minutes--all you need to do now is flesh it out with detail. Then you write the NEW STORY. This is where the fun begins.


To recap: here is the formula,

STORY + STORY + CHARACTERS + ISSUES THAT AFFECT US + MIX + THEME = NEW STORY

How to come up with story ideas in five minutes.

Yesterday, the charismatic Usain Bolt defended his 100m title. That was a fantastic race. 

Congratulations, Usain! You are the best! 


And now, Story Ideas in Five Minutes. Sometimes, you will have days when you are stuck for story ideas; and trust me, that is frustrating. But to overcome that, I suggest you create a slant on a popular story.

In other words, why not alter the point of view of the story? Then you will have some story ideas in five minutes.

Using the example of Little Red Riding Hood.

Let's take the story apart. First of all, the story is about the main character, Little Red Riding Hood. We also have other characters: The Lumberjack/Father; The Big Bad Wolf; Grandma....

Here's three story prompts (assuming each takes five minutes):

Why not....

1) Tell the story from Little Red Riding Hood's Lumberjack/Father's point of view? Does he worry about her? What sort of things go through his mind? What sort of life does he live? What does he do on the day Little Red Riding Hood visits Grandma? Is he a brave man? Is he violent? Is he neurotic? What are his habits? What does he do on the day she visits her Grandmother?

2) Tell the story from the Wolf's point of view? Write about his hunger. The rumbling stomach. The cold sores from lack of protein. Write about how he spent day and night stalking Little Red Riding Hood. Tell us how cold it was in the wilderness. What it felt like to murder the Grandmother without a thought. Did he feel guilty? Then to deceive....

3) Let's look at Little Red Riding Hood herself: what if she discovered a stray path on her way to Grandma's...and that path was part of the Yellow Brick Road taking her to The Emerald City? Did she arrive before Dorothy and her companions? For a laugh, what if Little Red Riding Hood met the Wizard and learnt his secret identity; and then scrawled on a toilet wall the words, "Professor Marvel is the Wizard of Oz...."

Assuming Dorothy is going to use the loo, that is....but that's me being whimsical.

Three prompts for you. I will post some more this week. Enjoy.

How to swim the length of a swimming pool in 50 seconds.

All you need is a wind-up frog and a bath: easily done in fifty seconds.





The next Michael Phelps? Who knows?

Location:Pendle Rd,London,United Kingdom

Are you clumsy?

I am very clumsy. Always bumping into things. And when I am not, I create photos such as these.


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Location:Thrale Rd,London,United Kingdom

Hats off to Michael Phelps!

The Olympics 2012 has been brilliant so far. 


Let's take our hats off to Michael Phelps. He is a wonderful swimmer, and a very gracious sport. Not only has he embodied the true spirit of the Olympics, he has delighted crowds with his brilliance, which will rub off on future international swimmers. 


Hopefully, we will see more of his kind. USA should be credited for its excellent training programmes. They produce some wonderful athletes. Phelps has made television worth watching again. He has created an era where it is not necessary to support athletes representing your own country. 


We should be and we are in a position to support who we like. Sport offers us the opportunity to marvel at individuals such as Phelps. He is evidence that years of training do pay off. 


So, if you saw him live, then you were very lucky. You were in the presence of a grand master of the swimming pool. Just remember, moments like these are a real day to treasure.