NaNotes #4 - Foreplay!!

in #nanotes7 years ago


nanotes

Picture the scene: you start reading a story, and a few paragraphs in, BAM!! Out of nowhere, a crucial climax that nobody saw coming. Everything else after pales in comparison. By the end of the story, you keep thinking why you even bothered reading. Talk about going off too early, amirite ladies?

What if I told you that you can please your readers and make them keep wanting for more? After all, it's a two-way relationship, and you don't want to be the only one to achieve completion, don't you? I mean, would you even really finish if nobody else bothers to finish your story? Look, I'm not an expert, and I certainly won't ever claim to be. Just a fellow storyteller here to remind you that a slow build-up would go a long way. I'm just writing some of the points I've picked up along the way, and passing it along to help others out. This is in no way something which I would ever claim to be correct or optimal.

Disclaimer: The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Some images have been blurred so that this would qualify as SFW.

Stick with me, kid, and I'll help you get over your performance issues. Who knows, we might learn a thing or two about a thing or two from each other. How neat would that be? If you're up for it, dim the lights and put on some slow jazz. Oh, and before I forget, welcome to another edition of NaNotes!

Do some stretches / Warm up


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First and foremost, stretch. I cannot emphasize that enough. Once you're in the middle of the story and you end up pulling something or you peak too early, you won't have enough gas to keep things consistent all the way through. I know that this is more advice about writing than completing NaNoWriMo but yeah.. I've already taught you how to kill the Buddha before. I don't want to milk the rewards pool by repeating myself. I don't want to milk the rewards pool by repeating myself.

Write in short bursts until you find your rhythm. Once you get your groove, don't stop. You'll find that it's quite hard to get it back up once you lose your momentum. Just keep pounding on it until you finish. But, in case you're not able to sustain it, don't feel bad. It happens to the best of us. Regroup and stretch even harder.

What I do when I lose focus is I switch to other stories to keep things fresh. While it's not what I suggest for others, I find it great in terms of dealing with stories going stale. When I come back to a previous story, it feels brand new and there's some renewed vigor when dealing with it. The downside is that it takes time to gain momentum once again. But, I'm a patient guy.

Set the mood


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I don't have to tell you this twice, do I? Well, I don't have to, but I guess a part of me wants to, y'know? There are just some things that you have to drill in. When I was listing ways how to kill the Buddha, I told you to set up a relaxed environment. Just to add to that, you can put on some music or light some candles. Some even go as far as getting a third person to join in. So that's you, the reader and, I don't know, an editor, to carry some of the proofreading burden so you don't have to. What? Did you think I was talking about something else, you pervert?

Personally, I enjoy roleplaying. I mean, I physically act the scenes out. Helps to capture some of the emotion. Let's say a lot of tissues are involved, especially when it comes to tearjerking scenes. Well, not just for tears, if you know what I mean ;)

In terms of the story, set the scene and do some worldbuilding or make the reader feel the motivation of the story to get them fired up to read along. What are the stakes? What is the story leading up to? You can easily pepper it in at the initial chapters to make the reader feel like it's something he/she could sink their teeth in it.

Go easy


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It's a hard nut to crack, but you have to find a balance regarding how quickly and how thick you lay the build up on the reader. Unloading too much information too early could be too boring or too exhausting. You know your story and all of the miscellaneous backstory involved, but your reader doesn't need to be forced to digest it in the early chapters. Look, I'm not a master when it comes to this, but as a reader, I prefer a slow buildup. It makes me appreciate the pay off even greater.

Some enjoy a faster pace, and that's all well and good. Others enjoy being presented with the entire backstory at the very beginning, and that's alright as well. But, nobody wants to know the ending just when everything is just getting started. The build up is key, and you're going to be losing a lot of readers if you lay it on thick at the very beginning. We don't want to make a mess of things now, do we?

Switch it up


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This is case to case basis, but if you're working with a lot of moving parts, then make sure to give every character equal attention. Now, the length of the attention is yet another topic. What's right for you may not be right for others. This is something that I get into with @dreemit with her Renewal story. While we may not agree on the time devoted to some of the characters, we do agree 100% in helping each other out to improve each other. But yeah, it's up to you how much of the feedback you'll take. I totally get that listening to a lot of opinions could have a negative impact in terms of consistency. So, it really depends on how you'll handle it.

Taking too long with supporting characters will run the risk of readers feeling too detached from the main story. But, if you don't give the supporting cast ample screen time, you'll be chastised for not fleshing out other characters. However, focusing too much on the main story has the potential of being too exhausting of a read. Really though, there's no winning in this. The best you could do is work with the parts you have and try your best to give every character their due.

Communicate with the reader


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As previously mentioned, if you have access to beta readers while you're developing the story, then take advantage of it. Getting reader feedback as you go along is a double-edged sword, and that means that there are positives that come with the negatives I outlined in the previous point. You're not going to win them all, but you have the power to adjust the story to fit with whatever you prioritize. Whether you want maximum reader satisfaction or you want your vision to be followed to a tee, there's no harm in listening.

Leave them wanting


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Like I said before, keep your cards close to your chest. The readers want to know what they're playing for, but they don't want everything to be laid out from the very beginning. Reveal it in spurts, and keep them hooked. You're building up to a climax (or multiple climaxes), so don't rush it. Once you cross the threshold, you'll have to try and clean thing up, so don't hurry it. Enjoy the process, and make the reader feel like everything is there for a reason. Write scenes that make the reader hold their breath and grip tightly. They don't all have to be cliffhangers at the end of the chapter, but just keep revealing some then leave them asking for more. You'll know when you're ready to let go, but did you help the reader accumulate enough excitement? If not, rinse and repeat. But, if it's a yes, there are no questions surrounding it.


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Yes. Yes. Yesssss...

Ahhhh... Did that leave you wanting more or did I shoot my load too early? Have some extra points for me? I'm happy to hear it! I'm all ears :D


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I completely spaced last time and forgot to put up my update. For transparency, here's where I'm at currently. Looks like someone needs to put in more work (aka the title of my leaked sex tape).



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I was going to paste the repeated sentence, but I see that @ryivhnn beat me to it, haha!

I almost missed this one, glad I took a harder look at your blog when I jumped on! Excellent points my bro! I feel you completely with acting out the scenes, and lots of tears for sad scenes, I bawl like a baby sometimes, then one of my family will walk in on me, first they'll be alarmed, then roll their eyes as they realize it's my own story I'm crying about haha!

Haha! Never too late for any of my friends :D

This became a bit buried because of the PortmanTuesday for the week haha! I really didn't want to post it yet until this got a bit more traction, but the day dictated it haha! I'm happy that you still unearthed it! Steemit or Busy should really have a "read" marker for posts. Haha! I've been in situations like that so many times people have gotten used to it as well. I'm glad I'm not the only one who experiences those eye rolls hahaha! Method writing for the win!

I don't want to milk the rewards pool by repeating myself. I don't want to milk the rewards pool by repeating myself.

Stop repeating yourself. Stop repeating yourself. XD

Write in short bursts until you find your rhythm. Once you get your groove, don't stop.

Do you know what the problem with this is?

...

Suddenly it's 1am or so and I'm going to get woken up at 5:30-6am XD (well not right now, right now it's still a respectable time but I wanted to comment before scarpering to bed so there XP)

You're not too far off the line, soon you'll get whacked by a giant fish of inspiration and then you'll catch up in no time :D Been a bit busy off screen?

goatsig

Ahaha! I knew you were going to spot that!

Do you know what the problem with this is?

It's late here as well haha! I honestly couldn't. Mind cluing me in, mate?

I've been a lot busy off screen. Well, still in front off the screen but using languages not easily interpreted by man. If my human-readable text aren't gaining that much traction, I do hope my machine ones would be more appreciated haha!

As always, I appreciate you stopping by, mate! I do hope that you're reading the intros to this the same way you read SILVER LINING haha! It was written with much less of a commentator's voice, but still with some gusto haha!

Suddenly it's 1am or so and I'm going to get woken up at 5:30-6am XD (well not right now, right now it's still a respectable time but I wanted to comment before scarpering to bed so there XP)

This was the problem XD (or at least it's my problem, perhaps I spaced it too much with that ellipsis). If I get into a groove I don't stop even when I really should. Have tried alarms to kick me out of that mindset to make me realise it's time to go to bed but then gave up because all that happens is I stop the annoying noise and continue XD Other people would probably be more sensible in that regard :D

I like your human readable text! Okay so I'm just one human. Person. Thing? (I occasionally have doubts about my humanity despite seeming to have all the right parts) I'd have to see/play with your machine ones to decide if I like them too XD

goatsig

AH! Haha! Had me confused there for a second. Yeah, I do agree that it's a problem, especially since you have kids to take care of. For me, I had no trouble adjusting my body clock to sleep later than usual, but that's because I'm only looking out for myself. Maybe try to establish an early morning habit instead? Sleep early and wake up way before the kids do.

I always enjoy it when one questions one's humanity. Makes me hopeful that we are indeed living in a gigantic simulation haha!

I know I’ve mentioned this before but I always go to Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 rules for writing. He says hit them with your best stuff first, you know, the hook. Then this rule- Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Fair point! I've actually come from that school of thought before, and most of my earlier work follow that principle. But, I have since moved on from that and have found the build up to be more compelling. I'm afraid that I stand in defense of suspense, though Slaughterhouse-Five is still one of my favorite stories haha! As they say, there are more ways than one to skin a cat ;) Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, my friend!

I think we all shot our load to early!!

I missed this one but how!?! In between the double entendres there is lots of good advice!

Don't stop is definitely the key!

I don't blame you. Performance issues and all. Happens to the best of us. If only we had a miracle pill for that hmm..

I'm blaming the PormanTuesday for this week haha! That definitely buried it. But, I had no choice since it was already Tuesday and I couldn't post it on Wednesday. If I do so, the entirety of reality might go out of whack, and we can't have that. I was so proud of this one too haha! Timing really did this in. I just hope one day it would forgive me for my transgression. Thank you kindly for giving it some love, bro-yo!

You will have to give them a regular slot!!

Fridays! Saturdays! Some days! :OD

With November quickly ending, I fear that this might even be the last one! Or, second to the last. I have drafted eight, but there are only a few more days.

It seems in this grey life that there is only a few days left for any of us. The stars are coming into alignment

Sadly :( I will miss the B&W one for quite a while. It has really grown on me, like a pimple in my face.

Perhaps it all started with a pimple in the fabric of space-time

And ended with a silent fart, which reverberates through everything and nothing.

Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.

- Winston Churchill

Wise words! Though I'm not quite sure how it applies here.

He is a spammy fucker. I suspect bot'ery

Haha or...OR, he is wise beyond comprehension and that we are the spammers to his universal wisdom!

Thats a creative and inetresting way to bring up your points

Thanks! I hope it translated well. I really tried to up my innuendo for this haha! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment :)

Welcome my friend.

Hello friend. I have just posted an article about "Influence: What Makes a Great leader." Would you like to read it and give me an upvote?
Here is the link to the post https://steemit.com/influence/@arnoldmusa90/influence-what-makes-a-great-leader

Okay, since you're new, I'll let this slide. What you should've done was to vote on this post and left a more thoughtful comment. Like even longer than three sentences, if possible. You shouldn't post a link of your post and then ask for an upvote. That will not only bring flags your way, but you'll have a tougher time gaining an audience. You don't want that now, don't you?

If you only voted and left a thoughtful comment, I would've went to your page, read, voted and commented on your post, without you needing to tell me to. As it stands, my initial reply is even longer than your initial comment. I apologize, but I won't be clicking on that link. But, I won't give you any flags as well. I hope you understand.

Yes I don't want to be flagged. I have now seen what I could have done better. Next time I will upvote and leave a thoughtful comment. I appreciate that you have taken your time to correct me and shown me the best way to engage people on steem it. Thank you.

Great! Glad to hear it :) I'm sure you'll do well here. Have fun along the way!

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