Tonight’s topic could be a suitable fit for two blog categories of my website. It’s using object lessons to teach writing concepts which could work under teaching embellishments or my rock soup blog. For the sake of adding variety to teaching embellishments, I thought I’d put it under teaching embellishments to show how object lessons can be used to teach concepts of writing.

A friend of mine called me tonight. She was seeking advice on how to revise her book plot. She took a writing course and her instructors recommended that two characters of her book take more prominent roles in the plot. She called me to ask how she might be able to modify her plot to fulfill her instructor’s recommendations. The following is a revision some of the advice I gave her.

I mentioned that the plot of her book represents a pond. Each pebble that is dropped into the pond will start a series of waves that will spread out and influence the rest of the pond. In order for her to fulfill her goal, I suggested the following ideas.

First of all, I felt she needed to she write up a brief paragraph for each scene in her book. This will include all the scenes that do and do not have characters A and B present. Since she has already plotted out her book in her mind, she has a clear idea of where the book is going.

Second, I suggested that if she has not yet done so, she needs to create a character chart for character A as well as character B. I suggested that she defines each character’s likes, dislikes, their history, and their relationships with other people around them. I suggested she include their prejudices and what they like. We want to determine what kind of character they are at the beginning of the book. She may already have a defined idea of what these characters will do. But as she revises her plot, she needs to be ready to let the characters live their own lives. That means they need to have the power to change the direction of the story is there character makes a change. She might even consider creating a character chart of what the characters will be like at the end of the book, so you can see where their destinies lay. The plot of the book will be influenced by their actions as well as the actions of other characters.

Third, now she has an idea of the plot and she has a well-defined image of who these two protagonist are, she also understands what their future promises. I suggested that she began with each character having an inciting incident that will be the trigger that influences their actions throughout the rest of the book. I remember in my own writing. I was writing a fantasy book and a very observant writer friend noticed I did not have inciting incident for my protagonist. Because of her valuable advice, the book has improved with the sense of direction for the character as well as the plot. We want to achieve similar objective in this book.

Four: remember the scenes described in each paragraph. Below each paragraph, put in a note of how the actions of character A will influence that scene. Their words, actions, and the responses of other people around them will all make to the plot. Each character in the book has their own pebble in series of waves. As she goes from scene to scene, she can then plot out influences that will add complexity to the plot. This will add flesh the skeleton of the plot. The plot expands and develops with further complications. I encouraged the author that she does not want to be confined to her current plot. She must permit the plot to follow a new course is the actions of the character motivate her to do so. She will do the same thing for character B.

Another imagery that could be used for teaching writing could be the ocean. The Ocean can depict the rise and fall of tension or action in the plot. There’s also the rise of fall of character development, versus humor or perhaps action or a lull in the plot. Each of these rises and falls can add variety to the pacing, characterization, and tension of the story.

A third image for teaching writing is to compare the tension or suspense of a story to the flow of the river. A river does not go from point A to point B in a straight line. There are rocks, and areas of land that will cause the river to twist and turn to respond to the elements of nature it encounters. Just like a river, a plot will twist and turn providing surprises and unpredictable moments in the story. The rise and fall of the land can also be an image that can depict moments of high action or low action. The rise and fall of the river may also illustrate the bonding or separation of relationships between characters.

A fourth image of teaching writing could be the whirlpool. There will be moments in the rise and fall of a plot/river where a character will face some of their largest trials. They will face moments of despair and mounting doom. They will encounter a well of distress and personal loss. This whirlwind of trial may twist and capture them for long moments, pages and pages of tension and distress mounting the anxiety of the reader and a reader’s concern for the fate of character. It is only through the actions of the character and maybe other circumstances that permit the character to escape from the whirlpool.

My final imagery for writing is a gentle breeze.  Let’s say that is a plot point introduced early in the story. It is not referenced much, but it’s remembered as the reader progresses to the book. For example, in my fantasy book Pursued a character in chapter 1 has an inciting incident where he realizes that the country is under attack the mysterious events at different points of the continent. But this realization is not referenced much throughout the text, so his experiences in the early part of the book may act as a gentle breeze which constantly blows in the background. As the book advances that breeze turns into a hard wind. Later in the book it becomes a gale of influence. Will the protagonist be able to stand against the wind, or will it defeat him?

I find that images of nature make great illustrations for teaching writing. If you have some examples of how you have used object lessons, to illustrate concepts of writing or some other field and creativity. Please feel free to share these ideas in the comment section of this blog.

Thanks