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After the story’s falling action comes another brief section that wraps up the story. This conclusion is known as the denouement (pronounced day-noo-mon).

During the denouement – which usually is only a few paragraphs and sometimes as short as a single sentence long – the loose ends of the story are tied up. Usually there are minor questions, often not directly involving the main character, that need to be solved. In addition, this part of the story can serve as a catharsis for readers, relieving tension created in the story by offering a humor or revealing the story’s theme.

A good example of a denouement is the final scene of the “Star Trek: The Original Series” episode “The Trouble with Tribbles”. The episode involved Captain Kirk and crew using tribbles to uncover a Klingon plot to prevent the Federation from colonizing Sherman’s Planet. During the episode, the number of tribbles (which are born pregnant) threaten to overrun Kirk’s ship and the space station containing the wheat the Federation needs to develop the planet. In a humorous concluding scene, two small yet nagging questions are answered: Will the Federation be able to colonize the planet and what happened to all of the tribbles aboard the Enterprise? A dispatch from Starfleet quickly answers the first question and then Scotty reluctantly reveals he beamed the tribbles aboard the Klingon ship just before it warped out of orbit.

Sometimes the denouement is known as the “resolution”. It also is casually referred to as the “conclusion” or the “ending”.

Tags: conclusion, denouement, ending, plot, resolution, ritual ending

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Though your story may have reached its climax, the tale isn’t over yet. The author also should briefly describe the effects that the climax has on the characters. This section of the story is known as the “falling action.” It’s what happens to the main character as he descends the mountain that he has spent the entire story climbing.

When Luke Skywalker is given a medal during the celebration held in his and Han Solo’s honor at the end of “Star Wars IV: A New Hope,” we are watching the falling action.

Though the story’s central problem is solved in the climax, without the falling action the tale feels incomplete. The author typically needs to show that there is some payoff for the main character that underwent the change allowing him to emerge victorious during the climax. This payoff needs to be larger than simply defeating the antagonist. Restoration of order and some reward for the main character often needs to be described.

Tags: climax, falling action, main character, plot

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When writing a climatic scene, writers should follow a couple of simple guidelines:

n The climax must be the largest obstacle facing the main character and test him in the most significant ways - In the climax of “Star Wars IV: A New Hope”, not only Luke Skywalker’s piloting skills but also his faith in the Force are tested. Without the mastering of both, he cannot destroy the Death Star.

n The outcome heading into the climax should be uncertain - Often the antagonist holds the upper hand as the rising action ends. In “Star Wars IV:A New Hope”, an operational Death Star is bearing down on the rebel base, and the rebellion appears to be outgunned and outmatched. However, the reader’s understanding of Western storytelling techniques tells him that the main character should emerge victorious. This balance creates dramatic tension as the reader wonders how the rebels might overcome the Death Star when the odds are against them.

Tags: central problem, climax, dramatic tension, main character, plot

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Sometimes for dramatic effect, writers employ a “false ending.” In this technique, after readers think the climax has been reached, the villain comes back one last time for a confrontation. An example is the first “Terminator” movie in which Sarah O’Connor apparently has destroyed the robot from the future in a steel factory. The Terminator’s metal skeleton rises from the flames, however, to pursue Sarah. The false ending actually is the last scene of the rising action.

Tags: climax, false ending, main character, plot, rising action, villain

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An excellent example of a climatic scene is the rebel’s attack on the Death Star in “Star Wars IV: A New Hope.” As the scene begins, the tension has built to the point where if the rebels do not destroy the Death Star, they are doomed. Faster and more dramatic than any other scene in the movie, the assault on the Death Star even appears as if it will fail. Using the lessons learned through the story about the Force, however, Luke Skywalker succeeds in a climatic moment by firing the one in a million shot that destroys the Empire’s weapon of ultimate destruction. In doing so, the threat of the Death Star disappears, and the rebellion is saved.

Tags: plot. climax, rising action, tension

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In every story, there comes a turning point or an ultimate moment in which the situation has become so intolerable that the main character must take a decisive step and emerge victorious. This scene is known as the climax.

Also called a “final obstacle,” the climax comes at the end of the story’s rising action. The main character metaphorically has reached the mountain top and either must push off the antagonist or be pushed off. Because of this, the climax is a scene of escalated action. It is that part of the story when the main character resolves the story’s central problem.

Tags: climax, final obstacle, main character, plot, rising action

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When developing the rising action section of your story, there a few simple guidelines to follow. Ensuring these guidelines aren’t violated will help keep the story moving forward and increase the dramatic tension:

n Our hero never can give up – If he stops trying to overcome the central problem, the story would end. There may be moments where he doubts his abilities or the solution, but he cannot stop his counterthrusts against the protagonist until overcoming the central problem.

n The plot must thicken - With each level of rising action (or each effort to overcome the antagonist) ultimately solving the problem should become more difficult. This is known as a “thickening” of the plot. If each level or effort becomes less complicated, then the reader will know the story’s outcome and become less invested in the main character. Facing the biggest, most powerful monster first then a less powerful dog-sized monster and finally a virtually powerless bug-sized creature is anti-climatic.

n Good plotting involves “planting” - As developing the rising action, the author should reveal certain facts that later allow for plot twists. If this isn’t done, then the twist probably will appear artificial or forced. The trick to planting is ensuring that the upcoming twist doesn’t become so obvious that the reader knows it’s coming. It wouldn’t be a twist then.

Tags: central problem, planting, plot, rising action, thickening

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As writing the rising action portion of your story, be aware that the main character must attempt to resolve his central problem yet always fail. There are several ways this failure can occur:

n Barrier - In this case, the main character’s solution is inadequate to the task at hand. For example, he may try to blow up a bioweapons, facility but his explosives are unable to penetrate an undetected force field.

n Misjudgment - The main character may misjudge what the problem is to be resolved. For example, the main character may give his girlfriend flowers in an attempt to make up after a fight, but she doesn’t accept them because she no longer has feelings for him so the gesture is meaningless. When the main character is guilty of misjudgment, often the problem moves even farther away from his solution and becomes more difficult to resolve.

n Partial solution - Sometimes the main character only solves elements of the problem. For example, when sent to assassinate a pair of scientists working on a biogenic weapon, he kills one but the other escapes.

n Temporary triumph - On occasion, the main character’s solution may only be a temporary fix. For example, the main character may succeed in destroying an invading alien race’s scout ship. Then a larger, more powerful scout ship arrives.

n Complication - The main character’s solution may work but has no immediate payoff. For example, to determine how to get home when lost, one needs to know where he is. The main character may discover that information, but he still needs to make the journey home.

n Reversal - There are instances when the main character’s solution actually makes the situation worse. For example, while destroying an enemy’s bioweapons lab, he accidentally releases deadly bacteria into the atmosphere - and the winds are carrying the germs right toward his nation.

Tags: central problem, counterthrust, main character, plot, rising action

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When the main character attempts to take charge of a situation and overcome his central problem, the author has created a scene in the rising action. This effort by the main character is called a “counterthrust.” In many ways, a story’s rising action is a series of thrusts and counterthrusts – the antagonist attempts to create an intolerable situation, or makes a thrust, and the protagonist (the main character) counters to restore a tolerable order.

Tags: antagonist, counterthrust, plot, protagonist, rising action, thrust

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To better understand rising action, consider the “Star Trek: The Original Series” episode “Mirror, Mirror” in which Captain Kirk and his landing party are transported into a mirror universe where the Federation is an empire and people behave more like pirates than civilized men. The opening few minutes of the episode in which Kirk and landing party, as being beamed aboard during an ion storm until realizing they’re no longer on their own Enterprise, marks the inciting incident. The rising action immediately begins as they try to resolve the problem of how to get home. First they must figure out where they are. Then Kirk must avoid an attempt on his life. Next his landing party must jury rig the transporter so they can be returned to their own universe. A race against time begins as they have a window of only a few hours to make the return beam out and as the mirror Spock has orders to kill Kirk by dawn. Then the mirror Spock and the mirror Sulu each try to kill Kirk. We reach the climax of the story when the mirror Spock cuts off their transporter power with only moments to go before their beam out window closes.

Kirk and his landing party face a number of obstacles that prevent them from resolving their central problem. Twists and turns, such as the attempt on Kirk’s life, add dramatic tension to the story. This tension grows until our heroes are faced with only two possibilities: either they will solve the central problem or utterly fail. At that point, the story enters its climax, usually near the story’s end.

Tags: central problem, climax, dramatic tension, inciting incident, plot, rising action

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In a sense, every story is a race against time. The main character ultimately must reach a point where the situation he finds himself in is unbearable, where a turning point or a final decision must be reached. The space between when this situation or crisis is introduced (the inciting incident) until when the turning point or final decision is reached (the climax) is known as rising action. Sometimes this part of the story is referred to as “complications.”

During the rising action, the main character tries to resolve his central problem but is unable to. The rising action includes the twist and turns of the story. In many ways, for the man character the rising action is like going up a hill - hence the “rising” – but he faces obstacles as doing so – hence the “action.” Each instance of the main character attempting to solve the central problem but failing is known as a “dark moment.”

Tags: central problem, climax, complications, dark moment, inciting incident, plot, rising action

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Often a story is not about defending the world from some outside menace (see out-of-whack event) or about obtaining some item (see macguffin) but is about overcoming some internal, man vs. himself struggle. In science fiction workshops, this type of storyline is called an emotional disturbance.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. define an “emotional disturbance” as “when a character’s inner state is unstable and he must do something to restore equilibrium.” In short, to solve the main problem of the story, the main character must undergo an inner journey of self-discovery and change.

A common example of an emotional disturbance is Luke Skywalker’s journey from self-doubting farm boy to a confident Jedi knight, as seen in “Star Wars IV-VI.” Skywalker garners skills and a deeper understanding of the universe – and himself along the way – through the mentoring of Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda. These experiences cause him to grow intellectually and spiritually.

Tags: inciting incident, macguffin, main character, out-of-whack event, plot

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Not all stories are about restoring order in the universe or overcoming some personal conflict. Sometimes the plot revolves around the search for an item that will elevate the main character’s position in the world or will prevent an evil force from gaining the upper hand. This item is called a macguffin, a term coined by Alfred Hitchcock.

The macguffin could be a chalice that promises immortality (King Arthur’s holy grail stories), the One Ring (“Lord of the Rings”), a valuable piece of art (“The Maltese Falcon”), a magic jewel, a secret formula – anything that is so highly desired that it creates obstacles and challenges for the main character who tries to obtain it.

If using a macguffin in your story, two questions must be answered. First, why is the object valuable? If the importance (and usually the exoticness) of the object is explained, the reader will quickly lose interest as the story has little point. After all, every one of us spends time looking for mundane objects. A second question to answer is why are the characters motivated to obtain the macguffin? To say the object is valuable is not enough, for one man’s treasure often is another man’s junk. Usually a character needs some overwhelming reason to desire an object, such as the thirst for immortality or a desperate need for money.

Tags: inciting incident, main character, opening, plot, rising action

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Sometimes the real pleasure of writing – and reading - isn’t about a well-crafted tale with a fast-moving plot involving intriguing characters set in a well-described landscape. After all, penning such a story entails a lot of sweat, and for readers, they expect nothing less than a well-developed piece. Instead, the real smile comes when the author leaves a special treats for the reader, such as hiding some surprise not germane to the story. These surprises are called “easter eggs”, a term science fiction writing workshops have borrowed from the jargon of computer programming.

For example, an author might encode, with the first letters of consecutive sentences, some message to the reader. In other instances, the author may use obscure allusions, such as what James Lecky does in his recently published “The Season Without Sun”. In the Lecky’s story, the antagonists are a people called the “Dajzyn” - the Tuva word for “enemy.” Tuva is a Russian republic on the central steppes of Asia, which one theory posits is where homo sapiens came from when moving into Ice Age Europe, the apparent setting of this story.

The pleasure for the author is akin to being part of an inside joke. The pleasure for the reader comes in possessing a deeper understanding of the piece – or at least in knowing that he’s one of the few who got the inside joke! It strengthens the bond between writer and reader.

Tags: allusion, cookies, style, symbolism, tuckering

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The short story has been called the perfect format for the science fiction tale. Here’s a list of classic science fiction short stories.

Tags: authors, great science fiction, short story

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When writing action scenes, avoiding rear-view mirror descriptions typically is a good idea. In such a description, an object is described only after they’ve been part of the action. For example, “He slid into the cave hole that his foot had just felt.” This type of writing allows the reader to see the setting only after the character has interacted with it – in short, it’s like looking at a landscape through a rear-view mirror.

Such writing diminishes the reader’s ability to feel the story’s dramatic tension and to feel the character’s urgency. It strains the story’s verisimilitude because the character appears to be extremely lucky as he is able to get out of any jam thanks to the author’s good blessings.

This type of description is a common error of novice writers, so not surprisingly this term often is most heard is writing workshops. In fact, it was coined at the Cambridge Science Fiction workshop.

Tags: description, rising action, setting

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Tags: editing, proofreading, style, usage

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There are a lot of great writers out there but only so many novels and short stories that book companies can publish. To prevent your piece from having a competitive disadvantage, you’ll want to ensure it is as publishable as possible when the editor picks it up. That includes enduring your piece follows all of those punctuation and capitalization rules that back in grammar school that led us to many a daydream about being on an exotic alien world or hunting dinosaurs in the Jurassic.

Not following these rules instantly makes your story more difficult to read. And despite a great plot line and descriptions, your editor will be thinking of how much time he’s going to have to spend correcting your work – time he doesn’t really have. When there’s another piece in a pile of submissions that probably is as good as yours, he’s likely to set aside your story in favor of one that won’t overburden him.

During my editing experience, I’ve seen the same set of capitalization and punctuation errors repeated in many pieces. Here’s a list of them.

Tags: commas, end marks, punctuation, semicolons, style

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Tags: authors, reading, science fiction

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Often the opening of a story involves some incident that upsets the status quo. In doing so, the main character faces the challenge of restoring order in the world.

This incident is known as an “out-of-whack event,” which is “when the story concerns a character who stable life is knocked out of whack by an external event,” as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., defines it.

Consider this example of a story opener that employs an out-of-whack event:

Peter Hanswurst sniffed indignantly. A gray circle of withered plants lay in the middle of his field, an otherwise perfect patch of green soybeans alternating with black dirt that ran into the horizon. The hot Midwestern sun beat down on him, and he wiped sweat from his forehead. Hanswurst figured the circle was no more six feet across, a miniscule fraction of the entire field, and one he decided that was small enough to eradicate.

Tags: main character, narrative hook, opening line, plot

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One sign of a good opener is that it makes the reader want to continue with the story. Using a fishing metaphor, a good opener “hooks” the reader.

Writers who catch the reader have employed a successful narrative hook. A narrative hook involves dangling elements of the story before the reader so he can’t help but bite. This is done by making the reader want to know more - the who, what, where, when, how and why of the story.

Consider this story opener:

Jord ducked around the corner, pressed himself hard against the damp wall, wishing he could fade into it. His eyes darted toward the wall’s edge, hoping to catch the shift of a shadow, a movement of brush, any sign at all that they were close.

Notice how it dangles elements of the story. The reader wants to know why Jord is running and who is chasing him. The reader wants to know if Jord will get caught.

Successful narrative hooks usually begin the story in the middle of the action. Conflict already is underway. Beginning a story this way immediately creates dramatic tension, which for most readers is the delight of the narrative.

You Do It
Write a 50-word opening to a story in which you leave the reader asking “What will happen next?” and “Why is this happening?”

Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell

Tags: dramatic tension, inciting incident, opener, opening line, plot

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When writing any story, your goal ought to be to create and maintain a fictional dream, or an “illusion that there is no filter between reader and events that the reader is actually experiencing what he is reading,” as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. defines it.

For the reader, one of the joys of literature is to be immersed in the fictional dream. As a writer, there may be no greater disservice to your reader than to break this illusion. As science fiction author and editor Stanley Schmidt once wrote, “Your job as a writer is to make your reader forget that he or she is reading …”

The stronger the fictional dream, the more immediate the story and its characters are to the reader. The payoff for the author is that his story’s message will stick longer with the reader – never mind that the author’s stature (and sales) correspondingly will rise.

Tags: fictional dream, getting started, plot, show vs. tell, style

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Tags: science fiction, television

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Looking for a good science fiction movie to watch?  Try a classic from this list.

Tags: movies, science fiction

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Looking for a good science fiction novel to read? Try one of these classics.

Tags: novellas, novels, science fiction

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Tags: cliches, style

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A common mistake among novice writers is shifting within their story so that events are occurring in the now but then in the next paragraph are happening in the past. This is a sign that the writer is changing verb tenses.

There are two common verb tenses in which you could write. Most typically used is “past tense”. In this case, the story’s events are told as if they’ve happened in the past (never mind that your story may be set in the future – the reader actually is hearing about the events from a future beyond which the story is told):

Col. Noel turned away from the reflection of his wrinkled face in the starcraft’s portal. Nothing to see but dust and gas anyway, he muttered to himself. His baggy eyes glanced at the gamma ray radiation sensors; soon the ship would enter the glowing cloud’s open center, where immortality awaited him. He moved toward the helm but cringed as the arthritis in his knee spiked. There was nanomedicine for the infirmity, but taking the capsules only reminded him of his body’s inevitable slow destruction. He sighed, resorted to giving the computer a voice command to slow speed, noticed a rasp in his words that had never been there before.

Tags: past tense, present tense, style

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Perhaps the most common mistake among novice writers is that tell rather show.

To “tell” what happens is to state it directly, as might occur in a newspaper article. For example:

Lambert was excited to see another boot print.

To “show” what happens, however, is to present the events without being told directly how one feels or reacts. The above example of “telling” could be rewritten to show Lambert’s excitement:

“There’s another one!” Lambert said, pointing at the boot print.

Tags: description, dramatic tension, passive voice, style

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One of the obstacles facing beginning writers is finding a place where they actually can write. Too often our responsibilities and modern civilization’s many distractions don’t allow for a moment – or place - of peace and quiet in our lives. Yet, just such a place where we can put our fingers to keyboard or pen to paper for a while is necessary if we are to write.

To be a writer, you must find a place where you can write with few distractions. That means no new magazines or books in easy reach, no TV, email or Internet to take your focus off the task. It must be a place where others will not carry on a conversation with you. For some, this place is the kitchen table, for others a den, for yet more the coffee shop.

In addition, your writing place should be stocked with what you need so you don’t spend valuable time looking for those items. Always keep on hands items you need to write: laptop/desktop computer, paper, pens, dictionary, whatever it is that will keep you from getting out of the chair so words aren’t flowing from your fingertips.

Wherever you do write, ensure that you can avoid ergonomic issues - repetitive motions (carpel tunnel syndrome, tendonitis), awkward positions, improper lighting. If writing becomes physically stressful, you’re not likely to keep at it. So avoid the library with the too low/too high of a table, the tree in the park that doesn’t offer back support, the coffee shop where the sun glares through the windows so you can’t see your laptop’s screen.

Remember, to become a successful writer, you must write. And part of writing is finding “a room of one’s own” to practice your craft.

You Do It
Turn a bad experience trying to write into story gold: Think back to a place where you could not get anything written; now pretend that you were a prisoner there in an intergalactic war, and write a 250-word scene describing your trials and tribulations.

Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell

Tags: distractions, getting started, writers block

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Though literacy is at among its highest rates ever in America, the amount of time spent reading is among the lowest in a century. Television, motion pictures, the Internet, video games and a myriad of other activities all draw people away from books and magazines.

As writers, I suggest we have an obligation to help support our colleagues by reading their works.

Ironically, for most writers, reading other peoples’ works is often what prevents them from writing! There’s a lot of good works out there, and sitting in our easy chairs with the latest science fiction novel reading them keeps many writers from instead sitting before their word processors. Some would-be writers even find themselves intimidated by the quality of their favorite writers and so never put pen to paper. A little self-discipline and self-confidence is all these would-be writers really need.

Some writers, however, just plain don’t read anything – other science fiction, science journals or magazines, newspapers. They’re content to get their dose of science fiction from the Sci-Fi Channel or Netflix. Yet, if you don’t like reading science fiction, how could you possibly enjoy writing it?

Tags: generatiung story ideas, getting started, reading

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n Anthropologize - What might a group that exists now be doing in 50 years?

n Brainstorm/extrapolate - Imagine a new invention. How might it change a profession? What dramatic tale can be told if these changes occur?

n Create maps of imaginary places – Draw coastlines, mountains, cities, nations, star lanes then develop a story around them.

n Distill conflicts into lists - What are incompatible desires and aims that someone could experience? Then match it to an appropriate “What if?” (a situation that aggravates or accentuates conflict).

n Fictionalize yourself in an unresolved situation that someone else faces – How would you resolve the problem?

n Find conflicts in everyday life - Look at the problems those around you are going through and have your characters resolve them in their universe.

n Keep abreast of scientific research and technological development – Resolve the current mysteries of science through fiction. Good sources for new science news are Science Daily, New Scientist, Astronomy, Nature, Astrobiology.net, and my astrobiology blog, Alien Life.

n Place a person you know in a different setting - For example, place an urbanite on a Southern farm or a school janitor in a corner office of a high-tech firm. How does their lifestyle and view on life change? You now have a character and a setting. Next, imagine that a problem occurs, upsetting their routine. You now have a plot.

n Read both science fiction and other good literature - You’ll get ideas by noticing points that are unexplored consequences of the central premise, or turn the central premise on its head. Read bad literature, too – if reading critically, you’ll learn from their errors.

n Start with a “novum” and ask “What if?” – A novum is some element introduced to our world that doesn’t now exist in it, such as the arrival of aliens, a spaceship that can travel faster than light or an artificial intelligence. Ask “Who would fear that? Who has something to lose by the addition of this novum to his world/universe?

Tags: brainstorming, getting started, novum, stoy ideas, writers block

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