• appreciate that introducing structure to the posts will eventually be the invisible carrier of rising tension, the theme and your passion.

• that memorable climaxes arise out of situations from which there is no turning back, that things will never be the same again.

• posts which offer the opportunity to release tension. When complications continually pile on top of each other without resolution and time to absorb their impact, readers become over-saturated. Additional complications have no impact.

• that a story worth telling is driven by the emotions of characters, which influences their decisions, which in turn propel the plot. Strive for a balance between characters, action and motivation.

• insertion of 'cliffhangers' to smooth the flow from action to action. When your diary converts into a novel, 'cliffhangers' are effective at ending chapters.

• if the sum total of all of the rising complications overshadows the climax.

• transitions from resolutions to following challenges. Too clean of breaks present logical places for future readers to disengage and put the story down.

• if time span is feasible for the events that transpired.

• if the timing and order of events in the diary are consistent or not.

• instances where dialogue, narration and action should be deleted altogether. It may be eloquently written, but has no purpose. It should be in response to the setting, a situation, an action or a character.

• if a post, critical to understanding what is happening, is no more than an 'information dump'. This manner of exposition slows the pace of any emerging story worth telling to a crawl. For example, backgrounds of characters are better explored unobtrusively through revelation in dramatic action, here and there, in smaller pieces.

• if it is clear who is being quoted without speech tags. It should be obvious because dialogue should speak for itself.

• how to convey feelings through interpretation of your/others' actions or dialogue rather than stating directly.

• if [#sequence] tags should be inserted now as a reminder to alter the event-revealing sequence of posts when transcribing into your bestseller. MHdiaries stores entries chronologically. Interesting storytelling often alters the order in which events are unveiled.

• predating posts describing characters which arise long after their initial introduction or first occurrence.

• breaking up lectures on the learning of virtues when they appear at the end of a resolution into multiple predated posts to gradually expose experiences over time.

• what is too much exposition? It can draw attention to itself, disrupt the flow of the story and lead to boredom.

• the ending should be concise and not ramble on.

 

Consider:

• how to develop dialogue to its dramatic potential. Use it to:

  • create tension;

  • foreshadow future events without giving it away;

  • offer comic relief and to do so in response to dramatic function as opposed to telling a joke.

  • make transitions. The purpose of transition is to move a reader from scene to scene as smoothly as possible.

  • break up long stretches of narrative;

  • quicken the story pace;

  • show the relationship between characters;

  • reveal conflict;

  • reveal attitudes;

  • impart information to the reader that would normally and naturally be talked about by the characters;

  • expose an exchange of power that was either sexual, physical, political, or social;

  • reveal background. Dialog properly done can replace lengthy flashbacks or long narratives to relay background information necessary to understand the plot and/or motivation of the characters;

  • advance the plot. Sometimes it is better to have a character say what is happening than to actually describe the event.

  • convey setting. Characters can talk about where they are and what they see. A sprinkling of the native language can help establish locale.

 

[#style, #transition, #foreshadow]

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