Friday, May 23, 2008

Friday Five- EDACE

Something I've discovered about myself- I can't write a blog or a book until I have a title! Silly I know, but that seems to be how my brain works. I was having trouble getting started on my current WIP until I came up with a title- one that most likely will change, but I had to have that title on the document and first page to be able to really sink into the story. Same goes when I blog. If I sit down and don't have any idea what I plan to blog about I can't just wing it and then title the blog. I sit there and stare at the blank screen until I put a title in the title box. Spooky. I'm not an anal person, so this has me perplexed.

Anyhoo, on to today's blog! I learned a new acronym last night during Eric Witchey's talk to my local writing group. It is something I have always done when writing, but it is always fun when you learn something new and can then pass it on to others.

EDACE- And the letters stand for:
E- Emotion
D- Decision
A- Action
C- Conflict
E- Emotion (new)

This is how every scene in a story should play out to keep the reader reading and the story moving toward the final climax. Depending on how large of a work you have, this repeats over and over again.

Like I said, I do this and have known about the format, but I learned the acronym last night and thought it was a fun way for people to remember how to put a story together.

Looks like we'll be headed off for the weekend after all. So Everyone have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

1 comment:

Nicole McCaffrey said...

That's a great acronym. I think us old war horses (like me and you! LOL) know almost instinctively to do that in every scene now, but it's a great reminder to tape to your monitor or keep nearby. Next time I'm "stuck" in a scene I'm going to ask myself if I'm missing one of those elements.

Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend! Right now I'm waiting for the household to wake up then I'm outside to do some work.