B CHARACTERS and B STORY
B Characters are those who the B Story or subplot surrounds. It’s a term used by the late screen writing guru Blake Snyder who pinpoints how these subplots and characters are pivotal to the story because the theme often resonates in their dialogue. He defines it in his 15 beat story structure as the Helper Story, the secondary story that the hero needs to undergo so that he (or she) can transform to complete the main story.
The characters involved are often introduced as a foil for your protagonist. They may mentor them or argue with them and their relationship usually explores the book or play’s theme.
http://www.blakesnyder.com/tools/
BACKLOADING
Margie Lawson often uses this term in her lectures. Backloading is the principle of removing your strongest words from where they are embedded at the centre of your sentence structure and putting them at the end to add emphasis, to provide more psychological weight. This technique is particularly powerful at the end of paragraphs, scenes and, of course, chapters.
There are some examples on this blog. http://www.joanswan.com/my.articles.wt.backloading.htm
BACKSTORY
Is what happens before the events in your story begins. It often includes the motivations for the POV’s character’s decision and actions. There are many posts and articles on backstory management which show how to avoid info dumping. One great piece of advice I came across was from the mystery suspense author Mark Sullivan who describes it as etching only the information a reader absolutely must know onto a pane of glass then dropping it. Each shard should then be placed into its appropriate place in the story.
BEATS
This word is used a few different ways. The most common meaning is as a piece of action which moves the plot along. A number of beats constitute a scene and a number of scenes constitute an act.
Sometimes beats are seen as components of the structure. For example I have seen Romances consist of seven beat structures. Blake Snyder sees a whole screen play as only consisting of 15 beats. This blog describes a seminar he gave on the subject. http://ciaralira.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/story-structure-from-blake-snyder/
Beat can also mean a moment in time.
BETA MALES
Are unremarkable, careful males who avoid risk and confrontation. They lack the physical presence, charisma and confidence of the Alpha male. Sometimes alpha females are paired with beta males. They are also often alpha male’s side kicks or buddies.
BETA READERS
These people read the story prior to publication to ensure it works as a whole. It’s different from a critique reader who looks closely at the detail during the writing process. They should concentrate more on whether there are parts where it drags or becomes confusing and whether the characters act logically. The questions they could answer are: Is it boring? Did it work? Is it too much? Is anything confusing?Did you like the characters?
BIO
Whether published or unpublished, at some point an aspiring writer is going to have to compose a bio. If it's on the back of a book, then it's to let readers know who you are and where they can visit you on the web. If it's in a pitch letter to an agent, then it's to let them know the level of writing experience you have.
Some blogs from agents on what to include:
http://www.johnsonliterary.com/blog/2009/8/4/the-author-bio.html
Query: “Do you want to know about me?”
BLOGS
Why blog? Blogs are seen as an important part of an author’s marketing platform. This post has great info on how to Build Blog traffic.
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-build-traffic-on-your-blog-part.html
BLOG TOUR
These are guest appearance spots on other people’s blogs, usually organized to coincide with the launch of an author’s book. The author is usually expected to watch the blog during the day so they can respond to people’s comments. It is the virtual world’s equivalent of an actor’s organized press tour to promote their latest film.
BLURB
A blurb on a book can be any combination of quotes from the work, the author, the publisher, reviewers or fans, a summary of the plot, a biography of the author or simply claims about the importance of the work.
BODY LANGUAGE
A person’s emotional state is often conveyed by the way they hold their body and what they do with it. Sometimes the words the POV character uses to describe how they see this person reacting can be interpreted differently by the reader depending on what they already know as distinct from what the POV character knows. It’s always an interpretation not a fact. Studies show the percentage of understanding gained from the spoken word is considerably less than the meaning people gain from listening to a person's tone of voice and looking at their non-verbal communication, ie body language.
A dictionary of them can be downloaded from the Center for Nonverbal Studies: http://ebook30.com/personality/relationships-sex/88029/the-nonverbal-dictionary-of-gestures-signs-and-body-language-cues.html
B Characters are those who the B Story or subplot surrounds. It’s a term used by the late screen writing guru Blake Snyder who pinpoints how these subplots and characters are pivotal to the story because the theme often resonates in their dialogue. He defines it in his 15 beat story structure as the Helper Story, the secondary story that the hero needs to undergo so that he (or she) can transform to complete the main story.
The characters involved are often introduced as a foil for your protagonist. They may mentor them or argue with them and their relationship usually explores the book or play’s theme.
http://www.blakesnyder.com/tools/
BACKLOADING
Margie Lawson often uses this term in her lectures. Backloading is the principle of removing your strongest words from where they are embedded at the centre of your sentence structure and putting them at the end to add emphasis, to provide more psychological weight. This technique is particularly powerful at the end of paragraphs, scenes and, of course, chapters.
There are some examples on this blog. http://www.joanswan.com/my.articles.wt.backloading.htm
BACKSTORY
Is what happens before the events in your story begins. It often includes the motivations for the POV’s character’s decision and actions. There are many posts and articles on backstory management which show how to avoid info dumping. One great piece of advice I came across was from the mystery suspense author Mark Sullivan who describes it as etching only the information a reader absolutely must know onto a pane of glass then dropping it. Each shard should then be placed into its appropriate place in the story.
BEATS
This word is used a few different ways. The most common meaning is as a piece of action which moves the plot along. A number of beats constitute a scene and a number of scenes constitute an act.
Sometimes beats are seen as components of the structure. For example I have seen Romances consist of seven beat structures. Blake Snyder sees a whole screen play as only consisting of 15 beats. This blog describes a seminar he gave on the subject. http://ciaralira.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/story-structure-from-blake-snyder/
Beat can also mean a moment in time.
BETA MALES
Are unremarkable, careful males who avoid risk and confrontation. They lack the physical presence, charisma and confidence of the Alpha male. Sometimes alpha females are paired with beta males. They are also often alpha male’s side kicks or buddies.
BETA READERS
These people read the story prior to publication to ensure it works as a whole. It’s different from a critique reader who looks closely at the detail during the writing process. They should concentrate more on whether there are parts where it drags or becomes confusing and whether the characters act logically. The questions they could answer are: Is it boring? Did it work? Is it too much? Is anything confusing?Did you like the characters?
BIO
Whether published or unpublished, at some point an aspiring writer is going to have to compose a bio. If it's on the back of a book, then it's to let readers know who you are and where they can visit you on the web. If it's in a pitch letter to an agent, then it's to let them know the level of writing experience you have.
Some blogs from agents on what to include:
http://www.johnsonliterary.com/blog/2009/8/4/the-author-bio.html
Query: “Do you want to know about me?”
BLOGS
Why blog? Blogs are seen as an important part of an author’s marketing platform. This post has great info on how to Build Blog traffic.
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-build-traffic-on-your-blog-part.html
BLOG TOUR
These are guest appearance spots on other people’s blogs, usually organized to coincide with the launch of an author’s book. The author is usually expected to watch the blog during the day so they can respond to people’s comments. It is the virtual world’s equivalent of an actor’s organized press tour to promote their latest film.
BLURB
A blurb on a book can be any combination of quotes from the work, the author, the publisher, reviewers or fans, a summary of the plot, a biography of the author or simply claims about the importance of the work.
BODY LANGUAGE
A person’s emotional state is often conveyed by the way they hold their body and what they do with it. Sometimes the words the POV character uses to describe how they see this person reacting can be interpreted differently by the reader depending on what they already know as distinct from what the POV character knows. It’s always an interpretation not a fact. Studies show the percentage of understanding gained from the spoken word is considerably less than the meaning people gain from listening to a person's tone of voice and looking at their non-verbal communication, ie body language.
A dictionary of them can be downloaded from the Center for Nonverbal Studies: http://ebook30.com/personality/relationships-sex/88029/the-nonverbal-dictionary-of-gestures-signs-and-body-language-cues.html
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