Asking Questions - Writers Forum

S1E9A8N5 · 09-18-2007, 11:36 PM

Sorry if this has been brought up before. I remember reading on here about questions you ask during a scene. Questions your character asks. etc. Questions that help move the scene along and help fill it out... Besides the basic who, what, where, when, and how. Or do you just use "why" for everything? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Thanks

pervarakapadiaatwforum · 09-19-2007, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S1E9A8N5

Sorry if this has been brought up before. I remember reading on here about questions you ask during a scene. Questions your character asks. etc. Questions that help move the scene along and help fill it out... Besides the basic who, what, where, when, and how. Or do you just use "why" for everything? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Thanks

You may need to ask 'why' to the answer that you may receive from the initial 'why'

mammamaia · 09-19-2007, 06:00 PM

huh?... sorry, but you've both lost me...

s... what is it you're referring to, exactly?... questions from the narrator in the narrative, or questions in dialog from the characters?

are they questions being asked of oneself [narrator/character], or of the reader, or of another character?...

stuff like in a christie myst'ry, where miss m or hercule might ask, 'What was the good doctor doing on the beach at midnight?'... or a narrator asking, 'What,dear reader, was I to do, when confronted with a knife-wielding maniac?'... or what???

Talia_Brie · 09-21-2007, 10:02 AM

'What if' is a really good question to drive narrative. I once had a literature lecturer expouse over how the writers of Melrose Place just sat round a table asking 'what if' questions. She seemed to think that was extraordinary.

I had to set her straight. 'What if' is an excellent question for a writer to ask.

I don't think that answers your question though, it just seemed like a god opportunity to slip in a personal anecdote.

dwellerofthedeep · 09-21-2007, 10:22 AM

I think asking the questions in an order like this (as an example) might be helpful: What happened? ---> Who did it? ---> How did they accomplish it ---> Why did they do it? ---> Who does this affect --- What are they going to do about it ---> What happened...

That's just off the top of my head, and I think where could be slipped in at various points before who or after what. That looks like a cool way to do things to me, though I rarely have that much organization myself.

Captn Envy · 09-22-2007, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S1E9A8N5

Sorry if this has been brought up before. I remember reading on here about questions you ask during a scene. Questions your character asks. etc. Questions that help move the scene along and help fill it out... Besides the basic who, what, where, when, and how. Or do you just use "why" for everything? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Thanks

Do you mean if your character, we'll say it's a 'he', did something and the questions might be: Why did he do it? What caused him to do it? Where did he do it all? How did he do it? Did he gain anything from doing it? How does he feel about what he's done? How do other people feel about what he did? What time did he do it? What happens after he did it? Where will he go afterwards?

wmd · 09-22-2007, 08:45 PM

I am not quite sure what you are talking about, but my entire writing process usually starts with a question...

what if magic used to exist on earth?

what if the return of magic destroyed all of technology?

what if....

the series of questions are what begin to form my story... they start broad and then get more specific for each scene or sequence.