A/R - Scene overview and documentation

[Jacky]

Hello,
I am sorry if I do ask "one of those" questions. I tried to find the
documentation but failed, and couldn't find a hint where to search for
my answer, ... so I beg your pardon and ask anyways:

In the scene overview there is a column which is called "A/R"
All of my scenes are labeled A
1. What do these letters stand for?
2. How can I change them?

And since I am already asking
3. Where can I find the documentation (if there is one)?

Thanks for your patience
Jacky ;)

PS: I love your tool and am promoting it wherever I can. My favorite
part is your timeline feature where you can just drag and drop scenes
and they actually change not only position, but also the corresponding
character etc .. you did a really great job!!

[puskafee]

A scene can be labeled 'A'ction or 'R'eaction in the scene editor,
under the 'Goals' tab.
This refers to some theory in various novel-writing handbooks, e.g.
'Techniques of the Selling Writer' from Dwight V. Swain.
Kind Regards - Peter

[Jacky]

*dow*
Thank you very much!!

Okay, only question 3 is left: Any documentation that I missed ..
anywhere? (beside the quick starting guide?)
Thanks for your assistance and patience
Jacky ;)

[Keith]

I'm currently reading _Techniques of the Selling Writer_ by Dwight
Swain. I've found Swain's book helpful as I begin writing my first
novel after several non-fiction books. Some things Swain says shows
the 1965 context in which Swain worked -- for example, the
encouragement to always keep a carbon copy of a manuscript you send to
a publisher -- but that is the exception. For a novice at fiction
writing, Swain has been a helpful resource.

In Chapter 4 Swain answers the question on how to build a story. Each
scene, he says, will have a goal, conflict, and disaster. yWriter
refers to this as Action: goal, conflict, outcome. Swain says that a
scene is followed by a sequel which is reaction (to the disaster),
dilemma, and decision. yWriter refers to this as Reaction: reaction,
dilemma, decision. For Swain, the sequel turns the disaster of one
scene into a goal for the next scene. He suggests that a scene will
be at least four pages long with the sequel's length somewhere between
a paragraph and a page.

I found yWriter through a Google search. Somewhere in the discussion
of yWriter I found a reference to Swain, so I bought the book (it's
still in print after 40+ years, which says something about its
usefulness). Reading Swain will help me to maximize the functionality
of yWriter as I begin writing the novel in a couple of weeks. I've
seen the conversation about expanding a yWriter user's manual. I
suggest that Swain's book could function as a yWriter writer's manual.

Blessings,

Keith

[Andre van_haren]

You can find a lot of Dwight Swain here:
http://www.writing.com/main/books/item_id/904832

André

--
visit my website at www.andrevanharen.com

[Andre van_haren]

You can find a lot of Dwight Swain here:
http://www.writing.com/main/books/item_id/904832

On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 2:29 PM, Keith <ksch...@gmail.com> wrote:

[puskafee]

Please note that - in my opinion - the techniques of Mr. Swain do not
apply to all kinds of fiction books. Most literary novels do not at
all fit into his scheme. E.g. a classic as 'The Catcher in the Rye' by
J.D. Salinger cannot even be rewritten as a sequence of Action-
Reaction scenes.
Novels that rely on action can profit from Mr. Swain's techniques,
although I think that sticking to it too strictly will be boring, in
the end.

Kind Regards, Peter