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+--- Thread: From a Plot to a Story? (/thread-13179.html)
From a Plot to a Story? - zonius - 2009-12-22
I've arrived at the "Plots" section o the RTH and I don't really get it. I'm supposed to "patch together the necessary details" to make stories from plots. What exactly does this mean? I look at the plots and I'm not sure how they are different from the stories. The stories are longer, of course. They are also more redundant, often repeating the keyword several times, but we are supposed to remember the images, not words, so the redundant wording should not be an issue. The book only warns what *not* to do - not to deviate from the keyword meaning. I guess I'm missing something simple here, but it still bugs me. So... What do you do to get from a plot to a story? advice, personal experiences?
From a Plot to a Story? - Tobberoth - 2009-12-22
The only point is that you have to work more to create the image yourself. He supplies some basic ideas just to get your mind working. Later in the book, he stops giving you anything so you have to make everything yourself. This is just a training step.
From a Plot to a Story? - zonius - 2009-12-24
Well... Let's take an example of descendants:
Like most proverbs, "There is nothing new under the sun is not true all of the time. This character has us comparing family descendants under the sun. The resemblances are obvious, but it's also true that each generation brings something new to the family. [8]
What needs to be done to here? To be honest, in its present form this does not make any sense to me. "Comparing descendants under the sun"? I can remember it (for now) as a meaningless phrase, but I certainly cannot picture it. I mean, how can I imagine "comparing descendants" so that it wont turn into "comparing children" or "comparing pictures" etc. And the sun? It's such an arbitrary detail that (as I know from experience) it won't stay with me. I'll be trying to guess: where was it? "under the moon"? "outside"? "on a playground"?
From a Plot to a Story? - sethg - 2009-12-24
That's when the 'Study' tab on this site might be helpful. I like the #1 story for this one by samuize: "Grandparent spends all DAY COMPARING photos of their DESCENDANTS." So, I personally really visualize this and see an old couple sitting on a porch. The sun is setting (during that brief time where you have to shield your eyes everywhere you look, it seems) and the grandparents watch their kids running around, soaked beneath the sunlight, and they compare them to each other, to themselves, to their children, to their long gone siblings.
Just make it as powerful as you can. Sometimes it's just one that's hard to get your brain to accept. That's why you're using an SRS. If you play fair with the SRS (Anki or this site), you will eventually remember this kanji and this story.
Sometimes Heisig doesn't make any sense. That's where RevTK steps in to make things easier.
From a Plot to a Story? - zonius - 2009-12-28
OK, now that I've moved on to the "Elements" section it has started to make more sense. Having to invent the stories from scratch makes you much more aware of what is required of a story. (And now I also see more clearly what you were saying). Thanks, guys!