Tuesday Tip: Breaking Down a Big Bang

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Hey, look at this - A Tuesday tip! This week it's 100% entirely courtesy of goneahead who offers for our reading and our comments....

Goneahead's Down and Dirty Guide to Writing a Big Bang in Three (Somewhat) Easy Steps

Ok, so I am going to start this with a big caveat.This is my method of attacking the big bang monster, so mileage may vary for other writers using my techniques. Which means other people should really, really chime in with their tips and suggestions, because I hope (more like fervently pray) people do not think like me.

Cool.

Let's start with the obvious. A big bang is (generally) a novella, NOT a novel. Most novels are 65k to 85k. Most bigbangs are 15k to 35k. I bring this up because I want to debunk a common misconception, that a big bang is somehow easier to write than a novel because it's shorter.

In truth, big bangs are harder to write because you have a more complicated story but you don't have the luxury of those extra 40,000 words to explore all the ins and outs. This is why a big bang needs an outline and some structure - this will keep the story from going all pear-shaped on you (which usually manages to happen a couple of weeks before your rough draft is due).

So the very, very first step in creating a big bang is to start with an idea. I adore AUs, so let's start with a question - what if Steve was Fae and Danny was a cop?

(Don't give me that look - I KNOW you would read it)

First step: Turn your idea into a rough synopsis of the story.

Summary: The humans who live on Oahu have an uneasy alliance with the Fae. Thanks to the Fae, the island is a tropical paradise that draws tourists from around the world. At the same time, the darker elements of the Fae culture mean that the presence of Fae is a  a closely guarded secret.

After his father dies, a reluctant Steve returns Honolulu to take up his role as head of his Fae family. Unfortunately, his father was also the peacekeeper of the Fae community and his death has touched off a war between the families. Meanwhile, Danny Williams, a human and a cop, has discovered his new partner Meka is Fae - and he needs Danny's help in containing the war before the Fae draw unwanted attention to themselves.

Second Step: Character building

Now if we were writing a novel, we would have time to spend hours creating and refining our characters and filling out endless character templates. BUT- we are writing a big bang and we have a deadline and we need a quick way to build interesting characters. Here's the trick - give each main character two conflicting goals.

Danny - wants to be a good cop and follow the rules, but he also feels like he should help  Meka stop the fae war.

Steve - wants to be a responsible Fae and take up his role as head of his family, but he misses his life among humans when he was on mainland.

Third step: Break the story into acts. A lot of writers stick to three acts, but you should use whatever is logical for your story. The main thing to remember is you are working with beats. If you are writing a novel you need lots of beats, but since this is a big bang, you need the basic five:

a) intro

b) a reason for the characters to start the adventure

c) a twist or 'dark night of the soul/all seems lost" moment

d) A 'eureka' or "we saved the day" moment

e) finale

Let's break this story into 5 Acts:

Act I:

A Fae lord is murdered and Meka asks for Danny's help.

A disbelieving Danny is taken to a ritual hunt/feast and introduced to the Fae world.

Steve asks Danny to help stop the war. Danny reluctantly agrees.

Act II:

Danny and Steve investigate the murder.

Steve finds himself drawn to Danny, while also trying to create a new pact of peace amongst the Fae.

Act III:

Danny finds evidence the murderer is Steve's sister Mary.

Steve refuses to believe him and sends his sister to the mainland so Danny can't arrest her.

Danny and Steve stop talking to each other.

Act IV:

After the family business is torched by one of the other families, Steve finds his case assigned to Danny.

Danny and Meka find out which Fae family torched the business, which lead to evidence Mary was framed.

Act V

Steve and Danny make up, and work to clear Mary's name.

The arrest of Wo Fat, the Fae who is the murderer, forces his family to agree to peace.

Epilogue: Steve and Danny are at a ritual hunt/feast, smile at each other, and slip off while Meka covers for them.

SO...

We just built 1) an outline and 2) we gave the story structure by putting in the necessary beats. Come on, admit it, that was pretty easy right?  In fact, to show you just how easy it is, let's put a different spin on this fic and break this fic into 6 Acts.

Let's start with Act IV:

Act IV:

After the family business is torched by one of the other families, Steve finds his case assigned to Danny.

Danny and Meka find out which fae family torched the business, which lead to evidence Mary was framed.

Meka is killed because of the evidence they uncovered, and Danny has to find the leak in the department.

Act V

Danny goes back to Steve, his only contact in the Fae world, and shows him the evidence Mary was framed.

Steve and Danny get back together.

Steve helps Danny track down the leak, which turns out to be Meka's old partner who figured out he was a Fae.

Act VI

Steve and Danny expose Meka's old partner only to discover he was working for Wo Fat.

Steve exposes Wo Fat, Wo Fat's family agrees to the peace to save face, but Wo Fat gets away.

Danny and Steve then vow to hunt Wo Fat down together.

AND

If you were paying close attention, you will notice I used some other tricks to hack out a quick outline:

Act 1 deals with Danny's conflicting goals, Act 2 deals with Steve's conflicting goals, and Act III, which is the twist or the conflict, is where Danny and Steve's goals collide. Simple, but oh so effective.

In the five act story, I chose to end the story by repeating stuff from the opening act. A very sneaky way to end a story - without killing brain cells.

In the six act story, I chose to end the story by using the tried but true "and then they vowed to hunt the bastard down".  Why invent an ending when you can just steal one that's already made?

**props chin on hands**

Now tell me what tips and tricks you have to creating the dreaded big bangs. Come on, share!