Everything Wrong With VAMPIRE DIARIES Fanfictions

* LOCK Method

I had mentioned this technique earlier too, I guess perhaps in the Don't no 1: Mary Sues.

Basically the LOCK method deals with the main character and his/her development. There are four steps in this technique:

L as in Lead

O as in Objective

C as in Confrontation

K as in Knockout Ending

To explain this technique, I will use the example of The Bennett Witch by avani_bhargava

Step 1 - Lead:

Tip 1: Grit, Wit and It.

These three qualities are what you can find in every good lead's character. Grit stands for determination, Wit for intelligence, It for sass/cool attitude.

Samara Bennett seems to have all three of these qualities. Remember that you can use any one of these or all three depending on the story you're writing about. In this story though, it's appropriate that Sam has all three. It makes her character interesting and hooks readers to her every move.

Tip 2: Contrasting qualities.

Contrasting qualities make a character more interesting. For example, if your character is a popular high school student but hates parties, it may get readers thinking on what is the reason behind that. Also, it prevents the character from being classified as a stereotype.

Samara is family oriented. She is that person who would do anything for someone she cares about. She is compassionate, it's all good until you manage to get on her bad side then that wouldn't end well.

And with all these good qualities she also has some contrasting traits.

To her it's like forgive but never forget. So she is someone who can hold a grudge for a very long time. She can make a deal with the devil and can still sent them back to hell. She has her flaws like she is self sacrificial, stubborn and she can give absolutely anyone a second chance which will not prove good but also if she knows someone's weakness then she will surely use it. 

Step 2 - Objective:

Tip 1: To get something.

Samara wants to protect her sister Bonnie and take care of her at all costs. So that can be considered as her main objective.

Tip 2: To get away from something.

And she wants to get away from anything that may threaten her family.

Tip 3: All objectives involve a certain type of death.

Now this death can be of three types; physical, psychological or professional.

In Samara's case achieving her objectives may lead to her own death or rather the severing of ties with her family. Note that she only wants what is best for Bonnie so in that situation if the need arises for self sacrificing, she wouldn't hesitate.

Such a death is categorized under the type of physical death.

Step 3 - Confrontation:

Tip 1: Something stands in the way of protagonist and the goal.

If there is no confrontation, the the story is just useless. We don't want to read a story where said Main just goes and gets the goal, just like that. Nope. There has to be a confrontation. 

This confrontation can be the antagonist or rather the complete opposite.

In Sam's story, the confrontation comes up in the form of Elijah Mikaelson.

Tip 2: Bonding Agent.

Now this is also extremely important. Bonding Agent is what connects the Confrontation and the Lead. In this story the bonding agent is the feelings both Sam and Elijah have for each other. That is: Love.

Tip 3: Taking away the Lead's escapes.

It is necessary to take away the Lead's escapes. because there comes a time in each story when the lead runs from the confrontation, either due to fear or any other factor. But then the author has to make sure that the lead has to eventually face all the trouble on his/her own.

Such as in this story, Sam learns from Katherine on how Elijah murdered all of her family and it terrifies her that if she got too involved with Elijah, Bonnie could be put to risk as well. She tries to run away from him, avoid him because she is scared but then eventually she has to face all her fears and she confesses her feelings to him and vice versa.

Step 4 - Knockout Ending:

I have not yet read the whole book so I have no idea what the ending is. Hence I can not state it here. But I will give some tips on how to formulate a good and interesting ending.

Tip 1: Think the ending beforehand.

Yes, it is necessary. If you have an ending planned out then your story won't deviate from the path and you will have a clear destination to work up to.

Tip 2: The element of surprise.

Good endings are surprising yet inevitable. If you want your ending to be good then make sure it has the element of surprise in it but also some clues throughout the story which hint at it so that when the reader reflects back on your story, he/she knows that there couldn't have been any other alternate ending for the story. And that the ending you provided is the best.

Tip 3: Twist.

Make sure to save a twist in your story. And that is what makes your story's ending even more surprising. But don't fetch up the twist from completely out of the blue. No. You are writing the whole story masking this twist which already exists so that after the ending the reader can realize that it was there the whole time but he/she couldn't identify it. This aspect qualifies for your great writing skills as well.

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And that is all for today. Hope this chapter helped.

Stay tuned for the next update.