Thinking Different About Novels in the 21st Century
Robert Nagle has posted an
excellent piece on the length of novels and the way they are approached. It's similar to
a mini-rant I did back in May.
In my mini-rant I suggested 150 pages as a good length for a novel. I take that back. My new number is 120, the average number of pages in a movie script. The thinking goes; A page per minute of screen time.
While their books aren't that short, I've noticed that both Michael Crichton and Dan Brown often use short chapters. Short meaning, a few pages per chapter. Often those chapters have cliffhangers at the end before switching to a different track as a way to build tension and suspense.
George Lucas once said that a film is 60 two-minute scenes.
I noticed the sci-fi series Firefly does this exact thing. Often somebody gets shot or is in immediate danger and then there's a cut to what's happening with another character somewhere else.
Give the reader/viewer a taste of some excitement, then pull away and build up another moment, pull away again. This works perfectly for short chapters.
My current novel stands at 113 standard pages, and will probably be around 120 when I finish it. Granted I still have to edit it, which means I will be cutting some parts out or rewriting. So it's hard to say where it will stand when I'm finished.
I've always hated that many novels require 50-100 pages of reading before you get to the real meat of the story. I've sworn to myself not to allow pedantic buffoonery in the first 50 pages. Get to the meat! This has been a driving force throughout the writing of my novel. I hope it shows in being accessible to readers.
I've thought about writing mini-novels. I guess you could call them short stories but they don't follow the quirkiness or parable format of the short story. I'm talking about taking a full blown novel and just cramming all the exciting bits into 20 pages. What would that be like?
I think modern novelists need to start considering these approaches, as I have a hard time finding people who read books these days. Those that do often take their time, or are wary about making an investment when they aren't sure it'll pay off.
It's time for novels to enter the film and video game era.
The Heart of a Story
The closer I get to the end of my book, the more the critic comes out in me, thinking back on everything that is wrong with the story. I think it'll be fine once I finish and stuff it in a drawer.
I keep coming back to that thing Joss Whedon said in an interview about how you
“find the things that make the story really resonate.”That is why I've always wanted to tell stories. I was talking to an old friend the other day and explained to him back when I was actively writing music it was about storytelling then too. When I got into the game industry making levels, I enjoyed level design because of the sense of authorship and creating a world. As a sound designer, I tell a story through sonic textures.
It's about themes and memes--latching onto the strongest ones and really nourishing them with supporting elements.
It's also why I became interested in marketing a few years back and started reading a truckload of marketing books. Most people find that stuff boring, but I saw that as a field of expertise it's not that different from being a storyteller. Right on par with Seth Godin's book
All Marketers Are Liars.
There's something about storytelling that is at the heart of all our creative mediums. It's about the ideas, the heart of a story.
So as I approach the end of my story, I'm already looking back at which ideas were strongest, or maybe which ones should be. It's hard not to begin editing right away, but I have to be patient and wait out the process. Then I'll be able to go back and re-examine the ideas and make the heart of the story stronger.
To Dream of Writing...
Somebody once told me if you dream in a foreign language then you must be getting pretty good at it. Once, a long time ago, I dreamt in Spanish.
Last night I dreamt I was writing--that I went into a furious session and made leaps and bounds in word count.
I woke up around 6AM, which is early for me. And I hammered out my word count. It's nice for a dream upon waking to become reality.
But oh man. Now I'm
dreaming about writing? Sheesh! I will be relieved when this month is over. Only a couple days away now. I'm at 45,000 words. Just five thousand shy of the contest pass/fail condition. Two days left.
The inner critic is starting to snarl and foam a the mouth. There are so many things wrong with my story that I'd love to dive in and correct. This is where I need the most restraint. It will be easier once the contest is over. I can distract myself with books, games, and Xmas through December. But it's this final dash towards the finish that has The Editor in me lashing out.
"This book sucks!" he screams.
But I'll have to wait a few weeks to read it and find out where I really stand.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Drive safe, and enjoy the bloated fun as you stuff yourselves!
I broke 40,000 words this morning. I should write in the morning more often. I'm sharper and it's easier to bang on the keys. Coffee doesn't hurt either. ;)
So there's only 10,000 words to go. Should be no problem. I may get to it before the 30th too. We'll see.
I'll be enjoying the usual Thanksgiving hybrid dinner. A mixture of white food (the usual mashed potatoes, green beans, etc.) along with some Mexican treats like tamales. There are so many reasons to love my wife Jennifer's family, but as far as my stomach is concerned tamales is at the top of the list!
As for my stories, I'll leave you with a little treat courtesy of my pictorial research. I've assembled a picture grid collage of some of the reference images I've collected that are inspiration for my futuristic settings of the quantum universe. Copyrights their respective owners and all that of course. Enjoy.
Clock Ticks Down, So Does Inspiration...
It's getting close to the end of National Novel Writing Month! I'm at 36,803 words with seven days left. I'm confident I can make the 50,000 as long as I don't slack too much in the next seven days.
I've had to curb the urge to play games all night though. Xmas season is always bad (read: good) for gamers because there are dozens of great new games out and no time to play them all.
I've got Black & White 2 started, and I revisited Silent Storm recently. Special Forces addon for Battlfield 2 just came out, and it's very tasty. I'm curious to jump into The Movies and see about trying to make a little movie out of my NaNoWriMo novel.
Oh yeah, and the XBOX 360 came out. I won't be buying one anytime soon but it just goes to show that it's a painful time to be a gamer!
I've also fallen behind in my reading.
So December will be a welcomed break from the writing to catch up on some things while I let my story ferment.
What does all the gaming have to do with writing? I've mentioned in the past that I draw a lot of story inspiration from both reading, playing, and watching movies. Creativity is all about synthesis and synthesis is all about input.
When I've found myself stuck during the month while working on my novel, my first urge is to crack open a book or fire up a game. I've been bleeding myself dry of ideas and the only way to get more is to indulge a little.
My reward for finishing the contest will be immersing myself in fodder for more creativity. Here's looking forward to December!
Self-indulgent drivel?
Reknowned copywriter Bob Bly
asks if blogs are self-indulgent drivel. Yessiree Bob. I believe that they are. One step further, that's exactly what I like about them.
It's no different than the Opinion Editorial in your newspaper, or an arrogant talk show host. I've heard people lament the decline of letter-writing as a pasttime and preserver of historical commentary and perspective.
Not many people write letters anymore, but that's OK. I'm perfectly content for them to be replaced by blogging. I think as long as there is a medium that keeps people writing and satisfies their urge to write, then the medium be damned. Is that self-indulgent? Sure. No more so than the aforementioned allowances of our culture.
The thing that cracks me up is that every time something new comes along, people moan about how things are 'going downhill' or 'not the way they used to be' or some other silly meaningless sentiment. The only thing that never changes is that things are always changing. I won't pretend that earlier, more 'classic' eras didn't have their own fair share of drivel. It may not have been as open, widespread, and participatory as blogging, but drivel is drivel is drivel, isn't it?
And if it's drivel, so what? I happen to enjoy pulp novels, which got their name from the low quality paper they were written on but also became synonymous with the quality of the writing as well.
So I'm not reading Shakespeare or Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, or Ernest Hemmingway. So freakin' what! Maybe I enjoy pulpy stuff like Philip K. Dick because it doesn't take itself so serious?
And perhaps, just maybe, that's exactly what I enjoy about reading blogs?
They don't take themselves seriously. They are also a pure 100% direct line to buzz. Want to know what's making the rounds? What are people talking about? Read a blog. It's a direct feed into our culture moment by moment as it happens.
I never used to like it, but I'm starting to understand why they have play-by-play commentary in sports. Why?
Because the game would be awfully quiet and boring without a narrator. What do blogs provide me? Any kind of narrator I want for just about any kind of game.
Blogs are self-indulgent drivel and to that I say, blog on!
Writer's Block? Pressure Helps...
I slacked off over the weekend. I ended up playing computer games and going to Fort Worth with the wife to spend time with her family. I didn't get much writing done. I was stuck again at a point in the story, trying to decide what happens next.
Each time I get stuck I feel that I'm proving my plotting impetus correct. When I know what happens, I don't get stuck. When I don't know what happens next, I get stuck. It's that simple.
So I was 5,000 words behind. Now I'm only 4,000 words behind. I have to admit though there's a nice underdog feel to it. I feel challenged a little more now that I'm behind. Because honestly just doing the daily quota was getting easy. Once you get into the routine of it, it's easy--too easy.
Just like everything else in life, once it becomes mundane you've got to switch it out for something else, mix it up or you get bored. So I decided to take a break this weekend and allow myself to get behind.
It worked some wonders for me because during my time off I thought of a great way to connect an element between two of my stories set in the same universe.
Sometimes creative synthesis requires a few days off. And sometimes that underdog notion of coming from a disadvantage is exactly what you need to get motivated and rocket ahead.
Give Your Story Logos
On the heels of yesterday's pedantic rant about logic, I've been thinking about how it relates to a story's identity. In some ways fiction is like religion. You create a place of worship and set the principles by which that worshipping is done. You create a tautological belief system. Any critical questions of the belief are referenced back to the belief itself.
An oversimplified example would be something like: "You are questioning the existence of God? Just have faith!" Faith is part of the religion itself. Questioning the existence is asking a critical, or from some views even neutral or objective question. The answer supplied is one which is biased in favor of the belief system. Of course you should have faith, because it keeps you in the religion, that's what the religion wants. But it's not just what the religion wants, they'd like for you to want it too--to want it for yourself. The religion wants you to willingly give up your time and mindspace, to sacrifice something in the name of the ideas and concepts they represent.
Some authors, such as Neal Stephenson in his book Snow Crash, have suggested religion as a mind virus. The viral ideas and concepts get in, and once they do you are 'hooked' in a way that everything you do and think will be centered around or providing host for the religion itself.
This isn't that different from marketing.
Of course, no discussion of these type would be complete without the mention of
memes. Religions are memeplexes. So are brands and products. Many corporations would love for you to 'bow at the altar' of their brand.
Any well constructed fiction, or any marketing-driven product design for that matter, should take cues from religion. While your story can borrow from somebody else's mythology, or even Christian mythology as Dan Brown has done in The DaVinci Code, a writer is also served by creating a mythology of their own within the context of their story.
Some of the most successful stories create their own mythology. Star Wars for example, with concepts like The Force. The Force adds depth and meat to the story. It is the central belief of the Jedi, the heroes. It is twisted for evil by the Empire.
George Lucas surely could have cast his story within the framework of an existing religion. You could have had "Good Christians (Jedi) vs. Bad Christians (Empire)," but I'm sure almost everyone would agree that The Force makes for a more appropriate analogy to religion and faith in a way that strengthens the identity of the story through the use of it's own concepts.
Another example is Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Both Lord of the Rings and Star Wars are massive universes filled with supporting and self-reinforcing details that not only make great brands but also appear from some perspectives to be mini-religions out of the cults of fans.
This is marketing-driven design. If the word 'marketing' leaves a bad taste in your mouth, think about it as constructing your own mini-religion. If your story is your bible, how might you get people to believe it?
The idea of mythologizing or mystifying your fictional universe via memes is within similar territory of
logos, the Word of God, a god, or a religion. In early Pre-Socratic philosophy it was a term used for logic of the world and the order of the universe.
An interesting nugget from Wikipedia:
"In rhetoric, logos is one of the three modes of appeal (the other two are pathos, emotional appeal, and ethos, the qualifacation of the speaker). Logos refers to logical appeal, and in fact the term logic evolves from it. Logos normally implies numbers, polls, and other mathematical or scientific data."
So you have logic, emotional appeal, and the qualification of the speaker. That reads like the ingredients for a bonified storyteller if I ever saw one!
Lastly, the definition as it relates to religion is interesting. Dictionary.com's second and third definitions are:
# Judaism.
1. In biblical Judaism, the word of God, which itself has creative power and is God's medium of communication with the human race.
2. In Hellenistic Judaism, a hypostasis associated with divine wisdom.
# Christianity. In Saint John's Gospel, especially in the prologue (1:1-14), the creative word of God, which is itself God and incarnate in Jesus. Also called Word.
Creative power and a medium of communication? The Word? It is here that the evolution of human language into codified written form begins to enter our mythologies and religions themselves. It is no surprise that some of the earliest human documents were religious. But was the written word doing service to religion, or was religion doing service to the written word? If we are to take the meaning as The Word, or Gospel, in a very strange secular kind of way it seems the latter is true.
So we have a deep mythological heritage as writers. Part of that mythological heritage involves the glorification of writing itself, the craft.
Every story needs a mythology of some kind. Every story needs an 'order of the universe', and maybe a little divine wisdom. Here the metaphor between God and the writer gets a little fuzzy. I'll leave that one up to you. But I do have one question.
Got logos?
Logic: A Tool for Writing
log·ic
n.
1.The study of the principles of reasoning, especially of the structure of propositions as distinguished from their content and of method and validity in deductive reasoning.
a.A system of reasoning: Aristotle's logic.
b.A mode of reasoning: By that logic, we should sell the company tomorrow.
c.The formal, guiding principles of a discipline, school, or science.
2.Valid reasoning: Your paper lacks the logic to prove your thesis.
3.The relationship between elements and between an element and the whole in a set of objects, individuals, principles, or events: There's a certain logic to the motion of rush-hour traffic.
Writers need logic, even if just for characters because they are a “relationship between elements and between an element and the whole in a set of objects.” Definition number three probably best suits the writer though the others are equally valid. Writers need to use logic not just between the relationships of characters, but also the events or plot of a story.
There is also the formal philosophy of logic known as epistemology. Epistemology features many ideas, concepts and tools for identifying logical truths or trying to separate fact from fiction. One of these concepts, or an umbrella concept, is the Criterion of Truth. The best explanation I've found comes from a little known book called
Ideas of Great Philosophers which has been a source of great interest for me in the last few years. That summary of the Criterion of Truth goes like this:
“One important area of logic is concerned with tests of truth – the criteria used to distinguish truth from error. A criterion of truth is a standard, or rule, by which to judge the accuracy of statements and opinions; thus, it is a standard of verification. To obtain a clear, correct view of any philosophy, one must understand its criteria of truth. This is particularly the case because of the many conflicting ideas to be found in different philosophies. The laws of logic cannot of themselves disclose facts about the world of man or nature. In order to discover such facts, or to evaluate the content of an argument, the individual must decide upon the criteria which can enable him to distinguish what is true from what is not true.
Not all criteria have equal validity or value; while some are adequate, others are of questionable worth. The criteria dealt with in the present discussion have been chosen, not necessarily because they may be widely regarded as most useful or adequate but rather because they have become most familiar to, and are in common use among, the general public and academic or scholarly circles.”
The list of Criterion goes:
Custom
Tradition
Time
Feelings
Instinct
Hunch
Intuition
Revelation
Majority Rule
Consensus Gentium
Naive Realism
Correspondence
Authority
The Pragmatic Criterion of Truth
Loose (or mere) Consistency
Rigorous Consistency
Coherence
The definition of each of this is not particularly important. You can look them up on your own or check out the book for yourself. The important nugget to be gained as a writer from this is that none of the criterion are valid alone. For example, Time is not a valid indicator of truth when a person says “Only time will tell.” What valid proof will time deliver? If you know nothing about subject A, and make no effort to learn anything about A, will the passage of time make any difference? Time alone will not solve any given problem. Another example is tradition. When in doubt, if you follow tradition will that solve your problems or illustrate the truth, or the best course of action? And which tradition? Feelings are not indicative of the truth. Feelings can mislead you or prompt you towards an incorrect course of action.
So all of these criterion may be useful as measurements of 'correctness' to varying degrees in different situations. But no single criterion is the lone tool for the individual, philosopher, or even the writer.
If there is one criterion that stands out, though, it is coherence. Ideas of Great Philosophers has this to say on coherence:
“As a criterion of truth, coherence refers to a systematic consistent explanation of all the facts of experience. To be coherent, a person must arrange all pertinent facts so that they will be in proper relationship to one another consistently and cohesively as parts of an integrated whole. Whatever facts are brought to light must be explained, must somehow be fitted into the system as a relevant or integral part. That explanation which most fulfills the requirements of coherence may be regarded as adequately verified.
Of all the criteria treated, coherence meets the demands of a standard of verification or test of truth most adequately. It includes reason, facts, system, integration, relationships, and consistency. Its obvious limitation lies not in the criterion of coherence, but in man’s limitations or his inability to obtain all the facts of experience. Only an omniscient mind possesses all the facts of experience; consequently, man must be content to deal with all facts at his disposal and at the present time, allowing that point to be regarded as proved true which is the most coherent under prevailing circumstances. That person, school of thought, or idea which is supported in a coherent manner by most of the facts must be accepted as verified.
One who objects to coherence as a criterion places himself in a delicate position logically, for he thus implies a preference for incoherence, which is absurd; furthermore, to attack coherence necessitates the use of a criterion that is either coherent and rational, or incoherent and irrational; to appeal to irrationality is absurd, thus obligating a person to accept coherence as his criterion of truth.
Finally, a moot question arises as to whether or not there could be several equally coherent systems, each containing all the facts of human experience.”
To be coherent and have all the facts of experience a person would have to be God, or a god. And an omniscient one at that. Striving for coherence is a worthwhile ideal in life but can never be fully attained. But for the writer it is a much different case. The fiction-writer is omniscient. They are The Creator of their universe. They define everything that exists and everything that happens. If there ever was a perfect opportunity for a person to practice coherence, writing is that perfect opportunity. But only if the writer focuses on it.
Do the character relationships seem natural and make sense?
Does the plot evolve, or have I hammered in arbitrary points and contrivances?
Does the plot even make sense? Would these things actually happen? Would people actually be the cause of them?
There are also
fallacies of logic which are often found within arguments. The writer can either use these fallacies by allowing a character's argument to rest upon them, or they can check any personal philosophy distributed through the fiction against known fallacies to make sure it is logically sound.
These are all important things for the writer to consider. Logic is one of the most important tools a writer can possess.
Solving Creative Blocks With The Lifetime Effect
I got over my problem of blockage by referring back to that trusty question; "What's the worst thing that could happen right now to my characters?" My characters were looking at a 2-3 day rest, but that would be boring. So I hit them with something.
Another trick associated with that is switching viewpoint tracking to various characters and showing how the dramatic events are affecting each one of them. When a serious dent is hammered into the Heroes' plans, the villain sits in his castle cackling with glee. A silly abstracted example, but you get the point.
So all I did was come up with a Worst Case (aside from death) and then show how it affects everyone in the story. I might call it the Lifetime Effect, for the heavy handed way in which it's used in Lifetime channel movies. You know, the happy couple is engaged to be married, and then she founds out he's a serial killer, or he founds out she's a serial killer, or they get married and everything is great until he starts beating her and rapes the step-daughter. Or until she discovers the husband's secret stash of child pornography and personal molestation journals.
But it doesn't end with the Inciting Incident. One of the characters goes into therapy and things look better until suddenly there's a car accident. You know, when you can't think of anything specific Just Add Drama.
The wife loves that kind of drama, and it's why she often gets hooked into Lifetime on a lazy afternoon. And I'm not ashamed to admit that
*IF* I sit down to watch, I too get drawn in. Those Lifetime writers know their drama. I only wish they'd apply it to another genre, like sci-fi. Why don't cars or buildings explode in Lifetime movies? Hah! Yeah right!
So blocks get solved by drama. When in doubt, use the Lifetime Effect!
Week Three Blockage
The NaNoWriMo Week Two newsletter claimed week two is the most difficult. I'm thinking it's week three that's most difficult. At 23,440 words I'm starting to feel the pinch.
I'm trying to think of other characters or viewpoints I can explore to take a little break from the main characters, but it's just not happening. My main characters want to push straight ahead.
My only fear is this will end the story too quick. They're getting close to The Goal and once they do the final showdown will start. So I'm trying to hold them off a bit with some distractions, but what those distractions are or where they take place are currently throwing me through a loop.
I guess the best solution is just to push forward and if the story ends prematurely I can go back and insert stuff.
Maybe it's time to fire up the romance portion of the story. The plot dictates my characters have a 2-3 day rest anyway while they wait for some things to come through. I suppose some character R&R is in order, and maybe that will allow some other forms of trouble to send
them through a loop instead of me. :)
Theories Inspire Fiction?
Philip K. Dick's 1955 novel Solar Lottery was inspired by John von Neumann's Game Theory.
Many of the concepts and even some McGuffin's of my stories function on Quantum Theory.
It is safe to assume there are countless stories inspired by one theory or another, whether it be scientific or philosophical.
Theories seem to be a source of inspiration for writers. It is no coincidence that one of my favorite books is Jennifer Bothamley's
Dictionary of Theories which can be found in many a Barnes & Noble bargain bin. Dictionary of Theories has over 5,000, which
in theory could be the inspiration for 5,000 stories.
In theory, that is. ;)
Do you have a favorite theory?
Fun Characters
I've been putting a little writing in this weekend, which brings me up to 22,355 words. I'm to the middle of the story, middle of the second act (at least I think).
Open Office's Writer is reporting it at 53 pages. I'm almost at the halfway point, so by these numbers 50K words is not going to be anywhere close to 175 pages as official estimates go. Or do they mean smaller paperback pages?
Anyway, the story is really getting to some fun parts. I'm introducing a minor character that exists in my other Quantum stories. He's a really fun character to write because he has a very strong personality that complements his, uh, job and everything he does. By Chris Vogler's
Writer's Journey he falls under trickster type. He's just a blast to write. I look forward to writing his parts in the other Quantum stories even more now.
Do you have really fun characters that aren't your heroes? Are they tricksters or something else?
Story Plotting & Resonance
I got ahead over the last couple days, so I allowed myself to take a break last night. I've been stepping back and thinking about my plot more, as this whole fly-by-seat-of-pants mad rush to 50K isn't on its own going to produce a good story. I had some major holes in my plot but I think I've got them solved, or I'm closer to a solution at least.
I've realized during this process that there is very much a macroplot and microplot, and up until the last few days I've only ever focused on the macroplot--the highest level
"This is what happens at X point in the story" type of observation.
As I've been writing, I've noticed how many gaps there are between different events of the macro-plot. Things as little as
"How does my character get from point A to point B?" and
"Will this other character be with my main character when that happens?" even further to
"These two characters are on opposite sides of the city. How do they get to be in the same place at the same time?"Thus you have the micro-plot, or mini-plot, whatever you want to call it. I often find myself scrambling to put together those between-events.
Why is it difficult?It's a bit like the difference between strategy and tactics. Strategy is the commander's view of the map or battlefield, looking at where the different parts of the army will attack, their movements and positions. Tactics are more local to small groups or individuals.
"How will we cross that bridge?" or
"We need to secure this building or area, how will we do that?" Logistics.
It could be argued that tactics are something that happen in real-time, on the fly. Much like writing. But if you know your terrain, your geography, then it is just as easy to formally plan or plot on the micro scale as it is to on the macro scale.
The great irony here is that National Novel Writing Month is about learning not to obsess over your plot and to just start writing, yet during this process I've discovered ways to plot better and be more anal about my outlines.
The reason is the contest provides me with immediate feedback. I know as I write whether or not the parts I'm writing are coming out the way I want them. So far it's been a very mixed bag. Thus is the nature of improvisation. Sometimes you strike upon pure brilliance, but just as often (if not more) you're just pushing out garbage.
I've heard some writers say that you just have to write til the good ideas come out. That large volume is necessary in order to
"get the crap out" and get to the good stuff.
I don't subscribe to that idea myself. I think it's easier to get to the good stuff if you
simply know what you want, and know how to get it. Does that take some of the fun and exploration out?I find arranging some of the details to be drudgery. Whether or not my hero gets on a train and travels into the city or he decides to walk instead, the choice
while I'm writing is pretty irrelevant to my overall story.
That begs the question; "If those smaller choices are irrelevant to the overall story, then why would you feel the need to plot them?"
Because the foremost concern in my mind as I create my story is to add value anywhere that I can. Wherever I can strengthen the themes and concepts of the story, wherever that opportunity exists, I take it. The only real way to do that is to go over your story point by point and examine how every plot event contributes to the overall meaning and depth.
During the actual process of writing, when your fingers are flying across the keyboard, you're not thinking about value, theme, meaning, or depth.
You're just writing.Because you lack the intention of consciously infusing meaning and value, then it's not likely to find its way into the text except by accident.
Intention shows itself through forethought and premeditation. Maybe I experience the drafting process differently, but when I'm in the heat of writing there's very little if any forethought or premeditation going on. I'm flying on the winds of action and reaction. I'm not writing the story. My characters are writing it via their actions, reactions, and dialogue. That is both the beauty and the burden.
It is only upon examination and reflection do you begin to see where your story is strong or weak in theme, values, resonance. Some save that for after the first draft is written. For me it is entirely possible and much easier to consider those things before or during the actual writing process.
To keep a consistent and powerful resonance of the values and themes throughout the entire story is a difficult challenge, yet the most worthwhile challenge a writer should take.
So even in the enlightenment of National Novel Writing Month, I'd rather think about what I want to say before I say it, than to just babble and hope something meaningful comes out.
NaNoWriMo has changed me in one way though; I will probably do more planning and plotting as I write, rather than strictly before. You do have to take risks and leave some things up to chance. You also just have to get started and not obsess. The story doesn't write itself.
Cell Division
How little an effect that an infant has on the world, so is the effect of your story in its early development.
It's easy on occasion to get the blues while writing. You've come so far but at the end of the day it's
still just a story, and an unfinished one at that.
Your universe and characters are growing day by day. The cells of your story are dividing and reproducing themselves over and over. Different elements of your milieu aggregate and crystallize.
Yet, as a writer you still don't have anything concrete that affects the world in any way. For that you need patience to allow your work to reach fruition. You also need a little faith in yourself and self-confidence to see the work through.
Writing is one of the most challenging things I've ever done. In some ways it feels the most natural.
I became a songwriter because I wanted to say something with my music. I became a sound engineer because I wanted to tell a story via noises. I became a level designer because I wanted to create a world inside a computer game. I am becoming a writer because I have always been a storyteller in one form or another. This is the core of my interest, my craft.
I attempted to tell a story before I could even write. I had my older brother Greg transcribe a story when I was three years old, titled No Good at the Beach--about an undertow that caused the beach to close down. I taught myself to read, with the help of my elders, from the age of five. Nobody pushed me, I wanted to do it. I remember saying boldy that I wanted to read on my own, and throwing a tantrum when somebody offered to read a book to me.
In the second grade we had to write a story. I wrote one about a mysterious temple that had been built underground inside of a cave.
In the fourth grade I was taken into a back room of the school and given a special test. The teachers were worried about me because my math skills were severely stunted. The test showed two interesting conclusions. My math skills were at the second grade level, and my reading was at the eighth grade level. The administrators only focused on one of those conclusions. Here's a hint; It wasn't my reading.
In the eighth grade I remember being yelled at by my health teacher Ms. Tweito for reading a novel in class. Of all the hells reserved for bad teachers, there's a special one reserved for those who discourage students from reading. I'll grant her the novel wasn't related to the topic of health. On the topic of health, what about mine? Reading is a great prescription towards a healthy lifestyle if there ever was one. Oh that's right, you're not actually supposed to
use the things you learn in school.In high school I vented my angst in short stories scribbled out in my notebook. There was one about an angry isolated high school freshman who also happened to be a were-panther. He transformed into a panther and committed senseless violent acts before returning to his human form and slipping back into class.
For some reason the obvious eluded me. I never saw myself as a writer or storyteller. In some ways I still don't. Some people have been doing this since they were a kid with the intention of landing themselves a career.
Only half of that is true for me; I've been doing this since I was a kid, but never gave much thought to intention. Constructing a narrative has always just been a part of who I am.
The irony is that it's taken me twenty eight years to realize that. Sometimes the realization bothers me. I think there is something pretentious about calling yourself a writer.
Maybe there shouldn't be. A writer should just be a writer--defined by their action of writing and nothing more. More often a writer is defined by the flaunting of their intellect, their witty anecdotes, jokes and repartee.
I've never been quick-witted when it comes to conversation. I don't think of the funniest thing to say, or the most appropriate story to tell at a social gathering. I don't hang out in coffee shops or bars and discuss philosophy, history, politics, and religion. Maybe I should turn in my Intellectual Identity Badge.
I am, however, defined by my actions. I write. I constantly play with ideas. My mind is ever drawn to the odd and quirky, the unique or interesting. My own brain is the greatest playground that could ever be constructed for me. And let me tell you, growing up in what was then a rural part of Minnesota and spending long summer days alone, I needed it.
And when I take the time out from writing or playing with ideas to do a little navel-gazing,
(Or is it taking time out from navel gazing to do a little writing?) I think about that pre-literate three year old who cajoled his brother into transcribing a story for him. I think how my path has been anything but the straight line. It's more a hairball of tangled scribbles.
Day by day, point by point the dots connect and form some kind of line. It may not be straight but it's a line nonetheless. A linear aggregation of form. Just as a story may take shape over the course of months or years, the acts of doing so form a writer.
You didn't start out being who you are. You arrived there from a long series of actions and reactions.
It's a little like cell division.
Deep Milieu...
One of my peeves in both stories and games (game stories) is that things like items, objects, or weapons have special names or are created but no background. So you've got this groovy gun in an action game. It has a special name. I assume it's made by a corporation? What's the corporation's name? Is it the same as the gun? Does the corporation have a parent company? Who owns the corporation? Who are its customers?
The are an infinite number of questions that a writer could answer which generate further details to support the story's universe. Does the reader or audience need to know all that stuff? Not necessarily. But it's nice to have just in case. And it can be inspiration for other stories set in the same universe. You could tell an entire new story set in the same universe based purely on a corporation that exists in that universe. It may or may not have anything to do with previous characters or stories you've written, but even if it's completely unrelated it enriches that universe nonetheless.
So if there are products in your universe, who makes them? If there are political factions, who started them? Who currently heads them? How do those political factions interact with or affect the political climate of your story universe? The characters in those factions have their own histories. Maybe they're worth stories of their own?
The point is, you can never go too deep in generating details of your universe. You don't have to beat the audience over the head with those details or put them to sleep. Just log them in your Milieu Library as fodder for characters, events, or backdrops for future stories set in that universe.
Who manufactures the blasters in Star Wars?
Who designed, created, and manufactured the Firefly class ships in the Firefly/Serenity universe?
In Gattaca, are there underground organizations that coordinate the false ID creation of natural-borns or help them to infiltrate genetically perfected society? If so, who heads that organization? How did they get to the be there?
Behind all these questions are substories or individual stories of their own that would enrich the universe of the intellectual property.
How deep is your milieu?
Surviving The Desert
In the Week Two National Novel Writing Month newsletter that Chris Baty sent out, he talks about how the first week is difficult, but the harder week is week two because that's where people begin to lose steam, inspiration, and find themselves high and dry in the desert.
I can certainly feel a little bit of the desert encroaching on my work. This is where dramatic tension between characters and concepts like the Unity of Opposites become your friend. It is also sometimes called a
dialectic. The idea is thesis and anti-thesis. Hero vs. villain. Or it may be a honorable, lawful hero arguing with a hero of less scruples who feels anything is justified in defeating the villain. Playing the characters off one another, especially in dialogue, gains you a lot of mileage. It also gets you some serious word count!
I was discussing my story with a friend yesterday and he raised a great point that is often used by writers or creators to invigorate their story with drama. All you need to do is ask yourself;
"What is the worst possible thing that could happen to my hero at this point?"And then you give the hero both barrels. It's important that a writer isn't afraid to push and attempt to destroy their hero in the hopes he or she comes out shining. Sometimes you as the author get to play the part of a villain in throwing obstacles at your heroes. There is such a thing as loving your heroes too much--when you like them too much to cause them any serious pain or you're unwilling to send them through the meatgrinder.
I've already started employing these techniques as I've hit the edge of the desert because I know the middle is the toughest part of the story.
What is the worst thing that could happen to a writer? Hitting that dry patch, that expanse of desert without the proper tools to survive it. Use whatever you can, whatever helps you get across the desert.
The literary cowboys have to keep on riding.
Word Count: 11,664
Act II - Moments with the Hero & Villain
Act Two of any story is usually the chunkiest and where most writers get bogged down. I'm no different. As I'm writing I'm struggling with problems of perspective and following several characters, including the hero and the villain around on their respective motions and actions. It's easy enough to make stuff up to fill the center of the story. To me that's not the hard part.
The harder part is making the center of the story truly dramatic and meaningful--as dramatic and meaningful as the beginning and the end. This is where it gets mushy for most writers, and I'm finding myself in that spot as well. I'm happy enough with what I'm writing, or that I'm keeping momentum at all. That's something to be thankful for regardless of the results.
However, it remains a serious challenge to decide when to switch or follow one character vs. another and to make the moments with that character truly mean something that resonates throughout the story.
All writing instruction tells you to avoid this, but as I write I find myself criticizing what I'm writing as I write it;
"The villain isn't playing his part mean enough. The things he is doing aren't strong enough in opposing the hero."Or I think;
"The hero, while having been assaulted by a few problems, hasn't really been challenged that much yet."And then I find myself thinking;
"Crap, I'm already to the middle of the story. So many things haven't happened yet that NEED to happen."I've tried very hard not to fluff anything or insert filler material. I've tried to keep the story action & scene oriented. Yet I still find myself struggling with the Mushy Middle.
From this experience I can say one thing for sure; A writer can never be too daring in Act Two. This is where most stories lose their steam. Given that knowledge, it seems like it would be easy to take the opposite route.
Knowing that stories lose steam in the middle, a writer ought to be able to really kick it up a notch and throw some wild things into the mix, don't you think?
Or maybe it's just the old Hemingway quote?
"The first draft of anything is shit."
Indeed.
Word Count: 10,416
Deciding Perspective
Deciding perspective on the fly can be tricky. Often times I want to tell a scene from more than one perspective, but if I don't want repetition I have to sacrifice one of the perspectives in favor of the other. So I'm mourning the loss of that "other cool perspective" as I write.
What do I learn from this? In the future I may want to make some notes on perspective in my outline or along with my plot structure. It's difficult to make these choices on the fly.
Word Count: 8172
Progress & Dialogue...
2952 words this chunk, bringing the total to 6633. If it weren't for NaNoWriMo I probably wouldn't be counting. I'm just having fun. I've got my hero and the female lead smacking each other back and forth with playful banter. It's hard to stop the flow of joking insinuations and crude humor on the part of the man, and feigned offense on the part of the female. There's something compelling to me about nuance of flirtation that adds a lot to a story. I hope it comes across as entertaining as it feels to write it. Normally I hate such an expression, but only time will tell.
After this first draft is done I plan to shove it in a drawer for a few weeks as Stephen King
advises and either take a break or work on something else. Then I'll come back for an editing pass or rewrite, depending on how I feel about the work after reading it with fresh eyes.
So far I'm very satisfied with the routine NaNo has enforced upon me. That's the point, isn't it?
Character Names From Spam?
Looking at my junkmail here are some names: Lamont Giles, Denny Shipman, Mel Brewster, Heidi Coker, Kodey Stiff, Bruno Carpenter, Nimrod Lower, Nestor Barnes.
And the winner is...
...Wilfredo Dickey.
I'm not saying these names are actually good. But some of them are funny, and at the very least, interesting. Does that make spam good for something?
Chapter Two
Another 1852 words tonight. That makes 3680 total. Was on the fence about whether to keep going. I had reached a point where I needed to cut scene to another character for the sake of pacing. I was having trouble deciding because if I don't cut to another character, this chapter will be twice as long as the first. I don't want to slow things down just yet. But it's starting to get late and I'm running out of time if I want to get to bed sometime this century. I'll have a better idea how I want to approach this introductory pacing when I start the day anew.
I've got to dig into this book I have on CIA information gathering. I think it would really help out the investigative portions of my story. No time though! Guess I'll have to make some.
Story Obsession
A funny thing happened on the way to my daily word count last night. I became fully consumed, obsessed with the story. After I'd finished the first chapter I set it aside because the second chapter is a little lengthier and I didn't want to be up til 5AM or be forced to stop writing mid-chapter. Writing in chapter-sized chunks is very satisfying. So this meant I had to stop before I'd really even gotten started.
I couldn't stop thinking about my story. I still can't stop thinking about it even now. All these ideas are raging through my mind, different ways of doing different things at different points as I reach them. Character dynamics, interactions, shifts in mood or perspective. It's all flowing in my brain like a broken water main. I couldn't plug it if I wanted. And that's just fine with me!
My only worry is that the word for this month will be 'obsession' - running the writing process ragged for the month means that my story is all I will be thinking about. That's not a bad thing, although when you have other duties and obligations it becomes a distraction. So it looks so far to be a distracted month as well. GREAAAAAAT. As if I needed any more distraction. I'm totally Mr. ADD as it is, the obsession with story just pushes it on a rail like a freight train.
Ah well. Such is the writing life, is it not? And I think you have to be a little neurotic to write, so all of this means I'll just be more of myself.
Chapter One
First chapter complete. 1817 words. It was a cakewalk, mainly I think due to planning and outline beforehand. I knew exactly what had to happen. All I needed to do was generate the prose and details.
It went smoother than I expected. I could have kept going in fact, but I want to pace myself. I didn't finish my outline so there are some middle bits and end portions that I don't have any clue about. I don't want to rush to those points and hit a block, so I'm going to take my time daily. Ending with the finale of the first chapter was very convenient. If only the rest could work out that nicely.
Tomorrow in Chapter Two I will introduce my hero. I have twenty four hours to think about it. But really I should be thinking about areas of the story I'm less familiar with. Maybe it's not too late to continue the outline after all.
National Novel Writing Month is a lot of fun already. I'm glad I signed up.
Insanity Begins...
Insanity? A.K.A. National Novel Writing Month. I'm still at zero word count because I didn't want to start at midnight and have to cut it short by going to bed. So that means this evening I'm going to bust my fingers on the keyboard and invoke a little carpel tunnel syndrome.
Should be fun. I notice a ton of contest participants have their first day's word count or even more. Do people have jobs? ;-)
I never finished my outline. I guess that's beside the point of the contest. No point in trying to finish the outline now, JUST WRITE.
For me the contest begins around 8PM CST.
Game Experiences Inspire Fiction?
Been thinking the last few days how some of my game experiences affect the way I might write some of my action scenes. There are tricks and tactics in playing a game like Battlefield 2 for example that would very much apply to real life or a story.I’m sure some would be inspired by their Grand Theft Auto gaming sessions to write action scenes that resemble their most memorable experiences.What do you think?
