nanowrimo
I’ve been asked a few times about this year’s NaNoWriMo– National Novel Writing Month– whether I’d be participating, ect. To those who may not be aware what this is, it’s like a marathon for writers. Each participant will start November 1st, and attempt to write 50,000 words by November 30th. No one reads your story, quality isn’t an issue. It’s a chance to shut up one’s internal editor and just write.
As some of you know, I’m now working on the third draft of a fantasy novel I mean to seek publication for.
1667 words a day is a reasonable word count goal… especially as I’ll be writing full-time in November. So! Anyone participating is free to follow along with my progress. I have an account here. Friend me!
third draft theories
First, it’s probably safe to say that I’m feeling better. Thanks for the get-well comments, guys!
I’ve been going through my plot recently, as part of my scheduled plot-scrub (which is turning out to in fact be a beastly, terrible creature that seems determined to pin me down and chop me up– fie to whoever decided to hand that thing a chainsaw). After some study, I’m adding in another plotline, because I noticed that one of my protagonists seems to be lounging around when other characters aren’t looking. Add in another plotline, carefully consider the implications and how this will change the story… typical revision stuff.
But it also had me thinking about the structure of chapters, and how individual pieces (because chapters are pretty good examples of broken-up chunks of story) contribute to the overarching plot. While I’ve been re-planning chapters, inserting new ones, thrashing others, I’ve also been wondering what the best way to structure each chapter might be.
Simplistic as the idea is, what is a chapter, and what should it accomplish?
I don’t have the answer for that, of course. I’m not sure that there is one. But I do have some ideas, theories, some possibly even worth discussing.
A chapter should be enticing. The audience should want more. This is a cardinal rule of writing: make things that other people want to read. This point is entirely subjective; possibly the reasons we group books by genre. Fantasy, science fiction, and westerns are premises and settings, if you think about it. Romance, action, drama, suspense, and horror are plot and theme elements. This is why you can have a fantasy-action story, a scifi romance, a western horror, and other fun combinations (keeping in mind that setting seems to supersede tone in bookstores). While the genre lines don’t make complete sense in the matter of content, it’s really all reader expectation, desires to be filled. I don’t really like genre categories, but I think it’s important to realize what they really are: pre-defined tastes, not too unlike calling something sweet, salty, or chewy. Unfortunately, this ’season to taste’ rule doesn’t help with the composition of a chapter.
As an aside, my personal solution to the problem of interest is: Think of book ending that would make you (the author) bounce up and down with manic glee. Go write. Try to get there.
What else should a chapter be? Why do we use chapters? Why not some other paragraph breaks, also used in fiction to end scenes, ect? Adult novels don’t seem to include a ‘table of contents’ anymore. Some chapters are titled, some are numbered. Some are neither. Some people write long chapters, others end them after only a few pages. Some use length to determine their chapters, others are fond of POV shifts and scene changes, while some use significant plot events.
I have a theory right now that when chapters are long and based on plot events, elements of short story form might be a very good way to construct them. You have your basic elements of plot: set up, rising tension, crisis, and resolution. While this works for a story, this could also be applied to the individual elements of the conflict in their own right, and if a chapter is being based around chunks of conflict, it might be a smart way to structure a chapter, daisy-chaining conflicts and resolutions with each other from chapter to chapter, introducing new problems after the minor climaxes.
Note: there is a difference between ‘resolution’ and ‘problems go away’. I once read a book where a chapter ended with a character learning a terrible secret, then getting pushed down several stories, maiming himself if he did manage to survive. Building tension, conflict, and resolution– just not a happy one.
That style, of course, would create something of a rhythmic motion to it, a lapping of waves on a beach, so to speak. It could be good, or it might not work. But it would almost certainly focus the chapter on at least one big problem, which immediately inserts tension into a story.
Any other thoughts on the use of a chapter? I’m particularly interested in thoughts on structure right now.
illness
There’s nothing like feeling as if you want to curl up and die because the pain killers aren’t working to take one’s mind off of writing and craft. Don’t worry– it’s not a serious bug, just a miserable one. Bleh.
I’ll be on hiatus for a few more days.
lie to me
The other day, I was reading a few chapters of a story for my new crit partner (which is going very well so far, I’m happy to report), when I noticed that some her characters’ thoughts contradicted some of the events in the story. Stating theory like fact, coloring the readers’ view with their own perspective, making decisions about the other characters based on chance, situation, and emotion.
… I love it when authors do that.
The unreliable narrator has always interested me. It’s an immediate insight into the character’s head, creating at least two different stories into the prose: what they say is happening, and what I as a reader can see between the lines. Playing with perspective, can have some great effects on prose and help add an immediate level of depth to a story.
background to plot
I’ve re-entered into a plotting stage with my novel. I do this between every draft– write, plot, write, plot. It’s a good way to correct problems with form in your story.
For an example, two of the things I’m dissatisfied in the second draft were the intrigue (far too few characters, relatively little court conflicts), and the state of the rebellious commoners, which is mentioned but never plays a tangible role until the end.
Now, either of these two things could be described. I can paint in the features– a few rumors, some sub-plots, some sparkly court background. I can mention grumbling, unhappy common people and the high price of food. I can even hint at narrowly escaped danger.
Yet neither of these elements will truly become part of the story unless they have not just an effect on the plot, but a plot in and of themselves. More specifically, both must hurt my hero and heroine in a real and tangible way. Their interference must change my main characters’ mind about how they handle things, and cost them something important. Elements mean change in a story. It is vital to its structure.
end of my writing-hiatus
When I finished my novel, I decided to take a week-long break before I began working on the third draft. I finished my book on the early hours of last Wednesday morning, making this the last day of my writing-hiatus.
So in the meantime, I thought I’d take my mind off of the story with other things:
- I saw the new Producers movie. It was entertaining. It even made me twitch during some of the scenes, and the end of the movie is different from the first.
- I also watched V for Vendetta. I had not seen it before, but I have decided before the movie was even finished that I adored it. The only downside was that I couldn’t help but wonder how similar it was to my own book. Just a few plot elements– anarchy, revenge, plague, politics, men in masks– but it made me a little uneasy for a short while before I dismissed it. They’re different enough.
- I started reading Roger Zelazny’s “Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming”. As much as I loved some of his other work, I ended up putting it down halfway through. I’m simply not the sort of person that can stomach satire.
- I started reading one of the Forgotten Realms ‘Drow’ novels– Dissolution. I probably will finish that book (a good friend gave it to me, and I use the drow in gaming), but I can’t help but roll my eyes at the characters. In some four story lines so far, there’s only one I even remotely care about. I despise how D&D novels handle magic, I really do. There’s no art, no logical systems, no consistency to it. And this book in particular has an annoying habit of describing someone’s emotional reaction to something before mentioning what just happened. And the POV characters have this ‘magical’ insight as to what other characters are thinking, but don’t say how. ‘By their expression’ is not good enough. Stop being vague, you idiot writer. Give me details! And stop putting people out of character to attempt an omnipresent viewpoint!
… I’m done now. But it is true. Read bad books. They can be more helpful than a good book.
I also picked up three more crit partners in the last week. I think I’ll keep two of them; one is an older woman who has written forty first drafts, but never has published anything. I don’t think she knows about rewriting, or if she has, she’s dismissed it. There is a good reason not to stay on a first draft.
writing the second draft
I had a request to share how I went about writing the second draft of my novel. As a disclaimer, this is just how I did it; I’m certain that others try different methods that work well for them.
My first draft was written during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month– I highly recommend participating) last November, 50,000 words in one month. It took another week after November to finally finish it, which brought it up to approximately 52,000 words. As expected of a NaNo novel, it had several major problems.
First, there was the pacing. I was writing furiously for four weeks to produce volume, not good craftsmanship. My first test reader said that the book felt like it needed to be about twice as long, which I agreed with. The city was an undefined blur, the castle equally nondescript. My prose rambled, got distracted, changed ideas halfway through sentences.
Some of the characters were very fleshed out. Others were flat and uninteresting. My two protagonists, Rylan and Wyrren, were not very consistent. My villains showed up when inconvenient for my heroes, the characters were sidetracked at several points. Some characters I had decided would be important, but seemed to decline their part in my plot.
And speaking of plot… the entire middle of my story sagged terribly. I had the ending I wanted, the beginning I wanted, and I got to keep my tiger-fight… and yes, I could see what I was going for in that first draft. It was also an unholy mess.
Now, I’m a terrible critic. I’ve been spoiled by literature, and I’ve read too many good books to be impressed by mediocre work. This might even be the reason that I’m so hesitant to start reading something new… I have a fear of being let down by a book, as if they were a new friend that I was entrusting myself to. When I read a book or watch a movie, I ask myself things like, “If I had written this passage, would I be satisfied with it?”
I also have an excellent memory for words on paper. I can still quote poems that I memorized twelve years ago, regardless of length. So I don’t forget the things I write in a hurry.
In January, I read over a few pieces of my printed first draft, put it away, and began writing the second draft. From scratch. No references, no list of absolutely required scenes. After the second chapter, I felt that I needed to be reminded of where I was going. Instead of going back to the first draft, I wrote a detailed outline of the book and kept going.
To those of you who practice art, I compare the first draft to a thumbnail sketch. It’s enough to let you know what you’re going for. But if you draw from the sketch, you’re just going to get a bigger sketch. Best to have worked out your thoughts ahead of time and begin fresh, looking forward to other references other than old, and quick, work. I can say that my second draft is far superior to the first in every way, but still not perfect.
That’s what the third draft is for.
writing craft: the art of repetition
Since I’m taking a break from my book, I’ve decided to write a bit about craft and technique.
Repetition is a subject that I don’t see nearly enough coverage in craft essays. True, it is not a necessary element to a book, of less importance than characterization or plot. A writer does not need to know this to make a good story. Still, it is a tool that a writer may use to strengthen the elements in their story, and well worth thinking about.
When a reader sees a character behave in a certain way, they make judgments about that character. They will expect this character to do something similar when placed in another situation like the first. The reader judges the character by his actions and his insinuations. This is characterization.
When the character repeats himself as expected, this is called consistency.
And if three characters do similar things for similar reasons at different times, though their situations and their personalities differ, this is a repeating motive, one of the elements of repetition. It enhances a theme in your work, it sets the tone of your story. It plays with the prejudices the reader has toward your world, your events, and your characters.
Repeating elements can be used for foreshadowing. Say that four characters have a gun in a story. The reader will anticipate a time when someone draws it, will assume a need for weaponry (either in the situation, or because of characterization), and adjust their attitudes accordingly. It will be off-putting if no one makes use of said guns in some manner. Even if they’re not drawn, reliance on a weapon when fighting something like hunger can be a potent mental image.
Repeating elements are a base. They make the reader familiar with the setting. Let a church be a setting for a particularly happy scene. Take that same church, put some different characters in, and have something terrible happen. Put the church in again a third time, and the reader will have some very strong emotional connotations with that location.
finis
I’ve finished the second draft of Blue Crystal. The complete manuscript is 95,987 words.
I will not touch this again for at least one week. I need perspective before I do more.
fearless
I gave my notice at work today. I’m a project lead, not a tester, so I gave three week’s notice instead of two. Starting October, I’ll be officially writing full time. I have savings enough to live comfortably (if frugally) for several years. I’m also going to be moving to a small town in another state, between a lake and a mountain. Farm country.
On the wall beside my desk at work I taped a piece of paper, on which I’ve written, “Please don’t annoy the writer. She may put you in a book and kill you.” On the bottom left corner of that sheet I’ve taped up a dove candy wrapper. It’s nothing special, just wrinkled aluminum with a fortune cookie type message printed on the inside. This one says, ‘Be fearless.’
I think I’ll take that one with me when I go.
As for the book’s progress (for the curious)… I’m starting the last scene of the last chapter of the second draft.
