The Compass
Thank the Writing Gods for him. Okay, first of all, read his post today. Amen. But that's not why I'm thanking the Writing Gods for him today. You see yesterday I was in what he terms the "death spiral of ideas." I have a MASSIVE book, a dystopic novel, set in 2020 . . . and it's essentially, at its heart, a love story set at the end of the world (or is it the end of the world?), and about an Angel of Death who has become fascinated by the two people. I've altered the main female character ever so slightly. She takes pictures of dead people now. And yesterday I was toying with excising a character who is part of the famous nun study in favor of a more linear storytelling narrative.
And that guy asked a very simple question.
Does the end contain the beginning?
And indeed it does. Because the nun's brain (in the actual study, they all agreed to donate their bodies to science) . . . winds up at the end. Literally. Her brain.
It's easy to, particularly in big books, get tangled in the morass of intersecting plot lines. Because my novel spans centuries . . . there are touchpoints where characters meet or just miss each other. Moments when the thread of one weaves through the scene of another--much like life. It is random--and yet not. What one person calls a coincidence, another calls an act of God. But in the end, we all, as writers, should tape a few questions to our computer that ground us.
Does the end contain the beginning is one of mine.
What are your questions? What's your compass?
11 comments:
That's a concept I finally grasped about a year ago, and it was through writing short stories. It definitely happens in EXILE, but I'm not quite there with SCAR. It will by the time I'm finished, of course, but I haven't written the end yet. Hoping to crack that file again next week!!
Starbucks:
Full circle . . . it's funny, but when I edit, that's something I see missing all the time.
E
I think I phrase it a bit differently, but I'm struggling with it in the current Derek Stillwater novel I'm working on, and the question I ask is, "What's the story?"
He's in Moscow to meet his son. There's a terrorist attack. There's the beginning of a plague that's going to spread. The mother of the child appears. An assassin is stalking him.
All good stuff, all important, but I still have to ask myself, "What's the story?" and focus on that.
Mark:
I do that question as well. Because there's a global thing going on in my book, but at its heart, it's a human drama about two people who love each other improbably passionately . . . and when I shrink it down to them, and to the Angel of Death, that's its soul.
One of your best posts. My own writing is only good when the ends contains the beginning.
Also, I think many writers get "tangled in the morass of intersecting plot lines." I know I do.
And it is not just writers. The same thing happens to readers.
My wife's thing is science fiction books. She is a master at reading all over the universe. But I tend to prefer more direct straight-line plots. I'm not as smart as she is.
Joe:
Sci fi is probably my least favorite genre because it's usually so dense with details . . . I get lost. Yet I love sci fi movies, and MOST of the time it's because they pull it into a character drama. I can "see" the details, but that's not the most important thing. It's the human drama.
Hah! This made me laugh, because my question is: Does the beginning contain the end?
Same thing, I think, mostly. I'm sort of obsessive about it. I also like to make sure all story questions are at least hinted at and all sub-plots are rooted. I'm always afraid people are going to stop reading, so I have to set at least three or four hooks in.
Hooks in, lol Natasha! I think I'll forever think of story hooks as story CLAWS.
Especially in horror books...
Natasha:
Yes . . . same thing, LOL!
In my head I know the story, but when I sit down to write it, well, there's the rub. "Where's it going; I like it, will anyone else; Is the end near or do I just feel apocalyptic?" Those are some of the questions that strike when I stare at the page. Instead of coming full circle, I'm wandering in one. I'm dizzy with purpose, marching on no matter how clueless I feel.
And, YES, JVZ's blog a must read!
kath:
There is ALWAYS a panic point in every book I've ever written. Van Zile often pulls me in from the ledge.
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