I have been working more on the structure of my planned novel. Two places jump out as important to focus on – the start and the end.

For the start – character, scene, world and scenario introductions can happen in isolation to the rest of the story. This is the first time that the reader will be encountering anything about the world represented in the novel. As such the need for it to follow on from the rest of the story does not exist.  Of course if something at the start is to be used later in the novel then it needs to be presented in a consistent manner.

The end is different.

The end is encountered by the reader after they have read through the whole of the novel (hopefully.) It is also responsible for delivering the reader a satisfying and fulfilling conclusion to the novel. As such it needs to build on material delivered through the rest of the novel.

The technique I have decided to use is to have the ending of the novel as the culmination / resolution of an arc that will be revealed through the rest of the story. I have identified what I think that resolving action should be and from that the subject of the arc that leads to it.

I am also working on other arcs that feed into the construction of this ending-providing arc. As such these additional arcs and situations are worked back from the end of the novel – rather than created by plotting from the beginning of the novel.

Hopefully this will deliver a rich and rewarding experience to the reader.

Playlist

Time / Pink Floyd

I have recently managed to get some plotting done for a planned future novel, working on how to get reader engagement with the characters at the start of the novel.

While considering other novels I have read recently I noticed the commonality that it is the antagonist in the story that drives the plot.  The protagonist, who the reader typically empathises with, usually plays a more passive role – at least initially.  They react to the situations and scenarios thrown up by the actions of the antagonist.

An antagonist as described here is not necessarily a ‘bad guy’ in a story but they are a character that is driven by their own motivation and as such impose their will on the protagonist, for example a Gandalf figure calling Frodo to a journey.  At a stretch an antagonist can be a situation or ‘the system’, for example the favela culture in the 2002 film City of God.

If the protagonist is not the driver of the plot then does this shape how many stories are presented to the reader? In effect they become questions of ‘how would you react to this situation?’ which turn into cautionary tales if the protagonist picks poorly or educational tales if the protagonist picks wisely.

Playlist

The Water Margin Theme / Godiego