I intended this week’s blog as a discussion of how I am Master of the Universe (I had a really great He-Man tie-in too – always a bonus). The more I tried to discuss how I control my characters, how I tell them what to do, and why to do it; the less sense I made. BING! A lightbulb magically appeared, inches from my expanding gray roots. I don’t control my characters, not any more.
I’m prepping for the grand word-dump to “finish“ the novel (this as an absolute appropriate use of quotes – cause this baby is nowhere near done). So while I still have 20,000+ words to write, they’re words I’ve played over and over in my head. I’ve spent more than 45000 words giving my characters life, establishing pasts, developing prejudices; I know who they are. As preparation for writing the climax, I cut their actions open, poked around a little, took out some unimportant bits to see if it still worked, added some new stuff, then sewed it all up.
But why should it matter? I already know what should happen; my novel’s plot framework was built years ago. It’s what I’ve used to drive my story forward. I now realize it doesn’t work that way: the characters decide what they will do next. I’ve given them personalities, histories, emotions and now they don’t want to go where I point. They tell me it doesn’t make sense, they would never do that. They’re right.
For example, it’s easy to decide I want random-character-Don to stride across the room, tap a large burly man on the shoulder, and then fill his face with fist. What’s tricky is why. If Don weighs 130 pounds, spends 50 hours a week programming video games, and hasn’t had a face to face conversation with a girl in five years; you, as a reader, won’t believe. It won’t make sense. No scrawny, introverted keyboard tickler would risk his life hitting a man who could crap rusty nails. But if I tell you this scene is research for the latest video game he’s developing and the burly man is a co-worker, then it becomes more believable (stupid, but believable). As readers, we can understand why Don hit the other man; the action has an element of truth.
Think of it another way – what would have happened if Harry Potter had befriended Draco Malfoy instead of Ron Weasley? Based on what we learn about Harry (he’s kind, devoted, and honorable), becoming friends with Draco would be implausible – we as readers wouldn’t believe it. Or what if Melville had let Captain Ahab keep both legs? His obsession wouldn’t have the same poignancy, the same madness. Melville took that leg, giving Ahab the motivation he needed to drive the story forward. These are the kinds of questions percolating constantly in my head; distracting me (sorry guy I almost rear-ended on I-94).
Until now, I never understood how writers like Meg Cabot or Stephen King could write their novels without a detailed outline of the plot. I get it. They didn’t need the plot. They created complex characters with meaningful back stories, characters they understood. Then they gave them some problems to solve, asked them some questions (like what happens when a car starts thinking for itself) sat down at the keyboard, and documented what happened. OK, that’s an incredible over simplification; just go with it. Good storytelling is way more than moving a plot from A to B to C. Good storytelling evolves because you create complicated, interesting people, then put them through hell to see what they do next.
With these truths in mind, dear reader, I’ve been looking back at my novel, tweaking actions that didn’t make sense for Lou and Al. They’re making some different choices now. With the end in sight, I think we’ll all end up in the same place, but now the path is of my characters’ choosing.
August 16 Word Count = 42,775
