Struggling to Write That Novel?
Struggling to Write That Novel?
Maybe it’s time to go back to the basics
The Story Writer’s Path
Maybe it’s time to go back to the basics
You have an idea for a story.
You’re excited about it!
You jump right in, anxious to get your words onto the page.
But then you stop. Could be for any of a number of reasons. Maybe you don’t know your characters very well. Maybe you don’t have much of a plot. Or maybe you don’t know — you just have a vague, indefinable feeling that something isn’t working.
I have a cure for you.
It’s time for you to go back to the fundamentals.
“Thankfully, craftsmanship (if not artistry) can be taught. It has hard rules that become malleable under an artist’s touch. So a wise artist goes through ‘basic training’ with those rules before toying with them.” ~ David McKenna
Fundamentals of fiction, otherwise known as elements of story
Those “hard rules” referenced above are what I’m talking about here: the fundamentals of fiction.
Google that phrase — fundamentals of fiction — and you’ll get a number of different opinions on what, exactly, they are. But for my money, and for our purposes here today, I consider them to be:
Character
Setting
Theme
Structure
Style
These are the building blocks of story. They are the basic elements of story. Yes, there are many others, including description, which I consider under style. But having a working knowledge of these five elements of story gives you tools with which to get yours onto the page in a form that ultimately your readers will enjoy.
Let’s look at each fundamental separately. I’ll take an in-depth look at each one in future columns. And I also urge you to remember that all of these elements work together to form a cohesive whole. But by pulling them out and studying them one by one, we’ll be in a better position to create that whole story later.
Character
Stories start with the characters at the heart of them. The author creates a character who wants something desperately, then places obstacles in her path to achieving her want. The tension that results propels the story.
The characters in your story are what people remember. They are what readers will tell their friends about when they urge them to read your book. Characters in conflict are everything to a story, and for many authors they are where story begins.
In my experience, an idea for a novel starts when I think of a character I want to know more about. She may be based on something I’ve read, a person I observed, or a snippet of overheard conversation. The muse is mysterious and brings us ideas in a variety of ways. But for me, once that character has popped into my brain, I’m driven to follow her and see what he’s about. And that’s when my story starts to emerge.
Structure
In order for your characters to progress through their story lives, they need a structure. Your job as an author will be much, much easier if you have some kind of idea about this before you get started. (Even you pantsers out there can write a loose list of what happens in the story, right?)
Google story structure, and a writer could get overwhelmed. There are many competing systems, and their proponents will loudly proclaim that theirs is best. Among them are the hero’s journey, the Aristotelian plot, the screenplay three-act structure, the structure TV producer Dan Harmon used to write his series Community, and many more.
My advice is to read about them, and as you do, envision how your story fits with each one. You’ll start to internalize these structures and have them at your disposal as you write. Christopher Vogler, author of The Writer’s Journey, (which details the hero’s journey structure) says that most writers have read and watched so many stories that they follow plot structures intuitively. I agree — and I also believe it behooves you to study the various structures to help guide you even deeper.
Setting
Where does your story take place? Where do your characters live, work, and play? A story set in midtown Manhattan is very different from one set on a Midwestern farm. Setting influences character in myriad ways. And in some stories, setting is so important that it assumes the role of a character.
Setting also comprises time, weather and what stage hands would call props. And those in turn influence character. Your character works at a favorite desk that’s been handing down through her family. Or when her parents died, your protagonist sold everything in their house — no sentimental favorite desk for her! Those are two very different characters, with very different attitudes toward aspects of setting. And those attitudes help to characterize them.
Style
Style is your voice. It’s how you put your sentences and paragraphs together. It’s the way you write descriptions of your characters and locations, your diction and your flair. Style emerges naturally as you write. And the more you write, the more easily your style will flow.
Style also emerges through editing. As such, it is one of the last aspects of story that you’ll get to. Because there’s no sense in finely crafting a sentence in your first draft if that sentence gets cut in a subsequent round of writing. Through editing, you can find strong verbs, hone your descriptions, select metaphors, and create beautiful sentences.
Theme
What’s it all about? What is the thematic statement you’re making? What does the story mean? Theme helps you to organize your story by providing you with a spine for it. You take an idea or character quality and explore various aspects of this idea or quality in your scenes. This sounds very high falutin, and it is, in a way. But there’s no need to panic and score all your scenes to see where theme fits in. Because I’d wager to guess that theme is there. It just may be buried. Once you’ve identified it, it’s easy to go in and raise it up into the light so the reader can see it.
I used to tell my students that theme emerged as you write and not to worry about it too much at the outset. I still believe that to a certain extent. You’ll get a more in-depth idea of your theme as you draft, for sure. But I do think it can be helpful to have at least a loose idea of your theme as you begin. It can — and should — be something simple. Like success, or loneliness, or betrayal, or magic. Coming up with a single word for your theme gives you something to shoot for as you write — and you can always change your theme if something different emerges.
I’ll talk more, much more, about all of these elements in future columns, as mentioned, and also discuss how they work together to create a whole. But for now, class is dismissed.