Destined for greatness…
Today’s plan is to not work on the text of the book which, arguably, increases my odds for success.
Instead, I plan to write three documents. Each document will represent the arc of one of the three main characters in the book, written in their character’s voice. The goal is to take more of an "outside looking in" approach to the novel.
Basically, the ongoing quandry is that I am writing a good book. I know there is something going on in the book that makes it relevant, interesting, and funny. And a lot of that stuff is nailed. But it is not swift and precise. There are belabored points and moments that seem forced for the sake of not knowing what comes next, or rather what should come next in the novel moreso than what would occur next if the book were instead the blog of the person recounting their day.
For example, when the character switched into turning his creation into a small business, before it becomes a national craze, he needs to get the money to start up the business. So, in earlier drafts,
it actually had him, I kid you not, applying for a loan.
Was there anything interesting that occurred? No.
Was there any point to needing to see the character do this? No.
It was just the next linear step this character would have to take to get from where he was at the end of the previous chapter, to where he was going in the next/forthcoming chapter. And, it actually took a while to say: umm, who fucking cares?
Suffice it to say, in the current draft, the character mentions in passing that he also has a loan and a lease hanging over his head now. Less than a sentence, and it used to be a small chapter.
So, the tendency is for me to get too hung up in the minutae (a word I really need to learn how to spell given the degree to which I use it).
Today’s exercise is to have the characters discuss (from a vantage point in the future from the novel) a look back on that time in their life and their personal interactions.
The goal, really, is to see where the intersections are, to focus on making the characters less amorphous and possibly generic, and tightening up the flow of the book as a result.
I know already that each character is walking one trajectory of the current or about-to-be-former part of my life. Rather than having one character be my direct stand-in, I’ve sort of exploded myself into three distinct characters, each working around one specific obstacle.
But, without clarity on these, it is basically me looking in on three fragments of myself and trying to get them to interact as three separate entities, like some sort of forced, transcribed schizophrenic episode I intend to sell.
By bringing clarity to them as people, writing in their own voices to make them stronger as individuals, I think it will be good to see each character’s distinct path through the narrative and where they need the other characters to progress. I basically don’t want the main narrator’s story to be dominant and whenever I get stuck, I just toss someone in a room with him for the sake of story advancement.
If each character’s emotional and narrative arc is explored, it will make sense what needs to occur to get each character to the point at which the book ends, and then make it easier to work back and ensure those things happen on some sort of appropriate timeline. The two non-narrator characters have small story arcs, so it isn’t really juggling three equal balls, but they also get folded into the story one at a time, at different levels of progress toward their goals, so it all times out pretty well.
I refuse to rest on a good book when I know I’m a revelation away from having a great book. Even bringing more purpose to the secondary characters will drive the overall narrative better. I also hate the notion of these characters just being props to serve as downtime between the narrator’s arc.
For example, I saw "Thank You for Smoking" yesterday, which is the best movie I saw in 2006 so far. (That said, it knocked nothing down to the number two position as a result, it was the first movie to actually place this year). And from the second it begins until the credits roll, it is ‘game on’ and everything works perfectly, the tone is locked and loaded, and it is so satisfying. Right now, my novel has the bombast and backdrop perfected, it is the characters that need the clarity.
As I have written the linear story already, as far as what the characters need to do to advance the plot, what remains is what subtext and off-topic interactions need to occur for them to advance their own narratives at the same time. I want this book to have three strong characters, not just one.
So, the goal is to write those three documents today and call it my workday. If that means I get the night off, great. If that means I’m finishing them up at 2 a.m., oh well… but that is the task at hand.
It seems like anything that will get the book moving in a direction from good to great is worthwhile.
