The Big Question

 For the next month or so, I’m publishing my workshop, including worksheets, called “The Big Question” where I’ll lead you through one method of going from a simple idea to a complete outline of your novel. Remember that you can ask me questions via the comments under each blog or by hitting reply if you get my content via my .io group.  Enjoy!

The Big Question

How to Create a Powerful Novel

from a Few Ideas and One Big Question

by

Marilynn Byerly

Have you ever read a story then felt dissatisfied by it as you put it down?  

You thought about the story's elements.  The main characters were likable enough, the story had plenty of action and conflict, the bad guy was suitably bad and powerful enough to be a challenge, and the story ended the way it should, but something was missing. 

That something is often called depth or resonance, and it's that element that turns an ordinary story into one you couldn't put down.   

How do you create a story like that?  It starts with the creation of the story.

THE THREE LEVELS OF A STORY

A story has three main levels as you create it.  

LEVEL ONE

The first level is the theme or general idea.  It is the simple statement of what the story is about on a large level.  It is the Big Question.  Just a few of these questions are: 

Can illusions about your lover destroy a relationship? (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, THE GREAT GATSBY)  

Will obsession with the past destroy the future? (DAVID COPPERFIELD, MOBY DICK, GONE WITH THE WIND) 

What should you do when society and your own sense of morality clash?  (AVATAR, DANCES WITH WOLVES)

Each question has two sides. For the three examples above, the two sides would be reality versus illusion, living emotionally in the present versus living emotionally in the past, and society/duty versus moral beliefs. 

Here are some of the Big Questions I used with my published novels.

TIME AFTER TIME:  Can illusions about your lover destroy a relationship?  Reality versus illusion

THE GAME WE PLAY: After total betrayal, can a person regain their trust?  Trust versus distrust

THE ONCE AND FUTURE QUEEN: Will obsession with the past destroy the future? Living emotionally in the present versus living emotionally in the past

GUARDIAN ANGEL: What is true nobility?  The commoner prince versus the noble-born frog

A good Big Question must have strong cases on both sides to work.  

If, for example, you choose the Big Question “Is rape acceptable in a romantic relationship?” (rape versus consensual sex) you'd have a hard time making both sides equally strong because most of us in contemporary society find nothing acceptable about rape, and you probably couldn't either.  

The Final Hook

 "Keeping the Reader Reading," (Part 13 of 13).

Hooks aren't just for the beginning. Smart writers always have a hook at the end to make the reader want to buy the writer's next story.

The final hook is the fulfilled promise of the story. If the story is a romance, the story should end with the promised "happily ever after." In a mystery the crime is solved or justice is meted out, and in a fantasy the quest is achieved or the monster defeated. Science fiction as a genre doesn't have such an obvious promise, but the individual story has a goal which must be reached.

Much less effective is an obvious set up hook for the next book’s plot or a revival of the bad guy or monster.  That mainly just annoys the reader as badly as “The End?” at the end of a horror movie.  

A better choice for the final hook is a "warm fuzzy" scene that offers the reader a happy emotional feeling for the main character or characters. Warm fuzzies are the scene of domestic bliss with the hero and heroine holding their baby, or the traveler returning home to family, or the adventure companions sharing a laugh and a beer.  Warm fuzzies are very common at the end of TV episodes, too.  

If a warm fuzzy doesn't fit the tone of the story, an extremely powerful and emotional final scene is the most effective hook possible. The reader will read the end, sit quietly for a short time, then mutter to himself, "Damn that was good," and he'll wait eagerly for the writer's next story.

THE END

I Create the Epic Final Fight

In my last post, I talked about creating the epic confrontation between the main character/s and the bad guy/s.  Here’s two I did.    

In an unpublished novel, I had a hero who must face a were-dragon. This was the climatic fight between the two characters, winner take everything. The hero, who wants to die because his life will be a living hell, must survive for the sake of the woman he loves because her life is at stake as well.  So, I’ve got physical and emotional stakes.

I wanted him to face his weakness and fear of living as well as his own tendency to care more about himself than anyone else.

Since this is the climax of the novel, I wanted the fight to extend over several chapters, and I didn't want it to be boring and repetitive.

First, I thought about the weapons of a dragon — claws, teeth, fire, size, and wings. Considering a dragon's many weapons and ways to fight, I realized that I could divide the fight into three acts.

The first act is ground-fought and involves fire. The dragon will also use his human intelligence and voice as an emotional weapon.

The hero is tentative in his skill, and he's distanced himself from fights before so his weapon is a lance. He has a magical shield and armor which will help against the flame, but he can't survive the flame for long, and the dragon is creating a conflagration with the vegetation. The hero's uncertainty is also used against him by the dragon with his taunts until the hero acknowledges his feelings for his magic-using lover, and this allows her to bring magical rain to save him.

In the second act, the dragon has lost his fire because of the heavy downpour which has soaked the terrain as well as dousing his internal flame so he takes flight, and the two battle.

I thought about real-world flying warfare and the different ways a dragon can use his weapons in flight. I decided that the dragon would strafe the hero by using his claws to attack, and his wind in flight would be so strong the hero could barely stand to face it. The dragon would also use his weight to knock the hero down. 

After the initial fighting where the dragon uses these methods of attack, he manages to get the hero's shield which he's used against the claws and proceeds to shred him at each pass and exhaust him because of the heavy wind created by his wings. Barely staying on his feet because of exhaustion and blood loss, the hero finally retaliates by using the lance like a spear and throws it into the dragon's underbelly.

In the third act, the dragon can no longer fly because of damaged wings from the lance so he and the hero are forced to face each other in close quarters with no retreat. The hero uses a sword.

The hero now knows his own heart and has discovered his courage. He will no longer give up the fight. The dragon has discovered that he can die in this fight, and he's afraid for the first time, but he's forced to stay because the two are locked in a mythic pattern which neither can escape.

Since the battle is in close quarters, I thought about the dragon's different weapons, and the hero's battle plan. The hero must get close enough to stab into the dragon's heart, but the dragon uses his long neck, his size, and his speed to stay safe. The hero finally uses a distraction to shift the dragon's attention and stabs him.  The dragon dies.

So, the hero has won against the dragon and his own weaknesses to save the heroine and himself because of his love and courage.  An epic fight with a happy ending attached.  

Despite all the fighting, this final meeting between the hero and the dragon is more about what is inside the hero.  He fights on despite a stronger opponent as both keep running out of options, and the hero is forced to go beyond his abilities to win.  He proves he is a true hero inside and out as he faces his ultimate fear.  

And, yes, a dang dragon is one heck of a bad guy for an epic confrontation, but I’ve used a dilapidated warehouse full of old hay with the kidnapped heroine drugged, and the hero with one gun against half a dozen professional killers.  I did some thinking about what was there— birds to spook to misdirect the goons, sodden hay to shove off a loft on top of one, a hay hook suitable for gutting a bad guy, and common debris like soft drink bottles that the groggy heroine can toss to confuse the bad guys.  So, an interesting and frightening fight to the possible death in the real world.   

NOTE:  The heroines were never damsels in distress with the brave hero saving them.  Both had an equal part in the conclusion.  To simplify the explanation, I focused on the hero.  I hate wimpy heroines.  

The Demon Returns

"Psst. Psst. Over here!”

I ignored the tiny voice, leaned closer to the computer screen, and continued typing. 

"It's crap, you know. Total crap. No editor in the world will touch it."

I flinched but kept typing. "Go away."

"Boring, badly written crap. But I've got this great idea. A sure winner."

"That's what you said about this novel. Go away. I only have two chapters left. The final confrontation, the villain's glorious demise, the final love reconciliation, then fade to happily ever after."

"But I have a wonderful idea. You see the villain hires the hero to murder the heroine, and it's a South American country, and..."

I pushed my glasses back up my nose and straightened. The little demon, complete with horns, hooves, and curly black hair, sprawled on the WEBSTER’S UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY by my computer. He twirled his forked tail in his hand and grinned with more seductive skill than a host of romance novel hunks.

I smiled back in spite of myself. "I dreamed that last night."

"Yeah, it was me. Great idea, huh?"

"I wrote copious notes when I woke up. Thanks."

He preened his horns. "Thought it was your style. Action. Adventure. Cliffs to shove the heroine off of. Why you wasting your time with that--"

"It isn't crap. I have to finish. I always finish my novels. I'm a professional."

'And don't it steam me." A puff of smoke drifted out of his ears.

"I appreciate the ideas. Keep them coming. Now go away!"

"But.... How about a planet where--"

"Aren't we desperate." I smiled wickedly. "It won't work. I know what you are and what you're trying to do."

"I'm your friend. I'm trying to give you a salable idea."

"You're a withdrawal symptom."

Sitting up indignantly, he straightened an imaginary tie. "I beg your pardon. I am your adventure muse. And you don't do drugs. Not even booze. I am not...."

"Adrenaline withdrawal. Nothing more," I insisted.

"Adrenaline's what your body pumps when you're afraid," he protested.

"Or when you're facing a challenge. And adrenaline is addictive. Ask any stage actor. Or rock climber. That mountain gets climbed, not because it's there, but because the climber is addicted to the rush of danger."

The demon rested his hand on his forehead and wailed, "Oh, the terror of paper cuts, the exciting rush of eye strain."

I chuckled. "You don't know fear until you stare at a blank screen and try to bring people to life, create a world that is as real to the reader as it is to you. Creating order and reality out of nothing."

"And you're throwing away all that to finish that garbage."

"It's finished already. In here." I tapped my head. "All I have to do is type it out. All the creating is done. That's why you've shown up as you usually do. The adrenaline's stopped pumping so my subconscious starts giving me new ideas. New sources of that wonderful addictive adrenaline."

"But--"

"When your brethren show up, amateurs toss aside good projects and start something new. A pro knows what you are, takes copious notes of your ideas for the future projects' file, and finishes."

"You kink my tail sometimes."

"Go away, please, and let me finish. The sooner finished, the sooner started on one of your glorious ideas."

The demon grinned jauntily. "In that case...."

As he disappeared, I said, "And keep bringing me those great ideas."

With a thumps up gesture, he vanished in a wink of smoke.

Finishing a Novel

QUESTION:  I keep starting novels but can't seem to finish them because I can't figure out how.  Help!

Writing isn't just inspiration. A novel involves a great deal of planning, thought, and preparation. Those who just write instead of doing some form of plan or outline are more likely to be unable to finish a novel, or their novel falls apart. 

Learn how to make that plan, if not an outline. 

To do this, read books on writing. Most are one-size fits almost nobody, but you may eventually stumble on the one idea or method that gives you an "ah ha!" moment. 

Mine was Ben Bova's WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS which helped me understand the relationship between plot and character. It's a good book even if you don't write science fiction. (It's been republished under a number of names.) 

Find a good teacher. The Internet has some wonderful online teaching sites.

Ask questions at blogs like this one.

And when you find novels you really like, reread them and try to figure out what the writer did and how the novel was structured.  

Take the book apart by writing a short description of what happens in each chapter so you can better see the structure.  

Don't give up if  you really want to tell the story.  Eventually, you will figure out how to finish it if you work at it.