Humble Beginnings
Posted by Andie Ryan Blog at 9/20/2010 11:47 AM 
Categories: The Second Novel, Revision Backroads, Writing Life
Tags: writing a book characters setting writing life conflict Revision characterization protagonist writing scene plotting action
Categories: The Second Novel, Revision Backroads, Writing Life
Tags: writing a book characters setting writing life conflict Revision characterization protagonist writing scene plotting action
I don't know any writer -- of anything -- who doesn't struggle with beginnings. We're overrun with ideas, we wake up with plot points in our heads, maybe we even whisper dialogue to ourselves on crowded trains or in the backs of classrooms. And yet the blank page or screen can seem like our worst antagonist, taunting and mean, parasailing yet another novitiate into that hearty congregation of non-starters.
"The last thing one settles in writing a book is what one should put in first."
Pascal, Pensees, (1670), 19, Tr. W.F. Trotter
Don't sweat about not knowing exactly where to begin. It will change, many times, as you progress through your story. The point is to begin somewhere, anywhere, that feels like a possibility -- a beginning that "could be," a scene that is necessary to advance understanding of a character or to describe a key action.
If this feels disconcerting, try it anyway. When your beginnings change, it means that your story is maturing and that you are coming to know your characters better. Your perspective about who your characters are is deepening. As a result, you know with greater certainty what your characters will do, how they will react, and what they are likely to observe. Another way to look at this is that as you work and revise, you understand what matters most to your characters. This brings you closer to their sources of sanctuary and, perhaps more importantly, their sources of conflict. It's a natural part of the writing process, and in an odd sort of way, something you can count on.
One strategy I find useful when I'm stuck on a chapter or stuck on where to begin is to write down those facts and scenes, including descriptions or lines of dialogue, that I'm pretty sure of. This can cover a lot of ground once you get going -- characters, key actions, key revelations, the story's climax, details of setting. As you do this, other ideas and details will come to you. Write those down too. Pretty soon, you're finishing drafts of chapters.
With the second novel, I spent some time in the early stages with details of setting. I knew it would be a small, isolated town, a place easily cut off in ways that a larger city or metropolis couldn't be. Because it takes place a few decades in the future, I wanted there to be signs of infrastructure failure -- infrequent mail and food deliveries, frequent power outages, other ways in which a failing economy would manifest itself in how people spent their time and how they tried to maintain some base standard of living.
I sketched how the town was laid out, where key places were, where the town gathering spots were, and details about weather. These details continue to evolve and expand but, so far, little of that early work has been abandoned. While changes are inevitable down the road, one of the benefits to starting with the details you feel sure about is that the story is built on a stronger foundation than if you try to force a particular first paragraph or scene (which is exactly what I did in the early drafts of Shakedown). Such details act as anchors of familiarity, and build on themselves. I feel sure that the coming changes will deepen, not replace, what's already there. (I also promise to confess if this turns out to be wishful thinking.)
Some of this early work might naturally feed into an outline, if you like to work with outlines. Early details spark conversations and actions and scenes, which become chapters, which become outline "entries."
For me, doing a character study off the bat is not the right starting point. There are some superficial details of character -- age, appearance, profession or vocation -- and the high-level motivations (catch a killer, identify a conspiracy) that are apparent, but the deeper motivations and conflicts are tougher for me because I find I don't usually have a handle on character relationships when I start something new.
I do know that characters should be close, their lives intertwined, to spark more powerful conflicts and motivations -- friends become brothers, former lovers become lovers again, a villain is someone's daughter -- but for some reason these evolve later for me. It's best if I write a few chapters to get a feel for who the characters are and also see which minor characters emerge as keepers. Anyone else experience this?
As an example, an unexpected character blossomed in the draft of the second novel. Originally "cast" in a bit part, she was destined for a very early fatality - now, I'm not so sure. I liked who she turned out to be in the preliminary chapters I wrote in her voice -- smart-assed as only the young can be, sure of herself, yet making mistakes and knowing it. If she lives, things could get more interesting for the protagonist. It would also set up a more natural conflict with another character. From this, all kinds of plotting possibilities present themselves.
I will say that writing a first novel is easier in a way than the second. With the second, you know how much work is ahead, and it can feel really daunting. You find yourself at the base of the mountain again. If you're fortunate enough to be sticking with the same characters for two or three books, you'll be amazed at how quickly you can write chapters for characters you already know well, and how rich your detail will be in the early stages. I wrote a killer opening chapter for Hollister for the Shakedown prequel I decided to abandon, so no one will ever see it. One of those one-sitting chapters. Oh well.
For better or worse, I have a whole new set of characters to know and understand this time around, so the early work can be a little rocky. But I remember how that opening chapter to the prequel wrote so effortlessly, and tell myself to hold the thought. By the time I finish the second, maybe I'll have figured out the beginning. Maybe I'll even be able to scribble it down in one sitting.
"The last thing one settles in writing a book is what one should put in first."
Pascal, Pensees, (1670), 19, Tr. W.F. Trotter
Don't sweat about not knowing exactly where to begin. It will change, many times, as you progress through your story. The point is to begin somewhere, anywhere, that feels like a possibility -- a beginning that "could be," a scene that is necessary to advance understanding of a character or to describe a key action.
If this feels disconcerting, try it anyway. When your beginnings change, it means that your story is maturing and that you are coming to know your characters better. Your perspective about who your characters are is deepening. As a result, you know with greater certainty what your characters will do, how they will react, and what they are likely to observe. Another way to look at this is that as you work and revise, you understand what matters most to your characters. This brings you closer to their sources of sanctuary and, perhaps more importantly, their sources of conflict. It's a natural part of the writing process, and in an odd sort of way, something you can count on.
One strategy I find useful when I'm stuck on a chapter or stuck on where to begin is to write down those facts and scenes, including descriptions or lines of dialogue, that I'm pretty sure of. This can cover a lot of ground once you get going -- characters, key actions, key revelations, the story's climax, details of setting. As you do this, other ideas and details will come to you. Write those down too. Pretty soon, you're finishing drafts of chapters.
With the second novel, I spent some time in the early stages with details of setting. I knew it would be a small, isolated town, a place easily cut off in ways that a larger city or metropolis couldn't be. Because it takes place a few decades in the future, I wanted there to be signs of infrastructure failure -- infrequent mail and food deliveries, frequent power outages, other ways in which a failing economy would manifest itself in how people spent their time and how they tried to maintain some base standard of living.
I sketched how the town was laid out, where key places were, where the town gathering spots were, and details about weather. These details continue to evolve and expand but, so far, little of that early work has been abandoned. While changes are inevitable down the road, one of the benefits to starting with the details you feel sure about is that the story is built on a stronger foundation than if you try to force a particular first paragraph or scene (which is exactly what I did in the early drafts of Shakedown). Such details act as anchors of familiarity, and build on themselves. I feel sure that the coming changes will deepen, not replace, what's already there. (I also promise to confess if this turns out to be wishful thinking.)
Some of this early work might naturally feed into an outline, if you like to work with outlines. Early details spark conversations and actions and scenes, which become chapters, which become outline "entries."
For me, doing a character study off the bat is not the right starting point. There are some superficial details of character -- age, appearance, profession or vocation -- and the high-level motivations (catch a killer, identify a conspiracy) that are apparent, but the deeper motivations and conflicts are tougher for me because I find I don't usually have a handle on character relationships when I start something new.
I do know that characters should be close, their lives intertwined, to spark more powerful conflicts and motivations -- friends become brothers, former lovers become lovers again, a villain is someone's daughter -- but for some reason these evolve later for me. It's best if I write a few chapters to get a feel for who the characters are and also see which minor characters emerge as keepers. Anyone else experience this?
As an example, an unexpected character blossomed in the draft of the second novel. Originally "cast" in a bit part, she was destined for a very early fatality - now, I'm not so sure. I liked who she turned out to be in the preliminary chapters I wrote in her voice -- smart-assed as only the young can be, sure of herself, yet making mistakes and knowing it. If she lives, things could get more interesting for the protagonist. It would also set up a more natural conflict with another character. From this, all kinds of plotting possibilities present themselves.
I will say that writing a first novel is easier in a way than the second. With the second, you know how much work is ahead, and it can feel really daunting. You find yourself at the base of the mountain again. If you're fortunate enough to be sticking with the same characters for two or three books, you'll be amazed at how quickly you can write chapters for characters you already know well, and how rich your detail will be in the early stages. I wrote a killer opening chapter for Hollister for the Shakedown prequel I decided to abandon, so no one will ever see it. One of those one-sitting chapters. Oh well.
For better or worse, I have a whole new set of characters to know and understand this time around, so the early work can be a little rocky. But I remember how that opening chapter to the prequel wrote so effortlessly, and tell myself to hold the thought. By the time I finish the second, maybe I'll have figured out the beginning. Maybe I'll even be able to scribble it down in one sitting.
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