Hey kids. Hope everyone is having a great Monday.
I guess this will make the first official Mail Call I've done in a very long time, sad to say. For those who have just started playing along at home, Mail Call is the title for any post where I attempt to answer emails sent in with questions, comments, concerns and the like. I can't always promise that the response is always the most kind and gentle, but I do try to cut through the usual "pet-the-public" type of drivel you get from some out there who toy with the written word and just get to the truth of things. Well, at the least the truth as I see it anyway.
Well today's email was interesting. The overall theme of the email was asking technical questions about story structure down to the extremely minute details. There were questions regarding character arc mapping over a standard three act structure, the necessity of multiple conflicts, should tension building begin in Act 1 or 2, the necessity of a protracted denouement, etc. It essentially read like the Q and A portion of a defense for a thesis on creative writing.
I replied to the email in two parts. First I answered the questions as intelligently as I could (after all it has been about twenty years since my last college lit class) and I pointed them to a pile of online resources. Then I referred them back to my blog for the second half of my reply.
And now for the rest of that response:
One of the biggest missteps I think our education system makes at ANY level, be it elementary, secondary, or post secondary, is to try to teach a maddening level of structure and rules on "how to write" before they even turn a student loose to just write. Fiction writing at its core should be one thing and one thing only: telling a story. So many people get so caught up in the process of a "novel" that they forget that they are simply telling a story from start to finish. They are relaying a narrative to a reader, not creating some mythical piece of technical mastery.
I think there is only one best place to start with writing a novel: an idea.
Pure and simple, nothing more. If the idea sucks, well, you know what they say about houses with bad foundations.
Once you have an idea, develop a basic story around the idea. Whether or not you begin at the start, middle, or last page is up to your style as a writer. I personally start with an idea, develop a couple of characters, then literally start telling myself stories along the lines of the idea until they start to take shape. Then it's off to the legal pad or keyboard we go. Some authors create massive story maps for each novel. I'm not a linear thinker but hey, whatever helps them get the job done.
My point in summary is this: story first, structure second, formal structure only if you're really up to the technical challenge. Don't misunderstand me: a novel needs structure for it to be readable. If you don't believe me check out the free ebooks section on your Kindle or Nook. There's a chunk of people out there in self publishing land that have no clue what structure even smells like. Just don't lose sight of what you're doing for the sake of "oh-God-what-do-I-do-next-for-Act II - subclimax 3 - and-how-will-that-relate-to-my-planned-reveal-in-my-denouement?"
Dear God that was tiring just writing it...
That's all for now, catch you all tomorrow.
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