NaNoPants

October is here, which for me means that NaNoWriMo is looming on the horizon. Over the past seven years, I've approached my effort in a variety of ways - from complete seat-of-the-pants to moderately well-outlined. Two years ago, I went in with nothing more than a title (The Milkshake of Destiny) and a half-baked notion as to what it might be about...all chosen as I sat down on November 1 to start writing.

What I've found from these disparate approaches is that the story tends to be better when I have it outlined. Seat of the pants yields some interesting results and lets the characters own their stories, but also leaves me occasionally struggling to define and stick with a plot. It's even tougher when I don't know how the story will end.

On the flip side, I don't like rigorous outlines. I know some authors are well-known for having excruciatingly detailed character biographies, political histories, and outlines down below the scene level. Once I start writing, my characters inevitably gain a life of their own, and trying to force them to stick to the script can make scenes feel forced...which is a major pet peeve of mine as a reader. So I've had better luck with character sketches and vague outlines that hit on key plot points and the general flow/structure of the story. Nothing is so firm that I can't adjust on the fly if and when the characters begin to take over.

So, after a couple years of largely "pantsing" it with a story picked at the last minute, this year I've decided to get back to the roughed outline approach (no-pantsing). In terms of settling on a story idea (90% certain) and beginning an outline (first pass done), I'm well ahead of the game for a change. Just putting my surgery recovery downtime to good use.

Seven Lines and Ten Questions

Okay, so fellow blogger Madison had a good post over here today, posting seven lines from the seventh or seventy-seventh page along with answering ten questions (the Next Big Thing part of it) from her current work-in-progress. Answering questions about your work is always a good way to make sure you have a solid handle on it, not to mention knowing how to "sell" it to others. So check out her responses through the above link and/or continue on to mine below.

Excerpt from page 7 of Ends of the World:

“How about you? What do you think of it?” 

Seeing the end of the world had brought out a number of new thoughts and feelings in Rish, but he found it challenging to articulate their meaning. He took his time considering his response, knowing that the older boy would patiently wait. That was one of the things Rish most respected about Darnan, he always seemed to push Rish to think things through more rigorously without belittling him in the process. 

“I think I have come to a greater understanding of my kin,” Rish finally said.

1. What is the working title of your book?

The Ends of the World.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

It initially came out of a thought experiment - what would a duo-theistic society (in the fantasy genre) potentially look like? Pantheons of gods are common, but having only two, especially if they're diametrically opposed, could color every aspect of society. (In this case, I actually have three gods, but only two are "hands on" in the world of mortals.)

Secondly, I riffed off the concept of the Ringworld series and made a world that is more like a ribbon (or conveyor belt, really), that is itself very much a direct result of the two gods' impact on the setting.

After that, a story line started to emerge from the setting and I just took it from there. 

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Fantasy.

4. What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

While his adopted home town is on the cusp of falling off the end of the world, a young man torn between two cultures tries to find his place in the world.

5. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Not even thinking about this one yet.

6. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About a year. I started it during NaNoWriMo 2008 and nearly finished it the following month. Then it languished for most of a year before I finally got around to finishing the first draft. Since then, I've done a lot of brainstorming on things that need to be edited and changed, largely based on how I've sketched out the rest of the story, but have yet to edit much more than the first chapter.

7. If your book were made into a film, which actors would you cast as your characters?

Hmmm.  No idea, honestly.  The main characters are all around 17-18 years old, and I don't know enough actors in that age range.  Might be able to come up with some actors for the older minor cast if I really tried.

8. To what other books would you compare this story within your genre?

Honestly, I can't think of another good comparison. It carries a number of "stock" fantasy elements (gods indirectly involved in the affairs of mortals, magic, etc). At the same time, however, it studiously avoids many of the more common fantasy elements - only has humans, the characters aren't particularly powerful, and the entire first book is set in and around a single small village.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

See answer to question #2. Also, I needed a NaNo project. My wife did help keep me plugging away at it for a while, though, when she was pregnant and needed something to read during her nightly bath.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest.

I made a conscious effort to make this feel like a comfortable fantasy setting (nothing too exotic), while adding a good bit of original feel to it. With the world being very unique - perpetually being created on one end and destroyed on the other - I put a good deal of effort into considering how civilization would have grown under those circumstances. The end result, I hope, is the sense of a world that functions logically and is internally consistent.

Off the NaNo Clock

I’m going to credit NaNoWriMo with one thing - it gave me the nudge to actually tackle writing something of novel length. Okay, two things - it also got me back into the groove of writing at all. Admittedly, that groove tends to be rather irregular and littered with months-long spans of neglect, but it’s better than the years-long droughts I had previously endured.

The downside to NaNoWriMo is that I now have a collection of half-written novels (I always reach the 50,000 word count goal, a number that unfortunately never coincides with the end of the story). Six of them, to be precise. Only one out of seven started is actually done, and it’s just the first book of what is either a three or four book series...so, in a sense, it's also incomplete.

So why do they remain abandoned? After putting in so much work, why not finish them? Surely it's easier than starting a new novel from scratch?

For several of the novels, I’d gone into NaNo with a nugget of plot in mind, but no idea how the story would end. Even after getting to know the characters and the story through a couple hundred pages, I usually only had a vague notion of how it might end. No story had been railroaded into a dead end plot-wise, but when combined with the burnout following the binge of writing that is November I just lacked the energy to figure it out. My one finished novel, in contrast, I knew exactly how it was going to end and what most of the major remaining plot landmarks along the way were, and I’m sure that was a key difference.

The second issue is that aforementioned burnout. Much as I love the sense of accomplishment in getting my 1667 words (give or take) down each night, it’s a difficult grind. Television shows go un-watched, chores and family are slightly neglected, and I start to slack off on my running. By the time I’ve recovered, that head of steam has long since vanished.

And my third and probably greatest problem...well, I’m highly motivated by a fear of failure (missing deadlines, in particular). When I sign up to do NaNo, there is absolutely no way I won’t finish it. After I reach the word count goal, however, I no longer have that outside accountability pushing me. Yeah, I could tell myself that I have until the end of December or January to finish the first draft, but it’s just not the same. I can’t convince myself to work under such regular daily or weekly word goals, even if lessened to a more realistic number, when I’m off the NaNo clock.

How to crack that nut of realistic personal accountability? Hmmm...

Formative Inspiration

I was thinking the other day about what books had the greatest formative influence on my writing. These aren’t necessarily my favorite books (okay, most are still right up there), but more the ones that left a lasting impression during my most impressionable years. They established tastes in genre, characters, and scope. Here are a few of the heavy hitters and the reasoning behind each:

Dragonlance Chronicles (Margaret Weis and +Tracy Hickman) - First read in my late grade school years, this was my real introduction to fantasy after dabbling in D&D with my friends for a couple years (the red boxed set). It read like the most epic, coherent game imaginable, with the rules practically establishing the framework for the story. What I really stuck with me from the story, however, was how the death of major characters raised the stakes for everyone else. If the authors could kill Flint and Sturm, who else might die before the dust finally settled?

Hitchhiker’s “Trilogy” (Douglas Adams) - Don’t think much needs to be said about this one. In a sense, it influenced me away from ever trying to write anything humorous, as I would inevitably hold it up to this standard and immediately toss my drivel. Can’t overstate how much I loved these books, though, and how they allowed me to take everything in life a little less seriously...as it should be.

Riftwar Saga (Raymond Feist) - Read this series while in junior high and it immediately became my favorite series of books, necessitating a couple of re-reads. I loved the development of Pug, struggling between highs and lows as a magician’s apprentice. The series managed to balance some pretty epic power creep between Pug and Tomas by shifting focus to Arutha and Jimmy later in the series. The series instilled in me the importance of epic action set pieces and great ensemble character development.

Snow Crash (+Neal Stephenson) - I read this one in high school, after re-shelving it a few times while on the job at the public library. One paragraph in, I was thinking to myself “whoa.” By the end of the first chapter, I adored it, but feared the rest of the book couldn’t possibly live up to the beginning. As I finished the book, I flipped back to page one and started again - the first and only time I’ve ever done that. There are so many things about this book that are difficult to pull off, and yet Stephenson managed it brilliantly - satire, mythology, action, and cool. If there was one aspect of the book I would call out as a takeaway, it would be “internal consistency.” The book was unlike anything I’d previously read, but its own universe was so brilliantly realized that I never once felt like I was slipping out of the story.

While putting together this list, I tried to think of any little known work I could call out. Alas, there wasn’t much that came to mind, or at least to which I could recall the title. There was one book involving kids trapped in a three dimensional maze like lab rats who had to engage in arbitrary rituals to get food. Another I can distinctly recall the title, yet nothing of the plot - Surfing Samurai Robots. Maybe that is just a lesson in the importance of finding the right title?

Anyone else out there have some good formative reads to share?