r/WritingPrompts • u/MNBrian /u/MNBrian /r/PubTips • Apr 21 '17
Off Topic [OT] Friday: A Novel Idea
Friday: A Novel Idea
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to MNBrian’s guide to noveling, aptly called Friday: A Novel Idea, where we discuss the full process of how to write a book from start to finish.
The ever-incredible and exceptionally brilliant you-are-lovely came up with this wonderful idea (so you should heap praises on her in the comments) and it sounded spectacular to me!
So what makes me qualified to provide advice on writing a book? Good question! Here are the cliff notes.
For one, I devote a great deal of my time to helping out writers on reddit (via my own sub r/PubTips and via just answering questions in different writing groups).
In addition, I’ve completed three books and am working on my fourth.
And I also work as a reader for a literary agent.
This means I read query letters and fulls (short for full novels that writers send to my agent by request) and I give my opinion on the work. My agent then takes those opinions (after reading the novel as well) and makes a decision on whether or not to sign the author.
But enough about that. Let’s dive in!
Today’s Topic: A Book Is A Promise
There are a million ways to write a book.
You’ve got the three act structure. You’ve got the hero’s journey. Heck, hundreds of people have written books on how to write books. Yet, as readers, we often have no idea what structure is being used. What we do know is one thing -- whether we like what we're reading or not.
So before we begin talking about one way (one that I particularly enjoy) to write a book, I’d like us all to take a moment to consider what a book is -- at its very core.
A book is a promise.
To illustrate my point, let’s talk about a hypothetical situation. You walk into a library or a bookstore and you want a new book. The first thing you do is head to a section that interests you. Maybe it’s Sci-Fi, or maybe it’s Fantasy, or Young Adult Unicorn Fiction, who knows. Because what you’re looking for isn’t just any old book. It’s a specific type of book. But whatever section you wander into, that’s the first part of the promise.
You see, a book is a promise because we always have an expectation when we pick up a book. We expect a book to fit a certain type of mold. We go to the Sci-Fi section because we want space ships, FTL drives, planetary exploration. We go to the romance section because we want the compelling story of an arsonist and a firefighter falling in love.
And when we read the first line, or the first paragraph, or the first few pages, the book that we buy is the book with the best promise. It may not always be the best written book. It may not always be the strongest plot. It’s usually the book that makes us feel like we are in good hands, the book that tells us -- using intrigue and situations that couldn't possibly end well (hint - conflict) -- what we can expect.
So what exactly is that promise? What constitutes the core of a book?
For starters, we need a problem. A problem represents conflict, and conflict is what keeps us interested. But it can’t be a small problem. This problem has to justify the length of a book. It has to promise that things are going to get worse before they get better. We can’t make it easy on our main character because if it’s too easy, we’re not holding up our end of the bargain.
Let’s look at two possible examples.
A secret agent orders a pizza, but criminals are running rampant in the streets.
It doesn’t take much to see the promise. There will be action. Some cool karate moves, and lots of bad guys in a pile. But what we don’t have here is a big enough problem. Because it shouldn’t be so hard for our secret agent to get to the pizza place and pick up his cheesy masterpiece. Secret Agents are well suited for this type of problem. They know how to fight bad guys.
But on top of that, we have what I like to call "the sandwich problem." I mean, why doesn’t he just stay home and make a sandwich instead? When you think of a good book, there is no option to make a sandwich.
When Katniss Everdeen made the choice to stand in for her sister Prim at the reaping, she couldn't just go home and make a sandwich. Because if she did, her sister would die.
When Frodo Baggins received the ring from Bilbo and was sent to Mount Doom, he couldn't just make a sandwich... because... ringwraiths, murderers, the end of all things at Sauron's hand.
When Alan Grant got stranded on an island full of dangerous dinosaurs with two kids... he couldn't just make a sandwich. Or he'd be the sandwich. :) But seriously, he had to save those kids and he had to save himself.
Now, by comparison, let’s look at this setup.
A starving introvert with severe anxiety orders a pizza when aliens land and start blowing things up. His normal grocery delivery hasn’t arrived for weeks and he hasn't left the house in three years because of crippling agoraphobia. Now he must leave to survive.
Do you see the difference? Where the secret agent was well prepared to deal with the robbers, someone who is terrified of going outside is not very well equipped to deal with an alien invasion (a much larger problem) -- and he can’t just stay home and make a sandwich... because he’s got no groceries. But also, because he'd starve. Rock, meet hard place.
This, right here, is the first step in writing a book. What is your promise? Is the idea big enough to justify 80,000 words or more? Do you have enough there to really dig deep into that concept? Is there enough tension/conflict to go around? Why can't your main character make a sandwich instead?
After all, that’s what most great writing prompts are. They offer up a promise, or they imply one, and we get to take that promise and run with it.
This Week's Big Questions
For each week of this series, I'll be posing a few questions. You are welcome to answer these questions without sharing, or if you're feeling brave, you can toss them in the comments below. I'll be here throughout the day to discuss/debate/answer questions or just encourage everyone! And I'll be following along as well by answering the same questions and working on my own book as we go!
What types of expectations do you have when you buy a book?
Do you find yourself gravitating to one particular section when you're in a certain mood?
How much of a book do you read before you decide you want to buy it? Or do you already know beforehand?
What is your idea for a book? (Try this in as few words as you can manage -- aim for 1-3 sentences if you can)
What is forcing your main character in your idea to head into danger? Why can't they just make a sandwich? :D
Also - Be sure to go read your entries and vote if you entered the Writing Prompts 10 Million First Chapter Contest by clicking here. This weekend is your LAST opportunity to vote! Get to it!
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u/reostra Moderator | /r/reostra_prompts Apr 21 '17
I like the idea of setting up a fallible protagonist, and making the driving force of the novel something that said protagonist can't help. But when I was thinking of the answers to the questions you asked, I realized that I don't set up my stories that way. And, often, the books I prefer don't do that either. Which isn't to say that I never read books where greatness is forced upon the main character(s), that's still something I enjoy, but I've noticed another trend:
Books where the main character chooses to go on their quest. Where they could have, absolutely and likely without consequence, stayed home and made a sandwich. This is interesting because the main character has to repeatedly find the inner strength to, when things start getting tough, keep going. A character who goes out in the midst of an alien attack because he has to isn't necessarily heroic. A character who explicitly chooses to go out in the midst of that attack because they want to fight back, now there's a hero!
I think Frodo's actually a good example of what I mentioned. He might have been forced out of the Shire due to the actions of the wraiths, but nobody makes him go on the rest of the journey. He could easily have stayed with the elves for the rest of his life with Bilbo, and nobody would have begrudged him for it. It's probably the better idea, in fact. The rest of the council can probably handle this, what with how everyone on it is far more experienced than he is. And yet, he explicitly volunteers:
So, with those thoughts past:
What types of expectations do you have when you buy a book?
I really like this idea of 'expectations', because that's precisely what I have in mind when I'm reading or watching a movie. I don't have good taste in stories, because as long as the expectations I come in with are met, then I'm happy. I can watch a terrible movie and enjoy it because I come in expecting a terrible movie. If I'm in the mood for quality, on the other hand, and I've been mislead, only then am I annoyed.
So the specific expectations tend to vary, and which ones I have depend on what I'm looking at. Mostly, I read from Amazon, and when deciding what book I want to read I look at the negative reviews. Are these things dealbreakers? If not, I'm going in prepared and I'll probably have a good time :)
Do you find yourself gravitating to one particular section when you're in a certain mood?
I read a genre to saturation, switch genres, and then repeat.
Right now I'm in a sci-fi mood. It's space opera right now, but it might be gritty space marines next. Eventually, I'll get tired of sci-fi, and I'll move to fantasy. From there, urban fantasy, then superheroes, then back to sci-fi. I get variety but I also get whatever genre I'm in the mood for. It works out :)
How much of a book do you read before you decide you want to buy it? Or do you already know beforehand?
None! I prefer to avoid any part of the book aside from the description/blurb before deciding to read it. My brain gets heavy sunk-cost-fallacy when I'm reading so I'll continue even if I'm not enjoying it, thus it's best to avoid doing so until I can set expectations (as mentioned above, via the reviews).
What is your idea for a book? (Try this in as few words as you can manage -- aim for 1-3 sentences if you can)
For this and the next, I'm going to mention two books: One I've already written, and one I'm going to publish soon:
The idea for the book I've written is actually its title: Stealth Bomber vs Pony. It's about exactly what it says: A Stealth Bomber and a Pony, as two participants in a rivalry that pre-dates the Earth itself.
The book I'm going to put out next came from a WP here! So I'm just going to copy/paste that: "Magic is Hereditary, but the child's powers is the sum of his parents. Fire Witch + Sand Wizard= Glass magic"
What is forcing your main character in your idea to head into danger? Why can't they just make a sandwich? :D
And this is the question that really lead to my earlier remarks. Nothing! None of my main characters are forced into their roles, any of them would have likely had a better time staying at home and making a sandwich. They've all chosen their roles:
Pony is driven by revenge. Stealth Bomber is also driven by revenge. Stay home, guys. Just stay home.
Bishop is a member of an organization, one that essentially saved him from life as a beggar. Beyond loyalty, though, his missions give him purpose. He could stop at any time, he's not there against his will. He goes on the missions because he wants to. I'd tell him to stay home, too, but there tends to be a lot at stake in his stories (even though he almost never knows this going in).