Who, What, When, Where, How and Why? Making sense of it all.

So, the other day I was explaining some of the plot of my WIP to the folks at writers’ group.  This is the WIP I’ve been working on for seven years (on and off).  The one I was planning to finish this year.  The one I was hoping I would be able to send off to publishers very soon.  One more draft will do it, I thought.

But…It’s complicated. 

Now lots of novels have complicated plots.  Lots of books ask you to “suspend disbelief”, especially spec fic of which my WIP is one.  However, it’s important that any story adheres to its own internal logic.  It’s all very well for everything to make sense inside an author’s own head, but is that coming through on the page?

To sort out all the various strands of my plot, I mind mapped these questions:

Who? – This was an easy one to answer.  I wrote all the names of the main players, then linked all the secondary characters to them.  This gave me a clear idea of which characters have the greatest impact on the plot.

What? – For this question, I listed the main thing going on for the different groups of characters. Now I can see the main themes and conflicts at a glance.

When? – Although set in the present, my story dips into several different time periods (that’s why I love ghost stories), so here I listed who is present in which era.

Where? – The story is mostly set in Melbourne, but there are a few different places within Melbourne that the protagonist visits.  Here I can mind map the different “feel” of each place.

How? – Now we get more complicated.  Under “How?” I have listed cause and effect, which basically gives me a time line – this happened, because this happened, and that happened, because that happened, which leads me in a logical sequence of how seemingly unrelated things from history have impacted on the present day.  This is looking like a whole bunch of roots which come together to form the seed of the story.

Why? – I haven’t started this mind map yet, but I think this question boils down to motive.  Why do all the character’s do the things they do?  I know most of the motives already, but some are a little hazy.  I can’t wait to see what this mind map reveals.

The process of answering these questions helps me see what makes sense and where the manuscript requires more work to make it cohesive.

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
—George Orwell

Jane Austen's Bad Boys

Spoiler Alert! – This post assumes prior knowledge of Jane Austen’s works – if you haven’t read them, take note of Ms Austen’s own words: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

I began this post last year after a Jane Austen binge when I was unwell (a Jane Austen binge every couple of years is essential for good health and happiness). It’s high time I finished it (the blog post that is) – so here is a countdown of my favourite Austen bad boys.

6.         John Thorpe, Northanger Abbey – John Thorpe is probably one of Jane Austen’s most unlikeable characters. In contrast to her other bad boys, he has no redeeming features. He is uncouth, arrogant and spreads damaging lies about our heroine, Catherine. He doesn’t have the elegance or gentleman-like manner of any other Austen cad. Catherine “cannot like him” and nor can I.

“There is not the hundredth part of the wine consumed in this kingdom that there ought to be.” – John Thorpe

5.         Frank Churchill, Emma – Emma is an anomaly in Jane Austen’s canon in that none of the characters are really contemptible. Granted, Mr Churchill is not particularly well behaved, flirting with Emma and dissing the one he loves, all to hide his secret engagement to Jane Fairfax. But in the end, his aunt conveniently dies, all is revealed and Mr Churchill marries Jane as he always intended. Emma is not the least heartbroken as she wasn’t really in love with him anyway.  Besides, riding all the way to London to secretly purchase a piano for Jane means Franky-babe doesn’t cut it with the truly contemptible lads.

“Our companions are excessively stupid.  What shall we do to rouse them?  Any nonsense will serve. They shall talk.” – Frank Churchill

4.         William Elliot, Persuasion – Anne’s cousin Mr Elliot became estranged from the Elliot family when he spurned Anne’s sister Elizabeth in favour of marrying for money. When the family move to Bath, Mr Elliot – now a rich widower and heir to the baronetcy – renews his acquaintance with Sir Walter’s family and shows impeccable taste by turning his attentions towards Anne. Anne however is irrevocably in love with Captain Wentworth and is not at all convinced of Mr Elliot’s sincerity. Her doubts appear justified when she spies Mr Elliot with Mrs Clay when he was supposed to be out of town.

Mr Elliot was too generally agreeable. Various as were the tempers in her father’s house, he pleased them all. He endured too well, – stood too well with everybody.

3.         John Willoughby, Sense and Sensibility – Willoughby’s a real rotter and by far the worst of the worst charmers in Austen’s novels. He sweeps Marianne off her feet (or at least carries her home when she sprains her ankle), fools everyone into thinking he will propose to her, then cruelly forsakes her for another. The Dashwoods later learn he disgraced then abandoned Colonel Brandon’s ward, which caused Willoughby to be disinherited by his wealthy Aunt and forced him to marry for money instead of love. When Marianne falls ill and her life is in balance, Willoughby has the audacity to come begging for forgiveness and declaring his unhappiness with the choices he made.

“Brandon is just the kind of man,” said Willoughby one day when they were talking of him together, “whom everybody speaks well of, and nobody cares about; whom all are delighted to see, and nobody remembers to talk to.” – John Willoughby

2.       George Wickham, Pride and Prejudice – What a wicked old boy is Wickham!  Running up gambling debts, charming all the women of Meryton (but finding them decidedly lacking in the essential quality of fortune), making everyone believe he is an officer and a gentleman, spreading lies and half-truths about Darcy, and topping it all off by whisking poor, foolish Lydia away from the safety of her family and friends without any intention of marrying her. In the end, he is caught, forced into matrimony (with the inducement of large sums of money from Mr Darcy) and banished to a regiment as far away as possible. Yet, despite all this, Austen manages to imbue in the reader a modicum of sympathy for Wickham – just another example of the brilliance of her writing.

“He is as fine a fellow,” said Mr Bennet, as soon as they were out of the house, “as ever I saw. He simpers, and smirks, and makes love to us all. I am prodigiously proud of him. I defy even Sir William Lucas himself, to produce a more valuable son-in-law.” – Mr Bennet after a visit from Mr and Mrs Wickham. (Mr Bennet btw is one of my all-time favourite characters in literature.)

1.         Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park – Unlike other Austen bad boys, Crawford may be charming but he makes no pretence of being good. He’s rich and conceited enough to always have some rakish scheme in the works, including inducing Fanny Price to fall in love with him. This backfires on him however, when he finds himself truly in love with Fanny. Mr Crawford genuinely believes that he could change his wicked ways if Fanny married him, and he does make a gallant attempt to be good for her sake. Fanny though “…was quiet, but …was not blind.”  She’s never fooled by Mr Crawford, and when he is rejected, he confirms Fanny’s misgivings by running off with Maria.

[He] went off with [Maria] at last, because he could not help it, regretting Fanny, even at the moment, but regretting her infinitely more when all the bustle of the intrigue was over.

Mansfield Park is the novel, more than any other Austen work, that stays with me long after a reading (or viewing).  It's in no small measure because of the complexity of Henry Crawford's character, and I always like to imagine what might have happened had Fanny become Mrs Crawford instead of Mrs Bertram.

Ghost stories

So, it’s been a while.

The last half of last year was a bit of a write-off, which put me right off writing. But I’ve had a lovely holiday, and now I’m refreshed and in a better frame of mind.  I’ve dived back into my writing, which I’m happy to say is going swimmingly (okay, enough with the puns already!)  I think it helps that I’ve come back with a plan, a schedule and concrete goals, which has made it slightly easier to just DO, instead of thinking about doing.

What I’m able to do, whether times are good or not so good, is read.  Sometimes trends creep into my reading.  Occasionally they arise from deliberate choices, but often they just happen.  Lately, it seems to be ghosts, whether literal spooks or just the haunting memory of a loved one.  I’m taking this as a positive sign that my little ol’ ghost story will be picked up this year.

So, here’s the rundown on the ghostly stories I’ve read this year:

What the Raven Saw – Samantha-Ellen Bound

I’ve riffed on this little gem before.  This time I read it for my book club’s theme of music.  I still love the crabby old raven who, despite not wanting to get involved, ends up helping the living and the dead who constantly disrupt his solitude.    

The Sky is Everywhere – Jandy Nelson

Lennie, named after John Lennon, is struggling to come to terms with the death of her sister.  She’s also falling in love.  No ghosts in this sweet story, just an ever-present memory.  I love how the intermittent poetry ties in beautifully at the end.  Read the gorgeous full-colour version if you can get your hands on it.

The Ghost Bride – Yangsze Choo

By far my favourite ghost book read this year.  This story is based on a rare Chinese tradition of marrying the dead (sometimes to other dead, occasionally to the living).  When the Lim family request Li Lan to marry their dead son, she has an opportunity to lead a rich and comfortable life.  But before that dreaded event happens, Li Lan finds herself hovering between life and death and must travel to the Plains of the Dead to search for a way back into her body.  Dotted with characters from Chinese folklore, The Ghost Bride is unique and fascinating.

Crandall’s Castle – Betty Ren Wright

When Charli’s uncle buys a rundown old mansion with the intention of turning it into a B&B, Charli is excited about helping with the project.  Her excitement soon turns to horror when she sees the shadow of a cradle rocking and hears singing in a room upstairs.  But how will she get the adults to believe her when her cousin and the psychic girl his family has taken in refuse to back up her story.  A spooky book for middle-grade readers.

And then, one day, her earthbound sister finally realized

she could hear music up there in heaven,

so after that, everything her sister needed to tell her

she did through her clarinet… Jandy Nelson ‘The Sky is Everywhere’

Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

It’s been a long time since I’ve finished a book and felt the need to read it again immediately, but with this Regency-romance-meets-supernatural-thriller, I was in do-not-disturb heaven from the first page. 

When Lady Helen meets Lord Carlston, a distant relative of dubious character, she is drawn to his dark and disturbing world.  In a society where every propriety must be observed, will Helen risk her tenuous reputation to join Lord Carlston in the battle against evil, or will she deny her calling and turn her back on The Dark Days Club?

This book is chock full of delicious conflict, and not just the good vs evil variety.  I simply cannot wait a full four months until the Dark Days Pact comes out in January to enter such an exciting and vividly detailed historical world again.  Hence the reason I feel the need – the need to re-read.

‘I had not thought to find a fellow rationalist in you, Lady Helen.’

Perhaps it was the pulse that still whispered through her blood, or the unexpected warmth in his manner, but she found herself saying, ‘I rather think, Lord Carlston, that you had not thought to find any thought in me at all.’ – Alison Goodman, Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club

A little something I prepared earlier...

Oh, dear.  It's been a while since I posted anything here.  Unfortunately, I've had some health issues these last few weeks and don't feel up to writing anything new right now.  So please pop over to www.thingsmadefromletters.com to see a post I wrote for Allen & Unwin's blog.  I've had some great feedback on this which has been really heartening (my poor little belaboured heart needs that right now).

Creating Secondary Characters

Back on the first day of Writing a Novel: First Draft, course instructor Paddy O’Reilly asked us to jot down what we considered to be our strengths and weaknesses as a writer.  My list looked like something like this:

Strengths – main characters, ideas, prose

Weaknesses – structure, secondary characters (particularly male characters)

So I knew from the beginning that my minor characters were causing major problems for me.  But even with this knowledge, Toni Jordan’s session on secondary characters halfway through the course caught me off-guard. I’d known enough to avoid clichés, but I was still surprised by how much I was getting wrong.

Here are a few things I have learned about writing secondary characters:

A character (let’s call him Pete) cannot appear simply for the convenience of plot.  Pete has to feel like a real person no matter how minor his part.  Pete requires just as much love, attention and backstory as the protagonist (let’s call her Amelia).  Pete is a checkout operator who appears in one small scene.  He hands Amelia the wrong amount of change so she, not realising until it’s too late, doesn’t have enough money to catch the bus home, thereby forcing her to walk home through the park where she meets that kooky guy who infuriates her but also makes her laugh despite her stupid life.  Amelia’s story has moved on from Pete, but wait.  Why did Pete hand Amelia the wrong change? 

Because Pete has a life too. 

Prior to Amelia coming through his checkout, Pete checked his schedule for the following week.  He noticed his boss (Sharon) had once again rostered him on for a shift he’s told her a thousand times he can’t do because he has a class for his Applied Science Uni course at that time.  He knows he is going to have to confront Sharon during his break.  On top of that he has a bruised hand from his weekend Lacrosse game and he’s worried about his mother who’s ill and losing weight and doctors can’t seem to figure out what is wrong with her.

Is any of this backstory written into the main story?  Not in so many words, but it’s there in the way Pete scans Amelia’s cat food twice and shakes his head at himself while he reverses the transaction.  It’s there in the way he casts a worried glance at Sharon over by the service desk as he dips his thumb awkwardly in the wrong slot of the till.  It’s there in the way he fails to remember to check the change before handing it to Amelia.

And what if Pete speaks?  How will he sound?  He may only have one line, but his line must stick to the rules of all dialogue.  It must be distinctive.  It must reveal character.  It must drive the story forward.  It must contain subtext.  Perhaps when he scans the cat food twice he mutters, ‘Today sucks.’ To which Amelia replies, ‘Doesn’t every day?’  Pete’s line is distinctive – he doesn’t speak in the same way as Amelia does in the rest of the book; his line reveals character – his youth and attitude; it drives the story forward in that Amelia reveals her current outlook on life and foreshadows the change about to occur; and it contains subtext – there is a whole paragraph of unspoken backstory in that one line of dialogue.

Further on in the story, Amelia arrives home after meeting Kooky Guy and we are introduced to two further minor characters.  Amelia’s mother, Margaret, and sister, Eleanor.  Margaret and Eleanor are alike in many ways: they prefer rock music, enjoy getting their hands dirty in the garden, and are both loud and opinionated.  Polar opposites to Amelia, who likes classical music, arts and crafts, and doesn’t bother expressing opinions because anything she believes will be wrong in the eyes of Margaret and Eleanor.  However, despite Margaret and Eleanor’s similarities, each character must bring out a different emotion in Amelia.  Margaret might bring out a hidden stubborn streak in Amelia.  Eleanor on the other hand might invoke envy because of her closeness with Margaret.  If both characters were pressing the same button on Amelia, one of them would have to go. At the same time, minor characters that interact also need to bring out different emotions in each other.  A good book is a tangled web of emotional interaction.

Just as your main character requires a consistency gap between what they show on the surface (words) and what is going on underneath (deeds), so do your minor characters.  Eleanor for example might be loud and opinionated on the surface, but she may struggle internally with the thought of hurting people with her honest opinions.

Minor characters are a lot of work, but when they are given the love and attention they deserve, they will give back in the form of a rich and emotionally satisfying story.

Multiple points of view

Lately I’ve been reading books written with multiple first-person viewpoints.  During my Writing a Novel course at the Faber Writing Academy, one of our guest tutors was an editor who told us not to write from multiple points of view.  Her reasons were 1) why make life more complicated for yourself and the reader and 2) just when the reader starts to feel empathy for a character the point of view changes and they have to get to know someone new.

The first multiple POV book I read was Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman. Backlash is a cautionary tale of what can happen when people abuse the anonymity of the internet. The book begins with an attempted suicide and Part One deals with the immediate fallout from that.  Part Two details the events leading up to the suicide attempt and in it we learn the true identity of the cyberbully.  Part Three continues on from where Part One ends and deals with the growth and change in each character as they move on with their lives.  Told from the different perspectives of two sets of siblings, the multiple viewpoints work really well in this book. Each part unfolds in a linear fashion with each narrator telling the next stage of the story, each chapter is short so we don’t become too attached to (or annoyed by) the characters before moving on, and each voice is strong.

The next book, The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Matthieu, has many similarities to the first.  It is also told from four points of view (apart from the very last chapter where we hear from bullying victim, Alice, herself).  After the linear structure of Backlash though, this book felt all over the place to me, jumping back and forth from the present to the past and back again, rehashing the same events from different angles.  When the story eventually becomes more grounded in the present, it feels more satisfying.  The characters start out somewhat cliché but reveal enough emotional depth to make you care about them in the end.

Wonder by RJ Palacio is an uplifting and inspiring story and deals with the nature of kindness.  This book is told from a staggering six different perspectives and I can’t help wondering if all of them were really needed.  August is such an endearing character that the book would have been just as wonderful told solely from his point of view.  The characters are all likeable though and it is a great story regardless.  Like Backlash it is told in a mostly linear fashion.

Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne is a picture book about a walk in the park told from the point of view of four different characters.  The voices are distinctive and it’s a good study of how different characters notice (or fail to notice) different details.  I'm not too keen on the simian illustrations though.

So what have I learned about using multiple POV.  If you feel multiple voices are necessary to tell your story, limit it to a maximum of four characters, keep the chapters or character segments short, have each character tell a different part of the story rather than going over the same thing and make sure each voice is distinctive.

"...it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed." 
― R.J. Palacio, Wonder