WWN46 : Fictional Fun and Games

Last week we unveiled the truth about content.

And I figured:

Why not go the other way this time round? Because on Friday afternoon I had an idea for a new novel challenge (something I’ll mention later on) and so while it’s on my mind…

We’re gonna talk about Fiction.

a.k.a. profitable lying.

(No, wait, that’s politics.)

How about “making things up for money”.

(No, that’s politics too…)

But joking aside, there is a problem with the usual witticisms.

They’re flat out wrong!

The truth is that fiction has to be true for it to work.

The most important thing in fiction is that whatever you write is true to the world as it is and not as you want it to be. It has to ring true to the world as God has made it.

Look, when you sit down to write a story, you can make up a lot of things. Dragons, mermaids, hard-bitten private detectives or plucky young girls with a dream and a chip on their shoulder. You can make up dwarves and poisoned apples and cringe-inducing musical numbers. You can even make up mythical creatures like honest politicians, caring tech-support workers, and hard-working civil servants.

But your stories must still be true.

Some things can't be changed.

No matter what characters you make up, your made-up characters must feel like real people. And those real people must make real choices (choices that they actually would make, not just the ones that suit your plot). And those choices must have real consequences. And those consequences must be the right consequences.

That last is what I want to zoom in on. Because it’s the oft-neglected aspect of reality in fiction. And yet it’s the most important:

Justice must be done!

A story where the main character sees the right choice and walks away from it, only to live happily ever after will never satisfy.

Macbeth must pay for his murder, Anakin for his turn to the dark side, Voldemort for his lust for power.

Characters who make complex choices need to win and lose in the right measure. Their dichotomies have to mean something.

Achilles may not have his glory and his life. Loki may not have his mischief and the trust of his fellow gods.

Great goals must require great sacrifices to achieve them.

Alveric may not have his bride without his quest. Taran may not be High King without his wanderings. Aragorn must walk the paths of the dead to claim his rightful throne.

Likewise, the hero who sacrifices must attain the reward.

Simba must defeat Scar when he faces up to his destiny, The assistant pig-keeper of noble heart will one day be the high king. The noble Odysseus who rejects eternity with Circe will arrive home safe in the end to be reunited with his wife.

I could go on…

But I think I’ve made my point.

Reality matters when you write fiction. And the most important reality is the moral and spiritual reality of your story. You can change physics and make it believable.

Metaphysics is a different story.

You get that wrong and every story is dissatisfying because we all know reality is written a certain way.

And yes, I could tie all this into the latest execrable Disney remake but honestly, who cares? We all know that message driven fiction sucks and reality-honouring fiction rocks.

Do I have concrete down to brass tactics type tips for making the latter? Not right now.

But I want to wrap this up with some straightforward general advice and no, none of this is going to be surprising. But it’s what really works.

Read lots. I mean it when I say lots. If you want to write fiction, you should be aiming to read 2-3 novels a week. Plus 4 or 5 short stories. You need to get the architecture of a story into your bones. Now, you can ease off this if you've read deeply and widely for a long time - but if you haven't? No excuses. Get reading.

Read well. The corollary to this is don't just read trash. Read classic literature, pay attention to what they do and why. Read fairy-tale - the classic ones that have stood the test of time. Read pulp fiction that sold millions of copies.

Read widely. The above is not an excuse to get snobby. You should read your chosen genre, but you should also read more widely. Why are writers like Lee Child, James Patterson and Jack Carr so successful? Read and find out. Read books you'd never write in a million years. Maybe you want to write a fantasy western? Well read fantasy, western, but also read Austen or a supernatural horror. It'll help you combine elements in ways you never thought possible.

Write lots. This needs no explanation. You need to be writing every day. I set a rule of no zero days with my novel, and aimed for 1,000 words on average. Some days I did less, some more. But I never did nothing and it was done in two months.

None of this is revolutionary. But you need to put it into practice.

Which is exactly why I came up with the idea of the 90-day Novel challenge.

I floated it to the Carran’s Cabin daily list last week and got a good amount of initial interest, so now I’m floating it to you.

The long and short of what I said to them is that it'll do as it says on the tin. We'll each write a novel in ninety days, blank page to book polished, the whole way. But without wasting months overthinking everything.

The idea would be to kick it off with a week of brainstorming and planning, then perhaps a week of plotting, then get writing.

I'd send you an email every day, primarily for accountability and encouragement but also with a bit of insight into the process, lessons I'm learning, experience I gained from my own writing session.

You'd need to commit an hour or two each day to actually doing the writing, to moving on even when you think your outline needs more polishing, all that good stuff. But if you do, you'll finish up the 90-days with a novel done and dusted.

No, not a Lord of the Rings or Brandon Sanderson style behemoth, we're talking something lean and tight here. But something that you can be proud of. And something that tells you that you can do it. Which makes the next one far easier.

Would you be interested?

The price would be $90.

And yes, you could do it all yourself, but will you?

Because if you would, well, you would have already...

...but if you'd be interested, hit reply and say NOVEL (and anything else you'd like).

None of which is going to commit you to anything. But it lets me know how many people are interested and gives me a chance to hash out some details with you.

Meanwhile, may your pipe help your prose tune into reality,

James Carran, Craftsman Writer

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