21 Days to a Novel by Michael A. Stackpole

Author:Michael A. Stackpole
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormwolf.com
Published: 2010-10-25T16:00:00+00:00

Day Twelve: Where Are You From?

Approx. 60 Minutes

Day Twelve: What roots these characters in the world? What in their lives is a reflection of the world they grew up in? (Examples: taste in clothes, rejection of values, embracing of values, rebellion, political choices.) Adjust their previous profile to reflect these aspects.

Concerning worlds, I recently made a discovery which I chronicled in The Secrets newsletter. Worlds really need to be treated as if they are characters in the story. The reason for this is simple: they are characters in the story. Ideally they will act upon characters and be acted upon by them. The world will change the same way characters do.

One of the reasons this idea may seem alien to you is because the world is so much bigger a thing than the characters. That's reality, however. In fiction, that's an illusion. Since the reader experiences the world via the characters and their interaction with the world, the world really isn't that big. Moreover the impact a character has on the world is measured by the changes it causes in the world. If the characters fight in the ultimate good versus evil conflict, the world is forever changed by what they do. Similarly, events that change the world will act on them.

You'll see how this works as we go along, but Day Twelve requires us to lay down some baseline material so we can root our characters in the world. The big mistake I made with the first draft of A Secret Atlas was that I had insufficiently rooted the characters. They were tourists in the world, which meant they really didn't change it or get changed by it. You couldn't see anything of the world's history and the attitudes therein which had shaped the characters.

So, let's root Harry. He's an older guy with a drinking problem, so he has some baggage imposed on him by the world. Most folks aren't going to think much of him being a heavy drinker. Other folks will encourage him to drink, either for the amusement value, or so they can drink as well.

After all, you're really only a drunk if you drink alone.

See, that's one of those world-imposed attitudes that will have an affect on someone. Trying to avoid the label of drunk, Harry only drinks in bars. This way he knows he's not a drunk. He also clings to weekends when he hasn't touched a drop just to prove he can quit any time.

And meetings? No way. Only drunks go to meetings.

Harry also has to deal with this whole May-December romance thing. Sure, Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford can hang around with women half their age, but such is the privilege of fame—or so many would have you believe. People will consider Harry a cradle-robber, or consider Nicole to be a trophy-wife, or a midlife crisis. There will be those who will tell Harry that Nicole is so far out of his league that he shouldn't even dream of getting close to her.

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