Flynn Rider from Tangled
(The image has nothing to do with this. After 20 minutes of searching, I picked a random thing in the Yahoo image search that made me smirk.)
I’m not sure where the change happened with Legends of Windemere. Not with me picking random books from the series to put behind the vague links. The focus of the series diverted at some point and I think some people have picked up on it. Yes, there’s an epic quest for the champions to gain their full power in time to defeat their enemy. Yes, they are traveling along a path of destiny that is still a little vague on the details. All of that remains the same with each book having the main plot carried by a contained story. Yet, I think my focus has hoped to another rail.
That would be a big concentration on character development. Maybe it’s all in my head and there isn’t much of a different between the books. Still, I’m editing Books 9-11 and I see a difference. Just look at the titles on the two I can talk about too. ‘The Mercenary Prince’ and ‘Tribe of the Snow Tiger’! Doesn’t that just scream a focus on Delvin Cunningham and Timoran Wrath respectively. Well, that’s true. They get some much needed focus and evolution while the main plot is continued, but sometimes more of a secondary. Not saying the other characters are left out and tread water, but they don’t take as much of the spotlight.
Maybe this is how a long series can keep going without getting stale. You have the main story, but you’ve established it to the point where the readers know it will continue. So you can ease off on that while touching on the characters who carry the story. Long ago, I decided that I would write fun characters who happen to be involved in these stories. I wanted people to pick a favorite or send me a message saying they connected to one or two in particular. This may have led me to march toward an inevitable focus on character development over main story, but it feels more apparent now.
I have sensed a downside to this. With a reputation for being an adventure author, people don’t really look for evolving or deep characters. I’ve taken a few hits for having some drama or romance crop up as the heroes grow as organisms instead of bland words on the page. So there is that small issue of me creating an earlier set up for my books and gradually, I think, diverting from that. Is it a good thing? I’d like to think so because it strengthens the characters and makes them more human to me. That allows me to improve their role and actions in the main plot when that’s the only thing left for them to do.
So, what do you focus on with your stories? What about when you’re reading?
Legends of Windemere 
Reblogged this on Hey Sweetheart, Get Me Rewrite!.
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Thanks for the reblog.
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“So there is that small issue of me creating an earlier set up for my books and gradually, I think, diverting from that. Is it a good thing? I’d like to think so because it strengthens the characters and makes them more human to me.” Awesome, Charles. You have such great characters!
Right now I’m focusing on characterization too. When I write dialogue, I usually know when the character feels flat. And I just posted about a character who feels that way to me. So I’m working on his scenes so they feel more natural.
When I read, I pay attention to character–how sharply delineated a character feels–dialogue, and narrative descriptions. Before I wrote novels, I wrote plays. So what characters say and how they say it always stirs my interest. But because of Lord of the Rings, I’ve begun paying more attention to narrative descriptions. Tolkien was awesome at making the setting seem so vivid.
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Thanks. Flat dialogue is a tough one, but I’ve kind of beaten it. At least in my own head because I just let the conversation flow naturally, which is why you can see a few points of diverting topic for a brief moment. It’s hard to keep things vivid while doing a paint by numbers conversation.
I’m curious if play writing differs a lot from novels. For a play, you need to depend on an actor to bring the emotions in. So are there different tricks than novel writing?
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Telling a good story is the same no matter what the medium. I gravitated toward plays and screenplays because I was used to writing skits as a kid and was encouraged to do so. Keeping the staging aspects in mind; knowing how much the character will convey and what will be shown through props; knowing what to leave to an audience’s imagination–that’s the challenging part. But an actor can’t emote unless the playwright has established the tension in the scene.
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Interesting. I tried screenwriting once and was terrible at it. It’s definitely a different mindset. AT least to me.
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Writing is a journey, not a destination. I challenge myself with something in each story. My work improves over time. I’m sure you’re seeing the same thing. I started with decent characters. That’s my foundation stone. I can look at my earlier works and see improvement along my path. Most of the compliments I’ve earned are about the characters. That doesn’t mean I stop there, I build from there. Kristen Lamb has a great post about characters today, you might want to read it. Her idea of cogs in a larger machine is great. I applaud you for seeking areas to improve. Identify your foundation stone, and build from there.
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I do cringe at my earlier works. I’ve certainly evolved along with my ideas. Even from the beginning, I was told that I had great characters. So I think I’ve gravitated toward focusing more on them than the story. For example, I outline something and design the subplots along with the characters, so they’re intertwined. I didn’t do that when I started.
I’ll give the post a read. Cogs in a machine is a great analogy.
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To me, characters are always the most important part, I devote a lor of time and effort to their evolution, so of course I’d say what’s happening to you is only natural 😉
Besides, I think readers attach themselves to the characters, not the plot. Yes, you may have occasional moaning about the focus on character’s personal journey, but I think the majority of readers will enjoy it.
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I hope so. 🙂 It gets tricky in a longer series these days. Giving characters downs as well as ups can throw people off. Strange how some people want nothing but positive stuff unless you kill a character off.
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Is that so? 😦
I think a story where everything is good makes for a very boring one.
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It does. I guess if you have too many ups and downs, which I tend to do because of the series length. Then again, I know people have had many plummets from the top and they keep on moving. I think it shows a lot about a character when you witness how they react to a personal disaster and setback.
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There are lots of references to there being 21 kinds of stories, or 30 stories, or 7 stories etc… in the world – and that all stories fall into one of the categories cited. However, in the end, there is actually only one story: the story of the quest. A quest for true love. A quest for treasure. A quest for a new planet. A quest to capture someone. A quest to win the war. A quest to survive in the face of a storm, or ghost, or enemy. It’s always a quest. THE quest.
What this means is that, it’s the characterization that makes all the difference. IMHO, anyone “not really look for evolving or deep characters” should be reading comics, not books – and I’m talking comics from the 80s, as comics, too, have become increasingly sophisticated nowadays 🙂
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Good point. Though I do think there was some evolution in comics of the 80’s. I think the medium is harder to do evolution because you release a short book every month, so it will end up being gradual. Then again, I was reading in the 90’s where the trend of ‘BIG INFLUENTIAL EVENT!’ started.
Since you didn’t mention it, how much of an impact does setting have to the quest tale?
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About the same as salt does to food 🙂
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