This is another one of those topics that I wrote down months ago, was sure I’d remember what I meant, and promptly forgot. I can’t even remember what triggered the idea, so here we are with a list. I mean, it is important to reward our heroes for a job well done. They need to achieve something once their adventures are done. As long as they survive unless we’re counting death, limbo, or whatever nightmarish scenario we come up with as a reward. So, what can we do?
A peaceful life is a viable reward. If the character has been through a lot and you want to give them a positive ending, you can give them a chance to retire. Their adventures are done and they earned a break from all the stress. You can hint at this throughout the story to make sure it doesn’t come as a shock. Maybe they talk once about wanting to own a farm or take up gardening. The point is that they get to rest.
As stated, you do need to make the reward work. It can’t be a small trinket with no real use after saving the world. So, the adventure and reward have to match in terms of scale. Not so much for the author, but for the character. If that trinket is a precious item that means everything to the hero then it works. If it’s a random piece of junk bought at the market then it doesn’t. This is why it helps to plan the rewards to some extent and alter them if need be.
If you happen to get a solid fan base and are writing a series then you might run into a small problem. Vocal fans may demand specific rewards along with the relationships because they’ve picked up on clues. Some may be right while others could be jumping to conclusions. An author may be tempted to snag these ideas to appease their loyal fans, but it shouldn’t be done without considering the story impact. Look at what they say and see if it makes sense. It could be better than your original idea or it could make all of what you’re planning pointless.
Money can always work. Long history of riches being given to heroes as well as noble titles and land. If the character doesn’t want to travel and has no other ideas then this can work. It gives them a place even if they don’t have any more goals.
Try your best to avoid the finale being the granting of wishes. Not every story has a genie or a king with a bizarrely specific collection of rewards. I’m sure everyone has a ‘wife resurrection’ potion and three pegasus sitting around.
A reward doesn’t have to be a surprise. It can be something that the character has wanted or seen earlier in the adventure. Having them go for that specific goal or reward helps give them depth. It also means that there will be no question as to what they will earn.
I guess cursed items can work too. Opens the door to a sequel.
I remember growing up with a show called ‘Wild America’. My favorite episode was one where Marty Stouffer raised an orphaned grizzly bear cub. I didn’t realize it was a movie either because I was entranced by it as a kid. While tigers and wolves remained my favorite, I still had an interest in bears. I always love seeing them at zoos and would hope to see one if I was going through a wooded area. Never got a chance even when I visited family near Bear Mountain, which was aptly named. Maybe one day even though I hope it’s from a far distance.
Not sure about the endangered categories though. Most bears are listed as either ‘least concern’ or ‘vulnerable’. Polar bears are in the latter category even though I swear they’re supposed to be endangered. Some sites had pandas as vulnerable and others as endangered. The sun bear is in the same position. I wonder if it depends on if you’re counting animals in captivity or not. Either way, these animals are in danger due to:
I’m looking at last Saturday’s goal list. Taking away the stuff that I had no choice in doing, I didn’t get anywhere. Slumberlord: Darwin & the Fate Bracelet still has 4 chapters that need their edits typed in. I have 2 more May posts to set up. My weary psyche is not well-rested. So, what went wrong?
It all came down to a rough Sunday and things went downhill from there. The time change threw me off, but I can normally handle it. The problem this year is the weather decided to whoop my sinuses. Saturday was cold and dreary with lots of rain. I worked as hard as I could on editing, but laundry and recovering from the previous week had me taking naps. I thought Sunday would be a time to make up the difference. Yet, it was warm and nice, which caused my sinuses to make me question why I bothered waking up in the first place. It hurt to the point where I was going to puke, so staring at a screen or page that is mostly white wasn’t happening for very long.
With my computer time limited, I focused more on resting and watching ‘Peacemaker’ on HBO Max. That is such a wild show and I loved it. It’s why I put the intro at the top. I will admit that it’s wackiness and raunchiness might not be for everyone. Still, it felt like something new and interesting. I liked all the characters who had more depth and growth than I imagined they would. There were points where I forgot it was a comedic superhero show. Really liked how the comedy didn’t overshadow the action and serious points to the point where it was just a series of tension-breaking puns. Looking forward to Season 2, but I know I have a year or two for that.
The week was dedicated almost entirely to parenting and work. Sunday worn me down more than I expected, so I was drained by Tuesday. That meant repeatedly mustering the energy to get through work and help my son with schoolwork. My anxiety ran out of control a few nights and I’m sure I was restless, which explains why I kept waking up as if I hadn’t slept. Felt sick, but in a way that I knew it was me shaking off the anxiety and stress that hadn’t evaporated during sleep. I made it through though. Now, I get to take it easy this weekend. Sort of.
I did get some stuff done on two nights. I managed to add in 3 chapters worth of edits and got pretty far with the May posts. These were done to make me feel productive, which helped reduce my stress. Then, I just crawled into bed to watch television for an hour before passing out. Investigated more animals I can use for Sunday posts. I got tomorrow set up, but need to decide on if I’m doing another or something else. I have a wedding next Saturday night, so Sunday might be something simple since I’ll be recovering from a late night.
My son had a busy week with special events at school and a big test. He did great, which I’m thankful for. He started the week not really knowing the information, but got his act together by Wednesday to get in the 90’s. Pushing him on that might be another reason I was exhausted. I’ve been putting a lot of energy into supporting him because school is getting tougher and he’s starting to burnout. Coming up with negotiations and rewards on the spur of the moment isn’t easy. Thankfully, we have this weekend to relax with video games, Legos, and a ‘One Piece’ movie. My niece, sister, and brother-in-law might make an appearance too. Good times.
Next week is going to be more of the same here. I should be able to finish the editing and May stuff without an issue. Still thinking of setting up the June posts too, which clears me to start writing the next Slumberlord Chronicles book after Spring Break. I really want to get back into that kind of writing even though my confidence is still shot. Doing it might be the only way to get over that. I love the first volume I wrote, but I keep having moments of ‘this is shit’ and ‘I should quit’. Part of it is because the tone and plot progression method are different. Darwin being unable to solve a problem in the most logical method possible means a lot of accidental victories, wrong ideas leading to right paths, and not much deviation from the main plot. It might change in the second book with him making more friends, but I don’t know.
I’m thinking of doing a few Darwin teasers in June since the National Holiday things aren’t selling books. Gives me time to rethink them for the summer. Maybe I’ll have them be for the full series instead of singular books.
Goals of the week:
Finish the Slumberlord Chronicles: Darwin & the Fate Bracelet edits.
Last of the elements is plot. This is the ‘what’ is happening to the characters and in the setting. Also, you may want to explain ‘why’, which can overlap with the other two. The simplest explanation is that these are the events to make readers care about everything else. If you have no plot, you have no story to place the other pieces into. Otherwise, you have a bunch of people standing around an area doing nothing.
How much thought do you put into your plot before writing?
Do you think plot influences characters or the other way around when you write?
What is one piece of advice you would give to a new author about plot?
(Was I trying to do horror? Was I trying to be symbolic? Think it was both. Took me a few read throughs to figure it out. The key was ‘thirty’, which was how many story ideas I had at the time of writing this poem. I was getting frustrated and things were getting muddied in my head. So, I wrote this to see what would happen.)
It shrieks from the depths
Darkest corners of my mind
Which I have never cleaned
*
A beast composed of parts
Harvested from fallen dreams
And crammed into a form
*
Limbs strewn about the mass
Some moving and some still
No two ever alike
*
Thirty mouths or more
Crying for release
From the pain of endless misery
*
Scales and fur and feathers
Patchwork coverings of the flesh
Always shedding to the floor
*
The greatest feature is an eye
Prismatic orb without a lid
It has never seen the light
*
I do not know whose mind it has
So many dreams have died
And rotted to this form
Element two is setting, which is what the picture above mentions. If characters are the who then this is the what and when. Setting is always more than just a location, but the time of events as well. Is it morning, noon, or night? Are they in a city or the country? Even a character’s background has to touch on setting to give them depth. For example, what kind of place did they come from? None of those are the questions from this post, so here we go:
What is your favorite setting to write/read?
Do you think setting should evolve like characters?
What is one piece of advice you would give to a new writer about setting?
Legends of Windemere 