I got some heavy critique from a fellow writer in my online novel critique group about my chapters that introduce the second generation of my characters: Ginny and Ash, a married couple. Some criticism was due to the reader forgetting previous characters' names and therefore misunderstanding new information on new characters as "inconsistencies." But all that irrelevant crit aside, a couple things this reader mentioned have been chewing at me.
Tonight I read a few articles in the Writer's Digest Write Your Novel in 30 Days publication. An article on the 3 act novel and story arc has really got me thinking--and in a direction I've sort of known might be a flaw in my plot construction. The 3-act structure, as defined in what I just read, means that the first act sets the stage, and the second act is about all the conflict, then the third is the resolution. Really, quite boring and uninspiring to me, at first. But I read some things that have made me ponder. Such as the writer's suggestion that while movies feature the inciting incident roughly a quarter into it, books need to do it a bit sooner, perhaps, a fifth of the way into it. I have read conflicting theories about what the inciting incident really is, and this article talked about how act II really begins when the character can no longer walk away and return to his old life. He argues that if a conflict in the beginning of your novel still leaves him able to go back to life the way it was, it's not the inciting incident. Hmmm...THAT got me thinking.
What is my protagonist's inciting incident? A worse question came to mind: Who is my protagonist? I've not wanted merely one. I want 4: 2 couples in different generations. The chapters just critiqued introduced the younger gneration through the eyes of Ginny, who, based on the amount of her point of view I've written, is the main character. But she isn't. She has to be slightly secondary to Ash, who is really the main character. I may have 4 people as leads, but Ash is the central figure, and Ginny hinges on Ash. So maybe some of the critique I've gotten about my recent chapters is rooted in the fact that Ginny does't have a classic inciting incident--because the plot is not revealing her to be the main protagonist.
The article also charted out the Hero's Journey, using Star Wars' Luke Skywalker as example. I've heard of this before and recognize I'm not writnig this kind of novel. Ginny dones't fit that . But then, I realized Ash sort of does...he is the main character, after all. I just have been reluctant to write many of his chapters yet because he's harder.
I think what I need to do is introduce the second genration with Ash's POV, giving a glimpse into his life, not Ginny's, first. I realize too that it means i need to go back in time, start the story at a point i'd planned not to write, just summarize in background info. But I see now that Ash's inciting incident is in that past I'd not wanted to write. Wow. this will be a challenge. I know I have to introduce him in scenes that makes us sympathetic to him, that let us see his vulnerability and make us like him, and then let us see the inciting incident when he "enters the dark side." I think I was trying to start with Ginny so we could see him through her point of view. Much of it was flattering to Ash, as Ginny extols a couple of his virtues. Starting with Ginny allowed me to keep Ash's secret. But I do now think I need to start with him...
Other pieces I've written:
Autism Rates Rise; University of Toledo Poises Itself to be Primary Resource for Deluge of Adults with Autism
Fast Food, Junk Food and Obesity Subsidized by Federal Government
The American Diet--Are We All Made of Corn?
Postpartum Depression, Psychological Distress Predicted by Previous Traumatic Birth
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