Hello, writers. I had a story I was working on and there was a lot that I liked about it, but I realized something important was missing. My main character was a young man who comes back to his home town to discover that something is amiss. At first he’s a lone wolf, poking around on his own with just some tips from a couple of his neighbors. Later his girlfriend comes to town, but before long he sends her away because it’s not safe. Eventually, he teams up with a few like-minded souls.
But why was he alone at the start? If this is his home town, where are his friends? His old school buddies? I suddenly realized, I had cut off my character from a source of help and I had limited my narrative possibilities, because now my main character had to pretty much do everything on his own. Where were his Ron and Hermione? Or, his Merry, Pippin, and Samwise Gamgee?
As I read other stories, and watched movies and TV shows, I noticed that what I had done was quite unusual. Most characters have a support network, and it allows the main plot to be supported by subplots, too. Maybe Harry is following Draco Malfoy, hidden beneath his invisibility cloak, as Draco sneaks into the potions classroom after hours. Do we immediately relieve the suspense by having Harry find out what he’s up to? No! Instead, we cut to a scene with Ron and Hermione at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, where they overhear Madam Rosmerta whispering a dire secret to a mysterious stranger . . . .
I think giving my main character some old friends / companions will ground him in his home town, making him less of an outsider, present opportunities to define him and reveal character, and open up narrative options for me.
It’s the most, word-er-full time of the year!
National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo (Nano for short) is almost upon us again. Regulars will be familiar with it, but if it’s new to you here’s the short version: People try to write 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November. Wait! Don’t run away! That’s only 1,667 words a day.
Several of the Write-On regulars do it every year. I’ve done it for several years, and I’m happy to say that I’ve finished more times than not. But around here, we let people choose their own goal if they want to, and we also do DaiKoWriMo in January for people who find that month more conducive to their creativity. Turkey juices in November, creative juices in January!
If you’re considering joining in, now is the perfect time to start thinking about your goal and planning your project. Unless, like many do, you prefer to write by the seat of your pants.
Meanwhile, back at tonight’s challenge...
We often write about a Callow Youth and her or his Stout Companion, but two characters can be almost as limiting as one, especially if they’re always together.
For tonight’s challenge, write a few sentences with your main characters (they can be searching for a lost jewel, or any other scenario of your own), but then cut away to their friends or companions in another location, where a subplot is unfolding
— OR —
Show us your main characters with their extended companions. What will we learn about them as they interact with these friends that we didn’t learn when they were with their usual teammate?
Try to limit yourself to 150 words.
Thank you to SensibleShoes for allowing me to guest-host this week. SenSho will be back next week.
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