After six months of steady progress, I’m probably about 60% of the way through the first draft of Wrath of Empire. And this project is posing some challenges that I’ve not had to deal with before.
As this is a prequel, the bare bones – essentially three major events – were already laid out for me in the backstory to Ghosts of Innocence. The novel mentioned them to varying degrees, and gave some sense of the political climate at that time, but I had given no real thought to what happened in any great detail. It was on the level of saying that someone assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, and a few months later the whole of Europe was at war. OK, but what actually happened to lead from one event to the other?
The task, therefore, has been to add flesh to those bones.
I started off with a straightforward outline. Take those pivotal events and try to fill in the gaps. This added a layer, but it was still couched in very general terms, such as “Thwart Ivan’s attempt to claim the throne” and “Huge public turmoil”. Great. I could probably write a history text off those notes, but it would read like a history text with none of the specifics and personal connections that turn it into a story.
I needed to dig into the “who” and “why” and “how” in specific terms that can then be written out as a scene, and brought to life by the actors on the page.
The challenge for me has been this: In the novels I’ve written so far, I’ve had some kind of an outline, but as the story evolves it has always taken off in directions I didn’t anticipate. In each case, there are whole branches of the outline that ended up never being written, because the story took on a life of its own and the early outlines changed dramatically.
Always!
But that is a luxury I can’t afford this time. The story has to arrive at those pivotal events, and it has to arrive on time. Something I’ve never managed to do before!
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6 comments:
Publishing deadlines will make you make it arrive on time!
I'm fortunate that most of my outlines didn't deviate too far from the finished story, but then I worked months on the outline before beginning to write.
Alex, that's the working method of a true plotter, which I know I'm not. As for publishing deadlines, I don't have those other than what I impose on myself, and I'm not too bad in that department. The 'arrive on time' was talking more about the time between events in the story.
Hi Ian - well it's a challenge - but one you're up to ... it'll be interesting to read the rest of your approach. Ferdinand's death and onwards or backwards - not an easy starting point ... good luck - fluid as you say, but something you're able to mull over, while doing other things ... cheers Hilary
Hilary, things so far are falling into place quite well, as I hope to write about soon.
Hi Ian. :-)
This will be interesting watching this progress. I can never follow an outline to hit plot points. As you said--stories take on a life of their own. I'm impressed by the amount of research you're pouring into this series installment.
Will there be any more stories coming out of The Long Dark universe? :-)
Thanks Teresa. And good question about The Long Dark. There is clearly room for more stories there, but I'll need to let that mull and see what comes to mind. As in the Shayla universe, I like to make sure each story holds together on its own and is unique, not simply a rehash of an earlier theme.
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