The benefits of formula

[spqrblues]

Nothing to read here, unless you'd like to peruse my babbling about how I'm trying to turn a failed writing project into something simpler and more exciting.

One of the many contradictory wisdoms about writing is that you should write what you want to read.

When I write what I'd want to read, the manuscript tanks with the majority of critiquers.

Problems most frequently mentioned:

• The hero is emotionally stilted, and hence boring to read about.
• Use of the Magical Thingy does not eat the hero up with Bad Mojo or risk unleashing the Apocalypse.
• The hero's ultimate choice is based on a personal moral/ethical/intellectual choice, rather than the threat of magical reprisal, such as going over to the Dark Side or becoming a Nazgul or causing the end of the world.
• An alternate history that isn't based on a clear What If (e.g., "What if Napoleon won at Waterloo?") is kind of confusing.
• Politics are boring.
• The crisis and the story arc should be set up within the first few chapters, and the plot should move in a direct line, not meander through loosely connected events.
• Major characters shouldn't be introduced halfway through the book.
• Male protagonists should at least notice pretty girls, especially when said women are scantily clad. And wiggling their assets.

Rather than carry on any longer in zero-wordcount-land, I'm trashing my most recent writing project and am now attempting to develop a more typical (formulaic?) plot. Something with a clear villain, a Magic Thing that has proper pitfalls, and some big battles. It will be set in Generic Mediaeval European Fantasy World, which, yes, can be a cliche, but can also be a useful shorthand for world building. The protagonist's arc will be from shy recluse to courageous warrior. And there will be a love interest to be won, lost, rescued, and wed.

Here is my now permanently trashed story, re-plotted to fit something more reasonably acceptable:

Our Hero, shy and retiring oldest son of a nobleman in a Kingdom With A sorta-Welsh Name, has given up his inheritance to become a monk in a Judaeo-Christian-like religion that has lots of angels and fallen angels and demons and whatnot. Hero rescues a Sympathetic Angel Guy in the woods, and earns an invitation to Mysterious Angelic Place, where, through irresistible curiosity or to prove where he's been, he steals what he thinks is a small souvenir but which turns out to be a Very Important And Powerful Magical Thingy.

Hero uses the Magical Thingy to solve a few crises, thereby discovering it has bad consequences, such as eating off his arm while phasing him out of this reality into the demon world. Meanwhile, pointy-horned barbarians are being led by fiery demon lords to war against the Welsh-y Kingdom. Hero uses the Magical Thingy a lot in some exciting battles involving thousands of sword-wielding troops, and ends up in demon world, which he must fight his way out of, incidentally rescuing a fair maiden. Fair Maiden is Not What She Seems—she's a fallen angel of some sort. Don't worry, eventually she will be redeemed through self-sacrifice and love.

Now the demons are really pissed off, so they're going to launch ARMAGEDDON UPON THE WORLD!! Or, maybe something a little less than armageddon, since the angels won't get involved and save Our Hero, for reasons glossed over while the narrative distracts the reader with flashy special effects. Hero accepts that the Magical Thingy will plunge him back into the demon world if he uses it to fight the Evil Barbarian Hordes. With his faithful sidekicks—Sympathetic And Now Rebellious Angel Guy and Fair Maiden Who Is Not What She Seems—Hero goes to the frozen center of demon world to fight the Biggest Baddest Demon Guy In This Story (Who Will Be Outdone By Even Bigger and Badder Demon Guy in the sequel). In doing this, Hero risks destroying himself, soul and all, or being trapped in the frozen center of demon world with his sidekicks for eternity, or other such nasty outcomes.

The big battle destroys the Magical Thingy entirely (or so we think), our heroes escape (or maybe the angel sidekick ends up trapped so that he can be rescued or go over to the Dark Side in a sequel), and Fair Maiden loses her superpowers so that she can be nice and mortal and marry the hero.

The End.

There now—that's a pretty tight, straigthforward plot, no? Could be an exciting, easy read, if handled properly. Not to mention, it would be much more interesting than some nonsense about an emotionally stilted hero whose only journey is deciding to make a personal moral and ethical decision concerning a magical thingy that doesn't threaten to eat him up with Bad Mojo or unleash the Apocalypse.

Right?

Comments

[cathemery.livejournal.com]

Wow.

You know, that would probably sell.

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

You're the second person who's said I really ought to write this thing :-)

I wonder if I could pull it off. Maybe I could set myself a deadline like the NaNoRiMoUmWhatever (what is that thing called again?).

[cathemery.livejournal.com]

Can't hurt. I don't know that I'll do NaNoWri?Mo again myself, as I hate the skeletal stuff I got when I tried last year, but having goals (such as a chapter a week, maybe?) seems good.