Who are you people?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

By Andrew Munz

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Now on the second leg of my quest to write a novel in a month, I find myself to be a bit more careless. Not careless about my story itself, but rather the quality of what I’ve been typing out. I will go ahead and consider this normal for a project such as this, because when you take on the task of writing nearly 2,000 words a day, you can’t expect Hemmingway to ooze out of every paragraph.  And trust me.  I definitely don’t.

As the days trudge on and the librarians and other library dwellers begin to recognize my face, I feel there’s purpose to my work; there’s a comforting twinge of confidence that I’m actually doing what I set out to do. So far I have not fallen behind my daily word quota (knock on wood) and have even exceeded it on what I’ve dubbed “good writing days.”  Yes, my originality amazes even me sometimes.
 
However, not all is good as gravy in my fictional world. I mentioned that my speedwriting lacked substance, and this quick-form storytelling is directly impacting my character development. Gravely. At this point in my story, I’ve established a main character: Leo Whalen. He’s smart, attractive, shaggy and childishly aloof to much of what is happening in my story. The sole other character I’ve introduced him to is a snarky, exotic woman known only as The Monitor. The first part of my story was intended to build a relationship between these two people, but after almost 20,000 words I feel like I hardly know who they are. 

Character development has a huge purpose in fiction, both classic and contemporary. Stephen King readers have told me that, “Yes, his books are great, but I forget half the characters once the story ends.” I hate this feeling. As a reader I want to connect with the character, which is hard to do when your cast number hits thirty or more. But as I throw open my laptop and begin typing as fast as I can, the plot moves along, but my characters become just characters. They’re only there to service the plot. 

What I intend to improve as Nov. 30 inches closer, and what I think every fiction writer should try to do, is to make the plot service the characters. Let them be the main reason the story is taking place. Focus on who these people are, and then continue building the story around them. Plot and character go hand in hand, and one shouldn’t fall out of step with the other. No matter how fast you write.

Excerpt:

She had already been standing there for quite some time, but Leo did not notice her until she plucked a peppermint from the bowl by the door and slid it into her mouth, pulling the wrapper out from between her teeth.  The candy clacked noisily as she moved it around with her tongue. She tossed her dark hair out of her face, revealing brilliant, sea-green eyes.

“You’re Leo,” she said simply.  Leo merely nodded.  “I’m your Monitor.”
“My what?  How did you—”
“Don’t worry about it.  Mint?”

Quickly, she tossed a candy from the bowl to him and it collided with Leo’s forehead.  She scoffed.  This was how their relationship began.  It would continue for the next 29 years. JHW


Local writer/actor Andrew Munz is attempting to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. We don’t know why he would do that to himself, but we sure enjoy watching him try.

PERMALINK:
Who are you people? | Planet JH News Article: Coulter Elementary School

Leave a Comment