Avoiding it becoming a "quest" novel

Reservoir Angel · Nov 5, 2011

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against quest novels per se. Some of the best fantasy novels written are quest novels, understandably. But that's not the feel I'm going with in my WIP.

Yes it's set in a fantasy kingdom, and the story and the scope of it all pretty much requires the main characters to spend lots of time travelling between different cities and different locations. But it's not just a simple "they go here and do this, then they need to go there" kind of "follow the shiny trinket" thing.

The story itself, at its heart, is one of freedom from oppression and uniting the Kingdom against a corrupt system. It's about civil revolution, basically. So I'm looking for a tone and flow more in line with, and I'm mostly only saying this because it's fresh in my mind, V for Vendetta. You know, people striking back at the oppressive leadership of their nation, showing the 'common man' that change is entirely possible and eventually inspiring a full-blown Kingdom-wide revolution.

I'm just not sure how to make that work without it slipping into the typical quest novel stuff of "they spend the entire story wandering around the Kingdom". Because V for Vendetta only focused on one city, it didn't need to reach outside to the entire country.

But that's just because it never involved V and Evey gathering allies like my novel does. Plus it ends with a peaceful (mostly) march against the Government, whereas mine is scheduled to end with a full on battle before all is said and done. Well, there is a citizens' march pencilled in but... it doesn't go well.

I've rambled for a while now, so I'll just ask if anyone knows how I can still keep the scale and Kingdom-spanning scope of my novel without it slipping into standard quest novel fair.

LOG · Nov 5, 2011

Minimize the journey aspect of your story.

Quests are (generally) about seeking/finding McGuffin(s) that will be used to achieve a goal.

If the important part of the story is the call to revolution, then just focus on your character's work in the population centers and gloss over any journeying movements.
Also, if it's politically based, then whether it's set in a fantasy world or not, then I doubt people will be inclined to think of it as a quest in the traditional sense.

I'd also recommend looking at Campbell's Hero's Journey archetype and avoiding falling in line with it when you can.

utopianmonk · Nov 5, 2011

As said above, an easy way to avoid looking like a quest novel would be to simply minimize the emphasis on the journeys.

Just skip them and get right to the ultimate locations. No need to go into detail about the trek. Assuming your characters have some work to do in each of the locations, you should have plenty of material there. That actually sounds cool, since it would give your story an epic scale. It sounds like the ending could involve a lot of plot threads coming together.

mephet · Nov 6, 2011

I third this opinion: focus on the time spent in the cities (or any other time that is significant to the characters' goals), while don't hesitate to glance over the journeys. Rather than describing the endless grassy hills, the rising sun, and those wolves that are circling in during the night, keep the reader focused on their mission. I wouldn't include "random encounters" (like those wolves), but make all conflicts relate to the characters' goals.

And, by the way, your idea definitely sounds like something I would read!

froley · Nov 6, 2011

I agree with the others: cut the descriptions of travelling.

thothguard51 · Nov 6, 2011

The journey is generally not a problem as there are all kinds of journeys that do not involve a quest...

Dave Hardy · Nov 6, 2011

Way back before fantasy was mathematically determined by publishers to be a process of re-writing Tolkien (a good writer with lots of 2nd-rate imitators) Fletcher Pratt wrote an awesome novel about a revolution in a fantasy world, titled The Well of the Unicorn. You can see what it's like by reading it. It ain't Lord of the Rings for sure.

I have to wonder what you mean by a quest. If a protagonist has a goal he (or she) follows single-mindedly, that pretty much defines a quest. It could be a quest to find the Lost Talisman of Guodnrkg or it could be a quest to re-unite with a lost love. Maybe you'd prefer to say your protagonists are on a mission instead, but it's a fine line.

If you don't want it to be about a quest, then maybe it's simply about people caught up in events. The Baader-Meinhof Gang might be on a quest to overthrow the evil overlords of capitalism, but your protagonist might just be the person who doesn't believe in that goal, or is only attached to someone else who does, or is only trying to clear their name (shoot, that's a quest too), or is just in it for the kicks (again, sort of a quest), or is simply following the path of least resistance.

A quest is a pretty broad concept. It's different thing from gathering plot-coupons. You don't have to have one. But having one is not automatically cliche.

EDIT: I just thought of the right example: Armee des Ombres, a 1969 movie by Jean-Pierre Melville. It's about the French Resistance, their ultimate objective is to bring down Nazi rule, but that is so far out of their league that their goals are often simply to survive & to maintain their integrity in a situation that demands the sacrifice of both.

Ian Isaro · Nov 6, 2011

I think it's a question of focus. In the kind of book you're describing, events could be described as "While they are traveling, things happen." But if you have the right kind of plot, you can still have time spent traveling because it will be "Because things are happening, they have to travel."

Journey quests also tend to have multiple destinations in one trip. They need to get to City Z, but along the way they pass through Town X and Forest Y and by the time they get to Z much of the book has passed. Whereas you can have your characters hit a reasonable number of locations if each one is demanded by the plot.

A revolution could definitely allow that kind of plot. I think your biggest concern would be the "gathering allies" part. Don't let them go to Elfland to get the elves, Dwarfland to get the dwarves, etc. Every ally should bring new concessions and obligations and the government should be playing an antagonist role. Have characters end up in new cities because they were captured or had to flee instead of just lots of trips. There are lots of things you can do to keep the conflict the center of the story instead of the journey.

sunandshadow · Nov 6, 2011

For some reason this is making me think about German-occupied France and the French resistance. The resistance members did a good bit of secret traveling to places where the occupying forces seemed vulnerable to disruption, or the oppressed locals seemed ripe for recruitment, etc.

Lyra Jean · Nov 7, 2011

For the Win by Cory Doctorow is a political story with traveling. But it's not your plot-coupon collecting quest story either.

Arcadia Divine · Nov 11, 2011

Imo there is always a certain amount of questing in any novel. To me it's unrealistic to not put it in there. Whether or not the main idea or plot is ultimately a quest depends on what you focus on.

SPMiller · Nov 11, 2011

End a scene before your characters set out, and begin the next scene after they arrive. Put a space break in between.

Arcadia Divine · Nov 11, 2011

SPMiller said:
End a scene before your characters set out, and begin the next scene after they arrive. Put a space break in between.

Unless the traveling is important to the story, than you put it in.

dogfacedboy · Nov 15, 2011

For some reason I keep thinking of the New Testament with this. Now there's a travelling story without being a "quest".

In that regard, why not have multiple characters go in multiple directions to gather allies? That way each facet of the story has minimal travel and can focus more on the task at hand. Plus you might be able to build in more character development, trying to figure out how each different envoy will deal with his/her prospective allies.

Ardent Kat · Nov 15, 2011

Reservoir Angel said:
Yes it's set in a fantasy kingdom, and the story and the scope of it all pretty much requires the main characters to spend lots of time travelling between different cities and different locations. But it's not just a simple "they go here and do this, then they need to go there" kind of "follow the shiny trinket" thing.

The story itself, at its heart, is one of freedom from oppression and uniting the Kingdom against a corrupt system. It's about civil revolution, basically.

Instead of having the main characters bouncing around between locations, you could have different characters in different locations doing their own brand of freedom fighting. Then the characters come together. (Instead of Protagonist going to points A through D, characters in A, B, C, and D come together. Or A &B meet up, C&D meet up, then the foursome snowball together into one group)

It might make more sense to show how different characters are already motivated for change. (A single ringleader picking up a crew of willing supporters one after the other could seem more contrived.) It also lets you showcase different settings, different schools of thought, and conflicts of belief between your protagonists.

It's got other risks and problems (potential confusion and lack of connection), but having your world unrest happening simultaneously rather than in a linear fashion may relieve the quest/plot coupon feel.

The "Song of Ice and Fire" series is an example of a series that attempts this, but fails (in my opinion) to actually pull the strings together and show how all these separate events are truly relevant to each other. Readers seem to like the different characters in different settings moving towards a continent-wide culture shift. They just need to see the separate threads weave together sooner rather than later.

Architectus · Nov 20, 2011

I avoided this in my fantasy by making it a mystery adventure, but still fantasy because it is a fantasy setting with magic, etc.

Avoiding it becoming a "quest" novel

Reservoir Angel

Angelic by name, fiendish by nature

LOG

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utopianmonk

mephet

froley

thothguard51

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Dave Hardy

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Ian Isaro

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sunandshadow

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Lyra Jean

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Arcadia Divine

SPMiller

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Arcadia Divine

dogfacedboy

Ardent Kat

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Architectus