New Novel Help

[thepianist2008]

Hi! I'm currently working on a fantasy novel, I started it about ten days ago and currently have 14132 words. I'm doing okay at the moment, well, I should be. Let me explain. My book has four main characters, with one of them being the chief main character, but the POV switches between them. I'm at the part in the novel where they split. If you don't mind, I'm going to refer to my characters by name.

Okay, Liz and Jessica are currently going out in the forest to visit an old witch. I happen to know (being the author:D ) that this witch will send the two of them on a quest. However, the witch will not associate with the other two characters because they aren't yet pure in heart. So, I have a direction for these two characters.

The problem is, the other two characters are stagnant. Daryl, the chief main character, is starting to get fed up with the others. I'm trying to plant the seeds in him to cause him to turn against them later in the story. However, he doesn't have anything to do at the moment while the girls are out visiting the witch.

The fourth main character, Tim, is actually the mastermind behing all of the destruction and evil that they're supposed to be fighting. So with Tim, I'm faced with the problem that the reader is not supposed to know that it's his doing. So not only do I have to remain a little detatched during the sections where he is the POV character (because avoiding him altogether as a POV character would cast suspicions on him, I have to find some direction for him that doesn't give him away yet works toward the end when he's finally exposed.

Bottom line, Help!

[writeperch]

First, give Daryl something to do. If he's your chief main character, you shouldn't have him standing around waiting for other characters to visit a witch.

Second, uh, hmmm. Tim. One possibility (which goes against what you've written above) is that the reader does discover that Tim is the bad guy and it breaks the reader's heart because Tim seemed like a such a good guy and had this really good relationship with the other main characters. But in his heart, he knows he has to do this thing. And so the story becomes a tragedy of sorts as the reader watches, horrified, as Tim sets out to destroy the very people he holds so dear....

Or you could pull the ol': he didn't know he was the bad guy until something magical (or not) triggered his memory (unlocked the evil within).

[Soccer Mom]

Start of the very top of this thread. THere is a sticky there for something called writing with Uncle Jim. You can search the thread for "Character" and "Conflict." But I would recommend you just start reading. It is full of wonderful information and structuring your novel. We could all try to spot help you on specific things, but will give you a more comprehensive view!

Happy reading. I know it looks like a lot to read, but it goes very quickly. Really. And it's worth it.

[Dpsi4]

Keep writing with Liz and Jessica, write to the end of their adventures if you have to, and then work on the other scenes because it will give you more time to think it over.

Or you could create an outline. Start by writing in one sentence what it is that Daryl does and what Tim does. Expand that sentence into a paragraph. Expand the sentences of that paragraph into paragraphs, etc. Working from a vague idea to specific scenes in steps will really help you figure out what to do. At the very least, it could help you figure out what you *don't* want to do with them.

I have written and thrown away about two half-written drafts and done a half-dozen rewrites on the draft I finally settled on. Don't try to get it right the first time!

[Penguin Queen]

Have you read (bear with me) "The Murder of Roger Acroyd" by Agatha Christie. I don't wish to give the plot away but read it, it has a bearing on your sotuation & you might find it helpful. I don't like her opinions, but she is a superb plotter.

As for your stagnant characters:

Who is Daryl, & what does he do? In his everyday life, I mean. How does he get his three square meals a day? Is he a farmere, a trader, a sailor, a thief, a carter, a tanner, a smith.... etc. Write a day in the life of Daryl, not for the book but for you, to get to know him better. Where does he sleep - on a sheepskin, the floor, in a bed, up a tree because tat's what they do in the village where he comes from beacsue of the bears.... You see what I mean, write about him & get to know him, & you might find something for him to do which might then even tie in perfectly nicely with things as they start developing a hundred pages down the line. (Planting the seeds now is good thinking, but he needs to be a proper person right from start if he's to be a main character.)
I find knowing what my characters do in their spare time really useful, although little will go into the actual story, because it tends to be boring. But it tells you something about tem, & sometimes there are nice little nuggets that will tell the reader someting too without you having to spell it out.


Ditto Tim. With Tim, I'd like to know a lot of why's -- why is he the mastermind, why does he want destruction? How does he go about it - is there a way in whcih he can do whatever it is he does (normally, outwardly, again, perhaps to do with his 'job') that could in fact be a dastardly deed well hidden? Stuff like that...

And good luck :)

[Gillhoughly]

Get index cards. Name of character on each. Everyone, even the nameless spear carriers.

Answer two questions for each character.

1) What does he or she want?

2) How far will he or she go to get it?

There's your story.

It's very simple but it formed the basis of a major betrayal on the part of main character (Morlari) on Babylon 5. Toward the end he figured out what a horrific mistake he made and it was grand and terrible thing to see his downfall.

So...what's in if for the witch to send a couple of chicks on a quest? Why doesn't she tell them one of the guys is a loser and save everyone a lot of grief? How would Joss Whedon write this? Where are their parents in all this? How's the weather? What kind of camping equipment do they have? Any wild animals about? Stray trolls? Cave dwelling uber-rabbits in need of a Holy Hand Grenade? :D

[Linda Adams]

So with Tim, I'm faced with the problem that the reader is not supposed to know that it's his doing.

Why not? Having it in his POV and keeping the secret may be some of the problem. You end up having to hold back because you don't want to reveal too much--and, of course, this affects the story. Some people hold back the villain's identity thinking it makes it more suspenseful; however, it can be just as suspenseful identifying him up front--especially if the other characters don't know.

And just tossing in some other options:

Try limiting the POV to only a couple of the four and not Daryl.

Are you sure you need Daryl? Could another, existing character do the job?

And have you worked out the reason for his being in the story? It's easy to come up with four characters because they're needed in the story and then make them fit the story--without a reason for them all to be there.

[thepianist2008]

Okay, thanks all, let me elaborate a little on daryl, because I didn't give you much to work with. Daryl comes from a poor family, well, half of a family, because his father died in a drunk accident. His mother runs their farm, and he helps her a lot, plowing the fields and all that. She has a few other workers, but Daryl does a lot of it. Daryl's purpose is to be important. He knows he's important to his mother, but that just isn't enough for him. Being in school, nobody really notices him. He does his best at everything, gets top grades and does well in sports, but he's still a nobody because he doesn't have money. The story starts where Tim is beginning to put his mastermind plan into action. So there have been various attacks, seemingly directed at the people, but then Liz gets attacked. Jessica tells them that she's scared, and this threatens Daryl, because these powers and this task of protecting the people from the magical "community" is the only importance he has, even though no one really notices it. Tim, seeing an opportunity, sides with Jessica, because if he gets the others to give up, it will make his task much easier. Even without hearing what Liz has to say, because she's out of school, Daryl starts to feel that they're turning against him. He knows deep down that he can't do it alone, because 1) he's only one person and 2) he can only command fire. He has no control over the other aspects of magic. So he starts to resent them.

Of course, now that you make me write all this stuff and do this thinking, I have an idea to run by you. Daryl goes out looking for a fight with one of these monsters, trying to prove to himself that he is capable, and to prove to the others that they can do it. He goes back triumphant expecting them to congratulate him and to change their minds and instead they turn on him, calling him rash. Is this enough to drive him to rebel against them?

BTW, I think the whole point in the end, or at least one of the themes, is that there is strength in numbers, and one person can't do it alone.