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In the long distant past I believed that all that was required to become a novelist was writing flair and the compulsion to tell a story. That is partly true. Most people who want to write have an instinct for storytelling which drives them unconsciously in the right direction. That’s been the way since time immemorial. Now, it’s gone to the other extreme. We’re inundated with books, seminars even degrees that tell us that we merely need to acquire the appropriate skills, get in a certain amount of practice and hope for a shedload of luck.
The truth is, all of these are required. But the secret ingredient really is to stay with that instinct – and take advantage of the yardsticks available to reduce the guesswork. Throughout the run up to NaNo, I have been picking up the resistance man writers have to too much planning, laying out the blueprint of their books or even thinking too hard about it. I agree to some extent but my gut feeling is that if the tools are available, why not make use of them? I have to say, a well-planned synopsis helps me no end. Balance is good in all things and instincts are never more successful than when paired up with some canny skills. So, a little attention to structure and large dollops of inspiration, or instinct, would be my secret formula.
I place my greatest trust in traditional structures. Look at any ancient myth, folktale or fairytale and you’ll find a distinct shape in it. I think of these basic structures as the building blocks. When a child first picks up wooden bricks or Lego, s/he doesn’t plan a structure but there is an instinct that drives them to start building. The towers grow too tall at first and topple over but as they build and re-build, their instinct is surer and the structures more secure – a combination of instinct and experience.
Below are the building blocks discovered by Vladimir Propp, a Russian formalist, more than 100 years ago when he randomly selected more than 100 European fairytales and analysed their narrative. He recorded the results in his Morphology of the Folktale.
Propp identified 33 steps of which the ones listed below turn up most often in the best-known myths, folk and fairytales. Maybe you can use them to tweak your structure and add dimensions and words to your Nano Novel.
1. An unsatisfactory situation is clearly set up. (Cinderella is badly treated by her stepmother. Jason isn’t happy to stay home with his mother.)
2. There is some kind of ‘call’. (the invitation to the ball. Jason discovers he’s a king.)
3. The protagonist (main character) holds back or is held back. (Cinderella has no ball gown – Jason’s uncle won’t give up the throne unless Jason goes on a deathly quest fetches the Golden Fleece.)
4. The protagonist decides to, or is enabled to answer the call. (Cinderella’s godmother helps her go to the ball. Jason recruits the Argonauts.)
5. Now begins a sequence of obstacles, each harder than the others.(Cinderell has a midnight taboo; she loses her shoe; she’s unable to try it on when the prince comes looking.)
6. The character manages to overcome these with help from an unexpected source. (The minister or some such person insists Cinderella should try the shoe. Jason is helped by Medea, High Priestess of the fleece.)
7. A resolution is reached – usually a satisfying one but not always.(Cinderella manages to try the shoe and is united with the prince. Jason gets the fleece and escapes on the Argo.)
8. Some question is answered, some transformation achieved. (Cinderella has gone from rags to riches. Jason, too. He becomes king.)
Now there’s a wealth of difference between the myth of the Argonauts and the story of Cinderella – but the core structure is very similar. Does your story bear resemblance to any famous myth or fairytale?
It will improve your novel no end, to strengthen its structure. It will also, for the purpose of NaNoWriMo, increase your word count. A well-structured obstacle requires a fair amount of writing.
Hmmm, obstacles. Maybe that’ll be my blog for tomorrow. |
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