The Plot is Not Thickening
One of the hardest things about graduate school is scaling down the epic stories I've always told. I need to write concise short stories, based more around character than plot. The thing is, eventually I want to write for children and they definitely don't really care as much about character development and snail-pace plot. They want to know what happens and they want to love their characters. I'm not saying children's literature is shallow. I'm saying that the adventure and the story don't get second billing to subtle character development and nearly non-existent plot.
And this leads to one of the larger issues I'm dealing with right now: plot. I'm debating how much of North of the Line I should plot out. I think I probably need to work most of it out before I get neck-deep into the story and find that I've written myself into a corner. Also, I have no idea how to plot a series. A basic books is one thing, but something as large and complicated as an epic multi-volume steam-punk fantasy is something else altogether.
The question is whether or not to plot book by book, making sure I leave enough unanswered questions to sustain interest (i.e. LOST) or create something elaborate and thought through (i.e. Battlestar). Knowing me, I'll be neurotic and continually plot the story out so that I can try to keep control of it.
Holding the Line.
Bri
1 comment:
I've often thought I should take a short story course just to force me to figure out how to be more concise. I always think about how Poe was obsessed about making sure EACH word in his stories had purpose and how sometimes I could use a small dose of that same obsession! So I totally feel your pain. :)
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