30 Days Writing challenge: Day 13—write down a future novel idea

Today, I am talking about a book that I am already writing instead of a future novel idea. Actually, I have paused in the writing, not from lack of ideas, but from a reluctance to pursue the plot, out of worry that the story lacks substance.


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I will break this into different parts so you may have an idea and maybe support or advice. I will give the synopsis, then the technique, then the constraints and a summary.

Before I do so, I would give you a background. I love fantasy books. It is my own obsession. A well written fantasy novel gives me as much as high as well tied blunt. Nothing soothes me better than being immersed in the magic, the characters, the world building, the dialogue, the battles, that can be found in fantasy books. In them, I find the suddenness of human lives, the infinite patience of love, the weaknesses of gods, the ego and foibles of human. In these books, I find the vastness of the human imagination and I'm sometimes awestruck by this seeming infinite capacity for the human race to see beyond their short lives.

Some of my favourites are The Malazan Book of the fallen, by Steven Ericsson, a rather huge collection of about 11 books. I have read the whole twice and I am reading for the third time. Another favourite is The Wheel of Time Compendium by Robert Jordan, finished by Brandon Sanderson, another author whose work I find amazing.

These writers among other have instilled in me, the urge to tell a story but not just any story. A story that encompasses some of the grandness of their tale and some of my own experiments with writing. It is this, I attempt with this story.


SYNOPSIS


The story follows the attempt of an historian in the Benin Empire, who seeks to reveal to the world, the true history of the forming of the empire. His sources are stories told by griots, singers, scraps of parchments. He finds that a certain personage has been wiped out of the history of the people, perhaps by the orders of the emperor and the more he digs, the more he finds to make him not only suspicious but also fearful for his life. He follows the life of this character and deeds which culminates in a war that changes everything. He lives in the present, poring into a blurred past.

The second part is focused on the present, where a mentally ill man struggles with supernatural forces that are beyond him as well as finding it difficult to convince people that what he is seeing is real. His journey takes him through the abodes of gods, fighting with a battle with an emperor that will be a god.

The final chapter follows the journey of a little boy, struggling to understand what he finds in the land of the spirit and what his role is in the grand scheme of things.


TECHNIQUE


First of all, note that I have written chapters in the different parts but my work has gone further with the first and second part. I even have the beginnings of a novella set in the world of the novels.

As to technique, it has varied with each book. For the first part, the story is told through the historian, who not only functions as a narrator in the story but is also a character in a subplot. His own story is set in the present, as he deals with government suspicion and the story he narrates is set in the distant past.

What I did was give the impression of verisimilitude by making the narrator doubt the veracity of his sources as well as commenting on parts of his narration that cannot be completed due to poor source material. He also talks about where and how he got his sources. So sometimes, the work reads like a history textbook and at times, like a novel.

The second part which is a different book or not, is told through the eyes of the mentally ill man. I felt the need to express the unbalanced nature of his mind by making his narration scattered. He moves to places and does not know how he got there, he cannot separate what is real from what is imagined and even from his visions. He is being used but he doesn't know who and he is afraid.

There's a more modern frame to carry the story in this part and familiar stuff can be found in the pages. Yet there are gods, goddesses, witches and whatnot as well.

My aim for doing this, is to also question the veracity of the tale. Can you take the words of a mentally ill person as valid considering how different their perspective may be? I put the option of disbelieving, of walking away saying to yourself that it is all lies but at the same time, thinking about it—what if the man speaks the truth?

The third part follows the traditional style of third person omniscient narrative. I chose this in order to encompass all the different characters that clash in this last chapter as well as to handle the issue of life after death. When a person dies, the human mind can't encompass what happens after, we only speculate. As the boy has to die for the book to begin, it is therefore necessary that the narrator has godlike powers to read minds, anticipate motivations, and follow thought processes to their illogical conclusions.


CONSTRAINTS


As you can see from the technique, this is a difficult task. I love the idea of experimentation but I have never written a novel and sometimes I feel like I have swallowed more than I can chew. One of my constraints is my attention span. I lose interest real fast. It is why I write short stories and poetry. I have lost interest in writing the story and it wounds me to say so. I can't seem to find the zeal to complete it.

Another constraint is the major characters in the first part, each have a tale to tell as they also function as sources for the historian's piecing of the story. I have questioned why the main character is silent. Yes, she is silent because the major theme of the first part is erasure, erasure of life lived, of voice, of person. I feel the need to let her speak, to tell her own tale.

Another issue is the fight scenes. I fear the writing of war scenes. I hate research. It bores me. I need a clear image of movement, the clash of weapons and the like. I can't seem to muster the energy to get it done.

There's the constraint of writing a story that deals with the erasure of women and their contributions. Am I the right person to write about such things? Am I in the right place to write about a man managing a poor mental health? What do I know of African spirituality?

The magic I employ is unwieldy. I am not satisfied with it. What are the rules guiding its use? Where is it from? What is its toll on the user?

I am also worried about acceptance. I am writing books of fantasy in ways that might be complex and confusing to the reader. It bothers me and makes me reluctant to continue.

Finally, I don't trust my skill as a writer. Despite the accolades, the love and friendship, writing has brought me, I am terrified that I am an impostor playing pretend. What can I do?


CONCLUSION

This work may never be completed. As I write now, I have began another tale. It is my curse to always wander. Sigh. I would really love to hear your thoughts as to this novel idea and how to progress beyond where I am now. Questions are fine.


©Osahon, 2020.



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Thank you for posting this here, it gives a real insight into the challenges of writing long-form pieces. I need a bit more time to think about the things you are raising before I respond, but I wanted you to know I had read it and I will come back in a few days. Perhaps by that time, others will have helped :)

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Wow! Thank you. I am grateful for any ideas or support.

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Hey @warpedpoetic, thanks for your post!

I've not been active in this community (which I realise has gone through a lot of changes) for almost two years. And I'm back with a purpose :). Writing stories has been a big love of mine, ever since I was very little. And due to some recent life changes, I've decided that if I ever really want to pursue my dreams of writing, this could be a great time to do so. And of course that brings me back here - a community of authors, with the intention to learn and grow together.

About your post. I enjoyed reading why you love fantasy so much, I feel those could have been my words. It's that description that got me hooked to read your story outline with a lot of interest. Because it made me feel you have a great way with words, but also that telling stories is more to you than just entertainment. Gave me the impression your head is always full of questions and you use your stories as a means to get closer to the more subtle and involved ways of understanding life.

I love the story outline. It feels like there is a lot of depth / richness / layers to it. I love how it includes mystery, magic, multiple perspectives (including a 'non-reliable' narrator, the mentally ill man), big life and death topics and conspiracy.

Even though the different parts and perspectives to the story really spoke to my imagination, and together seem to allow for a beautifully balanced story, I feel a little in the dark as to how these different story parts will be coming together. If you'd summarise the whole thing in just a few sentences (set-up, journey and conflict, resolution), how would it go? Do you have a clear picture of how you are going to wrap this up?

I'm working on a novel, and like you, I just love layers and mystery and fantasy. But the story line was growing and becoming more complex, and I got kind of lost in it. I followed this course on writing, and it really helped me to work on the basics by defining explicitly who the main character is and what challenge she is facing. I found there is really one larger story arch, and all the other story elements fell into place when I summarised my whole story in just a few sentences. From that core, I can move into detail and complexity as much as I want, but will be able to answer the reader's need for knowing what's going on and where it is all leading to sufficiently (I hope).

If you would actually continue working on this project, I would love to read more from it. I'd read it cover to cover :). Maybe you already have outlined idea's about the main challenge in the book and how you're going to tackle it. Otherwise, making things simple before you dive into detail might really help. I personally hope you don't give up on this story. Thank you for sharing these ideas with us!

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Well it's basically plotted as a trilogy. The first book would be about the woman who tries to find her place in a world that is strange as well as define what her role as a woman entailed. She has powers, unknown and she is wild but after a tragedy, she learns to be more circumspect especially when finding that her enemy is none other than her jealous younger brother.

This part is narrated by the historian.

The second is narrated by a the mentally ill man who cannot differentiate reality from the unreal. He is being used by supernatural powers and pursued as well but he doesn't know why. He later finds that he has been tasked to deliver something to someone, someone with the power to destroy the evil that plagues the world

The third book is in the omniscient narration and follows a little boy's journey through the land of the spirits to his destiny.

All the books are connected and intersect through different sub plots.

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Nice. That gives a little more insight on how the different story parts would fit together.

How far along are you with the project? Seems like a big one :). Planning to share some passages here?

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