Abandoning a Project, or How To Tell If A Story Is Broken
Posted under: Broken
Okay, so I’ve been talking about Pony Express here and on my writer’s forums for long enough to build up some excitement, both in myself and in a few good friends.
HOWEVER, it’s been started for a little while now (I started it before I got sick and now that I’m feeling better, I went back to my notes on it) and it’s not moving forward.
I can’t hide from it any longer.
It’s broken.
The Deeper Questions
It’s not TERRIBLY, HORRIBLY broken, but it fails the deeper “Why?” test.
Shallow “Why?” questions have an answer. “Why does she need to do this? Why can’t she do this instead?”
Those are all fine and dandy. From a surface-view, my story holds water.
However, once I start to ask DEEPER questions, it falls apart because the TRUE answer is “because I want it to be that way” and all of my swiftly erected plot beams cannot possibly hold the story’s weight once people start poking at it.
“Why does she make it THIS far and no farther before having a problem? What changes to make it so that she no longer has a problem? If the answers are true, why isn’t EVERYONE using this method to travel through the dangerous area? Why can she do it when a heavily armored rich caravan cannot?”
Every answer I come up with complicates things and adds unnecessary weight to the story.
The “Why” Test
“Why?” is the most important question you can ask when building a story.
If you don’t know why, or if your reasons are weak or “Just Because”, then you’ve got a problem.
What’s worse, although you CAN fix any problem after it’s been written, it’s a LOT easier to fix small problems than deep-rooted flaws. “Whens” and “Hows” and “Whos” are all relatively simply to fix during revision. “Whys” are fundamental weight-bearing questions. If you notice a broken “Why” before you start writing, I think it’s worth stopping and eyeballing it rather than plowing ahead.
Solving the Problem
Solving the problem is easy, actually. Deceptively so.
Throw out everything that’s keeping you from giving an honest, true “Why” answer.
If you have a pre-conception or assumption that is causing a problem, throw it out and ask the question again. This is all a mental exercise at this point anyway — you can add the assumption back if you need it to tell your story.
But something about the current mix of “must be trues” is keeping you from finding the solution. Throw out one or a few, and come at the problem from a new perspective.
I’m Not Fixing It … Yet
So if it’s so “easy”, why am I abandoning Pony Express for now?
Because I know in my gut that the things I’d have to throw out are the reasons I wanted to tell the story in the first place. They’re the bits that hit my Sweet Spot, that made me want to tell the story in the first place.
Additionally, I’m not under contract for this story, nor do I owe it to anyone to tell it in a specific way or time frame.
I want to finish the story. HOWEVER, right now I’m clearly not in a good emotional place to do so. I’m reluctant to hack away at my framework … and I have no compelling reason to take a hatchet to it just yet.
Given some time and space, I may come up with a different solution, or find other elements of my story to rekindle that flame of desire to write it. For now, though, I can just take all my storybuilding and put it in a folder in my Idea Box, then come back to it later, when things aren’t quite so … now.
In the Meantime
It’s HARDLY as if I don’t have a billion story ideas that I want to write. I just need to pick one and get started on it. =]
You
Have you ever noticed that a story you’re working on is broken? Did you notice early or at the end? Have you ever revised a “Why Broken” story?
I’m going to open myself up to ridicule here, although I’m fairly confident most people on this site will take it easy on me. Also, I’m not a real writer yet, and I have exactly zero formal training. What I CAN offer is the opinion of a long-time avid reader of all things sci-fi and fantasy.
Let me start with another disclaimer: I know this is a slippery slope, and one must take great care not to abuse it, but I say that sometimes “just because” is a perfectly acceptable answer. Sometimes.
I say that because there are many, many times that I finish a story that I really loved, and then when I really examine it I can poke holes in it for various reasons. Most times, however, with a well-written story that I truly enjoyed it won’t matter to me one bit as the reader.
For example: I read a story by one of our own at Saucy Ink, and I loved it. However, the author pointed out what she felt were flaws and plot issues to me and you know what? It didn’t matter to me one bit. I still loved it, and I still think about that story almost a year later. Isn’t that a measurement of success?
So what’s my point?
TOUGH LOVE:
(somehow I got cut off while writing the comment! Here’s the rest)
(EDIT: up above, when I said “finish a story” I meant “finish READING a story”)
TOUGH LOVE: Don’t use plot issues as an excuse to quit when the going gets tough. This may not be the case for Pony X, but it got me thinking on broader terms. I say pound on that brick wall for a while and make sure it’s real before moving on.
NOT SO TOUGH LOVE: Don’t be so hard on your own story ideas. I bet there are “just because” issues with every story ever written, at least from the author’s point of view. Don’t overuse it, but things can happen “just because you want them to,” after all, it is your world, right?
I know exactly what you mean (honestly, I truly do).
All stories will hit a rough patch — typically a pretty nasty one. There’s an element of “just because” in every fantasy story.
However, the problems I’m talking about are logical errors.
She makes the run in record time because she goes across the northern plains, which have skinwolves. Why is that so much faster than the south route — just because. That’s fine. HOWEVER, why don’t big caravans take the north route regularly? It’s too dangerous. Okay, so why is she able to survive it and they don’t? She uses magic stones. Why don’t they just buy magic stones? Too expensive. (Throwing more money at a problem is totally something merchants are willing to do, that’s a stopper). How does SHE get stones that are so expensive? Also, why do the stones fail? Because the dak panics. So how does she survive without the stones later? She stays in trees. So how do the unicorns survive? Sound attacks? (if so, why don’t caravans use sound attacks). Their horns? (If so, why don’t caravans just arm themselves better?)
… These are the sorts of logical turns I’ve been taking, and they represent a flaw in WHY things are happening and why it’s important that she does what she does.
I’ve been cracking at them for about a month now (granted, I was sick for a large chunk of that, but not ALL of it) and still haven’t found a solution that makes me happy.
I’m pretty sure this is a real brick wall and not just a “fallen out of love with my story” brick wall. I’ve seen both kinds.
Thanks for the insight, I enjoy getting a glimpse into the inner workings of your thought process. I was pretty sure, even while I was ranting, that you wouldn’t give up without a fight, but I think I was also lecturing myself…
How come we rarely take our own advice, but we think everyone else should? (blog idea?)
*laughs* In NO way does that invalidate your arguments, mind you. Just that I do feel like I’ll need to tweak some of my assumptions in order to make it work, and I don’t have sufficient motivation to do so at this point. ^_^
(if I was on contract, it’d already be done. Which brings to mind that I should probably write as if I were on contract all the time, BUT …)
All of my stories are broken. I am not sure I even notice anymore if the plotline is working. I am not revising any of them.
(I am laughing now. I wanted to say, “we are speaking literally here, right?” and now I am just laughing. I did not even mean to be that witty! I am a genius.)
*laughs* in real life, ALL stories are broken.
This totally reminds me of a video game quest line where the quest giver speaks in colors and angles.
“All was yellow perpendicular.” “You offer yourself as a black bisector? Unanticipated adulation!”
Unanticipated adulation! LOVE that.
Here is a youtube vid with some Gree quest text, if you’re interested. <3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xOglBsvWWg
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