Day: June 17, 2022

It is a sad truth that modern fiction is defined by the struggles between story and character. We use that line of demarcation to decide what is literature and what is not. However, the line blurs in every story, because at the sole of every story is a character and that story ought to be about how that character grows or changes throughout the story. What then is the conflict? The way I see it the conflict comes down to the concept of plot.

Plot is best defined as what happens to the character in a story. The term plot-driven refers to stories in which the main conflict appears to supersede character growth. Recently I re-read the works of Warren Ellis. He’s a wonderful author who comes up with rich and creative stories about downtrodden men that remind me quite a bit of Warren Ellis. Here’s the thing: There is never any great epiphany for these characters. Something happens in the story to interrupt their day-to-day existence and it forces them to question who they are and how they operate. Yet in the end they keep on living. If they change it is very little. That seems entirely real to me. Too many stories force a character to be irrevocably changed from the person they are as opposed to modified by events in their lives. Change doesn’t have to mean reset, yet it feels like literature is about that reset or endgame or ultimately reflecting on who you are as a human and reaching some manner of conclusion. What I enjoy about Ellis is that conclusion is usually, “Well, I might be that guy, but I still have to wake up and pay the bills tomorrow, so…” In other words, for me the character arc and growth is about the reader reflecting who they personally are against the character and the situation.

The situation has to be important, thus there needs to be balance between story and character. You don’t get Harry Potter without the growth of the kid over, what, seven books? However, you cannot have seven books that are hundreds of pages long and yet still designed for short attention span having kids to read without a ton of stuff happening in each book and each moment. So, balance. It is best if the plot shapes the character while the character’s ‘self’ shapes the plot in terms of how they respond and how those responses force them to change and adapt.

Sounds complex? Try living life. It really helps you recognize how that balance plays out.

Thus begins a 100 blog block about writing. For this next stretch of the Ten Minute Rule I intend to focus on all things writing. It is a necessary departure from talking about myself, because, well, I need to get back to the core of my being, which is writing. The first thing about writing is BIC, or Butt in Chair. Many famous writers talk about how important it is to read and that is true, but you cannot be a writer without writing. You have to put in the time and that time ought to be more than 10 minutes a day if you intend to produce any functional work over the course of a month or year. Presently my personal docket includes a 30,000 word sci-fi project (NDA precludes me from speaking on this work), Three short stories I mean to write, an AI-focused sci-fi novel, and two additional novels that merge fantasy and sci-fi. It is a lot to think about and that thinking doesn’t begin to include the massive fantasy world I am developing in order to tell a story (that I haven’t entirely uncovered in my mind). In order for any of this to occur, I need to be in the chair and writing–largely undisturbed for swaths of time.

How much time a writer needs in order to be productive is a personal preference. I crapped on the idea of ten minutes being enough, and maybe it is for someone out there, but for me to really get going I am going to need hours. Probably three. If I am being fair to myself and honest about my habits, I cannot sustain focus for longer than three hours and any longer feels like I am doing a disservice to my partner at the very least. She deserves my time and focus too. So my plan is to snip off three hours from every day (over the next 100) and write. I do have a professional teaching job that requires at minimum an hour of my attention each day, so that is a minimum of 4 hours gone each day. Of course, this is all relative. There will be times I don’t write. I’m going to be in the woods a couple days next week and I don’t see words happening much over those days. I’ll get ten for sure, but some days you have to chalk up to rest and reset. Every job requires a day off. Every lifestyle requires a moment to let go.

So, dearest reader, consider this the first of 100 lessons on the written word. Sit in the chair. Get something out. It doesn’t have to be good, but you have to try and you have to condition yourself to write.

Some Thoughts:

1. While typing Sci-fi I found myself accidentally typing sci-fu and that hit different. There could be something there.