How do you develop an idea into a complete novel? Don't commit to anything!
Continuing my thoughts from Monday...I had a time and a setting—about five years after the events of my first book, Dylan's Treasure, and in the midst of a blizzard in the winter—as well as an antagonist and conflict, an invasion of Norsemen...but where to go from there?
The most natural inclination is to map out a plot outline, which I tend to do today only in the most broad strokes, a lesson I learned from writing myself into a corner in the first book that I couldn't get out of until I threw my plot plan in the garbage. But I needed a direction to get moving in, so the natural point was one of escape.
I knew Dylan and Siannon would have to escape from Macnylleth with everyone else in tow, and I decided right away to split them up, which would cause each of them their own internal conflict. I originally thought I would leave Siannon trapped in the castle, but this didn't give her anything to do except to potentially be raped and murdered, and these are books for teenagers, after all. She's also much more interesting than that plot would have made her.
I wanted to put Dylan and a few others at sea, which led to a great deal of Internet research about the capabilities and techniques of medieval ships (a fascinating topic in its own right). Once I split them up, their various directions became inevitable—avoid the Norse and find their way to safety, which eventually leads them both to the city of Llanfyllin, where most of the action of the second half of the novel takes place.
I knew right away that in a book about war, there had to be serious stakes, and there also had to be serious losses. The character who passes at the end of the novel (no spoilers!) was who I had chosen to die from the beginning. I'm not Stephen King or George R.R. Martin, so my stories aren't going to be bloodbaths, but without some actual skin in the game, it's like a funhouse...scares with no real danger. The stakes had to be high and real, and we had to lose someone we loved, just as it happens too often in real life.
The next point was a discovery I made wholly in the course of writing, one I had neither planned nor expected. This is a bit of a spoiler (sorry, should have read the book sooner), but my villain from Dylan's Treasure, Dylan's older brother Kane, redeems his character and emerges as a hero in the second book. This happens in chapter nineteen, and if you've read the first book, I think it's a wonderful surprise. I probably had more fun writing this section than any other, mainly because I love a good redemption story.
It also gave me a chance to introduce another new character to the kingdom, but I won't spoil this part of Kane's journey; you'll have to read that part for yourself. I discovered many new characters during the course of the writing, some who only appear in one chapter, such as Lili and Llewyn from Aberaeron, and others who become an integral part of the kingdom's tale, such as Captain Pritchett, Gwen, and Rupert.
I also wanted to expand the role and importance of magic, accomplished in part by the expansion of my beloved magician Osric the Elder from a minor player in the first book to a key major character in the second. One of my villains is also a magician, so the influence of magic would be key.
Magic is at the heart of the motivation of the Norse to invade Llanfyllin in the first place, and also why they chose to do so in winter, when the difficulty of conquering another nation is compounded by the ice and snow of the season. I'll certainly not spoil the surprise for anyone here, but deciding why the Norse needed to possess Llanfyllin is the central point of the entire novel.
Finally, there were the Norse characters themselves. I wanted three dimensional villains, men who acted from true human motivations that were not necessarily admirable but at least understandable. I also wanted them to have distinct personalities, and I'm proud of what I accomplished in their trio of leaders, Asger, Halfdan, and Thorsten. Coming up with Nordic names as well as throwing in mild Norse swears (your skreyja magician) added to the fun of world-building.
All of this was accomplished not through careful planning but by taking Stephen King's advice and writing what you find through the process of creation. I'll bet that I only kept about 20 percent of the initial ideas I had when I began writing, and almost everything else was modified in some way as I allowed these characters to take on a life of their own. In the end, the creation truly is the reward for the writing in the first place.
One last thought...if you think I've given away too much in this week's blog, I can assure you that there are plenty of surprises in store for you in The Spring of Llanfyllin, including one new character in particular who becomes the central driving force of my third novel, which is in first draft progress at this time. If you want to purchase of copy and find all these secrets for yourself, go to the Home page of this website and follow the links. Thanks for reading, and for those of you who have read any of my works, I appreciate your support more than I can express. You are the ones who give my creation life.
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