The Tropes: Essential Elements of Fantasy

     For the “Barnes & Noble Review,” Paul Di Filippo wrote a thoughtful and informative analysis of A Wrinkle in Time, the famous YA science-fiction novel by Madeleine L’Engle.

     Wrinkle was among my favorite books as a girl. I remember being utterly enchanted, caught up in the tale as though it were real life. Intending to reread the story and its sequels, I purchased the Science Fiction Book Club’s 2003 edition of “The Time Quartet,” which includes A Wrinkle in Time as well as A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters.

     Until recently, I’ve been too deep in my own novels—the Waterspell fantasy trilogy—to reread Wrinkle. But now it’s “time” (pardon the pun). My novels are published. For the first time in a decade, I actually have time to do something other than write, revise, and edit.

     Paul Di Filippo’s review of A Wrinkle in Time is fascinating reading. Here’s one passage that particularly caught my eye:

     “Her [L’Engle’s] fairy-tale tropes -- abducted parent; arrival of the Gandalfian stranger(s) initiating a quest; far-voyaging; realms under a spell; well-met comrades; exotic vistas -- are superbly arrayed yet never programmatic.”

     This list practically demands that I analyze my own work to see how these elements figure in Waterspell.

ELEMENTS OF “FANTASTIKA”

     First, a definition of the word “trope,” a term that is often used in discussions of speculative and genre fiction: A trope is a common or familiar theme or device.

     Here are the tropes that Di Filippo identifies, with a brief summary of how they appear in Waterspell.

Abducted parent. In my story, it’s the child (Carin) who is abducted. But her parents have gone missing too.

Arrival of the Gandalfian stranger. This is an interesting one. It requires thought to determine which of my characters is THE “Gandalfian stranger.” Carin herself is a stranger in a strange land. So is Megella, the wisewoman who acts as the “herald,” the player who brings a message or otherwise acts to set the events in motion. Verek is also a “Gandalfian stranger.” Like Megella (and Gandalf), he possesses knowledge and capabilities that are superior to those of the protagonist, Carin. But also like Gandalf, Verek requires assistance: he cannot succeed alone. Another candidate for this role is the monk Welwyn, who provides additional support to Carin in her quest. I must conclude that my novels brim with enigmatic “Gandalfian strangers.”

Initiating a quest. Megella initiates a quest by sending Carin off to find her place in the world. Even earlier, however, Carin was launched on her quest amidst circumstances that I cannot discuss here without spilling the beans. :-) This idea of questing, which is central to all types of heroic literature, is illustrated by a rough diagram I created to show the underlying structure of Waterspell:

Far-voyaging. For sure, there’s plenty of far-voyaging in Waterspell. Again, it would be a spoiler for me to reveal details of the places to which my characters travel. I’ll let a reviewer sum up this aspect. Tahlia Newland commented: “I enjoyed the second in this series even more than the first. The end of it takes us somewhere completely different …” Book 1 begins with a road trip, but Books 2 and 3 are road trips.

Realms under a spell. That’s kind of self-evident from the series title: Waterspell. In my fantasy world(s), spells wreathe mountains, meadows, gardens, oceans … all of the bewitchments different, all placed for different purposes by different practitioners of the art magick.

Well-met comrades. Carin meets a wisewoman, a woodsprite, a housekeeper, a gardener, and a wizardly monk, each well-disposed toward her, or at least not actively hostile. She makes deadly enemies too. But it’s her relationship with the warlock, Verek, that raises the central question: Is he a well-met friend or a manipulative foe? Is he good or evil? Hero or villain? Do we root for him or against him?

Exotic vistas. Waterspell’s far-voyaging characters move through many an exotic landscape. Their travels take them to mountains, prairies, woodlands, valleys, rivers, seashores, sea cliffs: such lands and climes as I’ve encountered in my own travels, or read about, or invented in flights of fancy. One of the perks of writing fiction is the freedom to set one’s story against wild and dramatic backdrops, whether natural or made-up.

     I did not deliberately set out to incorporate into Waterspell these tropes of the fantasy genre. The story grew around them, or they grew into the story, as inevitably as a plant roots into soil. Years of reading fantasy and science fiction planted these elements within me. When the time was right, when I was ready to write the kind of story I love to read, the essentials were there, all set to serve me as they have served generations of storytellers.

Waterspell Is Awesome Indies Approved!

I just got word that Waterspell has been awarded the Awesome Indies Badge of Approval! The badge attests to the quality of my trilogy. These books had to meet stringent criteria to be listed at Awesome Indies and to gain the right to display the AIA badge (the black and gold circle) on the ebook covers.

I am proud of this honor. Even more, I am delighted to be part of a great group of independent authors who "are independent in that they do not depend on someone else to decide whether, or not, they can express their voice in the world. They create the new trends, offer the new adventures, and make you think, feel and wonder anew. Awesome Indies Approved authors have exacting standards. They choose this path, not because they have no other choice, but because they choose independence." (Awesome Indies)

Please check out the great books listed at the AI site. When you buy books listed there, you can be assured that you are supporting the best independent authors: writers who deserve to succeed, who maintain high standards of written language. Awesome Indies is where you’ll find the best indie authors and some of the most exciting fiction available today.




Awesome Indies Reviews:

Waterspell Book 1: The Warlock & Book 2: The Wysard
Waterspell Book 3: The Wisewoman

On Books: My Favorite Memes 1

On my Facebook timeline, my favorite memes become difficult or impossible to find, sometimes in a matter of hours. (Those pesky algorithms.) Blogging them seems to be the best way to preserve them. Here is the first of what I expect will be many collections of book- and writing-related images.

 

The Tropes: Essential Elements of Fantasy

     Today’s e-mail brought the “Barnes & Noble Review” with its thoughtful and informative analysis by Paul Di Filippo, discussing A Wrinkle in Time, the famous YA science-fiction novel by Madeleine L’Engle.

     Wrinkle was among my favorite books as a girl. I remember being utterly enchanted, caught up in the tale as though it were real life. Intending to reread the story and its sequels, I purchased the Science Fiction Book Club’s 2003 edition of “The Time Quartet,” which includes A Wrinkle in Time as well as A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters.

     Since 2003, I’ve been too deep into my own novels—the WATERSPELL fantasy trilogy—to reread Wrinkle. But now it’s “time” (pardon the pun). My novels are published. For the first time in a decade, I actually have time to do something other than write, revise, and edit.

     Paul Di Filippo’s review of A Wrinkle in Time is fascinating reading. Here’s one passage that particularly caught my eye:

     “Her [L’Engle’s] fairy-tale tropes -- abducted parent; arrival of the Gandalfian stranger(s) initiating a quest; far-voyaging; realms under a spell; well-met comrades; exotic vistas -- are superbly arrayed yet never programmatic.”

     This list practically demands that I analyze my own work to see how these elements figure in WATERSPELL.

ELEMENTS OF “FANTASTIKA”

     First, a definition of the word “trope,” a term that is often used in discussions of speculative and genre fiction: A trope is a common or familiar theme or device.

     Here are the tropes that Di Filippo identifies, with a brief summary of how they appear in WATERSPELL.

Abducted parent. In my story, it’s the child (Carin) who is abducted. But her parents have gone missing too.

Arrival of the Gandalfian stranger. This is an interesting one. It requires thought to determine which of my characters is THE “Gandalfian stranger.” Carin herself is a stranger in a strange land. So is Megella, the wisewoman who acts as the “herald,” the player who brings a message or otherwise acts to set the events into motion. Verek is also a “Gandalfian stranger.” Like Megella (and Gandalf), he possesses knowledge and capabilities that are superior to those of the protagonist, Carin. But also like Gandalf, Verek requires assistance: he cannot succeed alone. Another candidate for this role is the monk Welwyn, who provides additional support to Carin in her quest. I must conclude that my novels brim with enigmatic “Gandalfian strangers.”

Initiating a quest. Megella initiates a quest by sending Carin off to find her place in the world. Even earlier, however, Carin was launched on her quest amidst circumstances that I cannot discuss here without spilling the beans. :-) This idea of questing, which is central to all types of heroic literature, is illustrated by a diagram I created to show the underlying structure of WATERSPELL:

Far-voyaging. For sure, there’s plenty of far-voyaging in WATERSPELL. Again, it would be a spoiler for me to reveal details of the places to which my characters travel. I’ll let a reviewer sum up this aspect. Tahlia Newland commented: “I enjoyed the second in this series even more than the first. The end of it takes us somewhere completely different …” Book 1 begins with a road trip, but Books 2 and 3 are road trips.

Realms under a spell. That’s kind of self-evident from the series title: WATERSPELL. In my fantasy world(s), spells wreathe mountains, meadows, gardens, oceans … all of the bewitchments different, all placed for different purposes by different practitioners of the art magick.

Well-met comrades. Carin meets a wisewoman, a woodsprite, a housekeeper, a gardener, and a wizardly monk, each well-disposed toward her, or at least not actively hostile. She makes deadly enemies too. But it’s her relationship with the warlock, Verek, that raises the central question: Is he a well-met friend or a manipulative foe? Is he good or evil? Hero or villain? Do we root for him or against him?

Exotic vistas. WATERSPELL’s far-voyaging characters move through many an exotic landscape. Their travels take them to mountains, prairies, woodlands, valleys, rivers, seashores, sea cliffs: such lands and climes as I’ve encountered in my own travels, or read about, or invented in flights of fancy. One of the perks of writing fiction is the freedom to set one’s story against wild and dramatic backdrops, whether natural or made-up.

     I did not deliberately set out to incorporate into WATERSPELL these tropes of the fantasy genre. The story grew around them, or they grew into the story, as inevitably as a plant roots into soil. Years of reading fantasy and science fiction planted these elements within me. When the time was right, when I was ready to write the kind of story I love to read, the essentials were there, all set to serve me as they have served generations of storytellers.

     Whew! Thank you for reading this far. Paul Di Filippo’s list of “tropes” so inspired me, I had to pause and chew on them awhile. :-)

Story First; Explanations Later

“The adventures first,” said the Gryphon in an impatient tone: “explanations take such a dreadful time.” —Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

            Though I didn’t remember the Gryphon’s plea in time to enter it into the conversation, this was what I was getting at during a recent critique session involving a writer whose work I’d not read before. The writer began her story with a page and a half of exposition, conveying all the background information that she considered essential to a reader’s understanding of what came next.

            “No, no,” I said. “Start with action and dialogue. First hook your readers; draw us in with happenings. Then give us the backstory—a bit at a time so as not to slow the pace.”

            “But [unnamed editor] told me to set the scene up front,” the writer countered. “The editor wanted all this information at the beginning.”

            “Maybe that’s a particular editor’s viewpoint,” I rejoined. “But I’m telling you as a reader: I’m only interested in learning the backstory after I’ve been given a reason to care about it. Put your characters in a situation that stirs my concern for their well-being, whether physical or emotional, or both. When I’ve connected with the characters, then I’ll want to hear how they came to be caught in that situation.”

            The writer then confessed that she had originally begun her story with action, but upon the advice of the unnamed editor she had rewritten it to put the explanations first. Too bad she hadn’t gotten a critique from the Gryphon: he would have set her straight.

ALL PUBLISHING PROFESSIONALS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL

            Nearly every writer I know has bought at least one critique from a publishing professional: generally the younger editors and agents who populate the conference circuit. I, too, have purchased critiques, with mixed results. Some have been astute and helpful and worth the money. But others have been worse than useless. They’ve offered bad advice, which I might have felt obliged to follow if I’d been less experienced at this game. Fortunately, though, I know better.

            Here’s one example:

            “It’s unclear to me whether Carin is meant to be a mortal living in our reality who inadvertently enters a fantasy realm or if they both [protagonist Carin and deuteragonist swordsman] inhabit the same world. Is she trespassing on someone’s property or on another world entirely? There’s no sense in keeping it a secret, so this should be made absolutely clear in the first chapter.” —Young Nameless Agent 1

            Actually, YNA1, there is every reason to build this question in the reader’s mind. It is a fundamental aspect of the mystery.

            And again:

            “Start your manuscript earlier so that we can better get to know Carin … I don’t yet know her enough to be as invested in her welfare as I’d like. Can you let us get to know her more first?” —Young Nameless Agent 2

            As the story opens, YNA2, Carin herself does not know who she is. She’s a teenager groping for identity and purpose. She is searching for the place where she belongs.

            All told, it takes three 400-page books to finally answer the questions: “Who is Carin? Where does she come from? Where does she belong?” Carving a place for yourself in a world where you don’t really fit: that’s a major theme running through the WATERSPELL trilogy.

FANTASY IS MYSTERIOUS

            My encounters with these Young Nameless Agents made me believe they require, in their reading, the same kind of instant gratification they’re accustomed to in every aspect of their lives. Want to connect with a friend? Do it by instant message. Need a fact? Find it immediately online. Have a stray thought? Tweet it at once.

            But fantasy, by its nature and at its heart, is filled with mystery. The answers don’t present themselves at the outset. They are buried, oftentimes under layers, deep in the subtexts.

            Getting the whole story from an intricate, multilayered fantasy requires a reader’s patience and attention to detail. It took me years to weave together the threads of my tale. Readers need not expect to get the whole story in the first 10 pages.

            I’m not into instant gratification—either my own or other people’s. I much prefer the feeling of satisfaction that comes with delayed gratification. Wait for it, work for it, invest yourself in achieving it … then enjoy the fruits of success. There’s nothing better.

            Now I’ve committed to memory the Gryphon’s excellent advice: “Adventures first, please! Explanations take such a dreadful time.” I’ll be better prepared to argue for the Gryphon, if ever again I hear of an inexperienced member of the publishing profession contradicting that advice.

Organizing Book Revision Notes

I spent my Winter Holidays revising WATERSPELL Book 3: The Wisewoman, getting it nearer ready for a Spring 2012 release. While writing and revising Books 1 and 2 (which are available now as e-books and paperbacks—please see waterspell.net), I accumulated a mass of notes: details I needed to work into Book 3, or background that should underpin the third, climactic book.

My habit is to jot down a thought, whenever it comes to me, on whatever scrap of paper is at hand. I end up with sticky-note notes, index-card-size notes, notes scrawled on legal pads, and notes penciled on the backs of envelopes. (See "Notepads, Notepads, Everywhere.") By the time I got to Book 3 of the long and intricate WATERSPELL trilogy, I’d accumulated a rather intimidating mass of notes.

To organize them, I hit upon the idea of separating them into four categories:

• PLOT ISSUES / LOOSE ENDS
• TOWARD THE CLIMAX
• DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS
• INSIGHTS

This way, I could sort them by importance.

“Plot Issues / Loose Ends” and “Toward the Climax” (notes related specifically to the final three chapters) took priority. These were essential matters: the solutions to mysteries and the answers to questions. Throughout my editing of all three books, I’d made careful notes to be sure of not overlooking anything vital that must be dealt with in Book 3.

“Descriptive Details” were secondary. In this folder, for example, I filed a quote from snake-handler Bill Haast (1910-2011), describing his pain when he was bitten by a blue krait, one of the world’s most poisonous snakes. “I felt like the skin had been stripped from my body, like every nerve in my teeth was exposed, like my hair was being ripped out of my head,” he said. He had hallucinatory visions of lambs’ heads and purple curtains. Nowhere in Book 3 did I have occasion to use Haast’s pain for inspiration (instead, I drew on my own experience of being stung by a scorpion in the tropics), but I’m keeping the clipping in my files. In a later book, I may want to inflict Haast’s pain on another character.

Under “Insights,” I filed this sticky-note to myself that I do not remember writing: “Carin [WATERSPELL's protagonist] had lost her identity, but perhaps never her sense of place.” That idea, I now see, permeates Book 3. In fact, it’s central to the whole story. Early in Book 1 we find this: “Here in the hard-won north, she might find the place where she belonged.” Carin, like most young people, needs to know where she fits in. She’s on a quest to find her place, wherever it might be.

LETTING the MANUSCRIPT REST

WATERSPELL Book 3: The Wisewoman, a 404-page manuscript, now awaits me on a table near my favorite reading chair. I plan to distract myself with other pursuits (such as promoting Books 1 and 2) for a few weeks. Then I’ll give it a final prepublication read-through. Publication target date: April 2012

http://www.kathrynlay.com/OrganizedWriter.html

THE ORGANIZED WRITER IS A SELLING WRITER

While pulling my Book 3 notes together, I remembered an excellent book of advice written by my friend Kathryn Lay. It's chockablock with great practical tips. The Organized Writer Is a Selling Writer is available directly from Kathy. Or download the Kindle e-book.

SELF-EDITING: A Systematic Approach to Editing Your Own Writing

Another resource I'll mention is my own book, Self-Editing: Two Half Brains Make a Whole Writer. It offers tips for (partially) computer-aided editing and for invoking the critical faculties of your logical left brain at just the right time. First use the Find feature to locate predictable problems: “ly” adverbs, overuse of commas, qualifiers that leech the life from writing. Then move on to meatier matters of self-editing: eliminating wordiness, changing passive voice to active, when to show and how best to tell, subtlety, pacing, etc. This is nuts-and-bolts advice for fixing common errors.

E-book formats available: Nook, Kindle, and others.

The Structure of WATERSPELL

I’m about to settle down with the manuscript of WATERSPELL Book 3: The Wisewoman to make my final revisions and get it ready for a Spring 2012 release. While sorting my notes, I found a triangle I had sketched as a visual summary of how the trilogy is structured.

 THE WISEWOMAN

At the base—that is, at the bottom tip of this downward-pointing triangle—we find The Wisewoman: she who is the instigating character, the one who gets the ball rolling.

The upward-sloping left leg of the triangle represents Book 1: The Warlock. The wisewoman (Megella, pronounced Meg-Ella) sends Carin off on her quest, then remains in the background as that initial part of the story unfolds.

The top line of the structure represents Book 2: The Wysard. In this, the middle segment, Carin and Verek continue the quest, with Megella deep in the background, barely mentioned. As depicted in this little diagram of mine, during Book 2 Megella is visually and literally removed from the main action.

It’s in Book 3: The Wisewoman that Megella comes into her own. The rightmost leg of the triangle takes us back toward the beginning, back toward the woman who started things moving in the first place. In Book 3, Meg steps into the foreground, joining Carin and Verek and taking a prominent role as they conclude the quest.

ALCHEMY

The fascinating thing is: A downward-pointing triangle is the alchemical symbol for water! Get it? WATER-SPELL?

You might think I must have fully understood this structure before I began writing. But no: It only came into focus when I was deep into the writing of Book 3.

Something tells me, however, that the wisewoman has always seen how things connect. From the beginning, she’s been aware of her place at the core of the whole complex framework.

Letting the Manuscript Rest

Hooray! On Saturday, I finished the First Round of Deep Revisions to Book 3 of WATERSPELL. Now I must allow the manuscript to rest for at least three weeks before I begin the Second Round of Revisions. I know there are still some plot issues that I must address: This being the third book of the WATERSPELL trilogy, I must be certain to tie up loose ends. Things were hinted at in the first two books, and all must be resolved by the final page of Book 3, THE WISEWOMAN.

Or, perhaps they won't all be resolved. I'm deliberately leaving a couple of threads to work into a sequel, if I decide to revisit this world and these characters, sometime in the future.

Wow! It's a real feeling of accomplishment, to have an end in sight for all three books. Years ago, I took a run at Book 3 and produced 200 unusable pages. I shelved the whole project then, and went on with my life. But deep in my subconscious, this long, complex story continued to percolate.

And on a Sunday morning more than a year ago, I awoke with Book 3 (Version 2) running through my brain. With fingers flying over the keyboard, I got it down in rough-draft fashion: 111,000 words. Then I let the manuscript sit for months while I went about the business of earning a living and allowed myself to forget what I wrote. That's the only way, I've discovered, to approach the work as an editor -- seeing it "cold," bringing an objective eye to bear.

What I've Learned From Writing a Fantasy Trilogy

Writing the third book has been a radically different experience from writing the first two. When I began this work, I was a long-published (in nonfiction) journalist making the transition to fiction. Alas, I allowed some journalistic expectations and norms to interfere with my creative impulses.

Most damaging, as hindsight now reveals, was my effort to "get it right the first time." When reporting for newspapers and writing feature articles for magazines, I didn't have time to rework multiple drafts. I had to slap the words down, make quick corrections, then hand my writing off for publication.

It never occurred to me, as I took my first tentative steps as a novelist, that I didn't have to get it anywhere NEAR "right" the first time. I could take years to perfect and polish my prose.

I wasted lots of time fussing and fretting over my opening chapters, especially for Book 1, THE WARLOCK. It all came together more fluidly when I finally threw up my hands and gave myself permission to move forward and finish the danged book! You know: "Just write it!"

With Book 2, THE WYSARD, my writing moved along more briskly, because I was beginning to understand that I'd have lots of opportunities to revise and rewrite. Even so, I got bogged down with bits that were destined not to make the cut. I struggled with sections that I should have just bracketed, with a note to myself: "Revise when Book 3 is done and you actually know what relevance this material has to the story as a whole!"

It was only when I finally got Book 3 down on paper -- roughly, but with most of the plot strings threaded through the narrative -- that I was able to reread Books 1 and 2 with a focused eye. Having the whole story complete in my head, I realized why I'd had such a struggle with the problem sections in Book 2: They weren't part of the story. I ended up cutting chunks that I'd labored over.

Such a waste! With Book 3, I finally understood:

• Write fiction fast and rough. Don't spend time editing and polishing material that may, later on, hit the cutting-room floor.
• And relax! The rough draft can be pretty awful. That doesn't matter. Each succeeding draft, each round of revisions fixes problems and brings the work closer to a "finished" state.

"Finished" in quote marks, because I'm not sure a writer can ever really finish a novel. The time comes, however, when it's as good as the writer can make it (with the help of his or her critique partners) and it must be revealed to the reading public.

That, I believe, is what makes a writer a professional: How many revisions the writer is willing to undertake before finally "killing the monster and flinging it to the public," to paraphrase Winston Churchill.

I long ago lost track of how many times I revised Books 1 and 2. But having learned from my wildly inefficient approach to those manuscripts that a better way exists, I've applied those lessons to Book 3 and I might actually finish this thing by the end of 2011.

And then I'll begin my e-publishing adventure, joining my forward-looking colleagues in exploring our brave new "text meets tech" world.

For now, though, I must force myself to stay away from my Book 3 manuscript. I'm just TINGLING to have at it again. I'm so close -- so close to finishing this story that's been demanding my attention for so many years now.