Hidden stories

[Wiciran]

So in novels there's always revelations of events that took place before hand which make perfect connections and explain why the character is where they are. I've always had problems coming up with all of these hidden, sometimes secret events and sub-stories. Is there any good structuring method that helps build them?

 

[Feo Takahari]

I go chapter by chapter, then note where I need to go backwards. For instance, if I decide in my first draft of chapter 10 to reveal that a character was abused by her mother, I add a note to the beginning of chapters 3, 5, and 8 mentioning places where I could add hints of abuse in my second draft. (I used to just revise the earlier chapters, but that led to way too much rewriting if I decided the twist didn't work after all--it's good to get all the way through the story once so you'll know all the things you want to add in later drafts.)

 

[Svrtnsse]

--it's good to get all the way through the story once so you'll know all the things you want to add in later drafts.)

I think this is a really good point. Start the main story and let the side plots do what they want. As you go along you'll get a better and better idea of what is required of them. This reduces the number of option you have, which means it's easier to come up with a believable explanation.

 

[Penpilot]

For me, the first thing is I have to do is understand what the character wants physically and emotionally.

EG. Physically: Get to the castle and kill the evil wizard. Emotionally: Respect.

This establishes your character's current state. Once you know that, you just ask why?

Why do they want to kill the evil wizard? Besides, doing good, the character thinks defeating the wizard will bring them respect.

Why do they want respect? Well, when they were little they saw their father being bullied and belittled by the towns folk, and they never want to happen to them.

Then you spin off from there, building on this foundation.

In a twist, the character doesn't respect their father for not standing up for themselves. Maybe this leads the character to overcompensate. They have to pick a fight for every perceived slight. Then maybe at the end there's a self revelation that the father didn't fight back, even though he could have, because if he did the character would suffer in some way, so the father did it for them.

OR

Maybe that disrespect for the father spilled over onto the character, and it resulted in the character never standing up for themselves. They're constantly beat down and don't do anything because their father stood up to the town once and he paid dear. The father ended up losing his job, and the family went hungry until he grovelled for his job back.

This brings up the question of what does the character fear losing if they stand up. Do they have kids, a spouse, a sibling that will pay if they stand up for themselves? Maybe this modifies or changes their goals.

Maybe the physical want changes to they want to move out of town and getting the gold from defeating the wizard is the only way. Because emotionally they want to find companionship and nobody in that town wants to be with a nobody like them.

That's my basic process, just keep asking why and throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. Once you know the important "Whys", you'll have the motivation for everything the character does in the story.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

For me, the first thing is I have to do is understand what the character wants physically and emotionally.

Same here... When it comes to sidebars & subplots though, it's important to remember that EVERY character should have motives, wants, and desires. If you keep that thinking in the forefront, your subplots will develop as a natural extension of character.

 

[Wiciran]

Interesting. Thanks for all of the advice by the way. This helps a lot.

 

[Chessie]

Awesome thread. Lots of yummy information here. The only thing I can add is that it all becomes intuitive. You'll know when a character's actions will make sense, or not, depending on their past history. Its like making a cake. You add all the ingredients, mix them, bake the darn thing, then frost it. Then you get to eat & enjoy it. I see writing stories in the same way. The first draft is where you get the main story down, making notes on subplots, etc. The editing/drafts will continue adding the ingredients.

Every writer works differently. Maybe you plan the events or they just happen. Both? I like to outline the main plot and let everything else flow on its own. I would say not to get too hard on yourself over it. Tell the main story and see what else comes out of it.

 

[Incanus]

Good read here. Important stuff to consider.

I've also had a difficult time in coming up with these abstract concepts. My problem is that the first one or two things that come to mind are of the super-obvious kind; the cliche, the worn-out, the used-up.

One thing I did for my last round of character building was to really, really tie the character's backgrounds to the setting and the history. I like to think that this has made them unique--these people could never be simply lifted from my story and placed somewhere else, because their motivations and families and personal histories only make sense in the setting in which they exist. And so far, doing this was the single best thing that I have come up with for ideas about my characters--they really started coming alive for me (I'm dying to actually get to use them!).

 

[Mythopoet]

One way to achieve this effect is to invent a story with a very long chain of events involved, and then start writing your novel at some point midway through. Thus everything before that point becomes backstory that you can reveal over time.

 

[Jabrosky]

One thing I did for my last round of character building was to really, really tie the character's backgrounds to the setting and the history. I like to think that this has made them unique--these people could never be simply lifted from my story and placed somewhere else, because their motivations and families and personal histories only make sense in the setting in which they exist. And so far, doing this was the single best thing that I have come up with for ideas about my characters--they really started coming alive for me (I'm dying to actually get to use them!).

I agree with this. Characters are to a large extent a product of the environment they developed in. I don't necessarily pride myself on my characterization skills, but it seems easier to flesh out characters when I consider how their upbringing and experiences could have shaped them.

 

[JRBoschen]

So in novels there's always revelations of events that took place before hand which make perfect connections and explain why the character is where they are. I've always had problems coming up with all of these hidden, sometimes secret events and sub-stories. Is there any good structuring method that helps build them?

Have you tried writing down anything that happens in your world before your story takes place? Having sessions where you write a myth or creation story can be enormously helpful when writing your first draft. Even an event that happens right before your book begins can be useful as a resource for later.

Once you have a few of these written, you may find it easier to make connections as to why a character would want to visit a certain place, love or hate something, or have a reason to do that "secret-event".

Writing world-building myths, songs, or little history "blurbs" is a major inspiration for me while I'm character building. I find it helps when I'm trying to come up with sub-plots while I'm writing as well. Give it a try!

 

[Wiciran]

Wow. Good advice.

And yes, I've written what seems like thousands of those blurbs. Although I think I could connect them to the main story a bit more than I have. It actually seems very disconnected now that I think about it. So I'll work on that, thanks.