Description

One of the major problems I am having is with descriptions. Mainly, how much is too much? Especially because in the genre I am looking to write, speculative fiction, books can be very descriptive. I think I don't have to go beyond LOTR to quote an example. But I cannot write that descriptively. If I do, I myself will lose the thread of the story, let alone the reader.

The second problem is, if I am not describing too much, am I describing too little? What if whatever I am writing makes no sense, because I have not set the place correctly or well enough.

I dont think there is a solution to this problem. I can only work out one way. Write the whole thing, all chapters, front to end, without going through too much rework. Once that is done, go through the entire book chapter by chapter. If I feel that somewhere description is less or more, then decorate or trim it accordingly. Once that is done, and I have corrected all the grammatical errors that I can find, then I can go ahead and submit it for reviews in the writers workshop I am a part of. With the multiple view points I get, I hope that this issue will be resolved suitably.

Motivation II

In my earlier post, I just touched on this point, but it seems that the characters take a life of their own, unknown and uncontrolled by me. When I sat to write down the book, I created an initial sketch of the characters: their physical traits, general habits, intellect etc. Now though the characters are still based on the initial sketch, they have moved on much higher and have ways of reacting and thinking, which I did not create. And I don't even know whether that is a problem. The characters a more lively and real, though more difficult to manage. If now I force them to act as I want them to, they will seem like puppets.

But I devised a solution at around one in the night. If they want to behave independently, I will let them. I cannot really control them, but I can control the situations they are in. Which is to say that I will give them hell. I will keep putting them in trouble, and they can take themselves out, if they can. Which means that I will be able to precisely act as God. I will put them in impossible situation after impossible situation, and then leave them to handle it on their own. Their thoughts and actions will take them out. If they cant get out, though, I will just change the situation to one which they can manage.

I think I have got myself a key for all fiction writing, at least from my point of view. I cant control characters as much as I can control situations. So I will control what I can. The book will go where its supposed to, as I will create the settings for it, only the path it will follow will not be the one I expected it to. And I will also punish the characters for being so independent. Buwahahahahaha!!!

Motivation

Problem: I had made a complete story background and writeup, before I started to write. The characters needed to do certain actions, for certain other actions to take place. But now, as I get to chapter three, I realize that my characters have a life of their own. They think independently and differently than I do. So what I wanted to make them do initially, no longer stands, as they are not motivated by any thought nor does their seem to be any apparent benefit for me to force them to do this. And my story is stuck!

Learning:Motivation is an important part of each character. It is the only thing that keeps the story logical, true and consistent. It is so important that each word said by the character has to have some motivation. Except, of course, if your character is a complete moron, or a management professional. I cannot force the character to act as I want it to act. It has to take its own decisions.

Another example was a recent book I read. The villain, in the initial phase, blurts out all the plan. After that, he becomes silent and sullen and secretive over the whole book. The chapter in which he rants about the entire plot, seems to be out of place. It could have been done in a much more satisfactory fashion, if it were revealed slowly and at the correct time.

Extract: If my character is doing something he or she is not supposed to do, then he better not be doing it!