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| Evan Clark ('20) |
Since
my freshman year of high school, one of my long-term goals has been to write my
own series of fiction novels. As a young
child I had mused about wanting to become an author, but I never embarked on a
serious attempt to write a book for publication until June 2013, when I began
to develop the ideas for my own series.
Five and a half years later, I have created a detailed backstory for the
setting of my series, as well as much of the plot and the motivations of the
characters. Yet in spite of all this
effort, I have produced little cohesive text to show for my creative
endeavors. I wrote a three hundred page
draft prior to 2016, but subsequently changed both my plans for the characters’
trajectories a nd my notion of how the plot should be structured. For a time I did not write much text of my
first novel at all, preferring instead to begin developing a constructed
language for one of the cultures in my series.
Last academic year, I wrote a blog post about my efforts to create this
very language, a task that is still ongoing.
Eventually, I started writing an updated draft of the first novel that
is much more similar to my current plans for the work, but even that draft
needs significant changes.
Throughout the time I have spent developing
ideas for this series, I have found it incredibly easy to brainstorm new ideas
for characters or the plot and to flesh out already existing ideas. However, I have often had difficulty making
the most of opportunities to write. When
I have added to my manuscript, the new material has sometimes poured out in a
stream of inspiration. At other times, I
have encountered difficulty in determining where to take the plot and whether
or not to change my plans for character development and future chapters.
Since I began crafting ideas for my novel in
2013, I had the intention of placing its setting several thousand years in the
future, on a planet that humans had colonized but that became isolated from the
rest of mankind and developed its societies independently. For several years, I was content with keeping
this backstory to my novel, which would not play a large role in the plot of
the story. However, over time I began to
ponder whether or not I was constraining my options for material I could place
in the novel by setting it in the real universe. I began to doubt whether my elaborate
explanations for why the societies on my fictitious planet had regressed in
their technological knowledge would seem realistic to readers. By last semester, I found myself increasingly
toying with the prospect of introducing fantastical elements to my novel, which
would necessitate setting the novel in an alternate universe. While the distinct races of fantastical
creatures in J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin’s works fascinated me, I
never had an urge to incorporate orcs, elves, ogres, or dragons into my
novel. I decided that if I were to
include fantastical races in the story, I would do all I could to make them
distinct from the typical races in fantasy works, as well as less anthropomorphic. Ultimately, I determined I would include
fantastical elements in the novel, but probably without the presence of
non-human intelligent races.
Out of the fictional novels I have read, I have
always been the most drawn to the ones in which the author makes an effort to
answer such questions and provides a rich backstory to the characters’
cultures, political systems, and histories.
As I have reflected on efforts to develop the cultural, political, and
linguistic background of the societies in the novel’s universe, I have often
sought to emulate the depth of worldbuilding that J.R.R. Tolkien invested into
his works set in Middle Earth. Although
his worldbuilding detail far outmatches mine, I still intend to evoke the same
sense of consistency that Tolkien’s universe exudes. The fantastical aspects of Middle Earth’s
creatures and locations are consistent and normal to the characters of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, making the behavior of Tolkien’s characters
more believable to readers. As I go
about developing a new draft of my novel that incorporates fantastical
elements, I will strive to embed consistency into both the rules governing such
fantastical elements and my characters’ interactions with them.
One of the greatest dilemmas I encountered
during the process of deciding whether to set the novel in a distant future or
in an alternate universe stemmed from the assumption that many readers might
not be drawn to the original setting I had in mind for the novel. While turmoil on an isolated planet several
thousand years after its colonization would likely appeal to some readers, I
had intended for the technology of the planet’s societies to be nearly
equivalent to much of the technology of the early twenty-first century. For the past few years, I planned to explain
this similarity by writing that those societies had reverted to primitive
technologies after their colonization and gradually developed their
technologies to a level comparable to that of the world today. I also intended to focus the plot around a
struggle for ultimate power between the domineering rulers of major superpowers
on my fictitious planet, with the main characters caught in the middle. I recognized this conception of the plot and
my explanation for the characters’ technological knowledge might appeal to some
readers. Still, I began to wonder if
adding more fantastical and science fiction elements to the story would allow
me to express my intended themes in a way that would appeal to a wider
audience.
At the same time, I wanted to avoid the
possibility that my desired plot points would be submerged if I shifted the
story to a more fantastical or science fiction setting. I was determined to still use the novel to
highlight themes of political leadership, chronic insecurity, lust for power,
and the importance of overcoming moral hypocrisy. Thus, I grappled with the question of whether
or not to include characters with psychic abilities and potential quests for
the sources of those powers, for I wanted to be sure those additions would not
distract from my main themes. Upon
considering these points in depth, I have determined that the best tactic for
writing my novel is not to vacillate over whether or not the plot is too
political for many readers or whether fantastical elements would distract from
the central themes of the novel. Rather,
I have concluded the best strategy for my writing is for me to focus less on
how much my novel is similar to a particular genre or theme and more on
crafting a unique amalgam of themes.
As I have developed ideas for my novel’s plot
and main themes, I have also learned more about my own organizational
preferences and how I can better hone my writing abilities. I wrote my first and second incomplete drafts
of the novel according to a loosely delineated plan and often incorporated
ideas as they arose in my train of thought.
However, by the time I had written a little less than six chapters of my
second draft, I determined that such a writing strategy, while conducive to
sudden sparks of inspiration and creativity, was not the approach I needed to
keep my draft centered on the themes and plot lines I intended for it.
As I decided I would need to plan key plot
points and character developments for future chapters ahead of time, I took
inspiration from what I learned during one of the McConnell Center’s seminars
on J.K. Rowling’s approaches to writing.
John Granger, often called the “Dean of Harry Potter Scholars,” told me
and my fellow McConnell Scholars about the tremendous detail Rowling devoted to
developing her plot points in the Harry
Potter series ahead of time. He
added that Rowling established often subtle connections between parallel
chapters and novels in the series, tying the series together and accentuating
key plot points that mirror each other.
After reflecting on the benefits of this organizational strategy, I
decided I would also seek to include subtle connections between parallel
chapters and novels in my series. To
this end, I plan to start a third draft of the first novel shortly,
incorporating scenes and themes from the second draft while expanding the plot
to encompass fantastical elements. I
hope these additions will provide for a more captivating story while
maintaining a focus on the political and moral themes I want my series to
impart.
Throughout this process, I have gained a greater
appreciation of Tolkien’s adage, “Not all those who wander are lost.” While I have often wandered in my effort to
develop the backstory of my budding novel and to write down my ideas, I am not
lost, only honing my plans to produce a more compelling series. I intend to apply the same mindset to other
endeavors, such as my search for a graduate studies plan that will prepare me
for work in the Civil or Foreign Service of the U.S. State Department, as an
international lawyer, or as a Political Science professor. Although I am currently uncertain as to which
of these paths would be best for me, I am determined to investigate these
options diligently throughout this semester and the coming academic year. By keeping my eyes on my key goals, I can
find my way through any uncertainty that I may face. Even though my effort to create a fictional
series has been lengthy and is likely to not end any time soon, I am grateful
for the lessons it has taught me about the value of vision, perseverance, and
adaptability.
Evan Clark, of Owensboro, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2020. He studies political science, history and Spanish at the University of Louisville.