I’ve decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. The founder suggests that, in preparation, you list all of the things that you love in novels.
The things that you appreciate as a reader are also the things you’ll likely excel at as a writer. These bits of language, color and technique, for whatever reason, make sense to your creative brain. These are the Things You Understand.
He calls this your Magna Carta I. I don’t necessarily think that I’ll excel at the things on my list, but they are the things that will most likely hold my interest for 50,000 words.
Since it was a fun exercise, I’ve decided to post my list. Mostly though, I’m curious about what would be on your lists. Please share!
Magna Carta I
Unexplained mysteries – not too many per story, but I enjoy the Tom Bombadils and Hoids of the world. These are like magic tricks: once explained, they will forever lose their impressiveness
Chuck Klosterman/Douglas Adams/Nick Hornby tone – while I’m aware that I need to find my own voice, it would kick butt if mine ended up in their ballpark
Short chapters – if I pause in the middle of a chapter to count how many pages are left, that’s a bad sign. 10 pages seems to be approaching the limit
Framed-tales – I love illuminating mini-stories, e.g.: the tales of Capitol, the history of the Aiel. Just make sure that they don’t go on for too long
Predictable plot twists – if there’s one thing I love more than predicting a plot twist, it’s being right. If the predictable plot twist is tripped at the right moment, it even gets me to stop trying to further predict twists. That’s when I become immersed despite myself
Unpredictable plot twists – are you even allowed to write books without these anymore?
“Brandon avalanche” endings – It’s hard to beat a breathless, 100-page dash to the end
Epic scope – while this is probably outside of my wheelhouse, I am drawn to stories with worlds at stake (or at least life-as-we-know-it)
Philosophy – What can I say? I love me some raw philosophy. Orson Scott Card can talk about philotes and political philosophy all he wants
Death – I have to admit, I like it when at least one important person dies
Fundamental moral conflict – I love characters that end up questioning the ultimate point of life, and who, step-by-justifiable-step, are forced to do something that seems unthinkable to them
Gaining wisdom –I want my characters to be wiser (if not necessarily happier) than they began when I am done with them
Deeply flawed characters – I like my Oedipuses (Oedipi?). While I’m all for character growth, I want there to be something about them that (a) I wouldn’t like in a friend and (b) is not going to change any time soon
Intelligent perspective – while I appreciate unintelligent characters, the main character needs to look at the world differently and that usually requires a unique intelligence. The perspective needs to not just describe, but editorialize in an enlightening way
“Average guy” protagonist – possibly in direct opposition to the previous rule, but I love stories of the Everyman surrounded by extraordinary individuals
Female characters with strong-but-unorthodox life philosophies – e.g.: Karla from Shantaram
Banter – Witty, full of puns, inside jokes. I like to chuckle when I read character interaction
Unique magic systems – if a magic system is presented wherein I don’t think “cool!” within the first 50 pages, you might as well embrace the inevitable and change the “fantasy” to “fiction”
Memorable fight scenes – to this day, the only thing I remember about 24 is Jack Bauer ripping out someone’s trachea with his teeth. (I know that’s not a book example, but I’ve already made too many Sanderson references.)
Stay tuned for the Magna Carta II (or, as I like to call it, the “Nega-Carta!” The Bizarro-Carta?)