I'm just starting chapter 2 of Character and Viewpoint, where he is talking about keeping the reader engaged with the story. He is talking about the story that rings true or feels important to you, that is the reason you even want to write the book to begin with.
And so I am thinking, what are these stories? Does basing a book on such a story make it an idea book? Dues the I in MICE even stand for idea book? I actually got rolling on this as I was responding elsewhere to the question of whether I liked the Ender books or the Bean books better. So forgive me if this topic seems too Card-centric. I am hopeful it is applicable to the writing process in general.
I hope no one considers the following spoilers, but here is a warning of sorts. I am trying to capture the idea without getting into plot points.
I can think of lots of possible important stories for the various novels. In Ender's Game you have the ethical quandary of using people and particularly children as tools. There is another story which is what is the nature of leadership. And it is a pinocchio story.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
I don't honestly understand what you're asking. What does writing a story that is important to you have to do with an idea story? It might be an idea story, it might be a character story, it might be a millieu story, it might be an event story, or it might be some combination of the above. Why would it automatically be an idea story?
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
Good, you answered my question even though I apparently failed to make my point clear. So the big story- it seems like it can presuppose certain characters. Such as "what happens if a political leader is favored by the gods?
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
If you look at the MICE categories as referring to the main thing you are exploring in your story, it might make it easier to figure out which kind of story you are trying to tell.
Are you exploring a setting (milieu)?
Are you exploring an idea?
Are you exploring a character role or role change?
Are you exploring an event?
You explore one of the above more than the others and you examine its effect on the characters in the story, and that is the kind of story you are writing.
Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :
I read about MICE before, I was just trying to understand how Card's concept of the underlying story related to it. Which is to say, they relate but not in a mechanical way.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I like to think of MICE as being the four fundamental elemtents of every story rather than a way to separate stories into four catagories. Of course, different stories will emphasize different elements. And there are ways to use the dramatic structure and POV choice to focus on the most important element in any particular story. But people sometimes get trapped into thinking that a story can exist without all four elements.