Confession:
I don't know how to write bad guys and quests. Absolutely stumped by the whole process. Incredible, but true.

So, let's say I've got some magical gems--two have fallen into the hero's possession, at least one is still in the hands of the villains, whoever they may be, and one is missing. Alright, so now what? There are 6 people on this expedition, but I don't know how to get them started.

I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert. But I'll try.

Villains: I have to know why they want to destroy the world in order to write about them. I have to write a page or two character sketch about the villain, so I understand some of his background and how he (or she) got to be this way.

The best piece of advice I ever read on villains is to remember that even the villain thinks of himself as the hero of his own story.

Whether or not you give your villain any redeeming qualities is up to you. Some people prefer it. It also depends on how much space your villain is going to get, IMO. If he's basically only going to be seen trying to conquer the world or kill the hero, it's hard and probably unnecessary to show that he loves his mother and his hobby is breeding exotic orchids. If he thinks what he's doing is for the greater good, then maybe that's relevant.

Quests: I haven't written one of those, yet. Book Three may have some elements of a quest, but I'm only on chapter six. But quests have a known architecture--the Hero's Journey.

• Ordinary World
• Call to Adventure
• Crossing the Threshold
• The Road of Trials
• Grasping the Sword (the Ultimate Boon)
• Return
• Master of Two Worlds
  

When in doubt, pick up any one of a dozen books or movies that have this format. LoTR, Star Wars (the ones with Luke, not Anakin), even Harry Potter, especially the last two books. There are other characteristics of the quest, too--like the mentor always has to get separated from the group or killed, so the hero can take over. There are plenty of books and websites about the Hero's Journey (can't find mine right now).

1) The Unknown Quest - In this format, an inciting incident occurs that forces the character to seek some object that can "save the day." However, no one knows where this object is so Act One of the story shows the characters discovering where to find this object. Act Two shows the characters seeking the object and Act Three shows the characters returning with the object then using it.

2) The Known Quest - In this format, an inciting incident occurs and the solution to the issue is known. Act One can show the characters preparing the necessary tools to complete this quest. An example of this would a "save the princess" scenario.

In any of these, the characters may need to split off (or otherwise get separated) into groups to find pieces of the puzzle.

First off, the villian usually has the advantage. If there are three gems, he will usualy have two. The heroes will generally have to figure the secret of the gems out along the way.

Second, most quest stories begin with "ordinary" people (or a person) who are/is forced to begin the quest by minions sent by the villain (or the villain him-/herself).

Third, the "villain" should be a protagonist in his own view. Maybe his/her methods are more ruthless; maybe she/he believes murder, torture and terror are just tools; means to an end. He/she could be perfectly Machiavellian, and believe that these are necessary methods to assert rulership.

The quest is the journey, when things get too docile have a monster attack (the equivalent of gunmen kicking in the door).

I'm always a big fan of finding the unusual in any story I tell. Like, what aspects of quests are generally ignored by such novels? I like Robert Nowall's idea of dangerous weather. Also, if the heroes do have the advantage, it might be interesting to mess them up as much as possible. They thought the quest would be EASY, did they?

The value I see in Propp over Campbell is he provides more insight into the role villains play. Either way, both provide boiler-plate formulas to draw upon for planning villains and for a quest story, or at least provide talking points.

Jerry Everard hosts a summary of the 31 narrative units of Propp's formula. Noteworthy similarities to Campbell's. Also noteworthy, most of Propp's narrative units, or narretemes, are current in fantastical genres. Certainly, also in Grimms' Fairy Tales and Aesop's Fables. One noticeable distinction, though, modern-day fiction has significantly less summary exposition than fiction from the past.

I'm feeling the stirrings of some ideas in the back of my head. Maybe I'll start outlining soon.

And Bored Crow--as soon as you get back, I'd love to bat some ideas back and forth with you. This idea would be the sequel to what you're helping me with right now.

1. realize that I need to combine 2 characters in the first novel into one character that will play an important role in this next story

2. notice the hidden slave trade flourishing near my nation's oceans

3. necessitated the exploration of another continent whose people have mysterious powers that are granted by experience, not by birth

4. delve into the fascinating politics and history of 2 countries who hate each other, but must retain diplomatic ties

5. create an army capable of defending our borders from possible attack

Good work my friends. And thank goodness I never sent that first book to the publisher, because I would just be up a crick without a paddle now, if the first book was on the New York Times bestseller list, and I suddenly realized it needed to change to facilitate book 3.

It seems, Melanie, that you don't have a real core story problem yet. Stories are about characters with important problems and what they try to do to resolve those problems. I don't see a problem in what you've written in your posts. If that's true then I think what follows might help.

There are three types of problems:

1. Happiness-threat/danger: I'm going to kill you, take your daughter, ostracize you from our group, steal your doughnuts

2. Happiness-lack/opportunity: I'm alone and have met a wonderful man, I live in slavery, I'm poor and see a way out

3. Mystery: there are odd green lights in the sewer, Wes has disappeared

Until you have problem you do not have a story. So what is the problem? They don't have the other two gems. Big deal. What threat does that pose? Or what lack will having them fulfill? Until you know that you have no engine for your story. They might be big global problems. That's fine. But if that's the case then you need to make sure they affect the hero personally. If not, that's still fine, you just need to add some other problems that do. Otherwise it's going to be hard to generate sympathy in the reader.

As for villians the main thing you need to remember is that the villians are what cause the problem for the hero. They are always a few steps ahead in the beginning. Your villian needs to have a goal and a plan. Can you answer why he or she want this gem? What will it do for him? What the villain's objective is and the steps he's taking to accomplish it? Give the villain a logical and strong motive and smart plans. Give him lots of resources and/or skills. We do that so that the odds are stacked against the hero and so the villain is believable.

Furthermore, the villain is usually already in motion, already partway through his plan when he runs into the hero or the hero runs into him. Think about the Incredibles. Syndrome was already in action; Bob got in on the villain's plan rather late. Darth Vader et al are already hunting the rebels BEFORE Luke gets involved. Is your villain already on the move? If not, I strongly suggest you get him there. This, again, makes the hero the underdog. And we luvs underdogs who are under the gun.

Finally, there's nothing special about a quest. The ONLY reason to go on a quest is because it's the most logical thing for the characters to do to solve the problem. So you've got to figure out why they must go and go NOW. There has to be a reason for immediate action--a timebomb of sorts ticking. In LOTR the timebomb was that the riders were coming for them. Lollygagging was going to get them killed. In the Hobbit the dwarves basically dragged him out. There was no option to stay.

That should get you started in the plot.

Once they're on their way, you let them discover all sorts of unexpected goodies on the way--your slave colony, monsters, odd customs, etc. And the way to do that is to make sure nothing goes as planned. They start out and maybe get some distance, but things are going to go wrong. They must or your story stalls.

In the Hobbit we quickly meet trolls. Then when we escape them, but are taken by goblins. Then when we escape them, but fall down the hole and have to deal with Gollum. Then when we escape him, but the goblins come after us and chase us into trees. Etc. All unexpected. All monkey wrenches thrown into our neat plan of traveling to Lonely Mountain. All problems. Serious problems.

Problems, problems, problems. You've got to have them to start. You have to have them to keep going. They are the engine that makes story go.

quote:

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It seems, Melanie, that you don't have a real core story problem yet. Stories are about characters with important problems and what they try to do to resolve those problems. I don't see a problem in what you've written in your posts. If that's true then I think what follows might help.

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Up until now, (about midway through the second book in this story) there has been more than enough story just by creating characters and a fun world and letting them all interact. But there's always been a hint that it would all tie together somehow, and that's where I am. Just deciding which of my beloved characters would become the hero has been torturous.

I finally picked the least likely candidate--Jack. He's always my reader's favorite character in spite of the fact that he was originally intended to be the bad guy.

And I've finally got a villain, and he has a goal--again, not the goal I expected, but one with delicious possibilities for evil. I took johnbrown's advice and made him closer to achieving his goals than he was originally.

So what I really lack is a need for immediate action. Jack's been working for the villain, he wants some power over his own life again. His attempt in book one failed. What makes his desire so overpowering now? Hmmm...kidnapping perhaps? or sudden awareness of where the gems came from? and what they are being used for now? any ideas?

Sounds like you're having a great time with these characters and world. However, I still don't see a story here. And if you are indeed midway through the second book and haven't established, especially in your own mind, who the hero and villain are, then that's a strong sign you really don't have a novel. You might have a picaresque, but that's a different beast.

Now I could be wrong because I haven't seen it. But here's an easy test. Can you, in 300 words or less, state the setting, main character, and basic problem said character faces?

This is your basic query letter pitch. http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx has some useful stuff on this. But if you google "story pitch" or "how to write a query letter" you'll get others.

If it is indeed Jack, who works for the villain, (a neat concept), then you story hasn't started until Jack meets his problem. Which probably means everything you've written up until this point is backstory and will need to be cut.

So what is the big threat to Jack personally? Or what is the big thing he lacks? Why does he have to act? This isn't just a motivation. It's your story. It's where your story starts, actually.

Lack: Jack allows a terrible thing to be done by the villain to someone he loves and despises himself. Or maybe it's something that tilts Jack's despicable meter. Or maybe it's someone who is totally innocent. Of course, if he's working for the villain, then he's probably hurt innocent people before. Why is this different?

Danger: Villain has told Jack he needs to kill his father or mother or sister or the woman he loves. Or the villain has now turned on Jack.

Danger/opportunity: Jack falls in love with a girl who is actually a cop, or whatever replaces that in your world.

Danger: Jack's been given an assignment that's going to put him in completely hostile territory--behind enemy lines which could be as an undercover with another crime family, the good guys, or as a weapons runner (or amulet runner).

Danger: Maybe Jack stole something from the villain. For money? Revenge? He didn't, he was framed?

Danger: Jack is actually a good guy and thinks the villain is too and then finds out what's really going on. He can't just stand by and watch him do these terrible things, can he?

The PROBLEM is the thing that motivates immediate action. He wants more control over his life is not a problem, BTW. You need to flip it. Why? What's the big deal with the control he has now? What, he's bored? The big man makes him eat mutton for every meal A lot of people have jobs and a bit of routine and restriction in their lives. What makes this so urgent or dire? Why would anyone care? Are we talking Bob in the Incredibles? Did you notice that movie didn't really start until the villain moved in? So maybe this chafing is a side issue. And if this is really a side issue, then the novel needs a large problem to motivate it. You need a Syndrome moving things.

This is my two, or, er, seventyfive cents.