Conversation with Joseph
Me: What is bothering you?
Joseph: You have made me the main protagonist, this is supposed to be about the development of the other characters, how they grow from the experiences that take place.
Me: Who is telling the story?
Joseph: Narrator, or each person whose journey improves their character. The point of view has to come from each character. Divide the story into parts, make a chapter from each person’s point of view. You have 3 countries, Kings or whatever in each, people who belong in each country, things going on in each country.
Me: what about the quest?
Joseph what will it achieve if we join the three parts of the crown together? Utopia?
Me: that was the general idea. That is what you want isn't it? A place where everyone helps each other, works for the common good?
Joseph: how realistic is that?
Me: there has to be a reason for the story and the quest.
Joseph: it is the struggle that makes the story, not the outcome.
Me: OK so have you not had enough struggles yet?
Joseph: you have created a whole world, different from any here on earth, magic exists, flying Pygmies, for heavens sake, use them all, create wars, histories, heroes, have struggles with what makes each of them tick. Find depth to the characters.
Me: I feel there are too many characters already, Gilward and Traiken for example, they could be dropped.
Joseph: they are fighting men, they need to have a goal apart from finding the crown. Traiken for example has never been injured in battle, until Barados. How does he feel about that? Where is his story? Gilward, he has been a master fighter all his long life, what is his story? Your characters lack depth.
Me: it is you that I am trying to portray as the main character, what you have achieved, 300 years you have been meddling in things, saving people, flashing in and out of peoples lives.
Joseph: you can have me as the binding, joining all the worlds together, show that people all have the same goals, hopes, fears, loves, make them real people not just words coming off the page. Hold them all to account, show their failings and their strengths. Have them do things out of the ordinary.
Me: I have written 175,000 words before editing anything. Now you are telling me that it is all a waste.
Joseph: No it needs more depth, you can get that in the editing and will probably find another 150,000 words just developing the characters.
Me: OK so where do you see yourself?
Joseph: as the common factor in everyone’s life. The one thing that everyone needs, a guiding voice, someone to tell you when you are right and when you are wrong. An answer to questions when all seems lost. Magic is my thing, I can make things happen, I can soften a blow, I can move people through time and place, I can produce things from nowhere, I am the force behind your story, but it is not about me. Stop trying to analyse me and work on the other characters. Make stories about them, get inside their heads, each one of them as soon as they appear, tell their story, not long winded things but short interesting things, what makes them tick. Why are they where they are right now? Not how did they get there in a convoluted story line.
Me: So with what I have written so far, who are the most important characters to you?
Joseph: Josemine, for one. Gruffedd for another. Jastron is wishy washy he needs a lot of work. Paul needs work. You wanted Traiken to fall in love with Josemine and then made her reject him in the tunnel. There is no connection with your characters to each other. They need to establish friendships and bonds, they need to hate, like, fear, just plain get to know each other.
Me: how can you do that with a plot running through the whole thing, things have to keep happening. There has to be conflict in each scene, something exciting happening all the time. Action. Make it interesting, keep it moving. If I am going to keep stopping to get to know people and have them pals with each other what will happen to the action?
Joseph: Don’t stop, use conversation to tell people what they are feeling “I’ve got your back” watch the guy on your left” “give me your hand, we’ll run over there” he grabbed her hand and fled to the hill, in desperation she grabbed his hand and he lifted her over his shoulder as he ran, I don’t know you are the writer, no adverbs not adjectives just write what they are feeling at the time. Really feeling.
Me: OK so what other characters do you like?
Joseph: Zeric, he is not evil enough, mad enough. Who was the boy who found him in the bath, me? Build that up, build tension, find spite, hatred. Roustos, he had thoughts, we heard his thoughts, not enough of why he was so obsessed with his church, there are no ‘whys’ in your story. Torz is one of my favourites too, is he going to betray us all, or is he really on the goodies side. Barados is just a puppet and should be treated as such, but the people he manipulated should be more real. Gregor the Great is a blustery old fellow, why is he leading the Swayas? The Assanth, we have heard a lot about meeting him, what is he like, an angry man, a kind ruler, does Paul like him, does he respect him? Does he want me to like him? will he help us find the first part of the crown?
