Novel Rocket

Below, is a post that was submitted to our critique group, Penwrights, nearly two years ago. I'm not sure whether to call it a rant, muse or a challenge, but it had a lasting impact on me. As we head into a New Year, I once again find myself wrestling with my goals and this post came to mind. I wrote the member and gained permission to dreg up this from ghost from the past. I hope it brings encouragement to those, who like me, are still biding their time, crafting their stories.

Story Arc and Velocity

Every story has an arc - it starts somewhere, at a certain velocity, reaches a certain height, and ends somewhere, propelled or sustained by that velocity. The arc of the story, I imagine, has to do with the velocity. A stronger story (plot / characters) can travel farther and higher. Much like an arrow. A good, well-made arrow (story) has a better chance of going far, especially if a good archer (author), is handling it. Good arrows can be shot badly, just like good ideas can be mishandled. But, even bad arrows can go further in the hands of a good archer. Jesus shot simple ideas (sparrows, lilies, wheat and tares) great distances.

So the craft of writing involves 1.) arrows and 2.) archers; story ideas and how we handle them.

Do you think it's true, that if a writer spends more time in the planning stage of their story - designing the arrow, so to speak - they have a better chance of success? I ask this, because I wonder if many of us are in such a hurry to write a novel (myself included) that we don't spend as much time as we should, on things like timelines, historical details, character complexity and other research. The final feeling is that the story lacks depth. We want to rush out and start shooting, but our arrow is flawed or flimsy or missing a few feathers.

Not only must we learn how to aim and shoot a good story, we must learn how to put it under the light and make it strong and swift, before ever it reaches our bow.

Since I've undertaken writing a novel, I've thought much about the actual writing process. In my previous entry under this heading, I suggested the two basic components of writing could be 1.) Arrow and 2.) Archer. The arrow represents the story itself, its depth, strings the story and launches at an intended target; he/she executes what's in their brain. My muse (which I'm not sure y'all got) was that, the time we spend on the actual story – researching details, layering characters, nuancing plotlines, developing a unique tale – determines how far that story can go. In other words, good stories (ones with weight / substance / originality / flare) stick with us and last.

We can't JUST WRITE. We must organize thoughts and ideas, research our subject, explore new styles, study people, create people, get into their heads, take them to work, take risks, file papers, learn new words, develop timelines, tweak plotlines and pray. We must craft a swift / solid arrow before we ever shoot it.

Here's my question, are some of us so anxious to write a novel (myself included) that we don't spend enough time actually crafting / creating a good story?

Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for, "To Kill a Mockingbird." It took her years and years to write and re-edit and, in the end, it was her only published novel. Think about that! She wrote one book / one story, but it was such a good / solid / endearing tale that it has endured for almost fifty years.

If God told you, you could only write one novel, would it be the one you're writing? Are we willing to invest the time, the sweat, the energy required to bring that one simple story to life? Are we in such a hurry to get published, that we're stringing play arrows, dull and frayed, that will, alas, go nowhere?