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Apologies in advance for the long post, and thank you if you have the patience to read it all. I haven’t really posted anything in this sub-forum, criticisms or suggestions of any sort, because since I am not a native English speaker, I feel like I don’t usually have anything to offer that is not already covered by someone else here. Nevertheless, as a struggling writer (and laughing at the loving cliché it is just to say that), there are some doubts in my mind that I need to dispel before carrying on with my current story. Bear in mind that I know that nothing is good if it’s unwritten, and I believe that if one’s storytelling is good enough, whatever they choose to write about will be enjoyable by all. That being said, I want to write about the Praxe. It’s a Portuguese academic tradition whose origins date back centuries, and in some form or another, still lives on in these days. Yes, it’s hazing, and there are ton of things wrong with it. There are also many things it does right, when they are properly done, and I know it intimately. I know of few other subjects that can be so polarizing in a discussion such as this. I just graduated last year, and throughout my academic years, I have found myself involved in its various forms inside and out my university. My own stance toward it shifted a whole lot and I think I have the necessary maturity as a writer to approach it dispassionately, while knowing it so well. The subject matter of the story is not the problem, nor is its general outline or the characters within: I want to portray the life of a student, from his first year of college until the last. I want to make him grow as a person (but not only him, of course), while he finds himself immersed in the particular world the Praxe has to offer him. His story is, however, just one of many in that university, and I will also write, both in the background and foreground, about a kind of Praxe war among students that develops throughout his years. This is no series of physical battles, however. As the very nature of Praxe is, this war is philosophical in nature, headed by a few poignant figures that feel the heart of the tradition should be interpreted solely as they do, and any opposing view is categorically wrong. My problem arises with the conceptions I have about the very nature of storytelling: is it even feasible to write a novel with no action? That is to say, if the nature of the confrontation is moral and not physical, and shall be resolved as such, can I only rely on my wit and intelligence and skill as a writer to engage the reader? The main events of the plot are, well, plotted, and while some are repetitive and a few can be cut, their existence served to drive further that pervasiveness of some characters’ continued actions. To increase the odds, to make things even more dire, should the protagonist’s views and stance fall into disuse and abandonment. I mean, truth be told, at first sight, and not involving any deep ethical themes into the fray (which I plan to do, of course) there’s not much that can be told about games, hazing, booze, dinners, sex, arguments, and general student shenanigans. I aim to combat this fault by coating my “facts” into a language of mysticism. This Praxe is a world of its own, self-contained and exclusive, and it ends when it ends, for each that partake in it. While the main characters will grow as individuals, and most minor characters as well, some are caricatures and figures of legend, and will be addressed as such. Their orders will be divine commands, their advice will be wisdom and their past actions myths and legends of that world. Basically, what amounts to a little costumed fantasy in real life, will be adorned with the speech of fantasy. I don’t mean to overdo it. Its use will be deliberate and just enough to achieve the desired flavor. The main thing I’m asking, I suppose: is this approach enough? What are the dangers of engaging in such a thing? Another, smaller thing: as is to be somewhat expected in a story set in such an environment, the cast of characters is big, a few major ones, a bit more secondary ones and a ton of one-off ones. Most characters will fade away towards story’s end, reflecting their graduations or quitting, and each year that passes in the plot, I will introduce a few more. Am I shooting myself in the foot with this? I want to do it this way because I want the reader to feel that each character, no matter how small his impact on the overarching story, has a background of his own, his own fights and struggles. Enfim. Is this concept salvageable at all?
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Jan 14, 2013 21:18
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:(good advice) The stakes are, as I define in the opening chapter (in portuguese, of course): "I began [speaking] at dusk and ended with the dawn of a new day, removing from my shoulders the weight of a thousand things that mattered not to the world, but were the world for us." Any and all stakes I put in the story will have to matter to the characters alone and, by proxy, to the reader as well. If I build believable characters, even in an unbelievable world, they will do their job properly. At least that's what I'm counting on. Thanks. As for the cast, I'd say you're about right. About 10-15 characters, I'd say 5 main ones and the rest in support roles, with some development. I'm reading "Among Thieves" by Douglas Hullick at the moment, and he does something that I like: the more he characterizes a character that shows up, the more it'll matter in the story. It grips one's attention when that happens. I'll include more characters in my story, but they are as they are and their presence, even if superficial, won't detract from the plot but help characterize the world. I'm not trying to pull a George RR Martin or even a Tolkien, with legions of minor characters and their sons and horses. Just adding flavor. The mysticism part... well, might be the language barrier acting up. Some characters are larger than life, and will be represented thus in the POV of the main character. As he grows more mature and starts falling out of love with the concept of Praxe, so to will this kind of language fade away (and he will notice other, newer students will begin regarding him in this same fashion, as he once did his elders). It's kind of complicated to explain, but I hope I'll have enough judgement to see if I'm overdoing it. I'm not afraid of rewrites. yoyomama posted:(more good advice) Again, the language barrier acting up. I'm not planning to write a thesis, but a story, yes, with passionate characters with unique and conflicting points of view. I meant to say that I've seen some poo poo in my years there, and I think I've reached a point where I can dissect the heart and very concept of the events and underlying traditions that took place, and see what made it work, what didn't, and why it had the effect it did on us. I am of course planning to have an opinionated POV, and I want the book to have a statement, while showing both sides of the matter. Thanks to you both, for the advice and support!
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Jan 15, 2013 00:59
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I'm working on a story not set on Earth, but I want to show that that world is culturally diverse as well. Would anyone find it distracting to have an line in actual Spanish (despite the no-such-thing-as-earth thing)? Any lines in Spanish would make me instantly think about Spain, so it would probably break my immersion. But it would depend on the story. And the discovery scene, again, would depend on the story, but it reminds me too much of Dan Brown's style. Which, to me, is a bad thing.
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Jan 31, 2013 02:30
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I think everything depends on the presentation. If you believe them to be similar (for instance, I find them different enough to be able to tell them apart), then write it as such and make it part of some ideological approach (two sides of the same coin, an offensive and a defensive power). Just my two cents.
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Feb 15, 2013 12:09
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