I have a hard time writing small stories. I have written a couple of short stories in my day, and it has never satisfied me. I'm a gluttonous writer, I absorb a lot of information before I sit down to write, but that data also provides me with a lot of energy, and I invariably keep building the plot up, cranking up that preverbal dial, pushing the concept itself far beyond what could be considered a short story (for better or worse!). The Overman could have worked well as a short story, by focusing on one of the characters. But no, that wasn't enough for me, I had to throw in several complicated characters, all of whom are driven by unique goals. All of those goals collide in the end, but I won't give away details about that.
The main character, Nathan Fisher, was there from the beginning. I pictured him as a middle-aged thug, a corporate bounty hunter who acknowledges the ruin of his life and exists as little more than a slave. He has no purpose, no goals, and no ambitions. He is sloppy and brutal, but does his job. He is an everyman who is thrust into awesome responsibility. This theme is also present in my current book Champion Of A Lost Universe. That similarity wasn't intentional, but I don't have a problem with re-using themes that interest me.
In The Overman, I wanted to deconstruct Nathan's life even further, pull him down into a desperate existence, and then sit back and see if he can save the day in the end. Again, no spoilers here. Writing can be a frustrating job. But when I've created characters that are fully realized in my mind, it becomes easy work at that stage. The best example of this for me was my first regularly updated web comic, The Last Odyssey. The characters were based loosely around my experiences playing Dungeons & Dragons with a group of like-minded friends during my high school years. The characters were already somewhat developed, in that I relied on some of the character traits that my friends had already introduced into the mix. Years later I re-examined those characters and realized that they could be translated easily into comic form. That book was drawn by the seat of my pants, so to speak. I was learning how to best present a comic book online, so there are several instances where the size and format of the comic changed, and I never relied on a pre-written script. I had a plot outline only, and even that was subject to change. By the time I had my footing, I realized that the sword and sorcery theme had somewhat run its course for me, and there seemed to be an over-abundance of that stuff online anyway. But it was fun, only because the characters seemed to take on a life of their own when I was drawing them.
The Overman, as expected, is a different animal. The characters always seemed to have limited options in what they could do, because right from the beginning they have a pre-destined path. It's like a long march across a battlefield, and the enemy is in clear sight through the entire journey. The characters, deep down, know what is going to happen. The reader can hopefully sense that as well, although it might remain undefined, like a shadow on the horizon. Even though the characters of The Overman are locked, in a way, in a horrifying roller coaster ride, they have surprised me by their actions. They are all strong personalities, and in a way, firmly took over the wheel from me and introduced things I hadn't considered when I was preparing a first draft. Shanes depiction of them has also helped in a great way, he's captured their personalities and contributed to their evolution through the years.
I think the best characters have to surprise their creators at some point, turning down a different path than what was originally planned. When that happens, it's a sure sign that the reader will also be surprised. And surprises can be good.
No comments:
Post a Comment