Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

plots

Keep universal symbols in mind when you write

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white rose = purity, plastic = fake

Every writer should keep aware of their use of the symbols (mythologies, metaphors, colors, etc.) that subconsciously attract, repel and inform readers.  For instance, let’s use the age old feature of color.  Red denotes passion, rage, anger, love, disease, destruction, corruption, etc.  So if you put a woman in white, you could be providing a contrast or a condition.

  • The woman is corrupted but presents herself as pure.
  • The woman is pure
  • the woman is potentially pure, but in danger of being corrupted
  • etc.

Let’s examine red when it is combined with white.  Hawthorne did this with great effect in “Young Goodman Brown.”  Brown’s young wife wore pink ribbons.  Did the ribbons represent her inexperience (youth) or was it the fact that she was a wife (therefore no longer pure) so her once white symbols have passion/love diffused into them?  Or has she lost purity and been corrupted by the devil, and the symptom of this corruption is the pink ribbons in her hair.  Were her ribbons white, could the reader then assume she is innocent?  But her ribbons are pink, so has she been corrupted?  The journey of Young Goodman Brown is based on his concern over her purity.

These features add depth to the work.  So the writer must examine their work for those universal symbols that our readers will catch consciously or subconsciously, thus providing greater depth of characterization and perhaps conflict of character.

Symbols to consider:

  • names
  • color
  • occupations (general:  cabinet maker, hero, prince, clock maker)
  • hats
  • objects
  • shapes of features (narrow set eyes denote criminals, large eyes innocence)

Here is a simple example.  One of my students named two of her characters John and Sheela.  The student chose the names because she felt they were common everyday names and would place her characters with the working class.  John was concerned that his wife was cheating on him.  I pointed out to my student that the name John when combined with Sheela created a symbolic factor that played well with her plot.  John a term used for men who solicit sex in exchange for money combined with Sheela a term with conflicting mythological meaning regarding corruption (either as protection from devils or symbolic of sexual fertility) would lead the reader to assume the wife was in fact cheating on him and perhaps he was just as flawed because he viewed her as a means of sexual satisfaction.  The student was shocked she had chosen names that would have this effect.  She changed the name of the woman immediately. 

I used the name Miranda for one of my characters because I liked the added connotation of knowledge and wisdom that went with the name.  Vivian, an overly attentive mother, for its closeness to vivacious, and Misty, Miranda’s daughter, because of both her internal conflict over her relationship with her father and his conflict about being a single father.

What symbols have you made use of in your work?  What symbols have you seen used by other writers in the works you have read?

Narrative Mode ~ #17 Byronic Hero

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Dark hero

The Byronic hero is different than other heroes.  In some ways he is similar to Hemingway’s code hero in that he does not fit in society.  However, Hemingway’s hero seeks acceptance and is humble in his difference, while Lord Byron’s hero is superior and deliberate in his isolation.  He is better than others because of his superior intellect and sensitivity.  His passion overrides his actions and supplies support to his intense attachment to whatever drives him: war, a woman, knowledge, isolation. 

In return for his active rejection of social mores, he is also rejected by society even though he is still viewed as great, but great with tremendous flaws that others see, but he does not or does not view as actual flaws.  He is misunderstood or perhaps even maligned in his youth and must live with the stamp of darkness or deliberately perpetuate it as a kind of medal of valor against what he views as inferior knowledge created by the society he rejects.
This character acts as a foil against a common heroic plot.  There are heroic actions he simply cannot do, and this influence on plot imposes distinct directions that the designated Byronic hero must take.

Example:

  • Common hero sees female in distress, battles with those attempting to harm her, saves her and returns her to her waiting family’s arms.  She falls in love with him, and they live happily ever after (once they have dealt with all the interference common to heroic love).
  • Byronic hero sees female in distress, battles with those attempting to harm her, saves her and (wait, here is the catch) returns her to her waiting family’s arms requesting first proper reward paid before they may have her back.  He will withhold her until he receives appropriate payment and will even reject payment if he determines he undervalued the prize.  She is strangely attracted and repulsed by him, perhaps even insulted by his lack of interest in her.  He may even desire her, but payment comes first.

Want to write a dark story, write with a Byronic hero in the mix.  He does not even have to be the main character.  But your readers will get attached to him, hoping all the time that he will change.  And perhaps, you will change him in the end, slightly anyway.

Seen any good Byronic heroes?  Wuthering Heights has Heathcliff.  Jane Eyre‘s Rochester is a gentler version that changes.  Written any?

 The Little Handbook of Narrative Frameworks available on Smashwords and Amazon.

Narrative Mode ~ #16 Romeo & Juliet

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Wherefore art thou Romeo

This narrative framework has been used by the best: Shakespeare and Banadello , so why shouldn’t anybody else?  However, though many are familiar with this story, it is often viewed as having a simple plot.  Sure Romeo and Juliet are the main characters, but the nurse, the friar, Benvolio and Mercutio are essential supporting cast that could become stories worth fleshing out more, even shifting the focus from the two star-crossed lovers to one of these four.  My students groaned when they learned we would be reading Romeo and Juliet, but they loved the sword fighting scenes and the word play between Mercutio and other characters.  Finding Benvolio to be such an honest, caring fellow was another benefit and examining the paired scenes in the garden between Juliet and the nurse kept them quite entertained.  The storyline runs well, especially when the other characters are considered.
  • Avoid the Shakespearian give away summary at the start and shoot straight into the story.  Two servants of the Montague family begin a street fight with two servants from the Capulet side. Their loyalty for the family requires this response and of course, they must get the other fellows to throw the first swing so the blame lands squarely on them. 
  •  Benvolio, best friend and cousin to Romeo, tries to stop the fight, but his actions are misinterpreted by hot head Tybalt Capulet who jumps into the fray.  Now the town joins in, and the Prince arrives to break up the fight and threaten to kill the next person to disrupt his peaceful town again.  This seemingly natural response on the part of the prince is the initiating action that leads to all the other conflicts.  Without the promise of death should a next fight occur, Romeo and Juliet would have never found themselves separated. 
  •  Romeo meanwhile is suffering from the standard teenage angst. He loves a girl, but she won’t even look twice at him.  Most people forget that he was nuts about Rosaline before he ever laid eyes on Juliet.  In fact, he won’t look at another girl until his cousin Benvolio and friend Mercutio drag him to a party they plan to crash.  Then he sees Juliet and forgets Rosaline in record time. 
  •  Of course, there is another meanwhile: Juliet’s father is considering betrothing her to the County Paris.  Juliet is expected to meet him at the party and determine if she could come to like him. 
  •  So you see there is a lot more going on than just two teenagers who cannot be together because their parents have an ancient feud between them.  At the party, Tybalt sees Romeo and determines that he needs to be taught a lesson, which brings us to the most serious hurdle the two lovers must deal with. 
  •  Tybalt in his search for Romeo runs into Mercutio and Benvolio.  Mercutio ends up in a sword fight with Tybalt which Romeo then tries to break up.  This only leads to the death of his friend when Tybalt presses his sword under Romeo’s arm and into Mercutio’s breast.  He dies cursing Romeo for getting in the way.  Tybalt and Mercutio were fighting a staged dual, all bluff to save face.  Now Romeo must fight Tybalt to make up for Mercutio.  In his anger, he kills Tybalt and too late realizes he has killed Juliet’s beloved cousin.  And that is the second event that tips the remaining dominoes. 
  •  How can Juliet love someone who has killed her cousin?  How can her family raise her from her grief?  How can Romeo give her reason to forgive him?  
  •  Juliet’s father’s response is to betroth her to Paris and plan the marriage for just a few days away.  Romeo is banished and has left the area.  Juliet acquires a potion from the friar which will cause her to appear dead, but Romeo does not get the message that would clue him in.  He learns instead that she has committed suicide rather than marry Paris.  And everyone knows what happens after that.  (My students would yell, “And everyone dies!”)

So let’s break it down to simple plotting:
·       Boy wants girl but can’t get her.
·       Family of boy hates other family.
·       Friends of boy drag him off to a party at the other family’s home
·       Boy falls for another girl in the enemy family.
·       Girl falls for boy
·       With the help of loyal servant, girl and boy plan to wed
·       Girl’s cousin goes after boy and kills his friend instead
·       Boy seeks revenge
·       Girl is expected to hate boy and love another
·       Boy must hide to avoid “justice”
·       Girl’s death is faked, but boy does not get the news and kills himself.  She awakens to find him dead and kills herself.
·       Family learns the hard way to get along

Two colonies on an alien planet.  Two companies in commercial competition selling the same product.  Two schools in the same city.  Two software programs in the same mainframe.  Two ranches in the old west.  Each applies it own influence on weapons, fighting styles, rulers, values, and how much the end will twist.

 The Little Handbook of Narrative Frameworks available on Smashwords and Amazon.

Narrative Mode ~ #15 Sleeping Beauty

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I like sleeping beauty because I always felt my own mother
lived a life that fit a large part of this framework. She was a classic good
girl who thought life as a secretary would be made to order.  It had some challenge, and she did well and
even did some modeling on the side.  But
life lost excitement, had no adventure for her. She did travel, but it was
basically from her parents to her grandparents. 
Boredom set in ,and she felt trapped, almost asleep while life went on
around her.  And then the dashing
engineer arrived interviewing for a position at the company where she worked.
They grew close and soon she was learning how to pilot a plane and traveling to
Cuba and other South American countries. 
After five years of adventuring, they married, had children and well,
lived  happily every after.
The basic plot is easy to lay out:

  • A girl is born and the family sees danger in her
    future.
  • They protect the girl by limiting her
    interaction with others
  • She is innocent of the danger and trusts
    everyone
  •  
    The dangerous situation takes place and…
  • She falls into a deep sleep due to the backlash
    of the measures taken to protect her. 
  •  Another stranger arrives and breaks through the
    protection to awaken her
  • She then lives happily ever after.

Simplest way to adapt this to a modern story is to make the
protection and its affects a metaphor. 
Imagine her innocence as a type of sleep.  She is unaware of life outside a set locale
and group of people.  The protection is a
valid and necessary one, and she will face that danger too, but she can also come
out of that sleep through an activity, through meeting someone or through a
physical or mental challenge.  She will
struggle to gain a sense of understanding and then finally reach the moment of
complete awareness.
This one is not particularly demanding as frameworks go, but
for simple bones and easy adjustments to bring in complications, it is a nice
one.



The Little Handbook of Narrative Frameworks available on Smashwords and Amazon.

Narrative Mode: #13 Beauty and the Beast

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I cannot say I saved the best for last, but I can say this is one of the most familiar of the narrative modes.  Everyone knows this story, but we love the ones we’re familiar with, so it is not one to ignore.  Beauty and the beast: a simple story of redemption, forgiveness and true love.  As familiar as it is, one cannot claim it is simple.  Look at the requirements.

  • A young beauty who gives without reserve and is appreciated by her parent but mistreated by others close to her.
  • A father who cannot fulfill the exterior needs of his children though he does supply that which none can live without: love
  • Difficulties which make the young beauty and her father falter and fear they may not survive economically, spiritually or physically if things go on.
  • Opportunity to gain what is needed either through outside pressure to agree to an unsatisfactory contract, one that involves the daughter as servant or companion to a person or creature recognized as dangerous, unrelenting, unforgiving and cruel or through being driven by need to apply for a position with those same characteristics.
  • Refusal and then acceptance when there is no other solution.  The young beauty must sacrifice her happiness to save her father.
  • She gets to know the monster who holds the power over her and her father’s chances for  survival.  And he gains understanding, even appreciation for her kindness, constant forgiveness and obvious personal strength.
  • He risks her denial of him as a worthwhile individual, while struggling for his own self-acceptance.  She guides him out of his imposed purgatory (self-projected or a judgement placed on him by another force).  He reveals the person he has been desiring to be: good, kind, worthy of love.
  • The other shoe drops: he is running out of time and she needs to return to a much greater obligation than being his companion.  
  • Another sacrifice: only this time it is his.  He must give up his chance for redemption to prove his love for her (unselfishly, and outside of her awareness) by releasing her from the agreement seemingly temporarily though he is aware that it is permanent if she leaves.
  • She leaves and realizes, perhaps too late, that he needs her for his own survival.
  • Acceptance, redemption, happiness.

 The Little Handbook of Narrative Frameworks available on Smashwords and Amazon.

Narrative Mode #10: Heinlein’s Three-stage character

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Though examining what Panshin coined as the Heinlein individual (see Heinlein in Dimension by Alexei Panshin) is largely a discussion of character development, the process of the development is a narrative mode that one can use to design a novel around.  So to start, I’ll list the features of this three-stage character of Heinlein’s.

  •  Young Innocent
  1. Stage one is the young but competent innocent. He doesn’t know his way around the situation he is in, but that is mere youth and inexperience.  He frequently is taken advantage of and abused before he gets angry enough to respond.  
  2. It is at that time that he meets his mentor, who is an elder who recognizes in this upstart a youthful version of himself.  So Young Innocent gains a mentor who is non-too-gentle in his teaching practices.  “Life is not patient, so why should I be?” is the philosophy.  And life isn’t patient, giving Young Innocent plenty of further knock and nicks which Mentor then trains him to respond to properly.  Young Innocent is known to ignore the early lessons but soon comes to appreciate the efforts of his taskmaster.
  3. Young innocent still has rather naive views, but he is learning and values Mentor’s guidance, even comes to depend, respect and love Mentor.
  • Grown up and sporting thick skin and questioning mind
  1. Stage 2 is the now experienced, ready-to-take-on-anything loner who has gotten over the loss of his mentor (everybody has to go sometime) though it nearly broke him when the loss was fresh.  But he is beyond that now, capable, quick in the moment, has the world by the string and is swinging it gaily while wrestling alligators and counting his loose change.  
  2. Most books end with this stage as the finished product.  Some let him grow old enough to find his own Young Innocent to foster.
  • The elder statesmen of the Heinlein Individual
  1. This is the quick-handed, quick-tempered elder we will see at the early part of the book as the mentor for Young Innocent.  
  2. He is highly knowledgeable, understands the society he lives in and how to manipulate it to fit his needs and has a world view that is highly cynical.  
  3. That world view alters when he finds the young innocent, an emotional connection he has managed to avoid for a long time.  But time is limited, and he needs entertainment for his remaining days, which have been rather charmed and therefore boring. 
  4. And so the circle is closed.

This now brings us to examples.  Heinlein’s Orphans in the Sky and Citizen of the Galaxy are good plots to examine.  But I am going to be quick about it. In Orphans Hugh Hoyland finds himself in the upper levels of a lost-in-space generation ship that has long ago also lost sight of its purpose, and he is now in the clutches of undesirables.  Hugh is our Young Innocent, and the main undesirable is Joe/Jim the soon to be Mentor for Hugh.  He teaches Hugh the truth behind the mysteries, in his very cynical way, and in time becomes attached to Hugh, which means he needs to stop playing king of the hill and nanny to Hugh and make change.  And the circle is closed (yup, don’t want to completely give away a good story).

As for Citizen, Thorby is Young Innocent, a slave boy that is purchased by a normally disinterested bystander who has been doing fine on his own for years, one Baslim the beggar.  On this new planet, Thorby has no protector, no experience and no value.  So Baslim provides these things, but at a cost: Thorby must accept training.  Baslim has now taken on not only the care and feeding of an innocent, but he no longer can just natter about with no concern about anyone but himself.  Then society gets itchy and …. the circle is closed.

 The Little Handbook of Narrative Frameworks available on Smashwords and Amazon.