Yesterday, in Assignment #1, I spent more time showing my tools than giving you a task, which boiled down to ‘known your genre, know your vibe’ before you start writing. I know that pacing is slow for those who want to dive in and start making the magic happen, but I’m of the opinion that faster isn’t always better, and setting up for success is important to make it through a project like this.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and I’m hoping that if I can distill the process into bite-sized morsels, everyone who wants to write their book will be able to.
So, in this post, we’re going to talk about the goal of a novel. What is the BIG THING your character(s) need to accomplish?
Once again, I’m going to refer to Storm Without End, the original first book of the Requiem for the Rift King series.
In that book, the story centers around the Rift King having been forced out of his kingdom against the rules of the various kingdoms around the continent. His protectors are out to retrieve him. The Rift King has other goals, although his survival and finding out what the Danarites and Kelshites are up to end up becoming a primary focus.
In the end of the story, the Rift King and his guardians are reunited, and some light has been shined on what Kelsh and Danar have planned.
So, the end goal is several parts: survival, reunion, and unraveling some mysteries.
I will not be doing this in my story, as my quartet is going to be expanded by one novel. The new book will start when Kalen leaves his home kingdom, something that is discussed in serious, and cover many of the backstory events that were mentioned in Storm Without End.
The story will be called The Rise of the Rift King, and the end goal of this book will be to see, over the span of years, how the events of Storm Without End came to be, from a smart child fleeing a situation he knows he cannot win to a bunch of Rifters forced to adapt every element of their society to accommodate a young man who has been stripped of his innocence at the hand of their former a king, whom none of the loved.
And, to their dismay, the guardians that do survive the rise of their new Rift King will be forced to acknowledge that love will become a critical part of their duties, something novel to them.
I have an advantage here, because I’ve been working on this world and series for a long time… and in that time, the end game goal has not changed. Because when I established it, I thought long and hard about the end game goal, and I did not settle on one until it was truly the ending the series needed.
Yes, people who like to write ‘organically’ are not going to like this assignment in the slightest… but you cannot write a truly good book if you have no idea where you’re going or why.
You don’t have to figure out all the details now, but you need a destination.
Choose wisely, because your chosen ending will influence every single word you write of this book. Love where you’re going with the book. It will truly help.
And no, I will not be revealing the end game goal of my series. That secret goes with me until publication of the series in full.
But you can walk away knowing that yes, I know exactly where this series is going, and for the most part, yes, I know how we’re getting there.
Yet there are a lot of elements of this world and book that I will discover as I go, which you’ll learn as I talk about each assignment, what I’m working on for the assignment in question, and how I get closer and closer to revisiting the world of the Rift King.
So, today is a thinking day. Decide where you want your novel to go. Write a few notes about how your characters ride off into the sunset or die in glorious battle. Or suffer miserably at your hands because you wish to host a tea party with your favorite devilish entity. Chase your heart’s desire. There is no wrong answer to this question, at least not for your very first book.
Just remember you want your ending to match your vibe. If you’re writing a tragedy, your ending should be tragic. If you’re writing a happily ever after, you need to leave the reader (and characters) in a happy space.
Match your vibe with the ending… and if your ending doesn’t match your vibe, change one until they do match.
Happy writing, folks!
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