Macrostructure in Serialized Fantasy Novels

I finished reading the most recent Fablehaven book (4th in the series). It's still a solid series and I'm looking forward to the next, and final, installment.

But, when I finished this one I felt a bit let down. Not that the book itself wasn't a good story but the entire point of the story was to set-up the next book. Now, granted, it was better than when I read the 6th book in the Harry Potter series -- but I won't get into that here.

However, I did reflect on issues of structure that I commonly see in Fantasy trilogies.

Book 1: Set-up the hero, conflict, and villain. Hero defeats the villain and saves the world.

Book 2: Expand the world setting. Show how saving the world left it in peril. Show how the world is on brink of collapsing to darkness. Train hero in special powers revealed in first book. (Optional: Reveal hero's family relation to villain.)

Book 3: Show allies of the hero unable to overcome their various conflicts. Place hero's love-interest in danger. Hero hovers on verge of defeat -- except villain underestimated something and hero exploits that for final defeat. (Optional: Hero's motivation is more aligned with saving love-interest than world.)

That format works fine in a trilogy because even though the second book doesn't typically resolve its own storyline, the focus on expanding the world typically leaves the reader interested in seeing how the new conflicts will be resolved. The author has still provided us with something we hadn't seen before and we're eager for more.

By contrast, in serialized Fantasy the books become more episodic. Book 1 and 2 follow a similar structure as above, the world gets saved (book 1) but then... On No! it's not really safe (book 2) and we see the broader world framework.

The succeeding books just start filling in the blanks. We already know the world is bigger, so fleshing out additional aspects don't carry the same sense of wonder. (And at worst are just expositionary exercises in which the author shows off how much they've thought about the minutiae of their story.) Which necessitates a strong storyline -- but one that is serving two purposes.

First, the story must be interesting on its own. There must be a conflict that is real, with real consequences for failure (even though we know it won't likely happen we suspend our disbelief). And, for most of the books I've read, the intermediate books do a reasonable job with this.

Second, the story must drive the over-arching plot towards its conclusion. Again, the episodic nature of the books tend to do a reasonable job of this with a well-defined overall goal (defeat the villain) being pursued in steps (collect the artifact, defeat the sub-villain, travel to the mentor). But where the second-to-last novel tends to fail is that its storyline is too closely tied to setting up the final conflict that it cannot be adequately resolved without lessening the tension the author wants readers feeling when they begin the final book.

In essence, the entire story must be rising action leading into the final novel. There is typically still an episode-conflict that needs to be resolved but cannot allow for a true denouement because the author can't let the action fall. The climax confirms the final novel will happen but the author cannot move the characters into their next positions, leaving the ending of the book weak.

And, as with any novel, if the storyline has been good throughout but you are given a weak ending, it is frustrating.


P.S. Does a pretentious sounding title make the post more impressive? ;)

For the Grandparents

Hey all you grandparents anxious for another hit of cute kids video. You can head on over to YouTube and catch a glimpse of cute videos like this.

Roadtrip!

If you've wondered why I've been so quiet this week, it's because I haven't actually been at home for the last week.

We headed down last weekend to San Antonio because my mom was in town for a conference. My dad drove down from Dallas and we all stayed downtown. It was in a hotel right by the Riverwalk. We got to walk down along the river, see the Alamo, and visit with the family.

Then, on Monday morning, I boarded a plane and flew to Detroit. Yep, up to Michigan. It was my first time in the state. I meet up with my friends and we began the Innovator's Roadtrip down to Austin.

We've spend the entire week driving and interviewing companies through the middle of America that are innovating in their fields. I've gotten to see some amazing things this week that I'd never have seen in my life otherwise.

You can see all of the action over at http://www.innovatorsroadtrip.com

Ode to Unemployment

I was on the bus yesterday coming home from Austin. And I started thinking, how would I write a poem about being unemployed. This was the result.

William Tell watched the stars
and in them he found peace.

"My life is in shambles,"
he told me one bright morning.
He had recently lost his wife
to divorce and his job
to India.

We sat on a park bench
sipping coffee from paper cups
with paper sleeves
with plastic lids.

"I feel disposable," he said.
He was unshaven, unkempt.

"I laid here last night," he told me.
"I laid here on this bench
and watched the stars
and went to sleep."

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've never been as busy as when I don't have a job. More specifically, I'm busier this time around because I've been trying to do more networking and make sure that I know the right people to help me get a job in this economy.

I do want to write more to my blog, and I'll try to but you'll probably want to check in with Mia's blog to get more updates on our family for the time being.

Not Again

As Mia and I have already discussed, twice only makes a coincidence. (Three times makes a pattern and we're really hoping not to find that out.)

What am I talking about? Why, moving to a new place and losing my job.

When we moved to Boston, I got a job at a PR agency and was laid off after 9 months.

When we moved to Austin, I got a job at a Marketing agency and was laid off after 6 months.

We've also very clearly decided that I'm never going to work in an agency-style setting again. Too many differences between agency culture and how I work. It's not a good fit and when I try... well, like I said, we're not going to find out if it's a pattern.

Thanks to everyone who's already been so supportive. We really appreciate everything that people have done for us so far. It's been very uplifting for us to know that we have a support network of friends and family even in this stressful and discouraging time.

Mia's been talking about movies we like. 

So, I thought I'd comment on a TV show that we're also enjoying.

Legend of the Seeker

It's based on a series of Fantasy books by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Truth series. 

For a television series it's got good sets, great landscape shots, and decent actors.

We like the four main chacters.

Richard -- The seeker

Zedd -- The old man wizard

Kahlan -- The confessor (and love interest)

Kahlan's Bee-Ohh-Ohh-Bee-S -- A big part of every scene she's in

(I didn't want to get indexed for weird search terms)

Slumdog Millionaire Review

I have trouble when I review things that I give too much away.  I don't want to do that with Slumdog Millionaire but I do want to give my thoughts on it.

First, if you watch this movie and don't find it to be emotionally moving then you are dead inside.

It's a love story, a coming-of-age story, and a commentary on the poverty in the countries like India. The movie unfolds in a mostly linear fashion (regarding the flashbacks) but weaves in many non-linear elements that very much enhance the technique. 

The main character, Jamal, was a boy is one of the best precocious children I've seen in a movie.

I'm really struggling not to give too much away. So I'll have to keep this short and tell you to go watch this movie. Seriously, go now. Right now. I'll wait.

Slumdog Millionaire - Thoughts

Mia and I finally got the chance to see Slumdog Millionaire. (Thanks to Mom and Monica for letting us get a night out.)

The scenes of the extreme poverty in India was very sobering. Especially in America that kind of poverty is practically unimaginable. While they use real shots of Mumbai and India, it's seems more like a movie set. Like some scenery they built for the backstory they were creating. 

It's practically unimaginable that people could live in those conditions and still find any happiness. 

I served my mission in the Philippines. I witnessed first-hand this kind of extreme poverty. I was invited into homes bamboo walls and corregated aluminum rooves. I watched children, wearing ragged t-shirts and shorts, playing games with their flip-flops (tsinillas). I served people who would sometimes have only rice and salt to eat.

And yet, I can't even really understand what that life must be like. But I can understand how, even under the worst conditions, they manage to find happiness. 

I wish that I could explain it to you.

Customized

Inspired by Mia's changes at the bottom of her posts, I've just updated what my posts say in the footer. Enjoy.