Here’s me staring at a blank computer screen. You guessed it. I’m starting the first chapter of a new novel. Since I write historical mystery and this will be the 5th in the series, I know my protagonist well. That puts me a step ahead.
However, since this novel is set in a new locale, I’ll need to do research. The advantage of writing historical fiction is that you get the fun of imagining yourself in a different time and place. The disadvantage—you have to know what you’re talking about. If you’re setting your story in a time and place you know well, you’re ahead of the game. If not, like me, you’ve got some work to do.
So how to get started? For me, it’s often a process of asking, then trying to answer, questions. In life as well as in writing, the past always influences the present. I plan to set my book in 1886. For family reasons, my character has relocated to the western US. One of my plot threads will be the difficulties of that lifestyle change.
A writer looking for subplots that will give a novel texture and depth, must know what’s been going on in his protagonist’s life and how he/she is likely to react to those events. I like to start by asking questions about how his past will affect his/her decisions. Have things turned out the way he hoped? Have problems arisen that he hadn’t anticipated? They probably have. Life is like that. Learning about how other people confront difficulty is part of the reason we like stories.
The next questions are about the all important central conflict. It has to be set up in the novel’s introduction. Since I’m writing a mystery, it will involve the investigation and solution of a crime. If I were writing romance it would be the resolution of the conflict between my hero and heroine. If I were writing science fiction or a thriller, it might be the triumph over the evil genius plotting to rule the world, or maybe even the galaxy.
I’m writing mystery. My protagonist is a detective. His empty pockets often force him to take cases he’d rather avoid. I’ve decided that will be true in this novel.
But why would he take a case unwillingly? I’m thinking it’s not just because he needs the money. It’s also because he doesn’t like his client. I have to know the reason. So I have to start theorizing about the client. He’s a man in his late fifties. But, like everybody else, he has a past. More research needed here. I already know about my protagonist’s past. Now I need to know about his client’s history. I need to know the reason why he has a problem serious enough to warrant hiring a private detective.
What is it he wants Oliver to do and how is it connected to his younger self? I’m in hopes that once I can answer some of these questions I’ll know how to get some words on this blank screen and my story will begin to unfold. I hope the same happens for you. Good luck to us both.
