Ask the Author: John R. Swift
Answered Questions (1)
John R. Swift
This is a great question and one I have had to personally struggle with. I call it "writing myself into a corner." Richard Russo has an interview in which admits that every novel presents new writer's block possibilities for him. Experience, then, does not make the problem go away. I confess to reading and rereading what Aristotle had to say about writing 2500 years ago in On Poetics. The essence of what he had to say about plot structure is that changes in the Hero's fortune must occur by consequence, not by chance. Therefore, I construct a parallel document to my novel and when I find myself in a corner, I try to write down the problem as clearly as I can and then start writing out the possible solutions to the problem at hand, creating at least three and taking the one which most fully enriches the book, and is probably the hardest one on the protagonist. and develops by consequence, not chance. By the publication of my novel, my parallel document has about as many words as the novel itself. It has rescued me from many a corner. It also contains much of the raw research necessary to create verisimilitude.
In my current novel, Diamonds, I wanted one of my characters to have to deal with a large bag of diamonds. But how does one do that, without paying for them, per se? I could steal them, find them on the street, or maybe complete some job and receive the diamonds as payment. Where and what could that be? And how then to bring them into the USA through customs without paying duties or inviting some later problems. You can check out my book at the local library and find how Aristotle might do it.
In my current novel, Diamonds, I wanted one of my characters to have to deal with a large bag of diamonds. But how does one do that, without paying for them, per se? I could steal them, find them on the street, or maybe complete some job and receive the diamonds as payment. Where and what could that be? And how then to bring them into the USA through customs without paying duties or inviting some later problems. You can check out my book at the local library and find how Aristotle might do it.
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