Writing Process: The Big Giant Prop
Every author has their own way of coming up with story ideas. Some start with characters, others with conflict. Some build a world first then create people to inhabit it. Over the years I’ve been writing, I’ve struggled with how to tell the good story ideas from the bad.
What I’ve discovered works best for me is a technique I call the Big Giant Prop. I used to call it The Sword or The Shield, because I believed that any workable prop had to either serve as a sword for the hero (the thing he uses to fight his fears) or a shield (the thing that protects him from his fears.) Though most of my favorite Big Giant Props do serve as Swords and Shields, I’ve tried not to be so literal in my thinking lately. As long as it’s a prop—and it’s big—I’m golden.
How do I know if a prop is both Big and Giant? Well, it has to resonate with me well enough to form a story around it. In College Boys, my prop was the wall that separated Chris’s room from Peter’s. In My Fair Dork, the prop is—you guessed it—Harold’s prodigious wang. Those are two of my favorite story prompts ever because wall=shield and penis=sword. (God, I love really obvious metaphors.)
In my upcoming release, From the Ashes, my Big Giant Prop is less obvious. The story is about a guy, Jesse, who loses his home in a fire. Since the blaze is the inciting incident, it’s easy to think of the fire as a prop big enough to spur a whole book, but it’s not! The Big Giant Prop in From the Ashes was the Bull Mastiff named Chardonnay that Jesse and the firefighter Tomas rescue from the rubble.
Without Chardonnay, I wouldn’t have had a story. I’d have had characters, and a set up, and a location, but I wouldn’t have had any…well, any Big Giant Prop to work around. The BGP is like pole that holds up the tent. Without it, the story is just flapping material.
On the surface, a dog is neither a Sword nor a Shield. But because of her bulk, Chardonnay is capable of protecting Jesse. She looks tough, and she provides false-strength for Jesse to hide behind until he can work up his own power. Hence, sword.
She’s also a shield, because she creates a situation that separates him from other options besides staying at Tomas’s house. Why doesn’t Jesse just find a new place to live? Well, he has a giant dog. Hence, Chardonnay acts as both a barrier and a weapon.
If you’re a fan and you’re ever wondering why I haven’t written a book for a certain character, the answer is always that I haven’t figured out the character’s Big Giant Prop yet. Once I come up with a BGP, I’m off and running. Until then, I’m just spinning my wheels.
How about you? What props have you loved or hated in stories? Which have surprised you?
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