Over this past summer I've been working on a novel I
really enjoy. However, the further I get into it, the
more I become convinced that this is not the right
novel to start with. It's simply not the entry point
to the macro-arc -- the protagonist is too high in
rank, he's facing too complicated a problem, etc. In
fact, it really feels more like a major climax, if not
a capstone to Jan-Pawel's diplomatic career.
really enjoy. However, the further I get into it, the
more I become convinced that this is not the right
novel to start with. It's simply not the entry point
to the macro-arc -- the protagonist is too high in
rank, he's facing too complicated a problem, etc. In
fact, it really feels more like a major climax, if not
a capstone to Jan-Pawel's diplomatic career.
The clearest comparison I can come up with is what it
would feel like if David Weber had begun his Honor
Harrington series with In Enemy Hands. By that book,
Honor is a relatively senior officer who clearly has a
lot of major character development and career building
behind her. By contrast, in the actual first novel in
the Honorverse, On Basilisk Station, Honor is a
relatively new captain, still awkward in her rank and
command. Because she is still so junior and uneasy,
there's plenty of room to see her as the underdog,
which helps gain our sympathies with her. As the
series develops, she attains high rank and becomes
confident in her position, but since we have followed
her on that journey, we have no difficulty in
sympathizing with her in spite of her exalted status.
would feel like if David Weber had begun his Honor
Harrington series with In Enemy Hands. By that book,
Honor is a relatively senior officer who clearly has a
lot of major character development and career building
behind her. By contrast, in the actual first novel in
the Honorverse, On Basilisk Station, Honor is a
relatively new captain, still awkward in her rank and
command. Because she is still so junior and uneasy,
there's plenty of room to see her as the underdog,
which helps gain our sympathies with her. As the
series develops, she attains high rank and becomes
confident in her position, but since we have followed
her on that journey, we have no difficulty in
sympathizing with her in spite of her exalted status.
So I need to figure out what should be the On Basilisk
Station-equivalent for Jan-Pawel Trzetrzelewski. He
needs to still be relatively junior, so that his rank
doesn't overwhelm and alienate us, yet at the same
time he needs to have sufficient rank that he'll have
the necessary latitude to act independently and make
his own decisions, as a protagonist must.
Station-equivalent for Jan-Pawel Trzetrzelewski. He
needs to still be relatively junior, so that his rank
doesn't overwhelm and alienate us, yet at the same
time he needs to have sufficient rank that he'll have
the necessary latitude to act independently and make
his own decisions, as a protagonist must.
Having established Jan-Pawel as a competent and
sympathetic character, I can build from that point,
giving him progressively more responsible assignments,
until the moment when he gets the promotion that would
seem to end his diplomatic career. And then it turns
out that this isn't the end, that he will be heading
out on yet another diplomatic mission in spite of his
exalted rank. And thus begins the novel that I've been
working on all summer -- but which will probably be
several novels into the story of Jan-Pawel
Trzetrzelewski.
sympathetic character, I can build from that point,
giving him progressively more responsible assignments,
until the moment when he gets the promotion that would
seem to end his diplomatic career. And then it turns
out that this isn't the end, that he will be heading
out on yet another diplomatic mission in spite of his
exalted rank. And thus begins the novel that I've been
working on all summer -- but which will probably be
several novels into the story of Jan-Pawel
Trzetrzelewski.
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