Get Started Telling Your Stories

Taking Your Writing To The Next Level

By CAPT George Galdorisi, USN (Ret.)

Over the last several writing columns we have taken a deep dive into the basics of writing a novel, focusing on plot (things like the Log Line and Freytag Pyramid) and characterization (creating memorable characters your readers love to be with and don’t forget), and on putting the pieces together to create a successful novel.

One thing that we haven’t talked about is the third leg of the three-legged stool that all novels must have to go along with a strong plot and memorable characters. That aspect is action and there is a reason we haven’t covered it in detail. Here is how Tom Clancy addressed putting action into your story: “I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damn story.”

Action is tricky, and as Mr. Clancy said, you can’t force it. Action evolves naturally from the plot. There is no “formula” for having action in your novel. That said, here are some things to consider: Different kinds of novels lend themselves to more or less action. If you have riveting, hold-your-breath action anywhere, have it up front in your novel.

With that, I want to move on to a bit more nuance, to get into your head a bit and ask: Where are you coming from when you write fiction? This is important – even crucial – because it helps define where you begin your journey, what you are likely naturally good at, and what you probably need to work on a bit.

We have talked a great deal about plot, characterization and action, and by now, many of you are likely asking: What is more important, plot or characterization. It is a fair – and common – question. Here is one way to look at it. You have to have a plot to make the reader turn the pages, but people are the story and the whole story.

Confused? Let’s deconstruct it this way. Plot has the entertainment value to pull the reader along. The characters are the vehicle, the tools through which you tell your story. Readers want you to tell them a story, and it is dialogue that brings your characters to life. If there is a better definition of a symbiotic relationship than the one between plot and characterization, we can’t think of one.

Still a bit adrift as to plot and characterization and which one intrigues you the most? Here is the inside baseball. While successful writers hit their marks with plot, characterization and action, when it comes to where they start, most writers tend to lean into either an outward or inward focus.

A situation idea is outward focused. Your situation idea focuses on a plot and a problem. A character idea is inward focused. Your character idea focuses on character and intent. Clearly, the key to success is to have your novel do both, but our point is that for our group of Braveship Books writers, we each tend to begin with either a situation idea or a character idea and then embrace the other aspect as we evolve the story.

If this is still a bit opaque, let’s be more on-point. While there are many examples that we could use to help define a situation or character idea, for many us there are two longrunning television shows that we have used for this purpose repeatedly over the years in writing seminars that we conduct. They are the plot-driven police procedural Law and Order, and the character-driven situation comedy, Seinfeld.

When Dick Wolf created the original Law and Order (a show so popular that it ran for twenty seasons and spawned a bevy of spinoffs), he did his due diligence regarding police procedurals of this type. His analysis showed that most popular series were hot for a while, but as their primary protagonists and antagonists gained attention they left to pursue other, often more lucrative pursuits, hot turned to warm, and then cold.

As these actors who had somewhat endeared themselves to audiences departed, viewers lost interest and the shows entered a slow—or sometimes rapid—death spiral. Dick Wolf was determined to have a long-running and financially lucrative series (and did he!) so he created a show that was completely plot driven.

The show was so plot driven that even casual viewers knew the overarching plot formula in advance: The first half of the hour-long program, which is set in New York City, focuses on the police as they investigate a crime—often inspired by reallife news stories—while the second part of the show centers on the prosecution of those accused of that crime.

With the plots more-or-less set in concrete, and with Wolf and his associates wanting viewers to be untroubled when one or another of the primary protagonists and antagonists left the show, the characters were little more than flat performers about who we knew next-to-nothing. We didn’t know if they had significant others, voted Republican or Democratic, had hobbies, liked or disliked kids, dogs or anything else. They were all largely blank slates.

Over the course of twenty years no original actor or actress stayed, but the show remained wildly popular. While Law and Order is, admittedly, an extreme example of a case where the creators set out purposely to create characters you could never really know (and therefore not care about), we think you take our point regarding plot-driven.

At the other end of this wide spectrum is the wildly popular situation comedy, Seinfeld. Created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, this show ran for nine seasons (180 episodes!) between 1989 and 1998 and garnered impressive Neilson ratings, finishing in the top three shows each year between 1993 and 1997.

Even a one-time viewer can likely recall the four primary characters: Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Cosmo (Michael Richards) and George (Jason Alexander). Viewers loved these characters and enjoyed being with them week-after-week. We felt like they were our personal friends. We cheered for them, laughed with them and cared about them.

Said another way, what would be the reaction of most viewers, if, at the end of the 1995, a number one Neilsonrating season for Seinfeld, the producers posted a note as the final credits rolled that said: “This is the final episode for Jerry, Elaine, Cosmo and George. Next season will feature all new actors." How many viewers would likely continue watching the show? We think not many would.

How did the show’s creators make this so character-driven? They accomplished this by not focusing on plot, in fact, having virtually no plot at all. As Jerry Seinfeld so artfully put it: “Seinfeld is a show about nothing.” We could not say it better. By having essentially no plot, but rather focusing on the minutiae of daily life, Seinfeld instigated our loveaffair with its characters. Indeed, this show became an iconic cultural phenomenon and remains one today. Just ask the millions who watch Seinfeld reruns today or who can still quote memorable lines from many episodes.

While these are extreme examples, we use them to make an important point for those who embark on writing a novel. Somewhere deep inside our DNA, most of us have a natural inclination to look at things from a situation/plot perspective or from a character perspective. This is natural. However, the more you can craft your novel to artfully blend a strong plot with memorable characters, the higher your chances of commercial success.

Perhaps enough for now. If your curiosity has kicked in and you don’t want to wait for the next issue of Rotor Review, try this link to my website: https://www.georgegaldorisi. com/. Other than writing thrillers, I like nothing more than connecting with readers. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter, and learn more about my books, blogs and other writing on my website. For those of you trying to up your game regarding any kind of writing, check out my “Writing Tips,” which offer useful advice for all writers, from established authors to future best-selling writers.