So I just read The Fountainhead


Revah

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Revah,

If you are interested in writing fiction, I highly recommend Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. It's the best fiction-writing book I have read.

I tried to emulate Rand in the past, but I couldn't get past the personal constructs she developed like plot-theme, or dividing all literature into Romantic or Naturalistic. Brooks clarified all that for me.

He goes more basic.

He talks about six competencies you have to develop to write fiction that will be acceptable on the mass market (and, no, they are not formulaic--instead, he deals with universal stuff). I sincerely believe that learning these competencies will not interfere with the message and kind of writing you wish to pursue. On the contrary, I, for one, found it liberating. Now even Rand's constructs make sense and I can see their strengths and limitations. (Later, after I have a backlog of my own fiction, I will write about all this.)

Just a word of advice should you look into this. Brooks merely gives you a foundation on which to build. It is not advanced stuff--merely the basics. You can use it or not, but at least you will be aware of what you are doing and why. And you will be able to see it in just about all the other writing you encounter, so it even gives you a solid basis for reverse-engineering stuff you read that you like.

Here are just two takeaways that I found extremely valuable.

Brooks makes a strong difference between a story concept and a story theme. The concept is what the story is about (it basically answers a "what if" question and involves a specific character and setting when you develop it). The theme is a universal human value that the story illuminates (jealousy is a typical one, but also reason, justice, greed, etc.).

Here is where Rand's focus messed me up a little. In her approach, everything theme-wise is good or evil and often the treatment leads to preaching. But I believe you should only write that way if you are totally convinced of it. If you have doubts about certain aspects or believe that different contexts produce different levels of good or evil (or whatever), it is perfectly valid to express a theme in an ambivalent manner. Brooks even categorizes theme into two kinds, the first where you are making a clear statement about it, and the second where you are exploring it from different angles.

Both approaches are valid.

It all depends on what you want to share with your audience and what you believe.

(I can't stress that point enough. This was a major paralyzing factor in my writing. I tried take Rand's approach, but I disagreed with some of her excesses in some issues. I was conflicted in how to express that disagreement without total repudiation. And that wasn't me either. I was literally stuck. Talk about being afraid to get it wrong! That situation is designed to grow a full blown depression and paralysis out of minor doubts and insecurities. btw - It's OK to feel insecure when you write. We all do. Rand did, too. You have to push through it. Man, did I take a long time to learn that.)

Here is another takeaway. it is what Brooks calls story structure. You find this in practically all fiction (written and on screen) that has made it in the mainstream. Once in a while there will be an exception, but it is rare. The story basically falls into four parts.

1. Your protagonist is going about his life doing his thing. New information gets introduced (like "a stranger came to town" to cite the cliché) and threatens to alter the protagonist's world in some fashion. This information can be negative or positive. The guy can suddenly receive notice from his wife that she wants a divorce, or he can win the lottery. Whatever it is, it has to impact his current situation in an important manner. There is no way for the protagonist to ignore it and keep things like they are. The stakes are set and clear.

2. The protagonist reacts (and reacts and reacts, etc.). Here the protagonist is trying to come to grips with this new thing, trying to find out what or who is behind it, trying to react to nudges and shoves. More new information gets introduced. Notice that the protagonist might look like he is acting, not just reacting. But in the big scheme of things, even when he makes a plan, it is to deal with an imposition coming from the threatened change.

3. The crossover. Here the protagonist learns something new or figures out something about himself or whatever--but it makes him stop reacting and take ownership of his actions. He is no longer in WTF? react mode. He is in "I've had enough" do something about it mode. He either accepts the change, or part of it, or rejects it, but he gets clarity in his mind and takes command of imposing his view on the events.

4. Resolution. The difference between this section and the last is that no new important information appears. The protagonist is still in charge of his intention, and now is the major cause or catalyst of the events. This goes on up to the climax. He fights who has to be fought, or saves who has to be saved, or converts who has to be converted, or gets done whatever has to get done, and so on.

Notice that this is a structure, not a formula. You can hang a hell of a lot of stuff on this frame and even hide it quite nicely. it can be comedy or adventure or horror or mystery or even a gaze at your navel contemplative spiritual transformation story--it works with everything. The sections are more like milestones than they are like molds you pour story into.

There's a lot more that is delightfully clear in this book, but i mentioned these two in case you prefer not to get it. I wanted to give you something to mull over on these matters.

btw - After you get clarity on the basics (either through the Brooks book or elsewhere), I believe Rand's material on fiction-writing is valuable and gives you a hell of a lot of good food for thought. Without that prior grounding, though, I believe her didactic stuff is too full of harsh judgments, her own jargon, and some conceptual excesses to be of much use in fostering creativity for novice fiction-writers.

Michael

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