Need some advice please!

[Lord_Rahl]

Okay, so I'm writing a novel. It's a fantasy of the epic variety, I think, and I'm stuck with a few things.

I have gotten to around the mid-way point and have gotten stuck in a bit of a rut. So I decided to skip forward and write the last chapter. The thing is that this chapter already seems so much more powerful than my beggining, so I was thinking of using the last chapter as my beggining.

If I was to do that, would it be best to use it as a prologue? The idea being that I'd cut the end of 'the last chapter' off, then save that 'till the end of the book- if that makes sense?

Also, I've heard from several places that you should only really have one protagonist- yet I have two. One is a young lord, the other is a soldier. Both of these characters follow different plots that culminate in them fighting eachother at the end.

They are both main characters at least, and they're both on the same side of the war (which the book is focused on).

Any idea if I'm breaking some kind of rule that will trip me up? Or am I wrong, and there is only one protagonist? If so, how do I tell which one it is, and does it really matter?

Sorry if this thread is somewhat confusing, but any advice would be appreciated.

Lord Rahl.

 

[Peter Graham]

Ultimately, it's up to you, but I think I'd be inclined to say "rewrite your beginning" to make it more dramatic/exciting or whatever, rather than tinkering with the end to try and make it serve two purposes or to shore up a weak beginning.

Prologues are OK, but if I understand you right, your prologue would show us the two characters fighting. However, we'd only find out who won at the very end of the book. If this is correct, you risk ruining virtually all of your dramatic tension - the only unanswered question will be which character will win the fight, and even if there aren't clues in the book (my guess is that the soldier is probably more likely to win than the posh lord), your readers might feel somewhat let down. when they put two and two together.

I don't see any particular problem with two main characters. Many writers use multiple p.o.v's. I don't think it is frowned on per se, rather it is just not encouraged for beginners.

Regards,

Peter

 

[Lord_Rahl]

Hey Peter, thanks for your reply.

I see what you mean about the prologue/end chapter. I realised this as I was writing and thinking "Hang on, I can't mention if anyone's dead or any other spoilers" Which would severely limit what I could actually write in that prologue. So back to a re-write for the beginning.

As for the POVs. I actually have about six (remembering off the top of my head). However, I thought that a protagonist was in some way different to a simple main character?

Heh, as for the lord verses soldier, I would hedge my bets. This lord is a hands on kind of guy ;P

Thanks for lending a bit of clarification. Much appreciated.

Lord Rahl.

 

[The Curious Orange]

Try looking at Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. Chapter One is the penultimate chapter, as it were, showing us the ultimate mess that Tiffany gets herself in. Chapter Two goes back and shows us how the story starts, and the final chapters show us how she gets out of the situation we saw in Chapter One.

It can be confusing to do it this way, but it can work.

I've always loved stories with multiple POVs and I can't imagine writing anything different. The character that you want your readers to be rooting for in the final fight is your protagonist. It doesn't matter if he wins, loses or draws. The other guy is your antagonist. He can have just as much "page time" as your protagonist, even more, it doesn't matter.

 

[Laerten]

Aren't the Janny Wurts series of books called Wars of Light and Shadow about 2 brothers at odds with each other? Wouldn't these have the 2 brothers as 'equal' protagonists?

 

[Lord_Rahl]

I suppose then, that it's more a question of the readers' personal preference.

 

[Karpinskaia]

I would say rewrite the begining but, and this is a big but, this is okay only if you rewrite the exact same scene you used in your previous begining, otherwise, if you wish to create something new, I'm afraid you'd have to rewrite some parts of your novel to fit the new begining, and believe me this can be a very messy task. I'm talking out of experience because I was forced to rewrite the begining of the novel I'm currently working on because I felt that my main character wasn't exactly what I was aiming for, so I had to rescribe some parts, including the begining to give him a new personality and to refurnish him into a more consistent and credible characther.

 

[chrispenycate]

Aren't the Janny Wurts series of books called Wars of Light and Shadow about 2 brothers at odds with each other? Wouldn't these have the 2 brothers as 'equal' protagonists?

She might have intended that when she started, but by the second book it was clear that the "shadow" brother was the focus of the action. I suspect that maintaining total balance over long periods would be exceptionally difficult.

 

[Lith]

The best way to find out if you should put the end in the prologue is to print it out, paste it, and read it with the end at the beginning. Then read the previous version. Contemplate, then decide. But if it was me, I would also spend time investigating ways to make the beginning punchier, because beginnings are important, and because readers often skip prologues altogether. And it's acceptable to have a throwaway mini-plot at the beginning to hook the reader.

No problem with multiple POVs. I think the advice is mostly for people that are just learning how to write; it simplifies things. But there's no rule about it, as long as readers aren't getting confused.

A protagonist and a main character are different, but the terms are used interchangeably, as in many stories, the "hero" fills both roles. Main characters are those that feature a lot of "face time" in a story, and protagonists are characters that move the plot along. If you're familiar with "The Great Gatsby"- Nick, the narrator, isn't the protagonist, even though he's present for nearly every event. Gatsby's the protagonist, because he makes things happen.

Or, if you're a Final Fantasy fan, look at FF10- Tidus is your main character, but Yuna's actually the protagonist- it's her story, and everyone else just goes along with it.

 

[The Curious Orange]

Or, of course, George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. Who's the protagonist? We're 4 books in and we still don't know. Is it Jon Snow? Danaerys? Littlefinger? The first book has a central protagonist - Ned Stark - but he's not the protagonist of the series.

I think that the author needs to know whose story he's telling, even if he's hiding this from his readers.