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plot shape balance; would this work for you ?

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the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
Trying to discuss this in general enough terms to not breach the story-ideas policy; if I have erred here, by all means correct me.

I have a plot which in very broad outline looks like the following.

There is an important piece of information that opens a way to a game-changer for a particular balance of power; an artifact which if found and puzzled out could conceivably give nigh-absolute power within the relevant contect.  The antagonists of the piece are taking out people who have leads to this piece of information. (As well as doing a lot of other stuff to camouflage that this is what they are doing.  High collateral damage, the occasional robbery, the occasional assassination disguised as a robbery gone wrong, the occasional robbery disguised as a bungled attempt to make an assassination look like a robbery gone wrong... )

The protagonist starts off investigating all of the above, figures out what the antagonists are really up to, obtains the piece of information, and hence the story moves on to both sides potentitally having access to the game-changer and competing for it, fate of the universe at stake, etc. etc.  and to the resolution of that conflct. The folks who have been doing the assassinations and mindgames etc are much smaller potatoes in the general scheme of things.  The conclusion of the story as currently envisioned is much more about the actual game-changer than about the things the protagonist is looking into to begin with.

The question is: would it work for you for the story to shift in scale from "investigation into odd rash of murders and disappearances and so on" to "fate of the world at stake", and if so, how much of the book would feel reasonable to you to devote to the initial investigation without it feeling like a cheat or a disappointment for it to then become something that different ?

Aakaakaak:
Everything starts out as something rational and normal. I would definitely start out as some "semi-strange" robberies/murders, then leave hints along the way. Maybe add clues up to about halfway through the book. Maybe the protagonist comes to the realization of what he's been finding the pieces of, or someone he saves is able to tell him what's going on?

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: aakaakaak on August 16, 2010, 08:09:54 PM ---Everything starts out as something rational and normal.

--- End quote ---

I should maybe mention that the setting for this is a long way from 20th-century contemporary reality to begin with...

Gruud:
I think this is something that has been done before (not your idea, the progression you describe) and I think the key is that the level of unknown importance has to grow gradually along the way.

Put another way, I think your protaganist has to start out thinking "this is just the normal stuff", etc and then begin coming to a realization (along with the reader) that "hey, maybe there's more to this that I thought", then on to "wow, this could really be something important", and finally, "holy crap, this is a REALLY BIG DEAL".

I'm not so sure your readers will be able to make the jump from "small potatoes" straight to the "whole enchilada" without some hand holding (and well placed revelations)along the way.

belial.1980:

--- Quote from: neurovore on August 16, 2010, 07:11:13 PM ---
The question is: would it work for you for the story to shift in scale from "investigation into odd rash of murders and disappearances and so on" to "fate of the world at stake", and if so, how much of the book would feel reasonable to you to devote to the initial investigation without it feeling like a cheat or a disappointment for it to then become something that different ?


--- End quote ---

Yes. The shift works. Love it, in fact. (Have a similar escalation in the draft I just finished.) I've seen this kind of shift plenty of times in books and movies. Just off the top of my head, (click to show/hide)Indianna Jones and the Last Crusade, Dresden Books 4 and 7, Angels and Demons. all use a similar shift from localized trouble to something that could impact the fate of the world. So, no worries there.

As for how much time to dedicate to the different aspects of your story—I think it just depends on your pacing, character arc, etc. You'd mentioned that the story you envisioned is much more about the game-changer than the assassinations and whatnot. If that's the case, I'd recommend moving it along briskly to the point where the story becomes about the competition for this artifact. (It seems like this artifact serves as a type of McGuffin, correct?)
I recommend checking out Dan Wells' presentation on story structure if you get the chance. (It's on youtube.) He discusses an approach to writing that involves using two "pinches." Each "pinch" is a major turning point in the story. He defines the first pinch as the point of the story where the characters realize that they're dealing with more than what they bargained for at the story's outset. This sounds like it might be relevant to your question, so you may want to check it out and see if you can apply any of it to your WIP.

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