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How Do You Balance Intensity and Inexperience of a Character?

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Dresdenus Prime:
Okay so here's my newest question; I sometimes have concerns that my overall story is fairly dullish. I think it hits some high notes in some areas, but doesn't take off the ground much in others. I actually just pushed my original Chapter 1 to 3 and rewrote a new 1-2 to create a more exciting beginning.

But then I'm wrestling with how much more I can really give this book...It is the first of a series, with a hero that has no idea what he's doing. He's no PI, he's just learning how his power works, and I feel like I need a plot that's not terribly complicated for him to be able to figure out.

In my own opinion, I would like to think that as long as the world and characters are exciting, fresh and interesting that the plot can be a little less exciting, as long as its not completely predictable, but I'd like to know what you all think as well?

Quantus:
Sticky question, its kinda hard to judge without actually reading said plot and world.  But some general suggestions would be:

Mentor/Guide Character - If your MC is supposed to be new to everything and thus can't believably solve the mystery alone, maybe introduce a Supporting character to supplement his lack.  Not to solve it for him, but to provide some of the pieces of the puzzle that only experience would bring.  In one of mine I have a similarly clueless character starting out, but he gets found by a old hand mentor sort that introduces him to things, then gets said mentor taken and has to rescue him, sorta tossing him in the deep end so to speak.  Granted thats not a mystery situation, and is basically an Obi-Won trope, but it can bridge that gap. 

MC as the "Noble Fool" - Not sure if this is an actual literary term, but its a type of character trait I have always enjoyed.  The basic Idea is that your character doesn't know much of anything about what he's caught up in, but by that virtue he has an open and/or unique perspective on the situation that lets him make simple connections that are otherwise obscured to the people more immersed in the world.  Tavi in CA pulls this a number of times, being the only one around without Furycraft.  The TV show Eureka is built around this idea completely, having the Average guy sheriff in a town full of Geniuses, he's he is able to think outside the box and figure out how to apply various unrelated inventions to solve the weekly catastrophe, when all the scientist get so focused on the science and the intended application, they don't see the other possibilities, but they have to step back and describe it to him in layman's terms, which he then is able to devise new uses and such.  or he just remains a bit more grounded than teh rest, like when everyone assumed the kid had gotten caught in the temporal wormhole bubble of doom and launched a giant search for where he may have come out, and everyman sheriff was the only one that thought to check if the kid was hiding in the closet.

Leave him in the Deep End - Sometimes you can get away with leaving the character completely out of his depth, just getting kinda swept along by the events, and still make it work out ok. Niel Gaiman is great with this.  The MC's often dont have any clue whats going on until the climax or later.  It heavily depends on the supporting cast and the situation to make it work, but the kid just discovering his new powers is a trope that often works with this. 



Thats kinda a ramble, hope it was somehow helpful  ;)

Aminar:
If your character is just learning the ropes of what's going on then push that learning the ropes into interesting ways.  Don't let realism kill the fun, you're character already has some kind of power from what you said, every once in while have the subconscious kick in and do amazing things and then have he/she/it/potato try to figure out how to do that again or the like.  And remember that every revision you do makes your story more boring to you.

Breandan:
You can have someone who is a hardcore experienced veteran at their trade, but they are just like anyone else when exposed to a new phenomenon. I've been in the military, law enforcement or PMC contracting for 20 years, yet NOTHING prepared me for the unholy chaos and upheaval that is being a father. I felt like a 17-year-old kid in boot all over again. I actually get MORE sleep and less stress when deployed on a contract, which has earned my eternal respect for stay-at-home and single mothers.

Personal anecdotes aside, there's always some curveball you can throw at a character. I prefer not to use literary archetypes, but instead base my characters off of personal experience and real-world people I know. You'd be amazed at how many new things the average person gets exposed to and has to wrap their minds around when they live even the least bit of an adventurous lifestyle. Likewise, people are a HELL of a lot smarter than Hollyweird and many authors make out. People as a collective are often idiotic sheeple, but a single person- separated from the mass-culture-induced degeneration of intellect- is capable of surprising cunning, courage and ingenuity. I've seen soccer moms at the range for a conceal-carry class, holding a gun for the first time in their lives, outshoot veteran cops before. I've seen a typical high school kid- as average as they come- manage to splint his own broken arm, find food and water, and survive long enough for us to rescue him three days later. I've watched college kids who would rather be drinking suddenly come up with innovative and even brilliant solutions to problems once the professor made it interesting for them. Humanity is sorely underestimated, it just needs the right conditions to shine :)

jeno:

--- Quote from: Dresdenus Prime on August 25, 2011, 12:33:00 PM ---I actually just pushed my original Chapter 1 to 3 and rewrote a new 1-2 to create a more exciting beginning.

--- End quote ---

Be careful with this. I haven't read your stuff, so I don't know exactly what you've done, but from here it sounds like something I've seen a lot of editors and agents complain about - the High Action Intro tacked on to the novel solely because the author was told to have a more exciting beginning. The major complaint with these beginnings is that they often have nothing to do with the rest of the plot. Sometimes it works, most times it doesn't. Again, I haven't read your stuff so I don't know if this applies to you, but it's something to keep in mind.

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