Title, character, situation, plot AND... Anybody want to play WAR?
Today I'm delighted to welcome author Tommy B. Smith whose novel offers a curious invitation... Anybody want to play War? So, of course, I had to ask the author...
“Which comes first, title, characters, situation, or plot?”
And here is his answer... Over to you Tommy!
I
seldom devise a story’s title prior to writing the story. Occasionally an
interesting title may serve as a writing prompt, but by the story’s end, more
often that not, I find the original title would no longer suit the story’s
course.
As
to which comes first in regard to title, characters, situation, or plot, to be
vague, the answer would depend on the type of story.
In
the case of my latest novel, Anybody Want
to Play WAR? I did not originally confine the story to a specific category,
though I understood it must eventually claim one.
I
have employed different approaches for different stories. In the world of
writing, we have informal terms such as plotting
and pantsing, which indicate
tales well-plotted in advance, sometimes even outlined, and stories spun out at
the moment’s whim, or “flying by the seat of one’s pants,” respectively. We
also have plot-driven stories and character-driven stories, which exist at
different ends of the spectrum, though the elements of each often bleed into
the other.
To
clarify of my own experiences, a book such as Poisonous, my slasher horror novella of several years ago,
developed by way of plotting, and most have considered it a plot-driven story.
In contrast, this newest book became more of an exploration of characters and
setting, being “pantsed” to some degree and resulting in a character-driven
story. They are simply different monsters.
Situation is an
interesting starting point. Here we might take into account the setting and
characters, plunging them into a crucial moment where our story arises from the
initial conflict.
The
city of St. Charles has suffered a heavy toll. In the wake of a natural
disaster, our story of Anybody Want to
Play WAR? begins in the early 1980s.
Its
people struggle to lift themselves, rebuild, and carry on. Somewhere in the middle
of this, Bryce and his family, and others such as Wheels and Paloma and even
Tabby Reinhart, must adapt.
This
situation initiated the course of events, its characters became its story,
whose plot resulted, and the title came last of all.
It
stemmed from an interesting place somewhere between Bryce Gallo’s past and my
own. Remembering the children on the playgrounds building up their forts, slinging
rocks at each other in some semblance of war games. Considerations of actual
war, Bryce having an uncle who returned from the Vietnam War. It’s an unusual
title, posed as a question, but it’s the title that suits this story.
And
if the title is a question, what’s the answer?
Anybody Want to
Play WAR?
It’s
an invitation if there ever was one. Let’s play.
Thank you Tommy--That answers my question perfectly, and I shall quote you when members of our local writing group pose the same question. Meanwhile I'm eager to read (or follow you invitation and play).
Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTommyBSmith/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/penofchaos
_______________________________
As the teenaged survivor of a savage dog’s rampage, it’s a lesson Bryce Gallo will never forget.
Struggling to cope with his damaged appearance, along with a newfound fear of dogs and mounting anxieties at home and school, he flees his suburban home into the moonlit streets of St. Charles.
Along the roads of suburbia and through the shadowed heart of the city, he encounters Wheels, a maintenance worker for a series of apartment buildings; Paloma, known to some by the moniker of Lady Luck; and a woman in a dark house who is, as far as Bryce can fathom, like no one else he has met before.
His new life is not without obstacles or enemies, he learns. The future is a battlefield. Fire and smoke loom on the horizon, and his dangerous course may see the lives of his family and friends forever changed.
Book Links for Anybody Want to Play WAR?
Kindle Version: https://www.amazon.com/Anybody-Want-Play-Tommy-Smith-ebook/dp/B07Y45ZYG2/
Amazon Print Version: https://www.amazon.com/Anybody-Want-Play-Tommy-Smith/dp/1948042843/
Barnes and Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anybody-want-to-play-war-tommy-b-smith/1133901518?ean=9781948042840
Tour Schedule and Activities
1/6 MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape http://mylifemybooksmyescape.wordpress.com Author Interview
1/7 The Seventh Star Blog http://www.theseventhstarblog.com Guest Post
1/8 Jazzy Book Reviews https://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/ Author Interview
1/9 The Literary Underworld http://www.literaryunderworld.com Guest Post
1/10 Carol Preflatish, Mystery Author http://carolpre.blogspot.com Guest Post
1/11 Armed With a Book http://www.armedwithabook.com Guest Post
1/12 Sheila's Guests and Reviews http://www.sheiladeeth.blogspot.com Guest Post
1/13 Willow's Thoughts and Book Obsessions http://wssthoughtsandbookobsessions.blogspot.com/ Review
1/13 Meghan's House of Books https://mhyden.blog/ Review and Interview
Comments