So basically, I came up with a fascinating plot premise for a novel, but I can't decide what to do with my characters or how to move the plot into a middle arc and then make up my mind on how the whole thing should end. Everything I could think of causes problems such as inconsistency in tone, sudden massive change in scope, plot armor, etc. Do I have to decide if it's going to be a cliche happy ending, bittersweet or a downer before I start effectively writing the thing? I scrapped all my previous short stories and the one novel I ever managed to get to 45.000 words because I wrote myself into a corner every time and I could never think of any ending that didn't feel contrived, terribly unsatisfying or deus ex machina. I'm honestly lost. I don't want to ruin this one.
Nope! Some people like to work everything out beforehand, but there are plenty of successful writers who figure it all out as they go, and plenty more who think they know where the story is going but then surprise themselves in the process. You just have to figure out what process works best for you, not for anyone else. Well, guess what - you might ruin it. If writing a novel was easy, everyone would do it. But you know what the only way to guarantee that you'll ruin it is? By not writing it. So give it a shot. You might just make something awesome.
From my limited experience with writing novels, I do feel that the middle is the most challenging part. The way I got through my own middle block last year was to think on it for a few days, agonize a bit, and then just plow through it without overthinking things. I know I've said this a few times on here, but I really think it's important to just keep writing. If it's not your best, that's fine - you've got many, many hours of editing to do later anyway. Too many writers start something but then abandon it. Aim to finish. Your first draft does not need to be perfect; that's why it's a first draft. I don't always know how my ending will go, but that's because I am a "pantser." All writers are a bit different with their processes, but this one works for me. At the most, I have a very rough outline where there are certain plot points that I want to hit at certain times, and everything in between is done on the fly (and revised/edited later). I wouldn't worry about setting up a perfect, truly original ending. There's only so many to have, and unless you're deliberately trying to piss off your readers, you're going to end up with an ending that will satisfy most of them. Just keep writing it and see where it goes !
I have good news for you: there's nothing there to even ruin. Premises seem important to us when we think of them, but frankly they're dime dozen. This seems like three issues that are a bit separate: 1. I have a cool premise but cannot think of a plot that matches my intended tone and scope. Tweaking the stakes and nature of antagonism may help with scope. Instead of a village under threat from an enterprising biker gang, it's a family's livelihood at risk from a corrupt burgomaster, that sort of thing. As for tone, that's a much more complex thing to manage, and can take a lot of fine-tuning to get just right. If it's hard to figure out on the first draft, maybe focus on it more in the second. 2. I don't know if it should have a happy ending or not. This is probably the least important thing. You're absolutely right that deciding between happy/downer ending can wait until, well, you write the end. 3. I scrapped a novel at 45,000 words because I could not think of a good ending, and I'm concerned that will happen here. If historically you don't finish projects, and you'll be disappointed if you don't finish this one, then yes, you should absolutely be concerned. This is important shit. It means the difference between creating something and not, and you're using finite human time to do it. Dude, you can easily spend a decade (or two!) flaking out when projects get difficult. It's entirely within possibility. I certainly spent a large chunk of time doing that. Starting things isn't what makes someone a creator, it's finishing things, even when one doesn't like how they turned out. That's what you owe yourself, this is what you owe Veltman past and future, is that you'll finish this one no matter what, and no matter how bad. Novels are hard. Expect hard and lean into it. This isn't even about the project. You'll have hundreds of projects. Finishing this is about YOU.
I think you should write scenes for this story as they pop into your head, without being self critical. You can always delete the bad parts, but if you don't write the bad parts the good parts won't come.
You might find it useful to create an overview of the novel by answering these 7 questions: Who is the story about? What do they want? Why can’t they get what they want? What do they do to overcome the obstacle? Why do their efforts fail? What are the stakes? How does the story end?
Slow down, buddy. You're just writing a rough draft! You don't have to have that all figured out. Expect that you're going to ramble on and put things in there that don't work. That's okay. That's part of the process. That's why you're writing the draft: to see what if any of your ideas will actually work. What you're trying to do is what absolutely no writer on the planet has ever pulled off, which is create a masterpiece on the first go. I know you intellectually don't think you are, but your mindset is exactly that. You're a perfectionist. And that's a big problem because it hasn't been working for you! You're worried about the cliche? Why? What's wrong with cliche? People tend to like a blend of the familiar with the novel. I'm writing my first love story in an epic fantasy setting. Naturally, it's going to share a lot of cliche elements with the two genres and it should. I expect that the readers will sniff out the hero's love interest the second they see her! That's kind of the point! I even suspect that many of the readers, once they figure out the theme of the story, will even be able to predict the twist. That's okay. I expect they will find the themes of separate dead and living realms where certain people can cross between them absolutely cliche. That's all fine too! Ever think that maybe that's what they want? Maybe they read another novel with those sorts of things in it and are hungry for something new.
Hey! So I am curious, what is your plot premise? You can be as detailed or brief as you like. I ask because it sounds like you have an idea for the story but can't just come up with the middle stuff. I have almost the opposite problem- can't come up with a plot and have all the middle stuff, unconnected. How does it begin? Where do you know it is going?
